Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-09-11
WOMEN WON THE DAY.
Lively Fight Over the Name of a Long Island Village Street.
FAIR sHovBLERs ARE NOTORIOUS.
NIT. Hand Wanted to Name the.street Hand Avenue Instead of BayvIcw, but His Sign boards Were Not Allowed to Stay Up. and the Fad Is Not Yet.

MT. Hand Wanted to Name the Street Hand
 Avenue Instead of BayvIcw. but His sign
 boards Were Not Allowed to Stay Up,
 and the Fad Is Not Yet.
 PoRr JEFFERSON. N. r., Sopt H. The women of Setaukct, a village near Fort Jefferson, went forth to battle armed with implacahle determination and some shovcls. and before long they had dug n grave and buried in it tho aspirations of wealthy Setaukct shipbuildcr. Mir. N Hand.
 The highway commissioners arc to visit the village today, 1t is true, but the wom. en rogard thoir victory as decisive, and say that in case Mir. Hand Is still flying in the face of public sentiment when tho sun rises tomorrow they will bc on hand and will drive his forces Into tho ocean.
 All the TOW Is over a little bit of thor oughfarc that runs from tho main street of tho village to the bay. Residents there wished to have 1t named Bayvicw avenue. NIT. Hand. on the contrary, desires to per pctuatc his name and has attempted tc settle the matter once for all by putting up signs giving notice that its name Is Hand avenue.
 Thore Was nothing worse than talk as long as Mir Hand was satisfied with TO- ferring to the thorOughfare as Hand ave. nue. for the persons who live in 1t out numbered him. and thcy could and did call 1t Bayvlcw avenue 10 times whilo he was saying Hand once.
 Pulled Down the Signs.
 But when he attempted to put up sign. boards for the guidance and instruction of strangers the quarrel became open. and the women. who have been foremost in the discussion all along declared that this must not bC.
 MT. Hand on several occasions caused tho erection of signboarls which borc hi, name, and they werc always pulled down by indignant residents. X short timo ago an iron post was set up in the strcct A very firm post 1t was too Tho letters of the persistent Mir. Hands namo woro printed upon m iron crosspiccc at the top. In the morning the post was gone and the earth about the pole was 90 tramplcd that 1t told of yeOman work donc in tho night. Some one had fallen upon thnt post with n slcdCe and had beaten it into old iron. Then the wreck was carried away and hidden.
 . That is the history of tho feud up tc Monday. when number of iron signs each weighing half a ton and having Hand painted upon the crusspic,,cS. were cnrtcd to the spot. The news that Hand hal ordered them had spread
  met and decided that the time for open warfare had arrived.
 The workmcn dug number uf holes and wcrc lifting the signs into position when n band of women. with sleeves roll ed up and shovcls in hand, marched into tho avenue, advanced promptly to one of tho holes and began to fill it up with earth
 The men were nonplused. They were not disposed 10 resort to force, and yet they wore paid to put up tho signs. Each of the new and offensive guide posts was so heavy that it required six men to put it in position. While they werc busy at one of the excavations the women took up positions at all the others and worked as If they werc digging for hidden treasure.
 The Women Victorious.
 The men tried persuasion, but tho wom. en shovclcd away without saying n word. Thcn the men intcrfercd, but as soon us one of the amnZons was driven from her position three UT four moro caIno tu her aid, and tho remainder went to work in another spot.
 The workmcn resisted, but 1t was only in half hearted way. and after half an hour. during which therc was general un- happiness, the men threw down their spades and left the invaders in possession of tho field.
 The advocates of "Bayviow, thus freed from interruption. piled their shuv- els vigorously until every holc was filled with earth that had been stamped and pounded into tho opening until it was packed as solidly as before the ground was broken.
 When tho work was finished. the wom- en shouldercd their shovcls, waved their aprons in triumph and marched from the field. They loudly dcficd Mir. Hand to put up the signs and say that their action is nothing compared to the measures they are prepared to adopt in future should tho shipbuildcr again attempt to carry out his plans.
 Mir. Hand is determined to carry his point. and he said that the signs will be placed in position regardless of cost and trouble, The highway commissioners are to visit the scene today. but thoso who saw the women at work shake their heads and say that 1t will require moro than tho dictate of the borough officials to have any effect upon the brigade of shovslers. The husbands and brothers of the women who turned out are proud of their performance and will back them mp in future should there be further trouble