The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-08-03

that the borough of Honesdale
might make application to be an
nexed to Texas. That was the meet
ing at which William A. Sluman.
the politician, tax collector, fireman
and general all-around good fellow |
of Texas, held down the chair. Mr.. |
Sluman did not attend Friday |
nights meeting.
Most of the people in Texas"
said McCarty, want to come in.
The political part of the question is
not material. Honesdale generally
has a Republican majority, while
Texas, | believe, is ordinarily Dem
ocratic, so that, politically consid
cred, the proposition is well bal
anced."
4 Mr.. McCarty talked easily and
| without any notes, although he had
! a date or two on slip to refresh
his recollection of the acts effecting
| boroughs. When he finished Pres
| ident Smith thanked him for his
very clear and interesting analysis
of the legal points involved.
Mr.. Simons Makes Good Points.
Then the president said the meet
ing wanted to hear from Mr.. Sim
ons.
The district attorney said he
didn't know until that night that
he was on this Greater Honesdale
committee. He thought, he said,
that the committee on bylaws was
to be the extent of his service. He
rr-fNI
that the benefits of taking a part
of Texas would be considerable.
This is no new movement to
unite Honesdale and Texas" said
Mr.. Simons, who made very tenn
perate and conservative speech. Il
think l must have heard about it for
, 20 years. Politically it wouldn't
do any harm to put them together.
, Honesdale will stay on the map, no
matter whether the Republicans or
, the Democrats are in power. 1t
would do no harm, probably, if
, Honesdale should now and then go
Democratic. 1t would do no harm,
= either, if Texas should occasionally
I flop over and go Republican. A
+ change sometimes is good and poll
tics ought not to count. Go Repub-
lican, so Democratic, Greater Homes
dale would live anyhow"
+ Mr.. Simons agreed with McCarty
on another point. He said people
p prefer to live in a larger place and
o that a known population of 5000
n to 5000, not of $500 or 1900, would
+ have an appreciable effect on bust
ness.
a you can't skip the argument o.
r sentiment" said Mr.. Simons. "It
# has to be reckoned with. The aver
q age man wants to live in a place
O that's citified and provided with the
c advantages of modern life"
n He warned the meeting, though
q that complications must be expect
ed when the Greater Honesdal,
|. movement gets fairly going and tn,
d effort TO annex territory com
l. mences.
r. "If | lived in the part of Texa
IS that is close to the borough" h
+ said, I'D favor being taken int
l. Honesdale, but if l lived away ou
h in the country end of the town
,r ship I'd fight the other part bein
r taken in. l tell you frankly that
w don't think it would be feasibl
d now to take in the whole of Texas
" nor do | think it would be feasibl
- to take in all the country that lie
" between here and White Mills. Hoy
& much of Texas to take in would b
,e a question, then, and there Nigh
be some conservative people i
a. Honesdale who'd object to takin
" in Texas at all. They might argu
% that we have high taxes now an
le that we pay lot of money for ou
beautiful Main street"
And the outsiders have the us
of it now" put in Mr.. McCart!
sitting six feet away from Mr.. Sin
-. ons. Everybody laughed.
- AT the same time" continue
the speaker, "Honesdale and Texf
Il. have arranged to take care of the
RI poor together and Honesdale an
he Texas might as well be partners
A. schools and streets as in the SUI
h port of their poor. | believe tn
,st union of Honesdale and Texas ca
p, come by agitation and suggestion
nd but there is bound to be some fri
RS ton over Honesdale's $4,000 bo
he ough debt and $4,000 scho
all debt Texas, | believe, is free fro
~ debt"
p. They've got money in the bank
c. volunteered Mr.. McCarty.
he Texas, MIR. Simons said, will wa
to know right off who is to pay tn
nit the old or the new borough. A
'th this must be settled before Tex
he comes into Honesdale, or, mo
Ir. strictly speaking, before we kno
ce, whether Texas is willing to cor
At and whether Honesdale is willil
ere to have her come.
nd "In regard to taxation" N
ed Simons continued, II believe I
,ok borough of Honesdale pays mo
he taxes than she gets value receive
an | met a man on the street the 9th
ant day who said he paid 500, or t'
ing per cent. of the purchase price
ces his house and lot. He told l