The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-23

der of business to hear from the par
tvs candidate for mayor. Chairman
McGovern presented Mayor O'Connell
who was given an enthusiastic greet
ing, the hall resounding with cheers
and applause as he arose to give an
account of his stewardship. He said;
Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen Of the
Convention: I desire to express to you
my sincere and heartfelt thanks for
the great honor you have conferred
upon me in again nominating me for
the high and important office OF
mayor of the city of Worcester. &C
cept your nomination, and in accept
ing it, promise you 1 will do my ut
most to bring it to successful terml-
nation. ! desire to assure you of my
sincere appreciation of the great conf
dence that you and my party assocl-
ates have repeatedly reposed in me.
As long as l live ! shall remember
with feelings Of the utmost gratitude
the great kindness with which my
nomination was received a year ago
at the hands of my fellow Democrats
and my fellow citizens generally
mo candidate ever received from
any party more loyal support than |
received from the Democrats of Wor-
cester During the somewhat trying
days of both memorable campaigns. l
thusiasm and loyalty of my friends
In the midst of what seemed for
moment to have been defeat, my heart
was indeed gladdened by the express
sions of sympathy and sorrow upon
the part of my friends that the result
had not been otherwise. If defeat had
come, / was abundantly repaid by the
evidences of friendship that l found
surrounding me on all sides. A year
xrbap accented tha nomination
at the convention, l promised that, If
elected mayor of this city, l would dis
charge the duties of that responsible
office to the best of my ability and in
accordance with my best judgment,
having in mind at all times the inter-
ests of the entire city. ] believed that
l would best serve the interests of my
party by serving at all times the m
terests of the city. (Applause)
This nomination coming to me to-
night with the unanimous vote of the
representatives Of the party in conven-
ton assembled, strengthens and con-
firms me in this belief. l did not be-
lieve or expect that my actions would
meet with the unanimous approval Of
my party associates. 1t was my desre
10 so conduct myself that you and the
great majority of my fellow-citizens
would have no occasion to regret my
nomination. would gladly have
pleased all, if such thing were pos
sible, provided | could have felt that
l was doing my full duty in accord
ance with my own Judgment and the
oaths l had taken to serve the inter-
ests of the entire city.
I'm again entering the contest for
the office of mayor, l feel that l can
take some pardonable pride in the re-
suits of my years conduct Of this
high office. Notwithstanding the awful
predictions that were made as to the
results that would happen in the event
of my election, so far as the business
management of the city's affairs were
concerned. l am certain that no man
can Justly and fairly say that the
business of the city has not been car
ried on during my term of office hon
estly. economically and solely in the
interest Of the entire city. (Applause)
For the first time in years the
close of this municipal year will show
a reduction in the municipal indebted
ness of the city. had scarcely taken
my oath of office when l was informed
by those who were charged in part
with the financial management of the
city. that unless some extraordinary
measures were resorted to. the tax
rate would surely go up from at least
81 20 to 81 40 per $1,000 | was deter
mined that if any effort Of mine would
in any measure prevent in whole or in
part this increase in the tax rate, 1
would do my utmost to effect it.
Il insisted upon an economical adj
ninistration of the business Of every
department, and l am pleased to sax
that [ received the cooperation of the
heads of the various city departments
almost without exception, and an ex-
animation of the expenditures of the
various municipal departments will
show that much was accomplished in
this respect
The running expenses of this city
have been materially reduced in almost
every department and yet no depart
ment has suffered in any respect from
a shortage of moneys. AS a result OF
the careful watching of the depart
ments. the tax rate was kept at the
same figure as last year, notwithstand-
ing the fear that confronted us at the
beginning of my administration.
Il am somewhat inclined to think
that the full meaning of a low tax rate
does not appeal to the citizens gener-
ally. The man who pays only a poll
tax is as much interested in low tax
rate as a man who pays hundreds OF
dollars in taxes.
"a city with a low tax rate attracts
business of every kind and character
while a city with high tax rate and
at the same time with a high valua-
ton for the most part such as ours
would not only fail to attract business