Morning journal and courier., 1889-03-07
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS.

BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS. A Efvelv Time-Commissfone Todd 1
 Says He Will Not Allew Anyone to |
 Call Him a Liar-Eae Also objects to l
 Star Chamber SessiOns-What Was
 Done In Executive Session-Confracts
 Awarded.
 There was particularly lively seance at the meeting of the board of public works last night, in which Commissioner Todd was the principal participant.
 At the meeting held in February the board held an executive session and two resolutions were adopted. The muddle started over the vote on one of them. It was given out that one was passed unanimously. This, Con- missioner Todd said, was not so, but that Commissioner Leigh asked to be excused from voting and Commissioner Reilly did not vote at all. Then one of the commissioners went around to all except Commissioner Todd and got their signature to communi- cation to the Register saying that the vote was unanimous. The communication also stated that, as the commissioner (Todd) was persistent in declaring that the vote was not unanimous, the signers desired to correct the statement.
 Anyone seeing Commissioner Todd walk into the room before the meeting might have seen that he had something on his mind, and that he intended to have his say. Holding Register in his hand, he read the article and said:
 "That refers to me, and it openly charges me with falsehood." "Mr President" spoke up Commissioner Whitney, with a view to shutting off the mayor lis this discussion in order?" "Certainly it is," continued MT. Todd, "1 l say it is question for open session. defy | this board to prove that lied, and l either \ want proof that lied or to be exhonersted. I say that resolution was not carried unani- l mously. Leigh asked to be excused from Eot- | ing and Reilly didn't vote at all" sT rise to a point of order" exclaimed MT. l Leigh. 'I want MT. Todd to prove what | the first resolution was. I ask you to state ! who was the one refused to vote forf' ! "You know as we'll as I, and want you l to prove that have lied" Commissioner States tried to smooth l things over by saying that there must be some misapprehension. He said that the resolution that he supposed was referred to did pass unanimously. '1 have no idea that | Mr. Todd falsifed or had any intention to do SO. I think he labored and is laboring under a misapprehension." Commissioner Whitney tried to turn the question by saying that the discussion was useless. He thought MT. Todd believed ! what he had said, but he was mistaken. ' ! sage of the following resolution: ! Whereas, This board of public works is com posed of citizens chosen to perform public duty imposed imposed upon upon then them " by the Court of Common
 Council, body chosen by the people, and
 that government shall be conducted by the people ! and for the people, and
 ! thoroughly and completely informed concerning
 the actions of its servants and officers intrusted
 with the duty of transactng public business, there fore be it
 I board be conducted publicly and be it further ! more
 longer held by this board, and that the complete
 record of all meetings shall be kept on book which
 shall be at all reasonable hours be opSn to the in \ spection of all citizens of this city. Hardly had the last word of the resolution been uttered than Commissioner Whitney, quick as 8 flash, moved to table it. Every commissioner voted to do so except Commis- ! sioner Todd.
 ! The matter was then dropped for the time
 being.
 Bids for the laying of sewers was then
 taken up. The lowest bidders were: ! Lamberton, Button and Rosette streets and Howard avenue from the Boulevard to Co., lumbus avenue, O. Brazas & Son, $22, 320; ! Orchard street, from Davenport avenue to | Oak street, o. w. Blakeslee & Son, $9, 765,- | 70; Portsea street, from Water street to Howard avenue, Edward McManus of Wa
 terbury, $4, 4,411.70.
 The following contracts for supplies for
 the board for the year were awarded as fol
 lows: Granite basin heads, Wm. Kehurle, s2S. .95 each; Belgium block, o. w. Blakes-
 lee &r Son, $1.10 square yard; cobble
 stones, E. Cunningham, 25 cents square
 yard; sewer earrings, McLagar foundry, 2
 cents a pound; cement, H. D. Clark 6 Co.,, $1, 80 per barrel.
 mittee with power, as the Quinnipiac
 Brick Go. and G. M Grant bid the same,
 $1O.50 foot.
 The city engineer was ordered to advertise
 for the laying of sewers in Liberty street from Congress avenue to Washington street: Saltonstall avenue from James to Lloyd
 street; Hillhouse avenue north to Grove ! street.
 Sewer inspectors were elected as follows,
 at salary of S4 day: James Mccormick,
 Thomas German, Thomas Worthington and ! John Carol.
 W.J Atwater was awarded the contract for furnishing what vitri6ed sewer pipe the I boards will need during the coming year, and ! O. W. Blakeslee the contract for furnishing I granite, curb and crossing stone and paving 1 blocks.
 | motion was made to go into executive
 session. All voted for it except Commis | sioner Todd.
 | After the doors were securely closed the voices of the commissioners might have been heard by anyone passing City Hall. The
 language was very emphatic, as Commissioner
 Todd had again brought the question of yer
 acity up.
 "Do you think I will submit to such an
 outrageF he exclaimed. "I never will ad-
 init that I am a falsifer. l call on the
 mayor to prove what have said."
 His Honor was somewhat confused. He i didn't desire to get mixed up in the mess at
 all, and 80 he said that what Major Todd had l said was true about one of the resolutions | offered at the previous meeting, but he
 couldn't tell now just which resolution it was | about.
 MT. Leigh jumped up and said some loud | words.
 'I won't allow any man to call me a liar, :"
 retorted Commissioner Todd.
 s'I don't call anyone liar," said Commis-
 sioner Leigh.
 "What do you call me, then, in this arti- cle9'
 "We say that you are mistaken" Here Commissioner Todd again called on
 the mayer to refute the statements of the other members.
 The matter was dropped again, and a ! seance was had with the heads of the various | departments.
 A resolution was offered in which the heads | were instructed to be courteous to all citi- | zens, and furthermore that each head should \ attend to his own department and not try to | run some other besides his own. It also pros \ vided that the members of the board shall
  \ zens as to what is done in executive session. | This was slap at Commissioner Todd. All the commissioners voted in favor of the resolution except Commissioner Todd. The board then ended it's ''star chamber" session. The office hours of the clerk were \ made from to 4. It was voted to give City Engineer Hill 8 vacation of five weeks this | summer to go abroad with the American | Society of Engineers. Mir. Hill has not had \ 8 vacation in two years, and will not go this
 summer unless he can satisfactorily arrange his work.
 After the meeting Commissioners Todd and Whitney had @ discussion. The latter tried to convince his colleague that he was sorry. Finally Commissioner Todd said: | 'T don't allow any man, be he small or | big, rich or poor, to call me liar, and I'm
 ready to back it up any time." l "The more think of it," said Commis-
 sioner Whitney spiritedly, "the more I am
 convinced that you have told what is not so."
 "Oh, yes, you're the little am and the \ god that never does wrong, while I am | always doing wrong," said Commissioner