The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-05-02
ECONOMY Is NEEDED.

The State of Maine, the city Of Port,
land and all other cities and towns in the
state have got to get along without q
good many things which they want and
whioh would be very desirable, or event,
uslly the tax rate will be up so high that
it will constitute a very severe burden
upon industry, and upon small property
holders. There never was time when
business men Of all kinds had to practice
a closer economy in order to succeed than
today, and the outlook Is that the need
for economy will increase rather than
diminish for some years to come. This is
due not to any lack Of business but to
fierce competition In almost every depart
n emit of industry and trade. Profits are
smaller than ever before, and the earn
ings of invested capital which few
years ago amounted to six or seven per
cent have now fallen to four, and are
still on the down grade. Business is great
In volume, but every department Of it Ia
divided up among SO many people, and
the margin Of profit has been so reduced
by excessive competition that individual
profits are small. The farmer of Maine
is hard hit now by the composition OF the
more fertile land Of the west, his home
market ia invaded by western products
as good as he can raise and oftentimes
produced at q lower price than he can
produce them. The merchant, no matter
what department Of trade he is engaged
in, finds the field full of earnest, pushing
rivals. Only by the most strenuous and
constant labor. and by the practice of
closest economy can either of them make
his business pay. State and municipal
appropriations must be made with these
facts kept steadily in view. The State or
the city just like the individual must go
without many desirable things because Of
its inability to afford them. Probably
If person should 60 through the ex-
penditures of the State or the city for the
last ten years and critically examine
them he would find that good part of
them were not for things that were abso-
lutely necessary bit for things which
were desirable merely; that many Of them
could have been withheld, without caus-
ing any serious discomfort. While we
have not been exactly extravaganza we
have been by no means so economical as
we might have been. We would by no
means advocate a niggardly policy. A
city or state must be fairly
liberal in It'll. expenditure for public i'm
provements. But in view of the tendency
of our expenditures to rapidly increase, to
increase, it seems to us, out of proportion
to our ability to take care of them, we
would urge the closest scrutiny to cut
off, for the present at least, all tina. are
not called for by improvements i'm
peratiyaly demanded to meet the pecessi-
ties of the present population or not
clearly required to make reasonable pro-
vision for future growth. Things desira-
BILE, but not necessary, we would postpone
until a more favorable time than the
present. Only ny following this policy
can our expenditures be reduced, and our
rate Of taxation be cut down. Borrowing
from the sinking fund effects nothing ex-
oept to cover up the fact to some extent
that our municipality is living at more
rapid rate than it can afford, and thereby
make it more difficult to apply the real
and only remedy.