The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-12-15
MILITARY TAX GUT OUT.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERING ESTI.
 MATES REFUSE TO ALLOWIT.


 from Ciiizeas-s,ate May Have to Take
 Legal steps to Get It-PabItc Hearing
 on the Estimates.
 The chairman of all the various sub committees of the board of aldermen held public hearing on the estimates for the various city department for the next year which had been submitted to the board of aldermen by the board or finance H.
 Out of a committee of fifteen only eight were present last evening. Alder man Elliott, who is chairman of the committee on appropriations, acted as chairman of the meeting. He informed those present that under the city char ter some of the estimates were not de- batable and that therefore time would be saved in not considering them.
 The income tax was first given con sideration. Ex-Alderman Henry Dono77 van said that the report sohwed that the city expected to collect about $4,500 of the milmitary tax, which was about 23 per cent. of what should be collected. He said that he thought that at least 93 per cent. should be collected, which was about the proportion expected from the regular taxes. #
 The department of public works was next given consideration. Anthony Car roll thought that if money was proper ly used in repairing and keeping the streets in good order it was all right but he thought that the way things had been and were being done the amount asked for was altogether too much. He said he opposed the spend- ing of money for five year streets that did nto last five weeks. He also said that he thought that the entire pay of the engineer department ought to be thrown off the estimates, as he said that the work they were doing was of no benefit to the city.
 Chairman Elliott then asked MT. Car roll what he thought would be a proper amount for the care of the streets and MT. Carroll replied that he thought that $20,00O was plenty, instead of the $5O,0O0 which the finance board recommended.
 Mir Carroll then said that some years ago the city used to lay streets which would last forty or fifty years. but that now when streets were put down city employees went around with a hoe whenever the street became soft and tore the top layer off and carted it away
 Ex-A1derman Donovan got up when Mir. Carroll finished speaking and said that he wished 10 second all that MT. Carroll had said.
 When it came to the board of asses sors, MT. Donovan said that lie thought that they were lax in collecting the money due the city and that they ought to get in more money Chairman El- liott said that this was out of order as it was none of the committees busi- ness, not being within their jurisdic- ton. # MT. Donovan also spoke again when it came to consideration of the lamp department He said that he thought that the apapropriation should be cut down to the amount for which the light ing company In Baltimore had agreed to furnish the lights. He said that this would save the taxpayers between s. 900 and S4,00o
 When 1t came to the board of health, MT. Carroll said that he objected to the medical inspection of schools. In the sundry accounts was an item of $S,500 for text books for the schools. MT. Donovan thought that as like ap- propriation had been made in the board of education's estimates that this ought to be cut out. ~ Anthony Carroll then attacked the police department and said that he was strongly opposed to the granting of $125 for special detective services and $700 for the detecting of crimes and the transportation of officers and criminals.
 The board then went into executive session and from what was told of this session afterwards it was a pretty hot cna. | A communication in reference to the collection of the military tax had been submitted to the committee by MT. Rich and this started the trouble. AL derman Spreyer said that for number of years the city had been paying a large sum for a military tax to the state which had never been collected by i the city and this he thought unfair. He called the committees attention to the sum of $25,000 which had been submit ted to tbe given to the state for this purpose. He also showed in the same book statement which said that it was thought that $4,500 would be collected by the city next year for military taxes. He said that under this arrangement the city was giving the state the differ ence between these sums which amount ed to $20,500. He then moved that the state be sent a. communicable which | would move for the abolishment of the military tax. This was ruled out of or der by the chair. | Alderman Minor then moved that this item for $25,000 be stricken from 1 the estimates, which would mean that | the state would have to take some other method for getting the money. This motion was carried, although Alderman Elliott declared after the meeting that he and Alderman Moran would submit minority report contrary to this. The committee then took up the free public library estimates. Alderman Montgomery thought that the appropri- ation for new books should be cut down $1,ooo and current novels exclud- ed. ....-
 Alderman spreyer thought that the item for the purchase of new books should be cut down $3,7O0, and he made 1 it in the form of a motion, which was seconded hv Alderman Minor Alder-