New Britain herald., 1926-05-20

portant function 10 a tribunal out
 side of the city's control. and
 would be yielding a civic function
 to an agency of the state. It would
 not eliminate politics altogether,
 either, as there is no guarantee
 that the single assessor gaining the
 appointment would not qualify po-
 litically as well as in other re-
 spects; in which case we would
 have political appointee, or one nearly so, perpetuated in office and
 free from dismissal, flor cause" i to the contrary unless the Superior court agreed to the cause. The less ! city affairs are linked up with state functions the better home-rule low | ing citizens will like it. We don't 1 think the mayor can be much dis i turbed about the present system of i assessment; no one else seems to 1 be. There is no guarantee that one assessor, perpetually in office, could improve the technic of the present ! board; in time he no doubt would lose his grip, whereas continuous new blood on the board as it now exists usually tends to improve it. There seems to be no valid reason for state control over our assessing any more than for state control over the police or fire departments, Let Us continue to run our own affairs in our own way. If 1t is the desire 10 eliminate politics here and there, a good start can be made where politics are most thickly found.
 The mayors recommendation for the extension of East Main street to Washington will meet with gen. oral approval. It would unite two important streets and provide an important new artery Of traffic around the congested areas. and would help to attain the ideal the mayor speaks of when he remarks that heavy traffic, such as trucks, should be kept from passing through the heart of the city-the Center-as much as possible.
 The mayors reference to the f. nancial condition of the city refers to the figures announced by City Treasurer Curtis l.. Sheldon about two weeks ago. Briefly. and by way of emphasis, they bear repeat ing: The grand list is $120,156,716; which permits an issuance of bonds to the amount of $6,007,S35.50. The net debt, deducting the water and subway bonds, which are not included in the five per cent debt limit, is $4.G14,615.79. With the re- cently authorized Nathan Hale school bonds included, the balance of the debt limit still available for future uses Of the city is only $1,- 031,922.S2. Which means the city is only a little more than & million dollars removed from the limit of debt it can assume under its pres ent grand list. The mayor did well, under these circumstances, to counsel caution At the same time he made mention of the school building programs needs in the im- mediate future. Considering that the increase of the city's debt latc- ly has been due largely to the oX- tcnsive school building program carried on, and considering that the program is not yet completed, inc advice is well worth cnunciating. Already out of every dollar in taxes paid by citizens Of this city, 37 7-1O cents goes for the schools. the mayor points out and laconicaHy adds an increase may be expected in the future. Well. educating our youths is worth it; and the city is paying so heavily in new buildings now merely because they were neg lected in the past. When our needed school buildings are completed, and their cost is spread over the aver age life of such buildings, the fig ures will not look so devastating. Just now, while they are being con- s'ructed and must be paid for out of bonds issued at this time, and during the life of the bonds. we will be faced with their financial weight, The first 15 years will be the hardest.
 The mayors multitude of other references 10 the problems facing his administration will meet with popular approval. They are thor ongh, sane and denote careful study.
 X few years ago Boston thought