The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-11-15

sponsible for our high and increasinl
 tax rate.
 To prove this assertion I give here
 with a few figures and comparisons
 that should make this matter clearer.
 The total amount paid in salarie.
 from the mayor down to the lamp in
 spector is $99,712.
 The total of exemptions on property
 that should pay taxes is s154,115
 It will be seen from these figures tha' ! it is what we do not get rather thar
 what we spend that make us feel oul
 present burden so keenly
 To make this palmer still give here-
 with a few items that should be added
 to the grand list, on the one hand and
 a few items that should be cut out of
 our expenditures on the other.
 List os items that could be added to the grand list and amount of increase to city income.
 About $7,000.000 worth of property
 owned by Yale corporation consisting
 of land and buildings that to a large extent were a source of income before
 being absorbed by this institution, $94- l 000.
 About s4,7OO,0OO consisting of property owned by churches, banks, street rail-
 road companies express companies, cemetery companies, etc., $60,115.
 By collecting the military tax accord ing to law instead of from every house owner and leaving the rest to go scot free, $30,000.
 Total. s184.115.
 Were this amount collected as 1t ! should be it wolud reduce the present rate from 1S 1-2 to 12 mills, which would be equivalent to saving of $7.50 to the man owning a $5,000 house. | List of items that could be cut out of our expenditures without in any way curtailing the efficiency of the adminis- tration, but on the other hand by doing away with the greatest incentive to cor ruption would be productive of still greater economies: Water contract, $2000O; electric contract, $46,O0o; gas contract, $2S,000; telephone service, $685.; naphtha lamps, $5,0oo; lighting police building, s1,s0O; lighting fire depart ment, s700; lamp inspector, $1,200; total, $103, 1885.
 Were this amount saved as it surely should be, it would still further reduce the rates to eleven mills, which would mean a saving to the man paying taxes on $5,000 house of $1250. This high rate we are now paying has also to be paid by every merchant in the city and he must collect 1t from his customers and you may rely upon 1t he charges "all the traffic will bear"
 The person who thinks when he has Id t,. at+x Lrr 1&1k he Is through for the year, Is simply living in fools paradise.
 Ex-Alderman Henry Donovan ap- peared and said that 1t rested with the mayor as chief magistrate to see that the military tax was collected. He then spoke of the assessors and said that board was not a competent body He said: Now, as a gentle reminder to the mayor, let me say that the persons selected for this office ought to be se- lected not for political favors but for ability to judge of property. Your hon. or is not the first one to make this mis- take"
 Mayor Studley-"So far as Theodore H. Macdonald Is concerned, if you have to say against him, I am re- sponsib1e for that. The reassessment was made before he was appointed. There are only two members of the board now who were members then The reassessment was made before the trolleys influence was felt They car- ry people out of the city to the sub urbs and 1t will be some years before New Haven racovers from the effects of | that. A mass meeting of the citizens was held in favor of another trolley line not long ago. Property to-day is not | worth what could be borrowed on it from savings banks ten years ago.
 M. Spier, superintendent of chari- l ties and correction, appeared to speak in favor of general economy, and par ticularly in regard to some of the estf- mates for Springside with which he is familiar. He said that at meeting of taxpayers which he attended recently the unanimous sentiment was in favor of keeping down public expenditures and keeping down the tax rate. Among other things he pointed out that water for Springside should be included in he new water contract which the city S to make next spring, Now the city pays about S1, 200 per year for water at springside since the institution was not, IS 1t Is now, within the city limits when the last water contract was made ,y the cty ten years ago.
 Concerning the police department he would favor cutting the payroll to S170,- 100. This was time for retrenchment. were taxed too high and hat was why new enterprises did not ome here. It was becoming very erious question. Asked by Controller Rowe what he would think if the payroll of the police department were cut to $170.000 and hen after nine months of the year, vhen the appropriation for the force, S at present constituted was exhaust d the police board should announce { hat the department must close up be- ause there was no money to run 1t. MT. Spier thought that if this should ccur the mayor could remove the nembers of the police board for in- ! as he removed members of ( hat board recently. .. Pavement Inspector Peter J. Bohn c poke briefly in favor of the increase I f salaries asked for in the engineering z epartment, and said that from his ex- /, , erience he considered the increases f eserved.
 Anthony Carroll had final work be- O ,re adiol1rnment He said that he q