Waterbury Democrat., 1900-12-03
TROUBLESOME TAXATION.
Baker Thomas Kelly Gives His
 Views on the Subject.

Every Business Man Should Be Com
 Jelied to Take Out a License - It
 Would Mean Better Streets, Cleaner
 streets and Lower Taxes.
 Ihomas Kelly. the well known baI- tr' believes as all other men do who | h"oW something about public affairs. 1 ! .ii"t 'he city of Waterbury is not get l '1hg enough money to"cnable the DOW i ViH 'hat De to conduct it's affairs ill a | proper manner. but unlike most of the ] ! ia'il1 finders one meets from time to
 tilile MT Kelly claims to have a rem cry which. if applied. will give us lots iof funds without inhicting d hardship uhon anyone. In fact. he claims that
 the burden of taxation can be cuualized so that things will hp better all around lof While many people who are HOW fpaNing nothing would have to put uD a lew dollars. others who feel that thei!. tax bills are too large would not have ito pay such large sums as are being charged against them.
 fCre is tlie way AIr Kelly would work his reform scheme. told in his town way: Some years ago I spent q snort time in Atlanta. Ga. and while there l had a chat with a prominent resident of that place about taxation and considering the excellent cOntli- itlCn of the streets and public buildings i was surprised to learn that they paid but a 22-nlill tax and were taxed on only Cne-third Of it's valuation, just the
 same as hero. l wanted 10 know how
 they maintained the city in such fine
 shape on that and then the gentleman
 went on to explain, and when he got
 through 1 saw that Kelly and all the af 1,1,Si ;,,
 had things pretty easy. Not a man.
 woman or child in that place engaged
 in business of any kind but had to
 take out license, the shoemaker. the
 lawyer. the baker, the Sh0plnan. the physician. the nurse. the ha"kmen. the
 boarding house keeper. tine intelligence
 offices. tie cICthicrs. every blessed
 thing you could think of contributed
 something to tic city treasury. And
 why not? Is there any reason why
 Tom Kelly should not pay something
 for the privilege of conducting all his bake shops in this town? The police , men has to try Kelly's doors just the same as he has to see that the saloon l keeper who pays a license of S4NO CT : S30O year. did not go home forgetting to turn the key in his door. He has 10 repeat the act with the butcher. th,> ) shoemaker. the fruit dealer and others. Who do business. but pay nothing to help out maintain the streets and side 3 walks which people use getting to and l from their stores. Of course if those people have property they pay on that the same as others dc. and they pay on | their stock but. even SO l believe the ! man who carries on any kind of huSi- T ness should be compelled to take out = q license and pay something for it tGo. Ii would be better for everybody
 We would have c!eaner streets. more sewers. greater supply Of water and U in the end the business man would n profit by it. I'd rather pay S5 veal 7, for every store l have and know that - if l sent a team down to the Gerot it I would not need to he washed when it ', came back than pay nothing and have r to wash a carriage every time it goes out on the street. We want more pei: f manent street paving and many other f things as well, but we must raise the # money by some other way than look Il ing to the man, W5ho iS trying to make r. a home for himself in his old t.ny:; tf [, meet the whole expense. Such a law e as I'm talking aboU, is still i'll force ii 0 Atlanta. except so far as it relates tt e lawyers and doctors. Tine second veal n after it went into effect the lawyers y got themselves and the doctors out O
 
 II so far as l could learn. the system o
 taxation there is cmincntly satisfac It tory
 o- Mir Kelly believes that under tn, le present system tue proposition to bone le tine city is all right. but he coDtend 'e that it will not let us out of the hole IT. for the demand for schools and othe III ln things will be on the increase righ J' along and the next thing we'll know i l., l1 la unless some plan is devised whereh. t ~, more revenue can be secured that cal a be had out of real estate. The Onl. nr place where some might Ee added. h ar thinks. without doing on injustice t 20 the owners. is on unimproved property 10 "A man. he says, has q little hom ,v worth S3.0G0 in which he has abou O. $500 equity. the price of the lot am ii- vet he pays more taxes on it than s: man does who owns unimproved prol in erty that he wouldn't sell for 25,00i a. The man who has improved property s- paying enough oil it, but the others al ne not It is the old story. the man a
 the bottom of the ladder is being kel on there.'
 O. The reporter wanted to know who nd responsible for the laws that keep tll he noor man in the background. but NJ of Kelly refused to answer the qucStio E, and dismissed the subject with the F III mark that there were no politics ill sS
 la la WEATHER REPORT.