The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-02-16
VALUATIONS OF
PROPERTY HERE
MUCH TOO HIGH
Father Komara Deplores
Pressure Brought to Bear
Upon Poor of City.

The annual report of ST. Johns SIo-
yak R. @. church, Brooks street for
| 1915, read at all the masses recently
| by the pastor, Rev. Andrew 3. Ko-
mara shows that 1891 was received
| during the year. This is the largest
amount received since the parish was
organized.
Plans are now nearly completed for
the rem Odeling of the present convent
on Brooks street. It is the intention
of the pastor to enlarge the building to
accommo date more nuns. At present
there are II teachers and room is to
be made for housing two more. Four
the uSand dollars will be spent for the
! improvements The work will be COM
pleted by August. The expenses du-
ring the year included the expendi-
ture of $4,000 for improvements for
the rectory, church and school. Two
thousand dollars was paid on the
mortgage of the church. There is
So, 400 on hand. During the year
there were $1,000 communions and 189
baptisms
That the activity in the parish is
growing is evidenced from the numer-
Gus entertainments and socia1s which
the young women and children of the
parish are giving. All the proceeds
from these affairs will go towards
helping pay for the new convent.
The spiritual condition of the par
ish is excellent.
When asked by reporter about the
industrial conditions in Bridgeport
Father Komara said: 1.-THE success
of a parish is partly due to the in
dustriaI and working conditions of
city but the workmen in general do
not share the part attributed to them.
We have better working conditions
now than a year ago. But what is
the result? Rents are continually
rising and the high cost of living
brings man to the same end even with
his steady work, as he attained years
ago. 1t would take a man his whole
life to unfold the complex and in
tricate questions on the social financial
and industrial conditions of a city but
I am giving you my personal, absolute
and frank opinion as the way view
them.
property in the city is assessed too
high for the honest working man to
make a decent living said the priest
when asked how it effected some of
his flock I do not know how it has
affected all but it seems to me to have
been raised entirely out of proportion.
Let me cite an example: An old
lady in the parish bought a cottage
last year for $4,000. The assessed
valuation for 1915 was $1,70O. She
was notified few weeks ago that
the valuation this year had been rails
ed to $4,000.
working people should be encour-
such circumstances as exist to-day it
is almost impossible for many of them
on the earnings they receive, even to
exist Father Komara said that he
believed taxes should be raised but
proportionate1y. He said all taxes on
vacant land should be raised especial
~ if the persons are holding them for
speculative purposes. With the land
becoming more expensive and labor
and material continually soaring,
poor working man has meager
chance to prosper.
I'm my parish we have many poor
persons, despite the good working con-
ditions. You will always have poor
people no matter what line of work
a man is at. Many days have L al
ready spent and will continue to spend
in aiding these poor and in doing out
relief and devising means whereby it
can be remedied. We have more
than 20 different societies that give
aims in some form to the poor. These
organizations pay thousands of dol
lars in death and sick benefits. If
these societies were not in existence
NOSE of the burden would have to fall
on the city, Our people are making
wonderful sacrifices for their own up
lift''