Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1901-03-07
EMPORIUM, PA. THURSDAY, MARCH 7. 1901.
your resolution of Feb. 4th, 1901,
which reads as follows:

do lOllOWo'
"Moved by Mr.. Howard, seconded
by Mr.. Schweikart, that the resolution
passed May 4th, 1899, exempting the
Iron Works property from taxation
for Borough purposes, be rescinded
and the assessment of said property be
placed on tax duplicate for 1901"
wish you to understand that my
action in this matter is not at all in
fiuenced by any opinion as to the COM
mercial policy or the advisability from
any point of view of exempting the
Iron Works property from taxation.
| wish to make no argument on the
fact that so far back as there has been
any industrial progress or any COM
mercial activity in this country, it has
been customary for enterprising towns
to offer inducements like this to out
side firms to locate in their midst l
desire to make no point at this time of
the fact that prior to the improve
ments made by the Iron Works Com
pany the property it is now proposed
to tax was of little value to the Bor-
way. Neither do I care to call your
attention in particular to the fact that
there is nothing in this section of the
state to induce blast furnace to To-
cate here unless some inducements
were offered. My veto of this meas
ure!is based entirely on my objection to
principal involved in the resembling of
resolution passed unanimously by
the Council, and resolution which
has been accepted in good faith by
outside parties as being the expressed
word of the citizens of Emporium and
essentially is an implied contract.
If it is contract that cannot be en-
forced by legal measures, it is all the
more question of honor for us to see
that it is not violated If the Iron
Company cannot compel us to keep
our word, it all the more devolves up
on us to see that the solemn pledge
made by the Borough of Emporium
Council with every member present
and voting "aye," be conscientiously
kept.
The fact that the Company that
| operated the Iron Works last year,
failed in business, to the loss of SO
many worthy laboringmen in our
borough is as deeply deplored by your
Burgess as any other man, yet l be-
lieve that this fact forms no valid
| fO,.x OfE E1IN A
last. The commercial honor of
borough, village or city like that of
business firm is a tender plant and its
integrity is vital to success. 1t is
grave misfortune for any town to get
the reputation of making false repre-
sentations to strangers by which such
outsiders are led to make investments,
and this is practically what it amounts
to, to remit taxes on the Iron Works
for ten years and then in less than two
years and directly after over $5,0000 90
has been spent in putting the works in
| repair to rescind the former action and
reimpose the taxes. In my opinion
such action will react against the good
name and fair repute of the borough of
Emporium, and aside from it's being
unfair as between man and man, and a
plain violation of a contract, it is not
even good business policy, but will if
finally passed eventually prove ma
terial damage to Emporium, far in ex-
cess of the few hundred of dollars Sc
cured by placing the Iron Works on
the tax duplicate.
Gentlemen, do not believe there is
man in your honorable body whose
word is not to be depended upon at all
times and places, or man who would
not live up to a plain agreement made
in business matter, and cannot but
think that when you look this matter
over in all its bearings, you will agree
with me that you as custodians of the
commercial honor of the borough,
cannot afford to have the report gain
credency among our sister towns that
an agreement or bargain with Empo-
rum amounts to nothing unless it is
enforced by the strong hand of the
law.
am perfectly well aware that there
are numerous quibbling points that
may be raised in favor of violating our
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