The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-05
were SURPRISED.
Two Legislative Com
mittees Visit the
Basin.
WORK EXAMINED.
State Solons Have Secured
Some Idea Of the Vast
Property Damage.


fort and good will of two important
legislative committees-the committee
on metropolitan affairs, and tho COM
mittee on water supply.
Preparations have been making for
some days. This morning two 'busses
were sent to the West BoyIston station.
At third bus started for West
Boylston. 1t carried a delegation OF
citizens and town officials, who
escorted the legislators over thu
territory embraced in the Wachu-
sett reservoir scheme.
The party was in charge of Warren
Goodale, president of the Business
Mems Association. 1t included William
Rodger, chairman of the board of Sc
lectmen, Selectman Horace H, Lowe,
Town Solicitor E. A. Evans, Attorney
Walter R. Dame. Patrick F. Cannon,
John B. O'Toole, Herman Dletzmdn,
Wellington E. Parkhurst, Julius Wit
tig, Joseph e. Leahy, John w. Forces
ter, Thomas Dawson Tate, Joseph e.
Harrity. The drive to West Boylston
took an hour. There was a wait uf a few
minutes at the West Boylston station
before the train from Worcester pulled
.
Former Representative 2. A. Cow zee
joined the party at this time with a few
dozen carnations, grown in his own hot
house. Each legislator wore one in his
button hole.
Those of the committee on metropol
itan affairs who came We're Senator's
Fred w. Dallinger of MtddleseX, Ar
thur A. Maxwell of Suffolk, Represent
atives H. c. White of Suffolk, B. G.
Daor1 Of TQroOly1ina Michael S111lixra N
of Boston, William Schofield of Maiden,
Arthur I. Russell of Boston, Charles H.
Ramsdell of Lynn, Walter S. Weston OF
Hyde Park. OF the committee on water
supply were Senator b H. Woodsum
of Norfolk, Senator Wilson n. Fair
bank of Warren, Representative George
F. Williams of FoxbOro, John T. Lang
ford of Newton, Frank S. Dewey OF
Westfeld, George E. Varney Of Lowell,
Albert H. Ray of Ashland, Horatio F.
Twombley of birmingham and Charles
H. Epson of East Hampton.
With the legislators, Secretary Ia
venpOrt, Chief Engineer Stearns, De-
| partment Engineer Richardson and De-
partment Engineer Miller, representing
| the metropolitan water board. Also with
| the party were Senators Harrington
and Representative Tappan and Mum
| roe of Worcester
| By this time, Judge John w. Cor
| coran, who is counsel for this own, in
| the matter of Clinton's bill before the
| legislature, asking for an indemnity,
| had arrived in his own team. Three
| barges proved insufficient for the taslA
and a wagonette was pressed into ser
vice.
| The senators and representatives
spent all day yesterday inspecting some
| of the work that has been done to
| bring the waters of the Nashua river
| to Boston, but it was not until they
| had driven party through West Boyls-
| ton that they began to wildly reallze
the vastness of the scheme ans the I'M
| portance and magnitude of the inter-
! ests involved.
Many of the legislators had never
been over the ground before. 1t was
not until they were on the ground
| that they fully realized how thoroughly
whole communities, including large
manufactures, schools, churches, and
cemeteries were to be wiped from the
map.
The barges were drawn by -four
| horses, big, strong animals. They took
their distinguished burdens at swing
ing pace along the Burdett hill road
which bounds one side of the reservoir
| from West Boylston to this town.
On the way to the top of the hill, the
party was Joined by Senator Smith
president of the senate. He was &C
| companied by former Representative
Walter r. Howard.
This road led squarely through the
thickly settled portion of the village
! above the rolling meadow, which, as
| the Legislators were informed, contains
many of the best farms in Worcester
| county.
At various points on the road some
body would ask: How high will the
| water come at this point?" When the
answer came, as it usually did, that
the ground would be so or 100 feet under
water, there was usually an expression
of surprise.
The representatives, many of them
realized for the first time, the immensi-
ty of the damage done to West BOyls-
| ton, as they realized later how much
this town has suffered.
The attention Of some of the COM
mittee on metropolitan affairs was es-
pecially attracted to the large coun-
! terpane factory just at the edge of the
village, in one of the lowest places in
the valley.
They were informed that it would be
| torn down and the debris Carted away
and that the firm was under contract
not to rebuild anywhere within the wa
tershed.
Having gone as far as was deemed
|
| barges were swung about, and the driy-
ers instructed to take the lower road
| through Sawyers Mills. Here the visi-
tors were treated to the spectacle of a
great factory building already half de-
molished and two groups of houses
that were populous homes, which must
also be torn down.
Former Representative Cowee re-
marked that the destruction of such a
thriving community could hardly be
compensated in money.
Frequently the barges halted for a
moment to give the visitors a birdseye
view of the scheme from some of the
| several vantage points on the road.
From Sawyers Mills to the dam was
a drive of 20 minutes. The water was
high in the river, so high in fact that
an unusually large amount was going
through the flume as waste. The party
disembarked long enough to walk
across the temporary dam, to the
flume They We're told that the water
was passing through the fiume at the
rate of 45,0OOO00 gallons a day. They
were much more surprised to learn.
however, that at the same instant wa
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