Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-04
AT THE CITY HALL.
Something More About the City
Telephone Service.
The Lake Bridge Again = The License
BOard-committe Meetings
Notes.


land Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany profess amusement at the attitude
OF the city government toward that cor
poration. The mayor discovered a con-
tract made in 1883, whereby the COM
pany agreed to furnish stated number
OF telephones to the city for $40 year
each. In view of the large amounts
paid for telephone service and the man
ner In which the amounts vary, he sent
communication to the city government
Monday night, suggesting that the re-
cent requests of the company for ''privi-
ieges," be withheld until the matter of
charges had been looked up. There is
no doubt but that the city Is paying
more money for Its telephones than it
ought, and that some fixed rate-and a
reduced one-should be decided on; but
there is some question as to the privi-
legeS which the company asks.
The petition from the company asks
for permission to relocate the lines at
present on North, Prescott, Summer,
Washington square, Water Millbury
and Lafayette streets with a loop on
Mechanic street from Washington
square to Spring street, in an under
p ground conduit to the company's Office.
on Norwich street. 1t is the under
the company will remove, as soon as
the work Of construction is finished, the
poles at present standing on Salisbury
and Grove streets between the Wash
burn & Moon company's north boun-
dairy and Lincoln square; Union street
between Lincoln square and Mechanic
street, Main street between Mechanic
street and Soutabrdge street, South
bridge street between Main and Salem
streets. Mechanic street between Main
and Norwich streets and Mechanic
street between Norwich and Spring
streets.
The company is desirous OF leaving the
wires on Mechanic street between Nor
wich and Spring streets, owing to the
fact that carrying trunk wires through
. cables is injurious % the service, but
I they will be forced to remove them.
This privilege which the company
e is asking for Is going to cost them from
$4,000 to $4,000 The agitation against
overhead wires has been going on for
some time, and 1t has resulted in this
request for permission to change from
the company Representatives of the
company say they are not strenuous in
the matter, as the granting of the petit
ton means a large outlay and little re-
turn.
The local manager of the company
still has nothing to say for publication,
but II is understood the company's at
titude is that the contract was made for
the old style telephones, though they are
d. not specified, and that the city cannot
force the company to put in the latest
and most improved telephone for $40
an instrument. At the time the contract
was made the modern telephone was
unknown. Such telephones as were
contracted for the company would glad
( ly put in for the contract price
THE LAKE BRIDGE
There is another bridge picture on the
field now The latest sketch is a pers-
: pective Of the cantilever bridge drawn
by City Engineer Mcclure, at the sug-
y gestion of Mayor Dodge. 1t shows the
1 bridge with the same surroundings as
& the picture which shows off the long
: Norcross bridge and which Mr.. Bigelow
ahas been circulating. The design Is ex-
ceedingly handsome from an artistic
standpoint, and the Bigelow surround
ings set it off admirably.
The impression on the street that for
500, 900 the city can have the Norcross
bridge as it appears in the Bigelow
4 drawing is, of course, incorrect What
q Mr.. Norcross offers to build is the
2 bridge shown in the Spy with three
arches. 1t is a plain deck bridge. Mr..
eNorcross has not yet furnished
i lDe SpeClICdltOIs O1 tflls pEIuS6
to the city engineer, but it is
understood he has men at work
upon them. When they are completed
they will be sent TO the Webb Granite
and Construction Company for Mr..
Webb to figure on. If the Norcross
bridge can be built for 100000 includ-
ing damages for the broken contract, it
is quite likely the committee Will rec
ommend 1t. There will, however, be no
aotfnp bv roynupjftaa This yvaelf
- Alderman Potter finds some people
who still stand for the stone arch, and
he is as firm q friend to it as ever. He
believes it is the only bridge the city
can afford to build at present, and he
is confident that it will supply all needs
for a generation.
Councilman Powell may also be count
ed on to stand for the stone bridge, as
he has in the past. The fact that some
people understand that the selection is
between the two drawings on exhibition
In a Main street window, is unfortunate
and friends of the stone arch are TAX
ing pains to let people know wherein
the difference lies.
THE LICENSE BOARD.
The license board Thursday granted
permits as follows: s. 1. Howard, to
move two buildings on the same lot at
the corner Of Grafton andTemple streets;
John Donahue to drive hack; C. E. Seb-
bens, to make a wooden addition to
house at II Vine street; John Rivard,
to make wooden addition and altera-
.tions to building ct "a Lowell street;
James Murphy, Michael Donahue,
Frank L. Allen and VIM. Knowles, to
Jay and repair drains; James Miles &
Son, to use portions of Murray avenue
and Park avenue for erection of build
fngs; s. l. Howard to use portions Of
Front, Pearl and Grafton streets to erect
buildings; G. w. Houck, to use a por-
tion of Fruit street to erect building.
Ella Edinburg, on a petition to carry
on a business of collecting, storing and
dealing in old rags and junk. and JUL
ius E. Smith to drive hack, were given
leave to withdraw.
KETTLE BROOK MONEY.
The finance committee will recon-
mend, next Monday evening. that $780,
600 or more to be borrowed, to be used in
settlement of the damages awarded to
the Lakeside Manufacturing company.
Mrs. Kent's damages have been paid,
but there is not enough money on the
Kettle brook account to pay the large
Lakeside award. The city was author
fzed by the legislature to borrow $500, 900