Arizona republican., 1910-06-03
SAMPLE ARGUMENTS IN
 HE SEWER QUESTION
Tone of the Conversation of Those Who
 Are Taking an Interest in it.

sions held among those who are really taking an interest in the sewer bond election. It is reproduced in the hope that it may be somewhat clarifying to others who seem to be either confused or disinterested.
 A-What will be the system of op- eration of the new sewer? Will it be free or will it be maintained by direct charge?
 Bit will be free of course.
 A-There are quite a number of peo- pie down in my part of town who have not registered and we don't intend to until We find out how the system win be operated.
 B-That is a brilliant idea. Just wait q couple of days more before you register and then when you do find out you can't vote anyway. for regis tration will be closed. Most good citi zens like to vote either for or against every important proposition that comes up. but Of course your plan is even simpler If nobody registers there can be no election, hence you won't have to vote
 A-Have you figured the difference in cost to the property owners, between the special assessment plan and the bonding plan proposed?
 B-No.
 A-Well I have. I have taken the pains to figure out that it will cost some of the property owners a great deal more by the bonding plan than by the assessment plan. A man who has sl0,00O worth of property will have to pay SIS per annum for twenty years be- fore the first bonds can be redeemed and perhaps longer if the redemption is not prompt on that date.
 B-In your estimate what valuation did you place on the city?
 A-Ten million dollars, or over two two millions more than the present valuation which it is expected will run about eight millions the present year
 B-Do you think that a fair valua- ton for your calculations? Do you think that with all the prospects this city has and its real prosperity only beginning that the valuation will not increase more than 25 per cent in the next twenty or thirty years?
 A-Towns have been known to retro grade instead of progress.
 B-Yes, and people have been known to get the smallpox and die. All cities have their ups and downs but in a place like Phoenix where everything is coming our way and where the city with all its former handicaps has made greater progress than you are calcu lating on fer its future under ideal conditions, there is less danger of serious backsets than anywhere else. In the natural order of things the val uation of this city cannot help but double in ten years. That would cut the rate of assessment for the bonds in half.
 A-But suppose it don't You are levying big tax on all who own S1O.- 900 worth of property or more, and there are lots of them.
 B-But where there is one citizen worth $10,000 there are a hundred who have a great deal less. Also the man with s10,000 worth of property is in the investment or profit taking class and can afford to pay, as he gets; larger use of the sewer and more hm- mediate returns through the value of his property, its rentals, etc. A man with a twenty-five-foot lot building centrally located with twenty-five ten
 
 ice from the utility and it is one of the things that keeps his revenue pro ducing building full while the poor resident on a twenty-five foot lot in the suburbs has much less use o. sewer and no revenue. It is only fair that the man with the valuable proper ty should pay more and he is getting the best of it even then for he has a producing investment. The small own CT merely has a personal convenience.
 Ave will probably be state very soon and the legislature can pass an act enabling us to adopt the special assessment plan. In case we don't get statehood we can apply to congress for permission to use the special assess ment plan.
 B-As far as the legislature is con- cerned, the answer is that nobody knows what it will do if it does any thing. Phoenix has been trying to get an acceptable charter permitting these things for ten years and ha never been able to get one through the legislature except with other provisions so unde- sirable it has always been rejected. AS far as congress is conce rned it would at least take year or SO to start any  thing and it is altogether likely that when congress is asked for such per mission and its investigation shows that only 300 or 400 people in a~town of 20,000 are sufficiently interested to register for an election on the largest bond issue ever proposed it is very likely congress will decide that the people themselves are not tearing their hair for any sort of relief. If the peo- pie have no interest in the plan it can hardly be expected that congress will be much concerned. On the subject of the comparative cost of the two sys- tems several of the largest property owners have very wisely said that it was immaterial to them which system was utilized. They want the sewer so much worse than some of the smaller owners that they are willing if neces- sary to pay a little more. What they want is sewer now. If the town does not progress their property will not be worth much anyway. If it does they can afford to pay.
 It is admitted the bonding plan is the cheaper for the poorer people, the payment being spread over a term so long they will never feel it and the cost will be slight. What all the peo- pie of Phoenix want is sewer, not