The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-03-02
ANNEXATION.
o the Editor Of the Press:

| In his communication in the PRESS
of the 24th. inst, Mr.. Progress undertakes
to correct us in our statement of the real
question at issue, and also makes great
pretense of having discovered admissions
of all his contentious in a recent contrlou-
tion of ours on this subject. The gentle
man is generally wrong, but IN this in
stance. he is more mistaken than usual
The question as he states it "what shall
we be able to do for ourselves2" is only
part of the whole question, which is, after
we have done all we can for ourselves,
what will Greater Portland actually do
for us in the line of public Improvements.
Even after wards eight and nine have
done all they can, exerted such political
pull as they may, perchance, have to the
utmost it will be the votes of the other
seven wards which will determine what
shall be done.
We were very glad to learn that we had
had "hnppily surprised" our friend by
the statement which has never been de.
MED by us nor even attempted to be re-
futed stthat Portland has made rapid
strides in the reduction of her debt !"
What we have attempted to refute was
Mr.. PROGRESSES contention that these
rapid strides were made by means raised
by taxation and other ordinary sources of
income. We have repeatedly pointed out
that they have been possible partly by an
increase in the value of some of the stocks
she holds and partly by some of the rail
road bonds and the Building Loan bonds
being paid and applied in discharge OF
debt which had been contracted for the
loan to those same railroads very
small part of the reduction of Portland 8
debt has been due to taxation or other
ordinary sources of income. In fact. 1t
Portland had to rely on her taxes for
paying off her debt, at the rate she has
been reducing it from that same source
during the past six years it would take
her fifty years more to get within the 5
per cent limit.
1t has been the inference that Progress
/ has been forcing upon us In regard to
Portland's future capacity for reducing
her debt that we have refuted, not the
contention that Portland's debt has been
reduced 81, 100000 in the last ten years.
The gentleman is not so happily sur
prised because we claim that Portland is
not yet 'sout Of the woods but such is
the fact and 1t is not denied by unpreju-
diced persons acquainted with the state
of Portland's finances.
The gentleman has had much to say In
this disc lssion about Portland's adopting
Deering 's policy of using the money by
which her deb5 has been reduced for cur
rent expenses instead of applying it on
her debt and its effect upon her tax rate.
He knows very we'll that of that 81 200, 600
reduction in Portland s debt during the
past ten years 1926, 200 has come from an
increase in estimated value of P. and 0.
and gas stock which, of course, could not
be used to reduce taxes, and about $780,
90 was provided by Grand Trunk rail-
way to pay bonds issued in aid of the old
! Atlantic q st. Lawrence railroad, when
they became due, and in no way could
| have been used by Portland to reduce its
tax rate; also nearly $500, 600 more of this
reduction was done by the Building Loan
commissioners paying off bonds issued by
| the city of Portland in aid of sufferers
| in the fire of 1866. Deducting these
| amounts, or about 81 $50, COO, which Port
land could in noway have used for current
expenses instead of applying them on her
debt. it only leaves the sum of $3.50, 900
which has been paid by Portland out OF
funds, that could have been used for cur-
rent expenses and SO reduce her tax rate,
and with the condition which Portland s
finances have been in for more than
| twenty years. reduction of her debt in
so9e way has been an imperative neces-
sity and Will continue to - SO for ten
years more at least. Portland has from
| $50, coo to s75, 0Go more to pay on Turkey 8
| bridge and experts estimate the cost OF
repairing the damage caused by fa'lty
construction to be i25, orc to SIS X4)O more,
and with $50. 600 to pay back to hSr sink
ing fund nnd $4,000 to pay for land pur-
chased for park purposes and $1,000 due
| for fire boat and widening of Oak street,
the prospect for lower ra OF taxation
in Portland for the next five years is not
so bright; on the other hand notwith-
| standing the croaking of the annexation
lists the question of a raise in the tax rate
Of Deering is rather question OF expedl-
ency than one of necessity.
! The annexationists are now laborlng
hard to deprive Deering Of the credit OF
the rapid growth she has made during
the past two years, in order to make her
1 future appear as black as possible. They
| find her valuation was increased by the
power house in 1895, 500, 000 and So, 900 by
| the car stables and casino at Riverton in
1886 out of a total increase in valuation
| during those wars of SS45 600. They say
that several of our leading build" are
no longer doing business in our city, but
they do not tell us that more and bet
ter class OF private residences have been
built this year than ever before ard they
h I'VE no occasion to mention the Odd Eel.
low block and the new furniture manu-
| featuring plant, which has heen added
| to our valuation this year
| II anyone wants to know about the sys-
tematic raise of 10 per cent in the valua.
ton. he had better interview our ASSESS
ors rather than take the word of the an
nexatioDists. The anti -anne1ationists
have only made conservative estimates
The figuring of the annexationists on this
point reminds us that one of their leading
experts in figures, who ia now trying to
prove that behring's tax rate for next
| year will be 5000 in 1881 showed with
equal conclusiveness that Portland's Che
was an anti then) tax rate for 1892 would
| be $23. 30. But the assessors when it came
time for them to decide what is should be
found that $l9 90 would meet the needs
of the city for that year, SO it would be
no occasion for surprise, If our city gov
eminent ana assessors next spring should
not adopt che figures of the annexationists
and should decide that literal policy in
regard to public Improvements will not
REQUIRE a raise in behring's tax rate of
more than $500, if at all.