Morning journal and courier., 1891-11-25
AGAIN THE WATER QUESTION.

ter Company Passed by That Body A Very Interesting Session.
 The board of aldermen acted upon the | water question again at it's meeting last | evening, and, in consequence, matters were pretty lively about the aldermanic chamber for some time. In fact, the entire session was one of the most exciting of the year. Several of the members seemingly lost their temper, and sarcastic remarks were the order of the evening.
 When the report of the joint committee on water came up for consideration, mo- tion was at once made to dispense with the reading of the report, but Chairman Calla- han, who presided in consequence of the absence of Mayor Sargent, stated that the rules required that the report be read twice in the hearing of the board. Alderman Daley then raised the point that the mere reading of the title of the report was equivalent to reading the entire report-at least as far as the rules of the body were concerned-and it being decided that this point was parliamentary and well taken, Clerk Downes called out in stentorian tones: "Report of the Water Committee! Report of the Water Committee"
 Aldarman Avis was at once upon his feet with the motion that the report of the committee be accepted and the orders therein adopted.
 lowing motion which was seconded by AL derman Chandler of the First ward: That the report of joint standing committee on water be amended by erasing therefrom the two appended thereto and substituting in their place the following: ,"..
 Ordered, That committee consisting of the mayor, the corporation counsel, two aldermen {chosen by the board of alder men), and three councilmen (chosen by the board of councilmen), be appointed to enter into 8 contract with the New Haven Water company to supply the city of New Haven with water at cost of rof $20 ,000 per year for the ten years from the expiration of the present contract and that the corporation counsel be and he hereby is instructed to prepare at once the necessary popers and cause the same to be executed to carry out the terms of the above order, and that said contract shall be signed by at least majority of said committee on behalf of said city and that said contract be made to conform in it's terms to the present existing contract.
 This amendment was finally. and after considerable discussion, passed by vote of IS to 10. The report of the committee, as amended, was then accepted by the board, after which Alderman Hitler moved to reconsider, and Alderman Avis then moved that the question of reconsideration be continued until the next meeting and this motion prevailed.
 When the amendment first came up for consideration the last part of the last sec tion read ''said contract be made to con- form as nearly as possible in it's terms to the present existing con tract." Alderman Johnson objected to the phrase ''as nearly as possible" claiming that it looked like 8 l "cat in the meal," and he would like to have it expnnged.
 Alderman Hamilton in reply to the ob- | lection said that he had no objection to its being eliminated, but said further that in 1 his opinion the original recommendation | of the water committee looked to him like a ten times larger ''cat in the meal," fol 1 that report left it to the mayor to "make'' a contract, while in the amendment the l contract is made to "conform" with the existing contract. He also disclaimed any knowledge of any "cat in the meal" being intended. The alderman said further thai the committee had greatly exceeded its orders; that they were not in structed to report anything abou the purchase of any water works but simply to report as to the making of { contract for supplying the city with wa | ter. 'No such question was referred tc that committee" he said, "but they go be yond their limits and report about some thing which I supposed was dead ani buried by this body last winter. Thi committee on water found that $20,00( would be reasonable price to pay for wa ter for the next two years, and 8 gooe thing for the city, and if this be so, the1 in my opinion as we'll as in the opinion O. great many others, a ten years' contract would be better and during the next efgh years following it would be grand thing for the city, as the city will be enlarged and much more water become necessar, for municipal purposes.
 Alderman Daley then stated that h. matter, and said that he did not approv of municipal control of such corporations "I have been member of the governmen for some years and during my connection herewith have come to the conclusion tha municipal government cannot run bus mess of the magnitude of the water com pany as economically and we'll as it can b run by private corporation and with tn same good results to the citizens. Year ago I did what little I could to have tn city buy the water company, but now
 think differently. The water compa ny's plant is probably worth betwee two and three millions of dollars and am not prepared to favor any pla for bonding the city for several millions c dollars for the purpose of buying the wate company, as I am afraid that such actiol would in the course of few years leav our city as it has our sister city Elizabet 1 I-bankrupt.
 Aldermen Sonnenberg and Hitler op posed making any contract, taking tn ground that the price asked by the compa ny was too high considering the valuabl franchise and other benefits which it re ceived from the city.
 An interesting feature of the discussio
 was the following brief conversation be tween Aldermen Hamilton and Avis. Al derman Hamilton in speaking of the pro posed purchase of the water company said
 Suppose, for example, the city got 8 idea into it's head that Sargent's factor
 would be good place to own and -
 "Chestnuts," interrupted the alderma from the Ninth.
 "Oh, it is, is its' responded Mr. Hamil ton; "well then crack it," and the bod was in roar of laughter for few minutes
 Another fight occurred over the jani | torial committee question. Chairman Cal lahan announced that the mayor had ap l | Cunningham as the aldermanic part of tn committee.
 Several members claimed that this actio
 was not legal, as the power of appointin that committee had been subsequent taken away from the mayor and vested il the board itself, and moved that the ap pointments be rejected. Chairman Calla han refused to entertain any sue motion, and when his decision wa appealed from refused to put tn question of appeal, claiming that the mat ter was private communication to hir and was not the property of the board This resulted in the introduction and pas sage of a resolution requesting the opinio of the corporation counsel as to the righ of the mayor to appoint any such com mitte, and this bone of contention was @ l an end, not, however. without bad fec
 jug having been engendered in some of tn aldermen. -..>,
 The board voted not to concur with tn
 board of councilmen in the matter of tn New Haven and Allingtown railroad, bu referred the matter to the board of publi
 works, with power to act.
 The board then adjourned until ne1
 Monday evening.
 The Postomce To-NIorrow. On Thanksgiving day the postofice an
 branch at Fair Haven will close at 1
 o'clock noon, except stamp window a
 main office, which will remain open unt l o'clock p. m., after which hour stamp l will be sold at the box window. The cal ;l riers will make one trip only, leaving th