The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-09-29
Especial to The Farmer. ,

(Speclal to Ine Farmer.I Newtown, Sept 2S-The annual re- bort of the selectmen for 1916, now in the hands of the voters, is pleasant surprise to the taxpayers. It shows . balance on hand at the end of the fiscal year of S18,0O0, and lowering of the funded indebtedness by $5,500. There is a lowering of costs in every department of town government ex- Acept that of schools which shows an increase of $1,000, due to the demands of the state for improved conditions educationally
 It costs $sa per capita for educating a pupil in both High and public ed out. is low compared with the av- Pauper cost is reduced by $464, owing to the death last year of many aged town charges.
 The chief reduction in town ex- penses this year is found in the de- partment of roads, both state and town roads. Here the phenomenal economy appears, $S,7oos being saved on these items alone. On bridges, sluices and railings $2,ooo was saved. The towns share in the costs of the state aid road in Sugar street and the new concrete bridge at Sandy Hook are not conside9ed in this showing, however, but win have to be paid as soon as the b1l1s are presented. This VIII affect the balance in treasury con- siderably, but still the present town ondcials claim, and with seeming jus tice, that theirs has been the most economical administration Newtpwn eyer had Certainly the town reports of the past year show no such surplus as this of 1S1s-
 That the economies prachced were not burdensome nor injurious to the citizens seems to be evidenced by the fact that all three se1ectmen were unanimously renominated for another year by their party caucuses-
 Some ask why this large surplus is held on hand and think a larger part of 1t should have been used to pay or the funded debt of $53, 900 instead orf paying interest on the standing debt at per cent, seeing that the bank of deposit allows only 2 per cent on checking accounts A large num- 1ber of taxpayer4 rejpice at the good showing of town expenses and be- neve the town can safely reduce the rate of taxation. three mills on the do1- lar next year. If this is done at the annual business meeting of the town next Monday under the approval of ! thee selectmen Ii win be another feather in their caps, and will merit approval at the polls
 I nv1,~ 1>~~s 4S Sx1 1,a Held at Mondays town election Be- sides the regular tickets of the tow old parties, the Independents have a mixed ticket of Republican and Dem- ocratic candidates and some former Progressfves.
 Mrz Carlos P. stoddard of New Haven will address the public meting this Thursday evening in Glover's ihalk which win be held under the au- spices of the newly formed Equal Franchise league Free admission for the public N
 Joseph Kaufman of Bridgeport wis itsd N- L Richards. the merchant. Tuesday.
 Much crfticism is aimed at the finn sy character of the work on the Sugar street road. by those who use the thoroughfare- Much of the stone baIlasting is now bare of gravel ow- ing to insufficient depth of the first 1 covering This makes riding oyer some places seem like succession o1 fhank-you-ma1nz It is too early to invoke the state maintenance depart ment to take the road in hand, but the patrons of the road say, "A stitch in time szves Tdne-"
 Mortimer Smith is spending a fort night in New York n J
 w. c. Johnson, Newtown, member of the directorate of the Milkmen'f Association of Westorn Connecticut will attend the meeting of the direc- tors at Danbury, Saturday, Sept 30 It is expected that the plans for meet ing the exigenc1es of the milk situa- / ton win Dc formulated at this meet ing. especially the movement to fix a minimum rate of five cents a quar- for milk the year round The rail- road3 have received permission from the Interstate Commerce Commits sion to fix rates for hauling milk tc market based on zones, and this, it is believed, win be a decided improve ment for the dairymen- As it stands the rate is discriminating and confis- catory. A producer at Haw1eyville paid as much per can to ship tc Bridgeport, as a producer in Great Harrington, Mass. Under the zone arrangement the nearby farmer will pay freight rates of that zone ir which he ships, and will bear no par, of the burdens of the long haul But five cents the year round'' is the slogan that has. stirred the dairy men to action and from the temper of the producers hereabouts that is the u1timatum to be put up to the milk dealers, Saturday.
 VERA E. WYCOFF
 MAKES STARTLING