The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-11-21
THE BOARD OF FINANCE.
Pairing of Estimates Was the Bushes Last Nigh tA-Letter of Suggestion.

Last Nigh tA-Letter OH SuRRes1On.
 The board of finance met last night and continued the work of going over the estimates and pairing them down to the amount to be appropriated.
 The following letter was received from John Kerley concerning the ap- propriations for next year:
 To the Honorable Board of Finance,
 City of New Haven:
 Gentlemen: I would have been pres- ent at your late meeting, inviting citi- zens to express their views as to the appropriations for the coming year bad I thought it possible to finish the business in one evening, and expected to appear before you at later day. l think it possible that others were of the same mind, still, personally, I have no complaint to make if you will allow me to address you in this way and give my views careful consideration. feel that in this work I labor under great embarrassments, from the fact that I am not informed as to what Is asked for by the heads of the different departments-how much and the spec ial purposes for which 1t is needed, and still more, I do not know what argu-
  honorable body in favor of the amounts asked for. If I was fully informed in this line I possibly might take excep- tions in some cases and oppose such outlay, in part or whole, and perhaps in other cases my opinions would be in some measure modified by the infor nation I had gained. It seems to me that the better way would have been
 3..Q@ T ttat t1.nx I have suggested, before asking for their views. Under the circumstances, what I have to say must be in the main of general rather than of specific character. First, I protest as tax payer against any material advance from last years rate, under the present scale of assessments, certainly not to exceed twenty mills in the aggregate There is here, as elsewhere three classes from which the money thus raised must come. The rich, who of their abundance do not feel the bur- den; the poor, who pay but little, if any taxes. unless indirectly, in which case they may mot be aware of it, and the class which I represent, which is more than half of the taxpayers, and in the aggregate contribute more than half of all the money raised in this way, who feel the burdens upon them, in many cases severely. l have been waiting for several years for the good time that was coming, when the new assessment was to be completed and the burdens more Justly distributed. so as to bring a> measure of relief, but. "hope deferred rnaketh the heart sick" so l now only hope that those younger than myself may live to see the good time. l pre- sume that you will find that the amounts asked for are no more than can be used to good advantage, and from one standpoint may seem quite necessary and yet to allow all these would bring such a burden on the tax psyers as is out fthe question of im- posing at this time, so having deter mined the amount to be imposed the only question Is one of proportion, be- tween the different departments. With out going through the list Gas l have not the figures before mel l refer to only s few. think, if it can be grant i ed that the public library, urgently needs more money than has been ap- propriatsd in the past, and that the