Morning journal and courier., 1891-01-02
rely pay with interest in less than gen

tirely pay with interest in less than gen eration.
 The other objection alleged ia probable bad management and dishonest officials.
 But the public taxes are assessed collected
 and expended as honestly and sagaciously
 as private business is done. The great
 postoffice department with all it's immense
 work and it's array of officials and clerks
 is as efficiently, economically and honest
 ly conducted as is private business. More
 and greater financial dishonesty, appears
 institutions in proportion to work |
 done than in public service. And in l
 fact, notwithstanding all the croakings |
 and lamentations of theignorant good ,pub- |
 lie business is as we'll managed in New
 Haven as the-average of private business,
 and with the growing intelligence and the great interest of the great body of the peo- plo, no fear of serious bad management or official dishonesty need be entertained in the carrying on of public works in the in- terest of the customers and by the custom ers' agents. In accordance with 8 reservation in all the acts of incorporation by which the public corporation are now owning and operating the public works, hereinafter al 1uded to, were established, their franchises
 may be resumed at any time by the people through legislative action, and the same franchises may be conferred upon the peo- cost, and the property of those corpora tions taken at it's actual value as property, divested of it's present commercial value as monopoly, and the works carried on with out interruption.
 STREETS.
 The number of miles of streets in New so 1f ;&,
 habitants. This is because of our custom of large lots for dwellings, and because of extensions of streets considerably beyond | the more thickly settled portions of the | city, The subsoil of the whole city and
 suburbs being gravel, and the surface gen. l orally level, although well elevated, the | streets not much travelled are easily kept in good condition without paving. A good proportion of the business streets are permanently paved with block stone. But l the greater part of the much travelled streets have either Telford or McAdam | pavements that are fairly economical and | satisfactory if frequently treated with the | proper amount of moisture. For this pur
 pose some measures should be taken to
 use water, restricted only by the require
 ments. Too much moisture from rains
 cannot be avoided, but the dryness that allows travel to crumble the surface l into dust that is blown hither and thither
 and into houses by the wind, can be avoid | ed. The laying down of new and expen-
 sive pavements should be done with great
 caution and only with full knowledge of
 results in other cities. But after all the
 experiments in many European and Amer
 ican cities during the past thirty years, it
 would seem that some pavement must have
 been discovered or invented, that is
 durable, economical and smooth of travel,
 but sufficiently rough on it's surface to
 prevent horse from slipping on it.
 PARKS.
 The city and suburbs now appear to be
 abundantly supplied with parks, but the
 usefulness of East Rock park, the park of
 all parks for grand views of beautiful
 scenery, of mountains, valleys, rivers, sea
 and city, so favorably located to gather
 the health and strength-giving fresh
 breezes from the salt water, is almost de-
 nied to the old and weakly among the poor, because of the absence of cheap
 transportation from all parts of the city to the top of the rock.
 There is summer conveyance from the center of the city, it is true, but the cost of the conveyance by that means, added
 to car fare to the center of the city, and probably long walk to reach car, makes the labor and cost of the whole trip too
 much for this class of the people. Some means should be established for five ) cent ride from any part of the city to the top of the Rock, either by city ownership F of the street railroads and extended to the 5 top of the park, or by comfortable, if not elegant, carriage rides.
 8 It would be good investment for the present and future of the city and it's nor . tals, to employ, for four months of the 8 warm weather, a small band of good mu. r sicians to play afternoons and evenings r on various city parks in turn. There are l. no influences so potent, benefcent and @ economical as music to sdrive dull care
 away' and soothe the weary.
 e Although we now have many city park r. we have no central park for the people, r great playground, for their orators and y audiences and debating schools.
 ] We need and have for long time need - ed for New Haven what Hyde park hal e been and is to old London, and what mum : erous other parks are to the enlarged Lon @ don of the present time.
 l. The people of Now Haven own the lan6 8 and it is admirably located and suited fol 7 such park, but it has been tied up by
 legislative enactments for many years, anc : put into the hands of trustees for the very s purpose of preventing the people from ap f propriating their own land for the purpose , herein stated. I refer to the old tow1 farm, lying in the westerly part of tn. , city. A portion of the easterly part (say east of Sherman avenue, might be ex, e changed for the land owned by private in
 dividuals, that separates thseld town , farm from the West River park.
 7 The conversion of the land into parl would destroy no property and involve but little expenditure. The land would remain , there forever and the enjoyment of it by 7 the people would we'll make up for the loss of the interest on the money it would now sell for. As the years go by the land vii rise in value and the people may then sel it if they will. But they never will if they
 first own it as a park.
 , Steps should be taken to reconvey the land to the people, to whom 1t belongs, fol a park, and let them sell it when they : will. It will always bring it's present value.
 In my opinion the filling in of the Water Side park on Water street should b done gradually by the use of it as a public
 dumping place. But bulkhead or whar1 posed of a heavy wall of rough stone standing on 8 plank platform resting or , piles, all tho woodwork to be under tide water and harbor mud and the platform
 to extend back to a sufficient distance te f secure the line of the wall against pres sure. The filling should then be from tht water front backwards, towards the street This course will allow of an early use o1 the water side of the park and prevent tht , forcing of the harbor mud toward the } channel, as is now being done, to the in , jury of navigation.
 SEWERS.
 The city sewers satisfactorily perform an important work, and miles are annual
 ly added to their extent in accordance
 with the plan adopted during the early : part of the administrati on of ex-Mayo, , Lewis. The only possible criticism te their effectiveness is that some of the pro ,, ,, posed storm overflow outlets have not yet :, been constructed. Some damage is done by water forcing itself into basements anc Z cellars during rains of unusual severity , happening not oftener than once year This is confined to the lower levels of |, mains, especially in Church, Oak and East Water streets; sometimes the sewers in the northwesterly part of the city become
 rather more than full, by reason of their
 great distance from the outlets of the mains.
 The laying of main sewer to empty in. to Beaver pond would remedy the latter ' difficulty, and the construction of pro- posed overflow from the Water street sewer to empty into the harbor from the foot ot ! either Franklin or Olive street would rem I edy the difficulty in the southeasterly DOT , tion of the city. Another main sewer ~S-Al 1->1 1-s1 l. IL