Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-03-08
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.

Taxpayer Defends the Road Board From
a Charge Made by One of Its Members.
Editor of the DEMOCRAT:
Not that wish to champion public
officials, for they are all good, bad and
Indifferent, but if you will favor me
with little space in your valuable
paper shall thank you. By the way,
the Saturday EVENING DEMOCRAT under
its title of STRAY Leaves From a Re-
porter's Note Book makes very grave
charges against our city road board, and
indirectly their officers and agents
What is said in the article may be the
outcome of the idle prattle of a gossip,
the malicious stab of a disappointed
office seeker, or the innocent man about
town who has been gulled. 1t says that
| it costs about twenty dollars per day to
run the city barn. This statement
ought to come pretty near the truth, for
it was no doubt based upon the credi-
bility of the informant. 1t comes with
in about ten dollars of the truth and
within about the same amount of
/ falsehood, that is, if the informant
/ refers to the running of the barn on ac-
count of the road department proper.
This means the drivers, the keeper of
the barn, the forage and supplies, the
shooting and repairs. If the informer
1 intended to include the outlay of the
street inspector and the moderate wages
| of the few laborers attached to the de-
partment, the present winter, which it
i is hoped he does not covet, then it
would be charity to forgive his igno-
rance; at least, it is a serious reflection
on the management and faithfulness of
the road board. Means of investigation
are so easily attainable that no honest
man is justified in rushing into public
print with statement not fortified with
facts as to the expense of running the
city barn." This is public matter, it
involves the integrity of the road board
and the officers thereof, when it is pub
licly declared that with a daily expense
of running the city barn to the tune of
twenty dollars, no one, not even the
road board, seems to know what the
city is getting in return. We fancy the
road board, composed of such men as
Mayor Webster. James Coughlan, o. II.
Stevens, E. B. Kelley and George Tracy,
have found out before this time what
they are spending twenty dollars per day
for, from the city treasury. The winter
has been bad cold terrible snowy and icy,
nothing like it in thirty-five years, not
Excepting the 1888 blizzard. Hundreds
and hundreds of miles of road all over
the state are not even open vet, for pub.
lie travel. Our own city streets were
never so Durueneu Win snow, IOr the
same length of time, and nothing but
extravagent sums of money aud an army
of men, would restore our streets to or
binary winter travel. The blissful in
former, by the way, on reflection says,
that our worthy road board by its off
GERS and agents, disposed of the city'f
Icrushed stone for twenty-five cents per
ton less than the cost of crushing and
farther that the cost of crushing stone
at the Cheshire notch was 81 so per ton,
the same being 25 cents per ton more
than outside parties agreed to furnish
the stone for. Those are indeed grave
charges against our road board and the
officers and agents of the board. Will
the figures warrant the accusation In
vestigatlon is cheap, but not so cheap as
the informer, if he cannot produce the
Figures to prove his statement. The in
former would make a shabby figure be-
fore the honorable board of road commits
sioners, preferring such charges as these
unles he was prepared to verify them
with proof. If not let some honest
taxpayer drop in before the full board
some evening and inquire.
TAXPAYER.
| THE statements above referred to anC
denied bv Taxpayer" were furnished
to the DEMOCRAT by member of the
road board who will, no doubt, explain
his position.