Time To Call A Halt

Various projeots calliug for the expenditnre of more money by the city of Ann Arbor are being advocated. At the same time there is a rapidly growing sentiment that the time has come to cali a halt iu the rapidly increasing expenditures and to return to the low taxes,which have done so tnuch towards aiding in building up Ann Arbor. No sooner have the street funds been depleted to the extent of about $4,000 for the purchase of a road roller and stone crusher, when a project for at once paving Main, Hurón, State, Detroit, Ann streets and Fourth and Fifth avenues wakes into full life and flnds advocates fnll of fervor. Now, these streets have aswered all purposes so f ar, as poorly graveled streets, owing to the extremely porons nature of the soil. And if there is any merit in the claims of those who purchased the roller and crusher, it would seem that crushed stone should answer for 'these streets for a few years yet. At the same time tne advocates of all night lighting in this city have taken a new lease of life and are pressing the arguments in favor of it. Let us concede all these arguments, for no one denies the benefits resulting. But yet the question arises, do these benefits compénsate for the outlay? It no donbt wotild be much better if the fire department were given light enongh to see to make their way to a fire, and yet the money which the extra all night lighting wonld have cost the city, would pay for all the losses between the hours of 2 :30 and daybreak. And we have yet to hear of any considerable loss being charged np to the lack of electric ights. Just at the present time Ann Arbor citizens have a big contract on their hands in paying for the big sewer system being put in. So that itjbehooves our city fathers to be careful about the other expenses. Economy shouïd be the watchword in public circles s wel as in private. Taxes bear down too heavily upon people just bèginning to rally from the times of depression . Up to a certain point taxation does aot seem to exert a depressing inflnenecf apon thfi value of property,. but let that point be passed and yon see a big slump in values. Ypsilanti, for instance, proved this the high taxes a Jew years ago sending down the values ín that city to an alarming extent. By wise management Ann Arbor escaped throngb. the speculative era and came ont of it with low taxes. In fact was long bur boast that we had the lowes taxes of any city in Michigan. This slump in values, consequent upon in creased taxation, is recognized by the advocates of the single tax, who would tax land values for the purpose o: bnnging them down. And it canno be denied that this would be the effec íf a certain point in taxation is passed. Bnt we think our city fathers should hesitate bef ore they go so f ar as to de precíate the value of the property o: onr citizens. Jlany public improvêments are needed, but they should not all be done at once. As the city grows, assessed valuations will grow and the same rate of taxation will yield larger revenues and. make more extended improvements possible. If high taxes should depress values, the consequent ahrinkage in the araount raised by a given per cent. would make necessary a still further increase in the rate of taxation. We believe in inaprovements. We wish the city to advance. But we wish to ïetain the great advantage of a low rate of taxation given us.and, therefore in common with a large number of our sensible thinking citizens, we ask is it not time to scrntinize carefully every city expense, not only to see if the advantages to be gained are commensurate with the cost, but also to discover when the danger limit of taxation is being approached. Ifc has always cost Mexicans considerable to carry on their local correspondence. Reeen tly the , letter rates there have been ent in two and now a young Mexican lover can write his girl at an expense of five cents instead of ten cents, as formerly. France owns a qnarter of África and England a fifth. Europe as a whole has taken possession of three-quartefs of África.