The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-10-04

personalities and bitterness,
 The text of the mayors speect follows:
 Ladies and gentlemen of this Convention, I wish to thank you on my own behalf and on behalf of the other candidates whom you have nominated this evening for the confidence that you have shown in us. We all accept our designation as the candidates Of the Democratic party in the corn- ing elections with o feeling of great responsibility.
 It is our duty to you and to the party which you represent to wage an energetic and forthright campaign. By such Q campaign we shall confront the voters of the city with the question of whether they wish to continue the type of Administration we have given them since January 1040.
 It is our further duty to con. tinue, if elected, to carry out our official obligations SO as to earn and maintain for our party the confidence of the citizens of Wa terbury.
 Owe Voters Duty
 To the citizens and voters of the city regardless of party we owe an even greater duty. That duty will be to keep Waterbury on the path of progress and stability.
 Tonight I can state in simple terms the real issue which the voters will decide. That issue is-- Do the people of Waterbury ap- prove of the policies of my admin istration to date and do they wish our efforts continued to make those policies fully effective For I say to you frankly that we pro- pose to follow the broad policies already established, subject only to such modificationS that chang- ing circumstances wil require.
 Made Promises
 Before my present Admlnstra- ton I made certain promlses- promises to the citizens of Water bury and to no one else. They were not extravagant. They were intended to be kept. I can say to you without fear of contradiction that they have been kept. During the campaign of 1889 I pointed out that the City Government must provide for It's citizens many services that contribute to their common well-being. These services include fire and police protection, education, health and recreation services, welfare and public works. I said that these services require the collection of taxes and I made the following com- ment which I quote: Tt is my own belief that the citizens of this or any other city would have no serious objection to paying taxes if the rate were within reason and If they could feel satisfied that they were getting their moneys worth in honest and efficient ser. vices for every dollar that they pay. An exhorbitant tax rate can- not be permitted for any reason. Such Q rate makes it impossible for local industry to successfully employ our people and enable us to live at Q reasonable expense within the borders of our city. The tax rate of Waterbury should be, and l am confident that it can and will be, materially lowered. It cannot be made to reach or ape proach zero without defaulting on, bonds and eliminating all services. But I believe that 1t can be brought to @ point which will be generally recognized as both mod- crate and fair"
 Outlined Policy
 In the same campaign l tried to indicate in plain language what policy my administration would follow. I repeat what I said then-"There are only three things that I know of that Q city, or an individual for that matter, can do to keep finances and therefore taxes in proper shape. These are first, do without what you can't afford" There are a number of projects, some of them supported by many of our citizens and some of them worthy and de- Sirable which have received con- sideration. It has not been possi- ble to undertake all of these pro- jects-it has been necessary for us to keep firmly in mind the re- quirement that uor financial DO. Sition must be secure. Progress and financial improvement should 90 hand in hand, in fact the one must be dependent upon the other. A city, no more than c per. son can buy anything that Is de. sired without suffering the con. sequences. I also said-"Exercise economy in your purchases of al necessary goods and services"- This has been done. Our budgets have been conservative. We have stayed well within those budgets as we promised. We have saved money by spending less than our budget allowed. We have collected taxes substantially in excess of the amount estimated as income. As a result, we have accumulated a sizeable surplus.
 Still further at that time said Handle your financing intelli- gently-Don't borrow except on 8 basis which permits you to pay without getting into trouble" Fi- nancing of badly needed improve ments has been arranged on a sound basis which will not re- quire 6 tax increase for this pur- pose.
 rh short, we can say that the policies announced two years ago have been followed and have rec suited in a considerable improve ment of the financial position Of the city.
 Established Policy
 The immediate benefits are, of course, Q lower municipal debt and Q lower tax rate. Of much greater importance. however, is the fact that we have established Q financial policy which, fl follow ed. will produce reasonable tax rates without curtalling the con-