Perth Amboy evening news., 1909-03-05
SILzER GIVES
HIS IDEA OF
THE FINANCES
Middlesex Senator Objects
to Diverting Nearly Half
Million from Schools.
WOULD CUT EXPENSES
OF THE STATE MORE
Favors Adjustment Of
County Tax Boards and
Repeal of Maximum Rate.

New Brunswick, March 5.-Senator
George s. Silzer, when asked about the
states financial condition, yesterday,
said:
There are two points that stand out
most strongly in the report of the fnan-
cial investigation committee: First, that
nearly 100000 is taken away from the
public schools, and second, there is no
permanent solution of our present diff
ficulties. OF the $471, 900 taken from
the schools, at least $4,000 will be per
manent and will be taken away each
year. This is something well worthy
of consideration, as there is strong
sentiment against taking money from
the public schools, especially when there
are other ways of getting it. Why is
the first attack always made on the
school moneysf 1t seems to me that
the first thing to do would be to find
deavor to meet it accordingly.
Every year since / have been in the
| Legislature bills have been before it and
have passed, creating new offices and
| raising salaries. Many useless and ex-
pensive commissions are appointed and
| it doesn't take long for the state q
| money to go. For instance, the com
mission to investigate life insurance
cost nearly $4,000; the commission to
| investigate riparian lands cost nearly
| $4,000. 1t has been stated that this was
merely put under way to discredit
George L. Record and the New Idea
| faction.
"After the Hahn investigation COM
mittee had been appointed the senate
had to appoint another in order to off
set it, and this cost the state $5,273.
Last year somebody wanted to find out
whether we should abolish capital pun
ishment or not, and the state paid
$342.91 for the information, and SO it
goes. l will not elaborate on the report
at this time, as I shall undoubtedly at
the proper time and place have more to
say about it.
| Ii we had saved the $71 900 that we
| paid to the useless State Board Of Ar
bitration, this money could be used In
tstead of taking 1t from the schools. II
we abolish the county boards of taxa
tion there will be $94, 200 more year
which wouldn It have to be taken from
the schools. I understand that these
county boards cost the counties at least
$50 900 more.
"The reason this committee couldn It
furnish proper solution is because
they hadn' u free hand. To illustrator
Last year a bill was introduced to con-
solidate the Bureau Of Vital Statistics
and the Department Of Labor. This bill
ought to have passed, and would have
saved the state from $4,000 to $40 900
year. 1t WASH 7 passed, and when this
committee got together Governor Fort
recommended to them that this should
be done. Governor Murphy, however,
took the matter up for Mr. Garrison,
the head of the bureau of statistics, and
the prettiest fight of the session took
place. Murphy won out, and the de-
partments won't be consolidated and
the state will continue to pay. 1 only
mention this to show how these things
are done.
"The state has got to have more rev.
enue, and it can come from but two
sources, either from the people or from
the railroads. / am sure that with the
high valuations due to the Hillery linn
tied tax rate law the people are paying
all the tax they should pay, or can af
ford to pay. The place, then, from
which the revenu, should. come is the
railroads. The rate on which the rail
roads paid for years was So thousand,
and in this way they escaped the pay
ment of about fifty millions of taxes.
Zone solution would be to repeal the
limited tax rate law and make the rail
roads pay at the rate of, say, $1S to
$40 a thousand. This is entirely fair,
because in Middlesex county in the
year 1905, before this law went in eff
feet, the average rate was $18.36. There
are many other suggestions which might
be made, and when the matter comes
up before the legislature they will
doubtless be made. -