The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-19
Mr.. WINTERS CLAIM.
He Says Action Of Recent
Webster Meeting Was
Null and Void.
Editor of The Spy:

Editor of The Spy:
Relative to the special town meeting
held Monday night, and while the mod
orator may have acted according to the
best Of his understanding, yet claim
that before the town could or can con-
slider the selling of the strip in ques-
ton two-thirds of the voters of the
town must give their assent.
Here Is the town bylaw, which settles
it:
Rules and Regulations for the Govern
ment of Town Meetings:
Section mo final vote shall be re-
considered unless the person moving
the same shall have made a. declaration
of his intention to do so at the time of
it's adoption, and no article in any
warrant shall be again taken into con-
sideration after it has been disposed of
unless ordered by vote of two-thirds
of the voters present.
The following article came before the
town at it's regular meeting held April
g. and is set out on the annual war
rant as:
Art. 31.-To see if the town will vote
to sell a strip of land not to exceed so
feet in width, from the lake to the rail-
road on the south side of it's land adj
joining Beacon park, or otherwise act
thereon.
The article in the warrant for the
meeting held Monday last reads as
follows:
Art. Ito see if the town will vote
to sell a strip of land, not exceeding
sixty feet in width, adjoining the
northerly line of Beacon park and eX-
tending from the railroad to the lake.
1 asked the moderator to rule that
before any action could be taken on
the matter then before the town, that a
two-thirds affirmative vote would be
necessary. The moderator refused to
make the ruling, yet titles to real es-
tate are ticklish things to monkey with,
and as there seems to be a common de-
sire to understand the point 1 raised I
trust you will find a. place for it.
l claim that the ruling of the moder-
ator means that the article under con-
sideration Monday last, when the point
was raised, was not an article, or that
the warrant calling the special meet
ing was not a warrant which could be
covered by the use of the words in the
bylaw ANY warrant" ). either that, or
the ruling must mean that the article
81 on the annual warrant was not an
article or that the warrant for the
town meeting was meeting which
COulO not De covered Dy using the Two
words ANY warrant"
This ruling of the moderator will not
stand The action taken by the spe-
cial town meeting is null and void, and
the town is not in a position to pass
the title, as to date the board of Sc
lectmen have not been so instructed in
accordance with the method of proce-
dure we prescribe.
There is no doubt the bylaw above
quoted was drafted for just a situation
as we encountered last Monday, where
the town was to be rushed into doing
something at a time and season when
it was only natural to expect many of
our citizens could not attend. The by
law seems to have been created for the
express purpose of preventing one sec
ton of the town taking advantage Of
the other.
We need no lawyer to tell US that a
title will not stand, and many of US
believe that the selectmen will refuse
to take any action in the matter The
special meeting was called because the
railroad people wanted it,. and there is
no obligation on the shoulders of the
board; it was the business of the rail-
way, not the board, to furnish the two
thirds vote. They failed to furnish it,
and things are where they We're
Yours truly, Chas. Geo. Winter.
Webster, MAY 49,