New Britain herald., 1925-02-16
NET DEBT OF CITY
 EXCEEDS AVERAGE
Fifth Highest in State, Depart.
 ment of Commerce Says
BY GEORGE il. MANNING. tWaslIIpgtou Bureau of N. II. uera


 Washington Bureau of N. Il. HeratdJ
 Washington, D. C.. Feb. lG.-Th, public debt of the city of New Brit ain has run considerably in oxccs, Of the general average for all tn, cities of Connecticut.
 Of the cities In the stute with populations of more than 30,O0( New Britain was fifth highest in pei capita debt, 1t was disclosed by of. f!cials of the [. $. department of commerce today.
 New Britain's net indebtedness in 1922 amounted to s3,S3o,O0O. This represented per capita debt of s6l.6S, which is declared to be abQye lihe average for all the cities not only In Connecticut but throughout the country. The average per capita debt of all cities in the state was S53.21, and for all cities in sthe United States S59.G5.
 Waterbury Has Highest in state
 or tho large cities in the state, Waterbury had the highest per capita dcbt with a net debt of $9,- %1S.ono, or s96.S2 per person. Meri- don was the lowest of the cities of SO,0o0 and over. having indebted ross of only sS02.O00. or s22.63 per capita.
 Among the smaller cities of Con- nCcticut. Groton had the highest per capita debt. its indebtedness amount- ing to SlO0.3S per person. Bristol was next. with per capita debt of sa4.47, and New London with sS4.05, third. Federal officials point out, however, that although individual cities vary q great deal as to their public debts, in general, thc larger city is, the larger is its per capita indebtedness.
 New Dritains net indebtedness, according 10 the federal statistieans. represents the funded or fixed debt Of the city less its sinking fund assets. The gross debt of the city totaled s4,51S,0OO. 1t is report cd. Of which the funded or fixed debt amounted 10 S440%, 900 and all other debts to s115.000.
 County Debt Increased
 The aggregate net debt of Hart ford county and all it's civic dVi- sions totalcd S27, 900 in 1922. This was an increase Of more than s15,o00,O0O over the aggregate debt in 1912. which was only s12, 2,033,000. The combined per capita debt of Hartford county and all its civic di- visions increased from s44.91 in 1912 to s77.1G in 1922.
 The state of Connecticut had a public debt of sG,0SS,0O in 1922, or S4,24 per capita. Ten years earlier, in 1912, the state debt was s7,11t,- GOO or sG.12 per person. Thus the state decreased it's indebtedness by S.o2S,o00 or 14.4 per cent in the decade. In 1902, the states debt was s1,G7S.0Oo or s1.7S per capita, and in 1890, it was $S.761,O00 or So.u4 per. lnhabltant.
 Combined Debt Sf0O.8ai,000 The combined debt of inc state, 1 the counties, incorporated places and l all other civil divisions of Connccti- 1 cut. including towns, school dis tricts, and independent departments | such as water, sewer and marketing, 1 totaled S1G6, ,000 in 1922, repre- scnting an increase of 94 per scent | during inc past decade. The state dcbt represented 6 per cent Of the total; the .1rbts of the counties, 1.5 1 per cent: inc debts of incorporated | places, Sl.7 per cent; and the debts of other civil divisionS+ 10S per cent.
 Debts of Citi's and Counties.
 The Department of Commerce re- ! ports the net dcbt and per capita