The Portland daily press., 1895-06-11
Another Flow Of elequenee in the
Brunswick Town Hall.
THE SEWER QUESTION sETTTED
ONCE MORE.
Captain Stover's Comment on an Old
Maxim-Mr, Woodside on Plummer's
Bills-The Strange Silence of the Man
With the Champions Name-Decisive
Vote for Sewer Construction.
(Special to the PRESS. \


another corporation meeting held this
evening Once more there was heard the
tramp of several hundred citizens on the
iron stairs in the town hall, once more
the arguments were gone over and once
more the victory of the citizens who favor
progress as represented by system of
sewerage was greeted with loud and pro-
longed applause
This meeting of the village corporation
| was called to see if the voters would re-
consider the action of their last gathering
appropriating $50, 600 for the continuance
of the sewer construction. Messrs
Joseph A. Woodside, B. R. Jordan, G.
E. Minor, John Bishop, Samuel Whit
more. John H. Peterson, Charles p.
Mustard, James A. Wyman, E. G.
Simpson, j. A. Aubens, George A. Par
sons, J. R. Jordan, S. W. Pearson, B.
Greene N. L. Palmer, L. a. Slower and
W. R. Lincoln, signed the petition which
led to the calling of the meeting.
Both sides took pains to muster their
forces and large attendance was the re-
suit. This time Captain Slower and Mr..
Woodside did the talking for the oppo-
u6uUS Ol Ull6 ScWGfS MI. O6Oig6
who delivered the long and entertaining
oration at the previous meeting, was
present, but had no speech for this
occasion. The meeting was over early.
Proceedings were begun by the reading
of the CALL and the unanimous choice of
Professor Chapman as moderator. Then
Captain Stover rose with a roll of manu-
script in his hand, and moved that when
the vote be taken, the check list be used.
Captain Slower said he wanted to make
few remarks. AS this was the firststine
he had spoken in town meeting in his
twenty four years of residence in Brun-
swick, his hearers could but pity, he said,
a poor old man whose trembling limbs
had brought him to their door. All the
names of the petitioners had been used in
the call for the meeting, which Captain
Slower regarded as rather unusual 1t
took courage for one with no affix to his
name, not even x. Y. H., to address
Brunswick audience, but if he was to be
looked upon as a fool, he proposed to say
a few words to show he was the not the
kind of fool who could submit to be
trampled upon. Many believed that the
vote at the last meeting was not a fair
representation of the wishes of the town.
He did not doubt the honesty of the
count but it was impossible for any men
to count correctly the hands of so large a
gathering. There was proof that votes
were cast at that meeting by men who
were not entitled to vote. He did not be-
lieye that the men interested in the ex-
tension of the sewers wished to shove
through a vote in any way that was not
fair They were honorable men, as was
shown by the fact that they had rot
pressed their advantage by issuing bonds
before there was an opportunity for a
second meeting.
Captain StoYer hoped his friend Mr.
hoa1. o. hic RI
and restrain his passion. This play upon
the name of Barrett Potter, ESQ.,, evident
ly amused considerable number of those
present. Captain Stover expressed the be-
lief that the town had paid an exorbitant
price for the distinguished ability of Mr..
Bowditch the engineer whose system
was adopted The whole thing he be-
"Vox populi vox Dei,'' exclaimed the
Captain. If it was then 1 have more re
spect for the devil than / ever had before.
When l see whole town with madness
commit harikari, I..feel moved to say,
| Oh that I might write book.
Captain Slower likened the way
| Brunswick had been governed to a city
| board of aldermen and self constituted
common council. The people had been
too easy, and had let things drift. He
added:
1.-THE humors of the town meetings of
| the past twelve years would make a book
full of wit, and it would not require the
| genius of Mark Twain to embelish it. 1t
would out-do the Brownies and the
sTroys of Windham, if somebody would
write it and my friend Potter set it to
music.
| Loud applause marked the close of
Captain Stover S remarks. The operetta,
The Troys Of Windham, was by the way
recently sung here by Bowdoin students.
| Dr. Mitchell then made a convincing
| little speech for the other side. He ac-
corded entire sincerity in most things to
those who disagreed with him. he
wished to say, in reference to statement
by Captain Stover, that they were hand
ing down a load of debt to their descend
ants, that they were paying for these
blessings they, enjoyed right along, and II
they left balance of the Indebtedness TO
their children they also left the blessings.
Dr. Mitchell said he had a list OF forty-
six towns in which Mr.. Bowditcn had IN
| troduced his system of sewerage Ihere
were many others in which the same
system was used DIR. Mitchell read a
letter from DR.. Thayer of Waterville, say
ing that the Bowditch system there was
a perfect success, and it's lntroductlon
was the best thing that city had ever
done. The system in Brunswick was not not
an experiment.. 1t was. in successful
operation In all the miles of pipe only
one defect had been found, and that was
detection of just an eighth OF an !ncn:
The gentlemen who opposed this I'M
provement were largely the same as as taose nos
who had objected, and honestly obJected,
to the building of the town hall. But
would they now vote to go back to the tn
old ram shackle structure? They had op-
posed the introduction of Androscoggln
water, but do they now want to 90 away
with the abundant supply for fire M nghtiing n
and the excellent lake water Tor drlnklns, Ilf y !,
purposes? These remarks by DE- M1tcnell
called out expressions of approval DIS
counting those in favor of the other argu-
ment.
Mr.. Woodside, who made the next speech
was somewhat vehement. He began Wltn
some statements about the SIZE ol
plumbers bills for fitting houses ana @
connecting them with the sewers; MT.
Woodside's statements would furnish
material for many new jokes on H. d iaUnel nea
thread bare subject. He said there Were
people who could not get money enough
by nortgaging their houses 70 connec'