The Portland daily press., 1898-01-20

teen thousand dollars in Portland is sma
amount comparatively speaking. but spent
in EDeering for five or ten years It's eHeets
would be remarkable. Not only could that
amount of new debt, IL necessary, De IN
CURED each veal, without increasing her rate
per cent. but the increase IN valuaucn
which we may reasonably expect would also
| result in an,jncrease in receipts from taxes
OF six to seven Thousand dollars more.
Not such dreary prospect for the Deeflhg
| farmers if they refused to embrace thls eN-
| certfonal opportunity. after all ana IL an
extra ten or fifteen thousand IS neeoeo at
any time, raise our tax rate to where III
will be if we join with Portland. THIS may
account Tor the seemingly studied mchna-
ton on the part of the annexat1onsts 10
overlook behring's growth and increase IN
valuation, and its bearing upon this ques-
zion. You may find, Mr.. Progress, thai our
rural friends have not overlooked this, ana
that their fear of future increase in taxes IN
Deering has not been arou ed by your al
most frenzied efforts to warn them of their
| Danger in order to take away the DISC uiet-
| ing effect that Portland's present tax rate
might have, which for the past five years at
least has not presented any aluring induce
ments for the Deering farmer to swap votes.
We consider, Mr.. Progress, if there are any
of them so guileless as to swallow without
masticating your sugar coated suggestions
of how by joining Portland, they will COM
pei Portland business men to pay for i'm
provements in Deering. 1t is said that Port
land officials now have way of making
any section of that city demanding an ex-
tensive improvement pay for it by having
tho assessors raise the valuation of that
section sufficiently to cover the expense to
which Ward One, during the past year, can
testify. How that may be, we do not pre-
sumo to know. But the outlook for our
back district residents, so far as we can see,
is a raise in tax rate of three dollars OF more
per thousand without much prospect of any
return. Portland isn't very likely to build
sidewalks all over Deering surely, and If
those same rural residents expect to see, the
morning after annexation takes place, I'm
Gle Sans liveried servants bring their mail
to their door three times day, or any large
majority of the stores Of Portland, deliver
their wives purchases free of CHARGE they
will be sadly disappointed. We apprehend
that their Deering express will not be driv-
en- out of business. AS we understand it, the
Department at Washington has something to
say about the free delivery of mails, and in
our opinion distances then, as well as now,
will have something to do in determining
thissmatter. Our friend Progress came out
Monday with the startling assertion that
he had discovered our identity. Well. If
that furnishes him with any crumbs of COM
fort, he is surely welcome to all the consoia-
ton he may derive therefrom. He then
proceeds, after making few compliment
tafy remarks and expressions of his good
will, for which we are duly grateful. to re-
fuse to discuss the question of finances
further, and refers US to the proper source,
whatever that may be. but he couldn't re-
trsin from making few comments on our
seeming to question In any degree the facts
found by the Commission. On Tuesday, af-
ter due reflection, he evidently concludes
that the question calls for little more
light, andl he again takes up the gage of
battle. Now while we know nothing of his
powers of dealing with such metaphysical
subjects as that of the svagaries OF Psychic
logical Phenomena" from perusal of his
efforts on more tangible subjects, we are
very confident that he is entirely competent
TO give illustrated lectures without apparat-
lis. on the vagaries of q Psychological Phe- |
nomenon.
But This is outside of the question at issue
and we will join HANDS with you, Brother
Progress, in calling for the figures of tn
Commission. If, in view of all the facts
majority of the citizens of Deering want
annexation, let them have it, and we will
all then join hands in working for the in
terests OF Greater Portland. But there are |
two sides to this question. behring's prog
ress as city has been little short of mar
velous; it would be pity to arrest it in any |
degree by joining Portland Tor the sake of
living in city of fifty thousand inhabi-
tants. ANN T. |