The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-01
(special to the Farmer.l

Bedding. Nov. 30.-The "vindication'' with which the recent town meeting panoplied Town Clerk Nickerson re- ceived two bad dents at Saturdays meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Dent No. was administered by Mrs. Cornelia Moore. a west side resident and comparative newcomer in town. who appeared as a petitioner with a grievance In the matter of taxes. She said that in August last Tax Collector F. M. Sanford called to remind her that her taxes for 1907 were overdue and if not paid at once would be made the subject of lien. She told h m they had been paid. ITO whom7'' the only official authorized to receive taxes. ITO MT. Nickerson." was her answer. T called there in the spring to get my dogs licensed while on the way home after having my horse shod at Floods blacksmith shop. and asked If could also pay my property tax to him. He said 1t would be all right as he would turn the money over to the tax collector. I paid him and took his personal receipt. Since then have learned that MT. Nickerson de- nies having received the money and that as town clerk he has placed a lien on my property involving addf- tional obligations against me"
 
 effect of an exploding bomb. coming as it did as an echo or reflex from the general Issues raised at the famous town meeting where the suppression policy was applied to citizens who wanted to know. you know. and thought that a formal and effectuai inquiry was the proper thing. Mrs Moore was asked if she had a receipt from MT. Nicke-son. She had and produced 1t. It was then up to MT. wf1r~ his, but that he had no recollection of ever having given it. If he had he must have repaid the money to Tax Collector Sanford. He thought the seeming error might be due to a mis- take on the part of the collector in confusing the tax of 1907 with that of 1908 because the bill indicated by Mrs. Moore's receipt showed no interest charge which should have run against her from the previous January. The was two cents more but as Mrs. Moore explained she could not make the ex- act change and Mir. Nickerson had told her that two cents one way or the other was too trifling a detail to
 What did Mrs. Moore expect the board to do. was asked. She didn't quite know but thouVht there ought to be abated the lien charges which she understood to be something over g. The foard communed. hastily and in- formally. and said they would write her an answer to her general demand for redress.
 Altorether 1t was a strenuously busy afternoon for~the selectmen who have ordinarily only routine matters to oc- cupy them. Outside of these details the only important subject they had to consider was the new layout of the Putnam Park road extension This was enough to make their session somewhat out of the common and then came Mrs. Moore and what her visit and revelations implied. The neces- sarily hasty and incomplete review of this matter had not been concluded when the massive form of ex-First Se- lectman Banks loomed up in the door way. MT. Banks had with him h's customary half smiling solemnity and air of not wishing to obtrude. but the already wearied board seemed to know that his appearance portended trouble. He heard the latter part of the dis cussion relating to the Mrs. Moore case, and then asked if the board had time and inclination for his presenta- ton of another matter which, he said, seemed to be of public interest.
 The inquiry was really addressed to E. A Pinkney. the new member of the board. He is third selectman and Aaron H. Sanford Is second seiectman. The latter was so far committed to