The Portland daily press., 1898-02-22
ANNEXATION.
TO the Editor of the Press:

ANNEXATION.
TO the Editor of the Press:
This question has now been suffici emily
discussed so that with little thought the
average citizen can determine for himself
what facts and conditions are really vital
to the best solution.
1t would seem to US what every man
who honestly desire to vote for the best
interests of the community in which be
lives, who has no prejudice or personal
feeling in the matter, or calmly and i'm
partially considering the whole situation
will finally arrive at the same conclusion,
that the whole question may be summed
mp as follows:
Will the residents within the present
limits of Deering receive, if annexation
takes place, as great or greater public
benssts and advantages than they would
Deering remains an independent NUM-
cipality, or. in other words, will Greater
Portland do more for its suburbs, than
Deering as city will do for itself.
When one comes to measure the advant-
ages on the one side and on the other, in
one case, we have practical certainty to
guide us, judging from the past, and con-
sidering the fact that we shall have the
entire control of the expenditure Of our
money; while in the other case, it is al
most wholly q question OF probabilities.
If we become the suburbs of Greater Port
land, we can undoubtedly rely on having
our High school maintained out here,
and on having six councilmen and two
aldermen in city government of thirty
six. We shall also be entitled to free use
of the Portland library. Outside of that,
unless we add higher taxes, all the other
wonderful advantages that are to come to
us from annexation are wholly in the
realm of probabilila IS. The question of
better fire protection, better police pro-
lection, better streets and sidewalks, bot
ter schools bette sewerage, better ght-
ing facilities can be considered from 10
other standpoint than whether it is
probable that Greater Portland will do
moro for US in these matters than we will
do for ourselves.
The question of the relative debts OF the
two cities has not half the Importance in
it's effects upon these probabilities as has
been given it in this discussion. Neither
city is insolvent, or liable to be in the
near future.
Some little idea of the financial history
of the two cities for tho past twenty five
years is necessary to understand fully
the financial situation and its proper i'm
portance in the decision OF this question.
Portland through her desire to become
a raiir bad center, got heavily in debt,
and for tho past twenty years has been
making every effort to recover from the
condition in which she found herself.
No one will deny that she has made great
strides in getting rid of her financial bur-
dens, but she is by no means out OF the
woods yet.
In her aid to tho railroads, she was
supposed to get an equivalent In value for
the money loaned either in stocks, bonds,
or mortgages. Much of this collateral
has been realized upon in the last twenty
years, and, Of course, has helped to mako
o good showing in the reduction of her
debt, but the great trouble has arisen
from the fact that her gross debt has been
far in excess of tho five per cent limit,
and she has no authority to borrow money
except for refunding purposes and in
authorization of taxes, so that the hand
ling of her finances has been trouble
some problem.
Whenever extraordinary expenses arose
as in the past five years, it meant high
taxes'and putting over from year to year
the burden till 1t could De met by taxa
ton. The process is practlcaily the same
as what Is done, when the money is Dor
rowed and bonds are issued, bnt it can
not he ca ried over so long period, and
being divided over fewer years, it means
higher taxes and heavier burden upon
the people.
The fact that for several years, Port
and g net debt had been below the i've
per cent limit has not made her finances
rest any less heavily upon her citizens.
On the other hand, DeerinR has never
reached her five per cent limit. She has
grown rapidly and her increase in valua-
ton has provided for improvements with
out in any way hearing heavily uTon her
tax payers. The fact that at the end of
next year, after making an unusual out
lay OF money, she can borrow more money
If necessary, without reaching her five
per cent limit, than she could twenty five
years ago, shows that there need be no
fear for the future. There is no reason
whatever to expect that the taxes IN Deer
ing for the next six years will be any
more than they have been during the past
six years.
The financial phase of this question
may be thus briefly stated: So long as
Portland's gross debt is in excess of her
five per cent limit and she does not pos
sess the borrowing power, her extraordi-
nary expenses will be a greater hurd
upon her citizens or upon the citizens Of
Greater Portland. than the extraordinary
expenditures Of Deering he upon her
citizens. Portland has already through
Turkeys bridge, the purchasing of land