Morning journal and courier., 1884-12-10
BOARD OF ALDERMEN.

~~@@ANA~@NA~@ANs The Derby Railroads Indebtedness to |
 the City Dtscussed-The Report of
 the Board Of Finance AdOPted-i
 Horse Ra1Iroad Assessments Again |
 Cons1dered ana Referred to she cor 1
 POratIOn Counsel for Opinion.
 A special meeting of the Board of Alder men was held last evening His Honor Mayor Lewis presiding.
 Remonstrance of Edwin s. Greeley ct als. against the removal of lamp on Trumbun street was referred.
 Petition of Joseph Sheldton ct als. for a naptha lamp on Mansfield street was re- ferred.
 Petition for the extension of Greenwood street from George street to Chapel street was referred.
 Ordinance de watering streets was referred to the Committee on Ordinances.
 Ordinance providing for joint Committee on Lamps, consisting of two Aldermen and three Councilmen, was read and after discus sion was referred to the Committee on Ordi- nances.
 The report of the Board of Finance as to the relations of New Haven with the Derby railroad and the propositions made by the committee as to the settlement of accounts was called. The report came from the Fi- nance board, to whom it was referred back and returned by them with the statement that they had considered the matter and
 they saw no reason to change the report originally made. CThe report and recon
 mendations have previously been published.) Alderman Kennedy moved to indefinitely postpone the whole matter. After the recommendations were read the whole matter was taken up for general dis was StateS who said that he did not agree with the oth- CT members of the committee in their report He said the city had loaned the road money
 which had not been paid and it was now asked that the city remit the debt or all ex- cept $75, ,000. He said he could not see how it would be any benefit to the city to assume the debt and take stock in pay Alderman J. o. Bradley said that he had as a member of the Finance board looked l over the entire matter and he eelt that the arrangement was the best that could be | made He said the road agreed to pay the S75, 900 and the interest thereon and estab- fish a sinking fund to wipe out this debt. l If the city accepted this proposition they ! would have the control of the stock forever | and it was fair and equitable arrangement l as he looked upon it.
 Alderman Barnes said that after consider ing the whole matter he had made up his of the Board of Finance. Gentlemen in business would bear him out in saying that 1 the Derby railroad had been a great benefit l to them The road had fought inch by inch | to get on a substantial basis. The pooling | arrangement made with the Naugatuck road had been Q great benefit to New Haven, and ! now goods can be sent through to any point on the Naugatuck road. He said the indi- vidual stockholders would be obliged under l the proposition made to reduce their stock l one-third. He hoped the plan proposed would be adopted.
 Alderman Spreyer said he was surprised that gentlemen should stand up and advocate the proposition. He said | he would like to see the ! matter settled and not indefinitely postponed. He did not think it right for New Haven to pay one hundred cents on the dollar for the stock of the road, but they should only pay
 the market value for it and the remainder should remain as debt against the road. Alderman Brown said he thought the
 engagement was good one. He said the road had been run for the past seventeen years without dollar in salaries being paid to the officers who have run the road. He believed the stock would increase in value
 until it finally reached par. Alderman Kennedy said the opinion of prominent legal gentlemen was that the
 city had no right to make any such ar
 rangement as proposed and had no right to take stock in the road without 8 spe- cial act of the legislature. He said that the 1 road went to the legislature and asked per | mission to issue $150,00O in preferred stock to be taken up by the present stockholders and this little scheme failed. He said the road had paid all their individual indebted
 ness and now they asked from the city what
 never ought to be allowed. He supposed it would do no good to talk against the propos- | ition in this board (aldermen), but he was sat | isfed that it would fail in the other board (councilmen).
 
 one in business in the city who if one of his debtors should fail would not accept eighty | five cents on the dollar. Alderman Barker said it seemed to him | that New Haven had stood in it's own light | many times and he hoped they would not re- ! peat it on this occasion. He said he was ! ready to accept the committees report with l out the slightest fear.
 Alderman Benton said the Board of Fi- nance had tried to make fair and equitable adjustment with all parties in interest. He said the present proposition was not made by the Derby railroad, but their proposition was au entirely different affair. He said one 1 assumed that the value of one hundred and fifty shares of the stock was worth par. The city, however, would be better off than to be squeezing out S5, GOO or 5000 a year from the road. He thought the ar rangement fair one and would be of benefit to the city and benefit to the road. If it were possible that in the course of few years this road can be extended so that 1t would have connections with the outside world New Haven would reap the benefit from such extension. He said he desired to see the matter decided upon this year and not go over to next year to drag along for another twelvemonth.
 Alderman Spreyer said he could not see why the city should assume this debt; the stockholders were wealthy men and they would have to look out for what they owed
 
 indebtedness.
 Alderman Townsend said he had been bothered over the proposition and hardly knew which way he should act. The city went into this mat ter as a speculation and advanced large sums of money, the same a father would advance money to his son to set him up in business. He believed the city should control the road and he thought the son should be encouraged. The road has been helped by outside parties and if the city did not do their share they would become discouraged. He should as he now felt vote for the proposition.
 Alderman Baldwin said the objectors did not present any better plan than that pro- posed and until they did so he Should favor the proposition made.
 The motion to indefinitely postpone was lost by the following yea and nay vote: Yeas-Spreyer, McGann, States, Kennedy, W. J. Bradley.
 Nays-Baldwin, Munson, Armstrong, Bar
 ker, Strouse, Barnes, Brown, Townsend, Whiting, Benton, Pratt, Waterbury, J. C.
 Bradley, Kelley and Jefferson. It was moved to adopt the report of the committee.
 Alderman Spreyer offered the following amendment: ''That the city accept 1 300 shares of common stock at par value on ac- count of the indebtedness of the New Haven and Derby railroad company to the city, the
 balance of the indebtedness to remain se- 1 cured by second mortgage at present." The amendment was lost and the report of 1 the committee was accepted and ordered passed.
 A transfer of appropriations in the sundry department was granted in concurrence The report of the Committee on Claims on the indebtedness of the New Haven and West
 Haven horse railroad was read. The com mittee recommend that if the road pay one half of it's indebtedness that the remainder be abated.
 Alderman Munson explained the feelings
 of the committee on the subject, which was that as the road had been great convenience