The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-09-20
PUBLIC OPiNIOM
THE PERSONAL TAX.

1 IttE PERSONAL IAA-
 Editor, of The Farmer Sir:
 The citizens of Bridgeport on sept. 24, of the present month, will decide by their votes, which political party l shall be benefited by changing the | method of collecting the personal tax
 At present it is collected by three Special Collectors appointed by a Dem ocratic Mayor at salary of s1,45o per year. per collector.
 1T ln an eo1toIlal . oT BT1qgep9rt TI1g & Norn- Tn- stated that those three collectors were appointed to pay a political debt. The paper also stated that those men have proven to be incompetent. And that | the $4,2O6 which they receive each l year could be saved to the city if this tax was collected in the regular Col lector's Office. No citizen would doubt tthis statement providing the regular | collector would, or could, do so, with out any assistance, or expense equal l to that now incurred by special collec- l tors.
 But the question is, has there been any proofsgiven by the present mayor l. Is he any more c0nlpetant than the Irregular Tax Collector in New Haven, a man who has had many years ex- perience as collector.
 In the city of New Haven where l this tax was collected in the regular tax collectors office. it cost the city
 this city to collect clCse on to $35,000.
 It would seem that if the regular collectors made any reasonable at l would be no need of change, and | there would. now be no special collec- l tors.
 Itax was collected the first year by the regular collector. it is now collected by special collectors.
 | With regard to political debts, let | the people who will vote on this ques- 1 ton Sept. 24th ask themselves wheth- CT Mayors Buckingham or Wilson, II, fnT- diannGifinn
 Mayor Buckingham in strict compIi- lance with law appointed those collec- Itors. Mayor Wilson, with no right by law or fair treatment towards those men, asked for their resignation, why did he ask those men to resign, (echo
 answers why), Mayor Wilson must have known that those men would not walk out and hand over their salaries to men which it is more likely he l would appoint as assistants to the regular collector. It does not take person possessed with the power of in l tuition, or deduction, that Sherlock
 Holmes possessed to. arrive at solu- tion.
 | And the solution the writer arrives at is this: Before the present Mayor
 was elected, he VeF% likely promised
 that in. the event of his election, he | would change the men and method of collecting this personal tax, and would have it collected in the regular office
 and the assistants to the regular col lector in that office, would be men, whether Democrat or Republican, who | worked to secure his election.
 There was not room for all those so-caEed Democrats in the Assessors Office, and the action of a democratic
 with Republican Mayor is no credit 1 to either. when they ask the voters
 on Sept. 24th, to vote yes, and reie- gate democrats out of office to make room for those who stood by the last Republican candidate for mayor. 1 The writer of this article cares not for the present personal tax collectors; 1 because served my country and am 1 exempt from this tax, but am inter ested in the Democratic party ana oo believe in that party holding What pe longs to them, especially when there
 is no proof showing where the city IS 1 sustaining any loss
 To vote yes on this question and rel
 egate Democrats out of office to make
 room for those who worked to elect l Republican mayor is not polltcs' ana | there can be no doubt in the m1no l of any man. but what both parties | are playing that game
 Those three men were appolnteo TOT i four years by a Democratic mayor.
 These men should be allowed to serve | that term, except the law is repealed
 by the next legislature. which hope 1 it will The abuse which those men 1 have received through one paper is no indication Of incompetency.
 A great many people believe that a | continual abuse of this kind, unca1led for. was a large factor in electing Denis Mulvihill mayor, will history re- i peat itself.
 There is little, if any use Ia v0tinS | on this question Sept. 24. The time and manner to vote on it is next No
 ven1ber when you are voting for State 1 Representatives, and all those who be- neve that this personal tax law should be abolished, should vote for no rep 1 resentative whether Democrat, Re- publican or Socialist. who would not pledge himself, to do all in his power | to accomplish it's abrogation.
 1 MEMORABILIA.