Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-01-03

two years shows almost absolute immunity from loss to person or property. It is 8 marvellous escape, when it appears that less than S3, 900 worth of property has been destroyed in that period.
 STREETS.
 At this time the Street Department, above all others, ought to receive your earnest attention. With some exceptions, the road surface of the highways should undergo a radical transformation. Since the incor- poratiUn of the city, the highways have been repaired after the manner of an ordin- ary highway. During the past 20 years, nearly $30O, 900 have been expended in this kind of repairs and without favor able results The traffic has become so ex- tensive that the roads entirely fail to meet the public demands. To a certain extent they have become nuisance rather than suitable public thoroughfares. Of the 53 miles, Q large share would not bear inspec- ton in comparison with well-kept coun- try road The difficulty has been in the system, the responsibility with the Com mon Council. The sum above stated would have paved all the principal streets. At least, one-third of it could have been wise ly expended in this class of street making The Board of Road Commissioners have no power to expend money on streets, ex- cept to make ordinary repairs, unless au- thorized by the Court of Common Council. The Council has so far been content with ordinary dirt roads, and to this end the department have directed their efforts The proposition to pave with stone blocks is favored by all experienced in road mak- ing in our cities, and is fast finding favor in public opinion. The Road Commission have repeatedly recommended this quality of paving on number of our main streets, but the Common Council have not thought proper to indorse it.
 The time has come for this class of street work, feel assured. Water, gas, electric lights, fire signal, telegraph, telephone, sewers, and the horse railroad have been established on our streets essential to be paved. The streets need no longer uuder- go the constant disturbance of being trench ed and ditched incident to such improve ! ments, which have so long made them diff ficulty to repair and almost impossible to l tuavel upon. 1 may be pardoned for stat ing that these are among the many difficult 1 ties that the Street Department have en- countered during the past few years, and while the street inspector has been visited with severe criticism, it may be proper to say that the responsibility primarily | rests with the Common Council. So long has it been the custom to delegate the re- sponsibility of road making to the inspec- tor, that in the public mind that officer has become the em mbodiment of all authority on roads and road making He has to en- dure the sharp thrusts of public criticism and censure. To be an inspector of streets under our system, the officer needs to have the judgment of a civil engineer, the skill l of mechanic, the experience of 8 contrac- 1 tor, the courage of the soldier, the impu dence of 8 hotel clerk, and skin like an alligator.
 l l recommend that street or section od street be paved with Belgian block pave l ment every year.
 SEWERS. A considerable addition has been made to the sewer system of the city in the past two years. No less than A sewers have been built in this time, aggregating a l length of about 24, 900 feet, or four and one half miles, These have all been built in answer to petitions or upon recommends tions from the Board of Health. Nearly l all were of pipe, and their construction was made necessary by the inability of the soil to further care for sewage poured into 1 it from houses. The coming season will ! probably see the sewers still further ex. tended, some petitions having been already 1 favorably acted upon and the work ordered done. The recently ordered Mad river in. l tercepting sewer, when completed, will offer an outlet for many sewers now needed in the Abrigador section. The most ex 1 pensive and at the same time most impor. tant work of the year in sewer building was done on North Main, Liberty and Mil
 streets, the former being expensive because of the great quantity of ledge rock encoun
 tered in excavating, and the latter because of the depth to which it was necessary te 1 lay the pipe. Both were important, inas
 much as they were outlets to sections with l out drainage and where drainage was mucl needed
 The value of sewers to the community
 will be apparent by a study of he statis
 tics of the recent dysentery and diphthe
 ria epidemics. Avery small percentage o,
 cases occurred in streets or dwellings wher,
 there were sewers and house connections. For further details regarding sewer worl
 your attention is called to the report of tn,
 city engineer and the tables accompanying
 it.
 It has occurred to me that it would b.
 wise to establish sinking fund to retir, l our sewer bonds as they become due.
 it was good judgment to so dispose of th'
 water bonds, it is equally so with the sewe
 bonds. I shall hope you will confider thi subject.
 This has become an important arm O the city government. It is fully organized
 to fulfill the offices for which it was estab
 lished. It's usefulness has been apparen
 during the past year, especially while ou
 cityzwas visited with epidemics during tn summer and autumn. New rules and al
 entirely new system, embraced in cod
 of ordinances, have been recommended b,
 the Board and enacted by the Council These have become useful part of ou
 sanitary regulations. Their enforcement
 by the Board of Health in the epidemic
 referred to has been efficacious. Tn public thereby have become educated t
 observe these rules, which there is goot
 reason to believe has arrested the spread o disease in many instances.
 q An adjunct to the Board of Health mucl l needed is city hospital Dependent nov ; on the town with it's meagre accommoda l tions, it is often distressing to care flo
 those who have become maimed by acci
 dent, to say nothing of those who becom l afflicted with contagious diseass, and wh 1 through want or compulsion it become , necessary to remove to hospital. Ere
 quently our police are called upon to talk 2 into custody or care for unfortunates wh 5 have attempted suicide, been maimed b accident or quarrel, or been stricken wit ) disease No proper place is provided fo T. k-~~ X1-1 =