Milford chronicle., 1952-01-11
LAST FRIDAY NIGHTS CITIZENS
MEETING WAS A FLOP"

MEETING WAS A FLOP"
A considerable number of Milford tax
payers assembled in the Community Build
ing at the invitation of the Plant Commit
tee of the Milford City Council last Friday
evening. They came to hear, and have ex-
planned to them, the proposed purchase OF
equipment and the financing Plan which had
supposedly been worked cut by the group.
To their amazement they were Informed that
the proposal from the company with whom
the committee is negotiating had arrived
very shortly before meeting time-and that
the committee had not had the necessary
time to properly study it. This, in spite of
the fact that Councilman Peterman, in his
article in the Chronicle last Friday, had stat
ed that the city solicitors had approved the
proposition. This latter statement was con-
tradicted at the meeting by interested per-
sons.
The full impact of the meeting, we gather
from talking with Milford residents who were
in attendance, is that it was decided "fOp."
Certainly it was ill-adViSed and too hastily
called to impart any worthwhile information
to us. The net result would seem to be a re-
action against any plan for hOme-Ownership
under present day conditions. AS Mr. Peter
man has filed for Mayor, we may expect to
hear much from him about his mandate to
promote the hOme-Operated plant-but he
must produce more than that to convince
property owners and others that he has a
solution to our power problem. Name-caling
and abuse just is not the solution. Milford
has too many pressing problems OF manage
ment at the present time. 1t will be well for
uS-every single one of uS-tO face the fact
that municipal affairs are in a muddle and
forget the power issue as we go to the polls
soon.
We will not solve this electric problem in
Milford until it is taken completely out of
the hands of City Council. A separate and
distinct Light and Water Commission is the
first step which must be taken to solve the
riddle. This cannot come until legislation
changing our city charter is approved by
the General Assembly. In the meantime, we
will have to sweat it out.
&10(&
HOW TO LESSEN THE TAX BURDEN
At various times, proposals have been
made for placing reasonable limits on the
amount of taxes that can be levied on the
American people by the Federal Govern
ment. The best of these was introduced last
September by Congressman Chauncey w
Reed of Illinois, ranking minority member
of the House Judiciary Committee. 1t takes
the form of Joint Resolution Proposing
an Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States Relative to Taxes on Incomes
Inheritance and Gifts" To become law, il
must be approved by twO-thirdS vote Of
both Houses, and then ratified by three
fOurths of the states.
The heart of Mr.. Reeds proposal is t.
fix the maximum total rate of all taxes du
ties and exciSeS on income at 25 per cent
There are but two exceptions, both of whicl
are obviously necessary in these discOrdan
times First, by a three-fOurths majority
Congress may raise the maximum rate t
40 per cent for periods, either successive o
otherwise, not exceeding one year each. Sec
Ond, in the event of a war which creates
national emergency so grave as to necessitat
such action to avoid national disaster, Cor
gress could entirely suspend the limitatio
on taxation, also by a three-fOurths vot
Ali of this would apply to businesses as we
as individuals.
Mr.. Reeds amendment would also d.
prive Congress of the power to impose deaf
and gift taxes, leaving this means of tax;
tiOn exclusively to the states where comp
titiOn would tend to keep the rates with
reasonable bounds.
The only way to cut the cost of govern
ment is to take some of the money ava
from the bureaucrats and department heaC
and all the rest of the pOwer-hungry pOllt
clans. And that can be effectively done on
when the basic law of the land makes tax
tiOn beyond a certain level impossible. NJ
Reeds carefully conceived proposal wOu
achieve this, and at the same time take ca
of a real emergency. It is difficult to see no
anyone who honestly favOrs efficient, &c
nomical government could logically oppO
it.
Excessive taxation can destroy natl'
from within. We are at the danger poi
now. The Reed Amendment is an eXcelle
solution to our gravest domestic problem.