Republican farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1810-1920, 1919-02-14
Mr.. PUNDERFORD'S ARGUMENT

HAT THE readers of The Times Farmer may have accur
l. ate frst-hand information Of the attitude of the Con
nectcut company with respect to its desire to kill off the W
its wish to have certain burdens taken off and its desire
to charge fares upon this page is printed the views of
H. Punderford general of the company which are
clearly stated This not always the with the views
advanced in behalf Of the This time the trolley
opoy does not lose anything by the failure of its advocate to
make himself understood
Mr. Punderford speaks though he may not know it, two
kinds of expert He deals with the mechanical side of his
company that which has strictly to do with the operation
Of the road its management physical property In this
field he commands attention What he Ss nay be received at
understatemen of what has been done the
way of effecting economies
attempts deal with the trolley problem it
relations between the of the road and the public
those questions which social and legislative in their nature
In this field his for the most not entitled to seri
GUS consideration
What Punderford says about the physical advantages of
unfcaton about shop economies, about reclamation of rails
about safety interesting and that the engineers
the producing in charge of the have been doing
their best offset the difficulties created partly by the times
and partly by unfortunate not absolutely criminal fnan
cial management of other days
From the engineering standpoint the present management
the Connecticut company regarded admirable The
engineers making such garment from little cloth.
When Mr. Punderord deals with such questions taxa
ton he is singuary unfortunate His method of approach is
historic with his company In the beginning when it first
advanced by representatives of his company the tax argument
he was probably the insncere formula of lobbyist
with legal training The argument has now been used Of
ten that it is tradition The Connecticut Company has bred
a
about trolley taxation because they have heard of any
other Mr. Punderford is relieved of any implication of per-
sonal nsincerity
Connecticut, taxation is usually laid upon values.
The Connecticut Company has two sorts of property upon
which it pays taxes.
Property which holds the title and property which
leases, agreeing to pay the tax part of the rental
In its last published report to the Public Utilities Commits
sion the Connecticut Company reported its property
worth $53137OOO The Connecticut Railway Lighting Com
pany property reported value of 1872
3O The total value of the property upon which the Con-
neccu Company should pay taxes is S809O and the
pany pays figures of Mr. Punderford about $45OOOO
little than five mills the dollar The rate
Bridgeport local property is about 81 mills the dollar and
this is the rate paid by automobile in Bridgeport
Dollar for dollar, automobiles taxed at higher rate
throughout Connecticut than trolley are.
In addition to paying their taxes like other property
tomobles subject to charge virtually Mr. Punderord
suggests, for the use of the road
In the of Ford worth say $780, this charge is
$1 which is than per cent per the value
1.-THE property 1t is much the value of the old
similar charge Of cent the value of the property
of the trolley monopoly would provide the revenue
81 0980 which almost 100000 than the CONNECTICUT
company pays for its contribution pavements and
Fits contribution to bridges.
The contention that has between rollevs
Conneccut Company unfairly taxed is utterly ridiculous
1.-THE contrary is the
Charges for bridges and pavements originally laid in
eu Of taxes If these charges related and the
taxed something like fair saw one
half cent would than present and be paying
much less than the of other property in the state.
Moreover the Connecticut Company mending its road
beds in keeping its right of fairly charged with
tain costs in pavement and bridges.
Nor under this theory anything charged to the
cut Company because has monopoly CT certain
important method Of doing business
Private management of Connecticut street railways
remedy