The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-30
ATLANTA HUSTL|NG
 ID RAISE REVENUE
Newspapers Are Calling For
 Definite Action
TEACHERS NEED MONEY
General Demand Exists For Better Po- lice Protection and Better Streets, With Improvement In Sani-
 tary Affairs

 as much or more to run the city of At lanta, as a going concern, as it does to l keep the state of Georgia going. The income of the city is approximately l s, ,000, GOO, just about that of the state, | and yet there has gone up cry for more municipal revenue, which has reached se- rious proportions.
 So serious has it become that the three Atlanta newspapers are making it almost a daily topic, calling loudly for something to be done. The call has moved the tax committee of the city council to hold a special meeting next week to look into the matter and see what can be done. The tax committee Is the city's ways and means institution, and 1t has prom ised that 1t will hunt around and try to find satisfactory way of producing more revenue for the city.
 In the meantime property owners feel that the city ought to do more than it is doing in certain directions, and yet as a rule don't want to see taxes put up any higher
 The whole city got back of the move ment to give the city school teachers more salary but they would hardly have been so insistent if they thought it would create an additional burden upon them.
 Police Protection
 Likewise there is general demand for better police protection. as the result of numerous holdups and burglaries, and 1t costs considerably more to run fire de- partment for 2e square miles of territory than 1t did for 12.
 That the citys sanitary department is wholly inadequate is not questioned. and street improvement Is moving at snail S pace.
 Atlanta is paying the penalty of quick expansion. She was determined to get ahead In the census of 1910. She did so. Now she is finding 1t an expensive luxury
 The question of expense looms up as the biggest thing before the municipal eye. It costs money to expand, and it isnow tip to Atlanta to find the coin.
 Several ways have been suggested. Some say increase the tax rate. If the tax rate is lifted from 1A per cent to 11s it will add only about $225,0Oo to the citys income. This will help some, but will scarcely supply all that is needed The big property owners protest against this method as it would hit them heaviest, and they don't want to pay. so they are suggesting methods whereby the bulk of the money will come out of the poorer classes.
 Increase In Street Tax
 One wealthy property owner, for in- stance, has suggested an increase in the street tax from s1 to s; another suggests among other things an increase in the water rate from 60 to 80 cents minimum Both of these would hit the poor man heaviest, while the property owner would escape.
 An increase In license taxes, particular ly the near-beer tax, is a favorite meth od; only few are hit and there is chance here to get quite good bunch of revenue.
 Equalization in assessments is urged on all sides; valuable central business prop erty is now assessed in many instances far below the general run of residences, and there Is no question that equalization would bring largely increased revenue. But everybody is against increasing the assessments because they claim Atlanta and Fulton county are now paying too great proportion of the state taxes.
 If the tax committee proposes, however, to lay plans for raising all the revenue that is needed, it is evident that it will both have to propose an increase in the tax rate and at the same time adopt some of the other expedients.
 If the teachers are to be given the raise in salaries asked for, and If adequate fire and police protection are to be furnished, and the death rate lowered by adequate sanitary arrangements, 1t is going to take a goodly pile of revenue in addition to what the city now receives to do 1t.
 Real Estate Boom Expected
 Predictions promise a real estate boom for Atlanta this spring, bigger than any thing the city has yet known.
 Following the boom of last year when not few pieces of central property changed hands at what seemed fabulous prices, 1t was predicted that there would be a falldown this year that would cause several of the rash and close margin spec ulators to lose about everything they had put into 1t.
 Then when the little financial furry came on in the fall and continued to the first of the year. keeping the banks frightened up on loans, 1t still looked squally for the holders of real estate who had obligations to meet this spring.
 Now. however. the atmosphere ap- pears considerably brighter, and the in ulcdllOIS are tndI lOl or DIE deals, some of which are now on foot, will be pulled off.
 All of which is quite encouraging to the last year spectators, because 1t makes them feel that they will be able to pull through.
 All of which, also, will be conducive to another speculative era with prices higher than ever. It looked last year as if the limit in prices had been reached for several years to come, but the promised activity has already encouraged those who have good grip to lift them still higher in the hope of more profit.
 Quite number of fake deals have re- gently been pulled off for the purpose of boosting other transactions, and several alleged sl<yscrapers will not get any fur ther than the newspaper publicity they have already received.
 But there is plenty of building going on, and this and substantial prospects are keeping things thus early on the move
 Marshall Leads in Chess
 New York. January 29.-Frank J. Mar shall, the United States chess champion,