Waterbury Democrat., 1901-01-24

chants or wage earners, the confidence
 Of the public would be assured, and q
 settlement, reached on mature con
 sideration, would be as binding on the
 parties at issue as were it to have
 the sanction of law.
 1t is matter of great regret, l think, that labor disturbances and Str1kes are as common as they have
 been, and whether it is possible to eliminate them entirely is q question
 that only the good sense of the commu-
 n1ty can determine. But I firmly be- lieve that the bulk of labor troubles
 can be obviated by face-to-face con ference between the parties at issue. Dy meeting and handling both employ
 CTS ana employees as men who have opinions and are entitled to their opin- Ions. It Is for this reason that such an arbitration board would have it's pest hope of success, and the mere
 1act of two parties at issue being will
 ing to have their claims heard by
 third party would be q long step in the ! right direction.
 This proposition am pleased to state. has already received the endorse ment of a great many employers of labor and has been taken up and very 1avorably commented upon by the Wage earnerS themselves. The con-
 mencenent made in New Haven hope
 will be but the beginning of general
 move in this direction ill the state. Another matter that appeals with
 unpleasant severity at times to the business man, and which deserves, 1 think. his calmest attention and con- s1deration, is the question of taxation. The matter is too deep to enter into
 in detail at this time and do not think
 any one is in position to talk with
 authority who has not given it long
 ana earnest consideration and study.
 1t is grave question and one that should be taken up, 1 believe, in the
 state of Connecticut.
 Each individual city probably has
 lts own troubles. in the taxation mat 'ef, but the fact that in one and all
 ahe man Who has from five to twenty h'e thousand dollars pays the greater proportion Of the taxes, is enough to
 force its earnest consideration upon all
 taxation, as it is rracticed in Cen necticut. While probably no worse it
 4nlay Dc than in other states, is at
 best but sham and delusion. A great bulk of the money held in Cou-
 hectlcue IS i'll investments, where it is
 hot knoWn or seen, and only the man
 Who owns home or a piece of prop
 erty, or who is fortunate or unfortu-
 nate enough to be in a place where his
 goods are open to public sight is taxed
 within 8 tithe of what he should be.
 This in many instances has q serious effect on the building industries and has put premium against the owning
 of homes
 1 believe that, instead of making a
 penalty against q man who owns home, the city and the state should encourage the building and owning of
 homes. A man should not have pen-
 alty put against him because he beau- lilies the city in which he lives: He l should not have q penalty put against him because he gives employment to labor in the production and building
 of that home, and because by reason of building it he distributes money into
 other trades that help increase the vol
 ume of wages and the volume of busi-
 ness. Yet that is exactly the situation With the result that men are seeking investments other than real estate. are
 placing their money in bonds. which
 represent properties. sas q rule. in other distant states, and where neither their money nor the business accrung from that money has any effect upon their individual localities
 l was recently informed by q lead ing financier in New Haven that over half a million dollars had been placed within q few weeks in certain class
 of investment of that description. 1t is safe to say that not one dollar of this half million will be subject to taxation either in New Haven or in Connecticut. As against this. the man who puts few thousand dollars into
 q piece of real estate is taxed for it's full value and if it is mortga ged, is even taxed for that which really rep
 resents another mans investment
 These are serious conditions and effect
 no one more than they do the business
 man, and while they continue he may expect to be called upon to Day for
 out of his right proportion the taxes of any community in which he lives think it to be well within the prov
 ince of our local associations to en-
 courage the building up of their cities. to help increase the manufacturing in dustries of Connecticut and thereby increase the number of wage earners, who are really the purchasing public. Just what steps can be taken must be
 decided by the individual associations They know best their own localities, it's needs and what it has to offer. Connecticut is noted for manufac- turing industries. and as their success is intimately associated with the wants of every man who does business with in the state. the building up and sus- taining of the former is at once the duty and the necessity of the latter What we want is more of that push ing, energetic, active. whole souled work that has more recently chara cter- iZed the building of the west. but We | want it tempered by the conservatism and experience which is our inheri- tance by reason of the years of steady increase that have gone before us. The name of Connecticut should be i recognized by the federal government and should be bestowed upon one of the cruisers which the government has contracted for. The record of our state both on land and sea, entities it to this recognition, and I urge the local