New Britain herald., 1922-07-15
THE OBSER YER
Makes Random Observations
 On the City and Its People

Inc 1oFphcn-faonessd teud IS pfeg
 nant with possibilities of n split in thi
 democratic ranks which 1t will b,
 impossible to heal. And to give botl
 sides credit for their fighting spiS {
 there does not seem to be any demand
 that lotion be applied to the wound The paonessa faction Is determined
 to put him out. Gorbach Is equall,
 determined to stay in office. The is.
 sue will be settled in the fall unless
 all parties concerned shake hands and
 call all disputes off,
 In suggesting that the first and sec
 ond taxing districts be consolidated
 Mayor Paonessa foresees a need, the
 existence of which has been recogniz-
 cd for some time. If the mayor. with
 his influence, can succeed in elimin-
 ating the line between the two areas,
 he will succeed in removing from the
 annual meetings of the board of A.
 nance and taxation question which
 Is oftentimes bothersome.
 The strongest opposition to such a
 project is expected to come from
 property owners in the outer zone,
 who would find their taxes equalized
 with those of property owners in the
 inner zone. The equalization would mean an increase for the former and slight decrease for the latter, most likely, Therefore, those who now en-
 joy the lower scale of taxes would be expected to protest.
 Abolition Of the line between the two districts should be considered this year at the meetings Of the charter revision committee. Even though there were sufficient opposition to such a move to block it, the advan- tages to all concerned could be ex- plained and at some future time when the 1925 legislature convenes- the remonstrants would no doubt be more favorable
 In city as large as New Britain, the existence of two taxing districts is archaic and should be done away with. In former times, residents of outlying districts were satisfied to get along without modern conveniences and consequently their tax rate was lower in proportion as their desires for comforts waned They felt req sonably safe from molestation and therefore had little need for police protection. Naturally they suffered to some extent from apprehension lest fire destroy their homes and barns, but fire fighting apparatus was so crude at that time that they were justified in deciding to do without it rather than pay taxes for the protec- tion it afforded.
 MT. Edison, Mir. Ford and the newspapers have had their hand in new conditions. The troll ley car has formed a contact be- tween the cottage in the country and the department store on Main Street and the cinema palaces. New sewers, electric lights, telephones, Fords and other inventions have been | so that the distance be- tween the city line and Central Park | (every town in the land has Gen. tral Park, even if it bears another rame) has been apprecably reduc- ed. Folks living on the outskirts no longer think 1t fashionable to come to town with a straw in their teeth. They dress like apartment house 1wellers know which spoon or fork 70 use with each course and conduct themselves just like their relatives who live in more densely settled 
 In the suburbs ideals run equally IS high as those in the city. Suburb mites are no longer satisfied with a bucket brigade in case of fire. They demand nice highly polished gaso- inc propelled combination chemical flashing up on the front lawn when he chimney takes fire. They require policemen to watch their fruit trees md grape vines (sic) and guard them ganst vandas from the purlieu. They want running water and sew ITS. In fact, their needs are the leeds of every normal man and wom- m in this age of service and hygiene. And they should have just what they want. In return, they should be willing to pay for what they get.
 Inclusion of the whole city in a inge taxing district would be pro- ,ressive step. Mayor Paonessa ap ,ears to be in favor of it. His is the oice of authority. When the char CT revision committee meets he hould lose no time in explaining how l could be accomplished without vis- . ting any unnecessary financial bur ( ems on the shoulders of property wners in the outer zone
 Decision to depend on volunteers ( or strike duty at the East Hartford a