Morning journal and courier., 1892-03-08
THE ssBIG FOUR, TO BE TRIED.

arly known as the Big Four" The room vas crowded almost to suffocation, several hundred being present, many unable to Iecure seats preferring to remain even ;hough obliged to stand rather than lose my of the proceediegs.
 Promptly at o'clock the mayor rapped with his gavel and in an instant every thing was as quiet as could be desired. Everyone was at once on the tlptoe of expectation, and as the mayor com menced speaking this fever of expectancy increased, as it was the general impression that the chief executive was about to make some allusion to the charges about to be preferred against the members of the board of public works. In this, however, they were disappointed. for the mayor simply made personal state ment in reference to his action in the matter of vetoing the permission granted the New Haven and West Haven Horse Railroad company by the board of public works to extend it's line to City Point. He took exception to statements made in the News and Register in connec- tion with the matter, and after referring to the city charter ended by saying that it was his duty to enforce the laws, as he un- derstood them and he proposed to do it. He spoke for fully twenty minutes, mani I6SClY to Cu0 updtlcuC0 C1 LIB oaoACAe1 who were anxious to have the other matter come up and be disposed of in some man ner. The regular routine business was taken up at the close of the mayors re- marks and it was consequently quite late before they were taken up.
 The interesting subject was finally reached, however, and City Clerk Downes began reading the charges against the Big Four" In an instant every sound was hushed and the audience fairly seemed to hang upon every word which issued from the mouth of the reader. Then for the first time it was known that specific charges had been made against the com missioners and that the charges were made against each commissioner individually. The charges against Theron A. Todd are as follows and were made by Councilman Par sons of the Second ward and Councilman Calm of the Fifth, two members of the court of common council. The charges against each commissioner are identically the same with the exception of the names of the commissioners:
 THE CHARGES.
 To the Honorable Board of Aldermen of
 the City of New Haven:
 Your petitioners, signers hereof, and members of the court of common council of the city of New Haven, hereby allege and charge that Theron A. Todd, a mem- Der of the board of public works of the city of New Haven, has been unfaithful to his trust and to his duty; that said Theron A. Todd, by acting, voting, combining and confederating with other members of the
 said board of public works, did, on or about the 24th day of February, 1892, dis miss and remove, and assist in remov-
 ing and dismissing from office, and from
 the employment of the city, AL
 bert B. Hill. then city engineer, Frederick H. Waldron, then clerk of the
 board of public works, and Patrick Kent, then assistant superintendent of parks;t that said Hill, Waldron and Kent, ofisers and employees of the city, so dismissed and re- moved, were capable, efficient, tried and approved men and officials, and such re- moval and dismissal from the public ser
 vice was without cause, was prejudicial to
 the interest of the city and of the public,
 accomplish the private, personal and polit-
 ical ends and purposes of the said Theron
 A. Todd and the others so acting, voting
 and confederating with him.
 Your petitioners therefore respectfully
 request your honorable body to fix time and place for hearing the above stated charges against the said Theron A. Todd and to give him notice thereof, and it ap bearing and being found that said charges are sustained by the evidence and proved to be true, to remove said Theron A. Todd from his office, place and position as 6 member of the board of public works o1 the city of New Haven.
 Dated at New Haven this 7th day o1 March, 1899.
 WILLIAM M. PARSONS, JOSEPH CAIN, Members of the court of common counci of the city of New Haven.
 Alderman Prince immediately intro duced the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted:
 Resolved, That when this board ad journs it's present sitting such adjourn ment is declared to be to the 18th day o March, 1899, at o'clock in the evening o1 that day at this place, and that at said ad journed meeting this board will hear ano act upon the petition of William M. Par sons and Joseph Calm, and the charger therein contained, preferred by William
 M. Parsons and Joseph Calm to the board against William J. Atwater, Thomas H l Sullivan, William Maley and Theron A Todd, members of the board of public works.
 3. That the clerk of this board ! | of each of the said petitions and charge preferred to this board and also of thes | resolutions, and to cause notice of th pendency of said petitions and charges be | fore this board and of the time and plac of hearing the same to be given to each O. | the abovenamed William J. Atwater Thomas H. Sullivan, William Maley ant Theron A. Todd, by the city sheriff O.
 some other officer or indifferent persol leaving with or at the usual place of abod of William J. Atwater, Thomas H. Sulli
 van, William Maley and Thereon A. Todd
 respectively, copy of the petition ane | charges against him, and one of sucl l copies of these resolutions so made by th l clerk of the board on or before the 9th da, l of March, 1899.
 Alderman Newton then presented thu | petition signed by Henry T. Blake ant 2,914 others asking for the removal of thu | Big Four" at the same time stating tha | he believed that it was one of the larges numbers of signers attached to any peti
 tion ever presented to any legislative body Alderman Kelly asked that the clerl read the names. This request caused { general ripple of laughter, but the alder
 man quelled it by saying: 'I am in earnes in my request, as I have noticed in ths
 lists as published in the papers the names of some men who are dead, others who say themselves that they never signed the peti tion and still others who have never livet in the city, ,and before this thing is througl
 I will show that some of the names hav' been forged to the petition by one of tn, paid canvassers."
 Alderman Johnson cut off further dis cussion by the introduction of the follow ing resolution, which was unanimousl. adopted:
 ! Resolved, That all petitions and remon strances or other papers presented to thi
 board relative to the petitions and charge
 against William J. Atwater, William Maley Thomas H. Sullivan and Theron A. Todd
 and to all the subject matter of said peti tions and charges be received and laid upoy the table for future consideration in con
 nection with said petitions and charges.
 The mayor then stated that in some o1
 the published lists the name of Alderman Crampton had been used as one of tht
 signers, but the alderman had stated tt
 him that he had not signed the petition
 as in his capacity of one of the judges il
 would not have been right for him to dc l so.
 1 Alderman Hitler then explained that i was merely clerical error, the nam, which should have been used being that O l John N. Champion.
 | It is probable that the charges agains the "Big Four" will be heard next Tues
 day evening in the council chamber il l order to accommodate the large number which it is expected will be present at thu l trial.
 ROUTINE BUSINESS.
 The petition of Anthony Carroll asking that new committee to hear his chargei against the board of public works be ap pointed by the board was tabled by vot. of f. to