The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-10
Referendum ON
BONDING BILLS?
WAIT and SEE
Hearing at Hartford Yesterday
Showed a House Divided
Against Itself
fSome in Favor and Some Against
Finance Committee Hear
Advocates of Bills For Bonds
Amounting to Upwards of
100000

Amounting to Upwards of
100000
The Finance committee of the Cen
(eral Assembly was asked yesterday
by various persons from Bridgeport
to authorize the city of Bridgeport to
issue bonds to the amount Of $7s3.0O0
exclusive of 100000 in serial notes OF
six years duration. these notes to be
used solely for the purpose of laying
permanent pavement.
| Some of those who spoke favored
particular kind of a referendum On
some of the bonding projects. others
favored q referendum OF d1Herent
nature on some Of the projects. and
no one who appeared favored REFER
endum of any kind on all OF the pro-
iects. At one time it looked as
| though the sincerity OF those VINO
! ought to have been marshaled In un-
divided force for referendum was
open to question.
Certain it is that at the close Of the
hearing the committee was OF the
| no very settled opinion among its pub
! lie officials az to whether there snould
! be a provision in the bonding bill Tor
submitting to the people the question
Involved in such big expenditure OF
The following amounts are asked
for under the title Construction
Bonds":
For new bridge across East Wash
sngton avenue. $1oo,oo
For new almshouse. $3260o0.
For land and new High School.
For sewer construction. 500 600.
New West End police site and build
anE: $4,000. /. ..-...,
East Bridgeport. $4,000.
| Total, $7Ss.0o0.
| In addition to the above there IL a
bill providing for an Issuance OF $1o0.-
900 In serial notes for permanent
during the afternoon in relation to
the bonds were City Attorney Cul1i-
nan. President Hugh Lavery Of the
| Common Council. President ]. j. Phe-
Joshua Meltzer. Representative w. w.
Bent, Aldermen Daniel walker. II. III.
| jackson and Guy p. Miller. S.-E. Vim
| cent, Sigmund Loewith and George w.
Jackman Of the Tax Board. City Clerk
| g. r. Boucher. Attorney John j. Cul-
| Imam. III. D. Simonds. principal Of the
| High School.
| Senator Paddock acted as master OF
| cerenn onies and Introduced the gentle
men from Bridgeport.
! tive Meltzer all Of the Bridgeport
! contingent favored all of the bonding
! propositions. Mr. Meltzer made it
plain that he favored the project for
permanent pavement and that he ne
! the exception of the High School
| proposition merftorious ones.
He spoke strongly for the referen-
dunn and would have all OF the meas
! ures save the one providing for per-
! manent pavement referred to a vote
| Of the people. Particularly did he
favor submitting the High School
proposition. and he asserted that this
measure should not have been made
but should have stood by itself be-
cause there existed concerning 1t In
Bridgeport a strongly divided sentf-
| 1nent.
He said no one had any right to tell
the committee that the sentiment OF
/ the people favored a new High School.
, and he referred to the position taken
| by A. NJ. Wooster Of the Board OF
Education whose remodeling plan. he
said, had impressed many taxpayers
proposition. He doubted that $500 600
would build and equip a High School
that would NEE. the needs Of the city
for Is years: In fact he questioned
whether such a school If built at that
figure would furnish accommodations
lin excess of the needs Of the present
day.
Mr.. Meltzer intimated that the High
I School project had been made part of
the general bonding bill to save it.
and said he did not approve of the
methods by which the scheme was ar
ranged.
| Senator Paddock replied that he
was chairG1an Of the committee that
met with the city auditor in Bridge
port and which included the commit
! tee Of the Tax Board and Common
| Council and that after a full and free
discussion 1T was deemed advisable to
! include the High School proposition
/ with the other necessary measures. as
! 1t was pointed out that by making the
! bill a general one a better price could
be obtained for the bonds.
the several projects before the COM
1nittee. and referred to the splendid
financial condition Of Bridgeport
| whose funded Indebtedness. he said,
did not exceed two per cent. of it's
been the growth of Bridgeport and
| that the improvements for which
! bonds were asked were deemed imper-
etive II the city was to keep pace
with 1t. growth.
strain Concerning the serial notes
I TOR permanent pavement, he explained
that the 000o would provide a nest
egg through which a great stretch of
+ manently paved. He showed that by
! the expenditure of this sum the city
would be able to have returned to 1t
In the form of assessments on prop
erty on the line Of the paved streets
and the assessment levied against the
street railway company. in the thor
ougilfares where their tracks are laid
sufficient money to construct road
ways Of the so-caled permanent ma
ture amounting approximately to half
q million dollars.
s. z. Vincent said he consulted
many large taxpayers concerning this
particular item. and found a substan-
fial unanin1mity In favor.
H. H. Jackson. a member of the
Aidermanfc committee on Streets and
sidewalks. favored the issue. He said
the city had reached that time when
It became imperative that it should
put aside its boy clothes and don
mans attire. Bridseport's growth,
ne pointed out, had been most re-
markable attaining 40 per cent in the
last 10 years 1t was absolutely nee
essary that provision should be made
Tor giving ii better roads, and 1t
rould not be done by direct taxa
tion.
Alderman Daniel Walker said the
question of better streets in Bridge
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