Morning journal and courier., 1893-08-23
PERMISSION REFUSED.

The Board of selectmen Refuse to
Allow the Fair Haven and WestvilIe>f
Road to Extend Its Tracks in West.
VILE Through Orange street, On the !
Ground That the Street is Too Mar |
row-The EdsewsOd street Railroad |
Company Files a Petition to Run |
Through the Same Street-Permts- !
sion VIII Also be Refused Them
Selectman Pohlman's Plan for Pro-
vidins for she Needy Poor-Other
Business.
The Edgewood Street Railroad company
were out In force at the meeting of the
selectmen last evening, and through Its
engineer, James P. Bogart, presented a
petition, accompanied by plans end speci-
fications, for the construction of single
track electric road to start from the Pond
Lily paper MILL in Westville along Orange
street to Main, to Fountain, through
Fountain to Alden, through Alden to
Edgewood avenue, through Edgewood ave-
nue. to the city line of the city Of New
Haven, the road to be continued In said
city through the streets specified In the
original charter of the Edgewood Horse
Railroad company. The petition was
signed by the Edgewood Street Railroad
by its secretary. Hobart L. Hotchkias:
Mr.. Bogart, after presenting the petit
ton, etc., asked that a hearing on the same
be assigned for Tuesday evening. Saptem-
Der s. Immediately after the petition had
been read Attorney George D. Watrous,
representing the Fair Haven and Westville,
opposed the petition of the road. He said
that the road came to the selectmen claim
Ing that 1t had prior right to the streets
by virtue of a charter granted some twenty
years ago. During that time the road or
company had absolutely done nothing
toward building or equipping its road
Now, continued Mr.. Watrous, they come
here after we have presented our petition
and ask that the Fair Haven and Westville
| road be subjected to still further delay.
The plans of the Fair Haven and Westville
road were presented to this board July II,
| and since that time we have been awaiting
| decision in the matter. Had our petition
been granted major portion of the tracks
would have been without doubt laid by this
time. The charter rights granted to both
roads gives to each the right to run over
| the others tracks on Orange and Fountain
| streets.
| At this point Attorney Moran, who siso
| represented the Fair Haven and Westville
road, stated that their rights expired Sep
| TENDER 10, and that action should be taken
on their petition as soon as possible 80 as
| to allow them to commence the work with
in the sixty day limit prescribed by the
legislature.
The main point of the opposition to
granting the petition of either road seemed
to be the nsrrowness of Orange street.
When this objection was raised by one OF
| the members of the board Attorney Wat
rous explained that if Orange street were
widened great portion Of the difficulty
would be done away with. In response to
which statement Town Agent Clarity seid
that in his opinion the town should not be
put to the expense of widening any street
for the use of any street. railway.
William Nicely, one of tbs incorporatore
of the Edgewood Street railroad company
explained that tho reason why n further
hearing was asked was because W. j
Clark, the electrician of the COMPANY
which Is to equip the road, was in the west
and would not be at home for at least
week, end therefore could not explain tbs
plans and specifications of the road to the
board until his return. He also made til.
claim that the Edgewood road had tn.
| prior right to run through the streets BY
resson-of the rights granted by charteI
twenty years ago. In reference to thu
= Il w
, both roads had the right to use the sam
, tracks, he said that the statement was cor
rect, but the company which laid its tract
frst would be In a position to exact tribut
from the other road, and the Edgewoot
company did not wish to pay tribute #
another road for running over its tracks
Attorney Watrous at this point inquired
"What assurances have we, Mr.. Nicely
that If your road does obtain the privileg
that the road will be builta"
s'We can give the same assurances thu
the Fair Haven and Westville road can,
g | replied Mr.. Nicely.
=. At this point, without any more ado @
argument, the board voted to grant heal
. | ing on the Egewood Avenue road Thur;
e day evening, August 81.
y Attorney Wstrous then asked that som
( action be taken in reference to the petitio
y | of the Fair Haven and Westvllle road fo
). | permission to run through Fountain an
Orange streets, but the matter was table
| for executive session.
In executive session the board voted I
give the Fair Haven and Westville pr
d titioners leave to withdraw after delibe
z | ating over the matter three quarters of a
hour. The grounds taken for this actio
+ were that the petition was illegal, nc
| coming within the requirements of II
railroad law recently passed by the ger
| eral assembly OIL tne sthto-
t The railroad law of the state requires
q width of at least twenty-o one feet and on,
o half inch for single track road, and O.
n ange street is not of that width in ii
travelled path. 1t was on these ground
d that the board decided that it could NJ
}. legally grant the road permission to Ia
d the tracks.
: After the decision had been reached A
torneys Watrous and Moran said that ne
g plans would be presented later. The ne7
step in this direction would be petitio
for the widening of tine road similar
that brought in the Morris Cove matter
The track could not be laid on the road 6
-, present without an order from the superb
: | court.
;, The result of the decision ia that the.
:, | will be no electric road in Weetville tn
winter, as it is believed that in order to |
consistent the board will have to take tt
same action on the petition of the Edg
It wood avenue railroad.
# Town Agent Clarity reported regardin
the census of the blind asked for by tt
secretary of the state board of eduoatio
that he had been unable to devise any pla
q for such enumeration of the blind 9th,
@ | than to have it done at the regular registr
ton. It was finally voted to refer the ma
:, ter to the town agent to investigate an
u report further at the next meeting of tt
board.
It The committee on outside poor throug
its chairman, Selectman Pohlman, reporte
that the members of the committee aft,
several consultations had decided to re
II ommend plan for the relief of the pc.
a of the city, who are from day to day asl
r, ing the members of the committee fl
work. MIR. Pohlman said "Last Thur
day there were seventy-fve unfortunat,
l. looking for work. All they ask for
work. Sooner or later we will have to 81,
them aid, and we should endeavor
devise some plan for aiding IL
poor who are willing to wol
e but who under the present financial strin
4 ency, with the shops either closed or worl
7 ing on half time, are unable to secure wol
to do. The plan of the committee, al
@ which we recommend, is that a speci
n town meeting be called and the sum
= s., 900 appropriated for needed improv
mepts, the money turned over to the pal
"a commission to expend on parks and the
n worthy poor put to work. improvement
= are needed in several places and especial
in the Beaver Ponds district.
4 Several of the members were undecide
as to whether it would be legal to expen
!. more than the yearly appropriation fl
!, parks, and 1t was decided TO leave the ma
ter in the hands of the committee on on
y side poor to inquire into further and repo
!. at the next meeting of the board.