The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-18

 -M- Passing

tmet, as epldenccQ Dy the OueE Ol the First Boston Corporation of New York city to buy $700. 900 worth of Tax Anticipation Notes this week at the extremely low interest rate of .lS, plus a premium of 45. A year ago the city issued notes in the amount of $8O0,000 at rate of .49. And 50 1t goes. Earlier this year the city sold a comparatively small bond issue, as municipals go these days, with the interest rate set at 1.3, the lowest in the city's financial his- tory. People wonder how banks and investment houses can afford to loan such large sums and get such 8 small return. The answer is, of course, there is 8 tremendous amount of idle money available these days. If your credit Is good, and Waterbury's is, you can go the limit. The interest return is just that much money earned. And in the meantime the amount loaned has been removed from g taxable category.
 Considerable comment Is heard
 at this time when the city goes
 into the money markets to borrow
 funds in anticipation of taxes on
 the fact that few if any local
 banks ever go in for such invest
 ments. Of recent years, though,
 there has been a tendency for
 local banks to bid for Tax Antici-
 patton Notes. For the past two
 years the Waterbury National
 Bank has joined with New York
 firms in a joint bid. This Is nec-
 essary because of the banking
 laws which limit such invest
 ments. In order to take up all the
 notes it's necessary for the local
 bank to join with another. Two
 or three local banks, for example,
 could purchase such city f1nanc-
 ing if they so desired.
 Alan Olmstead seems to have joined the forces of those who fig ure that Waterbury has been dere- Nct in collecting from persons &C., cused and convicted of conspiring to defraud the city. If MT. Olm- stead has any knowledge of funds that might be made the basis for a recovery suit by the city he should contact Mayor John s. Mon- agan or the Board of Finance. Either the mayor or the board would be glad to receive such in- formation and to initiate the nec- essary steps for recovery. Both stressed this fact on several occa- sions and 1t was Republican mem- Der of the board, Commissioner Or ton P. Camp, who stated that there is mistaken opinion among many people, apparently well-informed on certain subjects but not all, that sincere and earnest efforts haven't been made to prosecute for return ; of funds illegally diverted. So if MT. Olmstead has the facts and fig ures he or anyone else can get ac- ton.
 Political drones" are going to : be removed from all Hartford
 municipal departments, accord !, ing to Mayor William Mortensen
 who has just been inaugurated
 in the Capital City. Hartford
 doesn't wait until January I to
 install its new or reelected off,
 cials as Is done here in Water
 bury. In his message to the Com
 mon Council Mayor M0rtensen
 said among other things: "ThiS
 is . good time to drop political
 drones from the city payroll, for
 the less shiftless of them now have their best opportunity to se-
 euro employment elsewhere. ."
 Considerable speculation is heard about possible appointees by Mayor John s. Monagan after he has been sworn in next month. Obviously the mayor intends to stress a finan- cial policy that calls for as much economy as the times warrant, so that Waterbury can build up a cushion with which to fortify itself for any lean days that might come If the war should suddenly end. It wouldn't be surprising, either to find His Honor demanding depart mental stiffening-not necessarily changes, but certainly adherence to .busineSslike methods where they might be considered lacking. Re- forms are definitely in sight-the Tax Assessors; perhaps even the Police and Fire Departments. As to appointees, well, that's story for another day. There are changes ahead and it's pretty sure that a definite decision on them has been reached by this time.
 The question of court reforms
 has come and gone again. There 2 was a public hearing in Hartford last Monday and judging by all 2 reports the case of the legislative ? control over the minor courts of ! Connecticut was we'll upheld. That
 has always been true ever since
 A was first proposed that the
 sAA0hr of such appointments
 would he taken away from the General Assembly and given to
 the governor. As one pleader for z legislative control stated in his defense of the present set-up, 8 !: few years ago a governor Wilbur { l.. Cr0ss) had the chance to name
 minor court judges and he named : number of dead men," That { was the year the Legislature couldn't agree on a slate of judges and had to let the governor make interim appointments. But the Legislature has been just as guilty in some of Its appoint
 ments as Gov. Cross may have : been in sending in names of de- ceased persons, presumably rec ! commended to him by responsible
 officials.
 The need of a more adequate pension system for municipal en- p-oyes is seen from day to day. This past year has witnessed any num- Der of changes in the status of pen-