Putnam patriot., 1927-01-14
TIE PUTNAM PATRIOT
LIE PATRIOT PRESS. INC.
AN UNPLEASANT AWAKENING

y,HERE seems 10 be an awakening throughout the textile
 centers of New England In years past people have been won't upon the factories permanent institutions lhe have taken for granted the mills would continue to operate s they have year and out furnishing employment to the ownspeople and pouring out steady stream ot gold monthly or weekly circulate throughout the community
 Tbps taking for granted mills fixture for all time tbe citizens of the community little interest in these industries although they the basic asset oi the ,itv town or village Always looked rich prosper GUS manufacturer the mill operator given e cohsdera ton except grand list of the town was made up Al sueb time in many localities having become necessary 10 raise further sum by taxation the people prone o take the atttudee the mills it. until the expression be- came almost q slogan.
 No one can say what might The first the public realized was when of the mills began to run short ame This was taken as gn temporary saness Then first one plant another closed s doors and as a was Announced that tho machinery for sale Or possibly there came an involuntary eoHg the unsuccessful plant entered be stages of Haadat0u then that the people of Ne" England began ap realize that what they had never considered possible happened that the industries that they had looked urou permanent as of all time were suddenly zone some Q be recstablished in the South
 Thousands of people thrown out of employment Through the cutting weekly monthly source o the large payrols formerly distributed o mill employees the me cante began feel the result and some ol me smaller ores were forced to close The situation became alarming
 While taxation factories of the north would not alone have caused operation il k ot the several lac
 in the received daily from progressive south
 fe o furnish factory buildings new industries fss non to provide power rates and lower wage eaf. one believes that these things permanent The situation adjust itself No can believe that the south can gfe taxation lower power rate or lower wage ale l af 3urs employment But for the present the inducements ng and in cases hafe served their purpose.
 1,4e, and faoII has n many localities brought the eitiz le, and fs4fas s closer together In the city of Lowell for instance there under concerted acton on the part of the people reduced tax rate Tor th' maeaaei ing industries and cooperate with the manufacturers ID e m possible way During the expenditures often ran not Since the federal government and also some o the states have been Tightening burden of taxation but cities and towns have done little thus far along this line
 Putnam $ a manufacturing city We have already lost all of our oldest mills We have the lesson of idle factories before the plants have removed south although at least two have ccumbed competition. We have learned through he Industries Committee of the Putnam Chamber of Commerce. until thrtoar mill tax rate is reduced there little hope of inducing industries 10 o- cate here this that led o the Chamber of Commerce ga ryi4nq the several defeated plan of feyauaon believing that through eq0ab increasing The grand t he tax rate can be materially reduced
 Putnam not been eNraYagant in the expenditure ot money Possibly may have been conservative in the past else have large expenditures staring us m the face now Had little done each year to improve the Naterworks plant say would moi now be facing an expenditure 0n0 S50ooo There IS no economy an putting off what eventually must be done
 Al annual city and meetings. in their individual endeav- or to keep their taxes have been unwilling to tax beyond the smallest possible amount to cover current expenses tine debt of the town and city grow larger and larger until We have nearly reached the % t of borrowing power
 If would seem iron, gancng tbc town and city bud. gets that there little hope of reducing current expenses There reduce interest charges hl approprating sufficient money raised by taxation reduce ndebt ,duess thereby paid yearly for interest The recent funding unlqudacd debt of the town to the amount by the sale of bonds step the right direction
 There is one outstanding feature he present problem to get new industries that the reduction When this accomplished the citizens should freely cooperate with he of all ot industries possible that keep them here and induce locate here Upon this depends future