The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-06-09
PROBE PROBLEM FOR SOLUTION
 BY ELECTORS
Selectmen of Bedding Would Have Town Take RespOnsi-
 bility Fer Employing Expert
PARTIAL. RESTITUTION MADE
Ben Hampton and Ida Tarbell Seek Same Property, But Au-
 thOresS Gets it

Redding June e.-After deciding that the disclosures already made in the financial affairs of the town call for a full examination of the books by ex- pert accountants, the Selectmen suf- fered an attack of timidity and con- cluded not to proceed with such an investigation until the plan had re- ceived the approval of a special town meeting. They believe that they have authority to go ahead without such approval, but prefer to be assured that what they may undertake has behind it the endorsement of the public. From MT. Soule of New Milford, First Selectnan Sanford has obtained terms for doing the probing work. but no engagement with him or other parties will be made until the town meeting has spoken. This meeting will be held on Saturday of next week at 2 o'clock In view of the revelations since last fall when a special town meeting held to consider proposition to investigate, promptlv. smothered the proposition and ra /3d a sweeping vote of confl- dence / all the town officers, 1t will be interesting to note the sentiment and doings of the coming town meet ing. The anti-investigators last fall maintained that if any irregularity ex- fsted it would have been revealed by
 
 nual examination. and this despite the fact that several of those who had served as auditors admitted that their work was too superficial to unearth any Irregularities which were not al- most obtrusively obvious. When, in response to a call for any specific in stance of official irregularity, Sheriff Banks started to describe such a case he was blanketed with bitter hostil- ity which seemingly would have found full concrete expression only in burn ing at the stake or boiling in oil. One. prominent citizen through some devious and perverse mental process reached and proclaimed the conclusion that even newspaper publication of the call for the meeting and it's object was a islander upon the town. He had no condemnation for any irregu- larity which had been committed. but only for it's disclosure. and no one ex- pressed dissent from this idea. Since that time and as result of the partial investigation conducted by the Select men there has been restored to the town treasury about S1. 200 and to an individual between 334 and s35. And now the general inquiry is how much more awaits discovery.
 The recent negotiations on the part of Ben Hampton, the magazine mag nate. for the requirement of several parcels of real estate on Rock House
 
 ding line. have fallen through. MT. Hampton believed that he had reached satisfactory terms with the prospective selling parties for the consummation of the deal and to clinch the initial transaction sent a representative to Paul Trop with g, 50h. this being the sum Mir. Trop had said he would accept for his property. The agent found, however. that he was just too late, Mr. Trop having day or two before perfected a sale to Ida M. Tar bell, the authoress and part proprie- tor of the American Magazine The Trop place adjoins that previously owned by Miss Tarbell, and enlarges her local realty possessions to the ex- tent of a house, outbuildings and about 30 acres. The transaction is an- other indication of how real estate in this section has risen in value within a comparatively recent period. About six years ago MT. Trop bought the property he has just sold for from $1,- 900 to $1,200, and three years ago of fered 1t for $1,5O0. The price placed on another piece of property which MT. Hampton thought of buying was S5, 800. The present owner bought it three years ago for s2,50O. What MT Hamp- ton wants Is a tract having a trout stream and sites for a, pond or two, and also a range extensive enough to afford shooting. He says that after looking over an extensive section of country his choice has settled upon