Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-03-31
Ullat

harrisburg in the last decade is
shown by the recently published state
ment of the city finances, prepared
py Commissioner w. L. Gorgas. This
statement is printed as an advertise
ment every year by the municipal
authorlues and the average man never
looks at 1t. 1t is the city's balance
sheet and 1t contains a lot of mighty
interesting facts. For instance there
is the statement regarding the tax
able property, which means, generally
speaking. the real estate. The total
of the thirteen wards is given as
$52, 462, as. Ten years ago it amount
ed TO $41,096,520. Five years ago it
was $4I ,677,993. There are some who
think the figures should be higher and,
OF course, lot who think that they
could be lowered. especially in spe-
enc instances. But leaving. all of
these ideas aside. it is interesting to
note that in spite of the wiping out of
a big part of the Eighth ward for
Capitol park extension and the devel-
opment OF properties used for relig-
ious, charitable and other purposes
which are exempt, the city has gone
right along adding a million or so a
year to its valuation. The statement
OF such property is also interesting
because 1T shows that the Ninth ward,
which was reaching it's stride some
ten or fifteen years ago, is about a
quarter of a million behind the Third
ward, the business part of the city
in valuation. The Third shows S.
1O5,12S as its value. The Ninth has
SS,596,714. These figures are gener-
ally regarded as conservative. An
other interesting thing is that the
Tenth ward beats the wealthy Fourth
by $4,000.
Turning to another part of Mr.. Cor
gas array of figures one finds that
the city in spite of its tremendous
pubic improvements, which have at
tracted national attention, has dem
onstrated the value of the Harrisburg
plan of financing. When we all took
OH our coats back in 1901 to make the
rest of the state watch Harrisburg
grow we were warned by economists,
students of municipal affairs, statis-
ticians and others that we were head
ing for the brink of bankruptcy. The
result is that the city stands at the
head of third class cities in mileage
OF paved street, has the only flood
control that works in the state, has
made park system that brings people
here from Canada to study its general
scheme and has done other things.
including treatment of an unsurpass
ed river. front in a manner that has
won praise from the widely travelled
and the rural visitor alike. The aver
age man probably has no idea of what
put 1T down as awful. Well, it isn't
much over $2,00O,0OO and that in
cludes $111,000 of street grading and
paving bonds that rest on the abutting
and benefited properties for payment
the best kind of an investmest. 1 told
this to a man from one of the States
most progressive cities and he did not
belleve me. And when 1 added that
the debt included some water bonds
put out at three per cent he asked
for the statement. The city has to
show against this debt an aggregate
or resources amounting to $3,5O9,O75
or surplus of resources of not far
from a million and half dollars.
Another interesting thing is that in
cluded in the debt are q lot of bonds
which have been due and payable for
Years, Just ike those old securities of
Rather Penn that State Treasurer
Young would like TO get hold of. The
bonds OF the city outstanding and on
which the interest ceased include some
due in 1899, 1904 and 1918 and S3u0
OF the first public Improvement loan,
the one that started to make Harris
burg famous, which was due and pay
able last September and for which the
city has the cash waiting.
According to reports which are
coming to the State Capitol and to
SHAfn
pennsylvania instead of ENJOYING a
record crop of wheat which was hop
ed last year when an increased acre
age was sown, will probably run short
weather conditions are reported TO g.
have caused considerable damage TO
the young grain in several of the big
wheat growing counties of the Sus-
quehanna valley and also to have re-
suited in freezing in some of the east
ern counties. Reports from northern
counties are rather more favorable be-
cause there has been more snow than
in the lower counties. The chief diff
ficulty reported by farmers I'm the
central counties has been that when
hard freezing weather came the
ground was almost bare of snow, If
the reports are correct it will mean a
pretty good sized acreage will have
to be plowed down next spring. Judg-
ing from some of the reports coming
mere farmers have prepared for this
emergency by arranging to sow corn
or potatoes if the seed price is anv-
thing reasonable.
Prospects that there will be author
ization given by the State Board of
Pubic Grounds and Buildings for
completing the mural decorations of
the first floor corridors of the Capitol
have gone glimmering as the Board
has cut out the item of $4,000 on
the estimates for the coming two
years. The plan was laid last year fol-
lowing the death of John w Alexan-
der to have some noted Pennsylvania
artist take up the work and the gov
ernor and other state officials made
inquiries. Several artists were dis
cussed and some are said to have gone
so far as to outline what themes
should be employed in the decorations
which were planned for the north cor
ridor. The south corridor contains
paintings showing the religious ele-
ments which entered into the making
of Pennsylvania Recently the Board
decided to economic and sacrificed
the art.
Speaking of municipal matters
members of the Legislature. have got
ten the habit when third class city
legislation comes up of making in
quiries as to how law operated I'm
Harrisburg. This city was so success
full under the old law and has worked
out its problems under the new with
such credit that it's ways of doing
things are being watched.
WELL KNOWN pEOpI =