Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-04-04
WATER QUESTION
Now Properly Owners Would Like to Talk Tax Matter.

The board of public works has \ solved the meter question. When people find that their bills would be Hess if measured than they are under ltAe present plan they will want Emeters. The whole trouble over this water question was due to the in equality in rates and not to any I knarticular aversion to the meter. ! though. to be sure, If meters can De ldispensed with it would be wicked tD force them on the people simply to determine the exact amount or
 water used in each building. The
 change in rates is the result Of 1 great deal of agitation and shows l that after all 1t is hard to effect any is0rt of reform without concerted ac- ton. The suit of the Scovill Manu- lfacturing company and the injunc- stions which followed by others re- lstraining the city from shutting on the water helped, things. too, but those things would not have amount d to a picayune If the public had not raised it's voice in opposition to ieontinuance of system that com pelled one man to pay an exorbitant lprice for water while others were lxetting 1t at considerably less than !Host.
 But the agitation should not cease HOW. There Is still another and
 much more crying evil in force here tand nobody should rest until 1t IS lremedied. What Is the reason so k1nany good citizens are constantly coming before the city boards and Isaying hard things regarding the manner in which public funds are fI,eing expended? The answer IS very Eplain. It is due entirely to the fact lthat the system of taxation Is vicious 1 and unfortunately 1t Is not likely i l. he any better until the public I takes hold of 1t with the same grim determination they handled the wa
 ter question. Is 1t any wonder that property owners who are paying ifourteen or fifteen mills on the dol lar should feel aggrieved at seeing their neighbors who are paying not more than half that and in some in-
 stances as low as three mills on the
 dollar, receiving the same attention as if they were in the full taxation district? The only difference be- tween this vexed question Of taxa ftion and water rents Is that the lformer Is a great deal worse than the ,other ever was and that Is will De much more difficult to apply the remedy. because whichever party takes hold of it will be down and out
 for at least two or three years. The
 leaders of both parties admit this and naturally neither is anxious to
 trifle with 1t. Nobody cares to de-
 fend the system of taxation in Wa
 terbury, but everybody who possibly
 can Is willing to profit by 1t and as a
 consequence rate payers on the inside
 are being robbed and even at that
 many who live on the outside think
 they are abused because there is not
 enough to go around. Everybody
 in Waterbury should pay the same
 rate of taxation and let the differ
 ence in the size of the bills be ad-
 justed in the fixing of values. In this
 way all would contribute something
 towards the running expenses of the
 entire community and no portion of
 the people would be in position to
 complain that they are carrying more
 than their share of the expense Of
 the municipality.
 Who is going to remedy this tax
 ation muddle?" was asked of one of
 the nabobs of the republican party.
 "I don't know" he replied. Tt
 seems to me that both parties ought
 to get together and agree upon some
 thing. If this is not done things will
 remain as they are for years" The
 democrats look at 1t from the same
 standpoint, so that while the exist
 ence of the evil Is quite plain and
 the remedy simple neither party
 dares take the initiative and unless people want to chafe under the in 2 x..is> xa. irdoduitc nariod they