The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-11-18
Attorney Arthur M Marsh of Counsel for Bridgeport draulic Company Makes Plea for Small Taxpayers MT. Bolande Proposes Employment of Practical Poli- tican to Work for League.

Sixty-one taxpayers attended the preliminary meeting of the Taxpayers league in the rooms of the Board of Trade last night. Most of the men present had been stars in the public Armament. some are still shining and others have set long ago. There were also a few unknowns in the crowd. Everyone favored the formation of the league and the committee authorized to call a public mass meeting for all the taxpayers to attend have set Tues day evening, Nov. 9, as the date when a meeting will be held in Warner hall at which time a formal organiza- tion will be perfected, constitution adopted and officers elected
 There were many speeches made at the meeting, last night, and almost everyone was willing to put on sack cloth and ashes because they had not formed the organization before. Prom inent Republicans threw hot shot into their own party machine which has been running things here for the past four years
 George M. Flames. president of the Park Commission objected to attacks that were made on the board or Al dermen. He thought that, for a body of men who receive no compensation for their work. they put in much time and do many things we'll
 Isaac erly the head of the corset making concern of Birdssye & Somers, sug- gested a plan of running the city by commission. MT. Birdseye. who has just returned from prolonged stay in Europe, said that he had a guest at his home from Des Moines, Iowa, and that the latter had told him how successfully a commission Of nve IS running the city there. bs guest had informed him that the government aN the city As to the character of the men on the commission he said they were taken from the old City HalI gang" They were making good be- cause of the demand upon them Tor results.
 The meeting was called to order by Jerome Orcutt, chairman pro tenn He is the second vice-president or the Cn- ion Metallic Cartridge Co.,, and for many years was the general manager of the plant in this city.
 MT Orcutt explained the purpose Of the organization, saying that members of the Manufacturers Association, the Business Mems Association and the Board of Trade had gotten together and that the idea was to form an or lnization for the interest of the tax payers-not to curb expenditures or hinder the growth of the city. but to bring about a saving or the money as spent by officials.
 He called upon Thomas H. Macdon- ald, of the publicity committee. to tell of the purposes of the organization The latter said that the meeting was first called to protest against the snap Judgment of the Common Council that had tackled on to the expense Of run ming the city an appropriation of s23,- OOO He declared that Bridgeport was a corporation, that it's taxpayers were the stockholders and that its elected officers were it's directors. The bus mess of the city. he said. should be conducted In a businesslike way. He added that the first meeting had taken the stand that the action of the coun- cil was unwarranted but did not take the stand that the firemen were not entitled to fair compensation. A raise of S4 per week per man he believed was an unheard of thing and he knew that there were firemen even who did not expect such an increase.
 MT Macdonald then reiterated his previous statement to the public on the matter, telling how the amount ap- propriated would pay the interest on a bend issue sufficient to build new high school, or would build sewer system and pumping station. or would build eight ten roomed schools and