[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 92 (Friday, June 24, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE BOROUGH OF ELVERSON, CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ON ITS 
                           100TH ANNIVERSARY

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                            HON. JIM GERLACH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 24, 2011

  Mr. GERLACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Borough of 
Elverson, Chester County, Pennsylvania on its 100th anniversary.
  Elverson celebrates March 14, 1911 as the day it was incorporated as 
a borough. It was on that day that the arguments for and against 
incorporation were presented to Judge Hemphill at the Chester County 
Courthouse. The arguments in favor of incorporation were principally: 
(1) the need by the residents to govern themselves and to use their own 
taxes for improvements such as a public water supply and street 
lighting; (2) the need for their own polling place; and (3) the need 
for an independent school system. The main arguments against 
incorporation were: (1) the town had not grown sufficiently, and (2) 
the new responsibilities would create an undue tax burden.
  In weighing these issues, Judge Hemphill felt that the democratic 
process would help ensure that the new responsibilities would not 
necessarily result in taxes that were either ``burdensome'' or 
``ruinous'' and stated:

       ``. . . if men of good judgment, careful, economical, and 
     cautious, were placed in charge of the Borough's business and 
     development such would not necessarily be the result. The 
     outcome, must of necessity, be dependent upon the action of 
     the electors themselves, as in the case in every elective 
     municipality.''

  Over the years, the citizens of Elverson have seen the wisdom of 
Judge Hemphill's words borne out, as their Borough has grown from 
meeting the needs of pre-World War I America to the present day.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in congratulating 
the Borough of Elverson and its storied history on the occasion of its 
100th anniversary and to extend best wishes to all its citizens--past, 
present and future.

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