The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-04-06
WHY SHE GOT A CONSERVATOR FOR SMITH AND SENT HIM TO
 A SANITARIUM TO REST UP


 But he had a thrifty wife who kept his spend ing propensities in check
 Smith said to his wife one morning. sIt would be nice if we had an automobilen s.Yes,' she replied.
 s'Neighbor Jones has one of those costly new graphophones," said Smith. Yes said the wife.
 And I notice the Browns have just bought big grand piano. Yes said the wife, but the Joneses are richer than are"
 So Smith went down town. And. presently came an automobile agent who delivered whacking devil wagon. Then a truck with the latest thing in pianos, and express man delivered a gorgeous talking machine and 2,000 records. All day long the door bell Of the Smith home rang and various conveniences or luxuries were put into the Smith house.
 When Smith came home that night his wife asked him to explain his queer conduct. He said, What's the matter, dear2 Those things are useful. They're nice to havea
 ..Yes,' she said, they are But we can't afford to own them. We're too poor'' So the next morning she went down to Probate court and Judge Hallen appointed her conservafor over Smith, and she kept him in a sanitarium in Waterbury, or somewhere else, until he was cured
 Prudent old Bridgeport, which has always followed the pay as you go system, and which has prospered by those thrifty means has managed to get married 10 an extravagant ad-. ministration, and some very cunning public service corporations
 Between them the mayor, and these cor pofatons want to buy everything, and they want to buy it ALL AT ONCE.
 85 Mayor Wilson has urged, in one way or H., zf s10,OOOo0O The cost of carrying the debt for them would amount to something like eight mills on the tax rate.
 He has asked for three new bridges He wants to lay pavements galore. He desires to cut through Broad street. He wants to sell the City Hall the Library, and the Charities Hospi- tals and build civic center somewhere in the Ineighborhood of Golden Hill. He wants a. $5,OOOO0O sewer system, which would cost nobody knows how much to oper-, ate, and he wants many other costly things.
 Almost any of those things, taken alone would be defensible. Who wouldn't like to get rid of his#eld home, and have nice, new up-to- the minute home in some swell location? All of us would, but most of us can't afford it.
 Where is the man who wouldn't prefer a solid porcelain sink in the kitchen, or the women who wouldn't like solid silver plate? It would be awfu1ly nice to throw away the old rug, and put down Wilton, into the soft piles Iof which ones feet would sink, like a child's jaws into chunk of butter scotch.
 Everybody likes new things. We all like the best of everything. Most of us manage to get something and up-to-date occasion fally, but almost nobody buys everything .he would like all at once. especially when he has to 90 into DEBT to do it. The trouble with Mayor Wilson's bonding schemes are, that there are TOO MANY of them Nobody knows when they will end, or when he will reach the conclusion that Bridge port has all the debt it can carry.
 What has been said about new things in the home is peculiarly appropriate tc the bond ing question A bond is a mortgage on the home. These millions and millions which the mayor has tried to add to the debt would be se- cured by the homes of the people, and by far the larger part of the money necessary to pay the debt would be taken from the owners of those homes.
 The matter is one which concerns every citizen City debt reaches the taxpayer first l but it isn't long getting into the pocket of the rent payer
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