Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-01-29

the petitioners, for he had no intention
of SO doing, but that he appeared sim
ply as a citizen who did not believe in
the plans the commissioners had adopt
ed.
Attorney Parker had taken exception
to Mr.. Thayer's statement that if the
county had no redress it had fallen into
trap, and on this point Mr.. Goulding
said: If it shall turn out that the county
commissioners and the people of Wor-
/ cester county are in a position from
which they cannot extricate themselves,
then | should think calling it Falling
/ into trap was an appropriate figure of
! speech. But | do not say that we are
in a trap.
| The only question is, Mr.. Chairman,
are you so bound that you have not got
right to change your steps? If you
| should decide to abandon the plans that
| you have accepted, and decide to ac-
| cept the plans of Mr.. Boydeu or of some
other architect, the moral legality of the
| question is that you should pay the
architects whose plans have received
your approval, the $4,000 they are to
receive if the court house was built,
minus what 1t would cost them to look
after the construction of the building.
To say that they have right to have
their name inscribed upon the scroll of
fame is, l submit, begging the whole
question. If those plans are not the
brilliant eff1uence of genius, but a mis-
take and an abortion that will be a
cause of reproach to them in the years
to come, when you rescue them from
that fate by giving up those plans then
! say you are doing that firm favor.
There have been no architects con-
I nected with the case which have sur
\ PASSED in achievements those of MIR.
/ Boyden If we have Mr.. Boyden on our
/ side we cannot be accused of arrogance
| if we agree with him. I believe that the
majority OF architects viii approve the
plans of Mr.. Boyden as being a superior
production to those which the county
! commissioners have adopted
You propose to destroy the front of
the old court house. which according to
/ the taste and judgment of everybody, is
1 a beautiful classic ed.fice. If l could
| have my way | would not have it touch
/ ed. The ideal thing would be that YOU
should build court house on the corner
4 where the Antiquarian building is now
located. But you are restricted in this
/ by the statute which confines you to the
/ expenditure of only 100000 If you
| adopt Mr.. Boyden's plans you will have
j the Old court houses,
Another thing; have you any right to
1 block up the public highway leading be-
/ tween the present court houses? What
authority have you got to discontinue
/ that way? If you have right to build
/ over that street, then you have a right
4 to build out into Main street and into
/ Lincoln square. There is no serious
/ question but that this street is public
/ way and has been so used for
/ years. DO you think that the city of
! Worcester will let you discontinue that
way to put that thing upon it, gentle
men?
! The question is whether you have got
| right to reconsider the matter. The
! public Of Worcester county and all the
! public is the interested party. | have
suggested the honorable way
| Suppose somebody should arise of
such transcendent genius, VINO should
1 present a plan that everybody, includ-
ing your own adviser should deem by
/ far the best of all. Does anybody claim
/ that it would not be your clear duty to
accept the new and reject the old?
have the opinion of good architects
when I say that the present plans will
4 be an eye-sore to the future genera
| tions.
One might think by some intimations
! that this was a contest of architectural
gladiators. and that the tribunal would
turn its thumb down, when one showed
/ superiority over the other. And that,
! like Nero in Rome, you must keep your
/ thumbs down and order the other con-
1 testants to be put to death. You can
free us. gentlemen. We are here as
citizens. and we appeal to you as per-
| fectly free tribunal. You can save us
| if YOU see fit.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Goulding' s
remarks. Mr. Parker asked him if he
! did not consider that contract existed
! between the county and the architects,
I which brought out a somewhat spirited
! legal discussion between the two law
yers Mr. Goulding said: The county
| commissioners in respect to the high
| ways, are court. In other matters
| they are not court They are agents
| for the people. 1t is no different than
| if you were building a building for
| yourself Don't let the plausible inge-
nuity of anybody tickle your fancies in
any such way as to make you think
that you have adjudicated anybody.
| There is no RECESSION of any contract
that any court Of equity would hold
| against you"