The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-04
Horace II. Ropes
Talks of Metropol-
itan BoardWays.
O'MALLEY CASE THEORIES.
Clinton Polo Team Admit
ted Into Southeastern
League.

who mas been a division engineer un-
der the metropolitan water board, and
who has resigned his place, has not
nigh opinion of the methods of the
board in settling land damage cases.
Mr. Ropes has been engineer in the
employment of railroads from Texas
to Maine, and has seen a great deal
of that sort of settlement made.
In a conversation with a Spy man
he said: The board is narrow in it's
way OF looking at things and does not
apply good business methods The
boards plan of dickering with each in
divldual who owns land has cost the
metropolitan district hundreds of dol
lars and resulted in injustice to indi-
Yidual property holders. Some men
have got greatly too much, others
greatly too little.
Mr., Ropes believes that if the board
had gone over the entire territory, APP
praising each estate 1t wished to seize
at a value enough beyond it's actual
value, so that the courts would not be
apt to give more, then offered each
owner that sum, the state would
be better off and the persons with
whom the board has dealt, as rule,
better satisfied.
Mary Mcdonnell, who lives on
Church street, was arrested last night
and brought to the police station on a
warrant issued by Clerk Frank e.
Howard at the instance of Mrs. Mary
Wtnan who complains that Mrs Nc
Donnell assaulted her. Mrs Mcdonnell,
the police say, had been drinking, yes
terday afternoon, and had been MAX
ing things as, uncomfortable as posi-
BILE for her neighbors.
The police made a raid on the cars
at o'clock this morning near the
railroad station, and found James Fen
ton an Michael Normal asleep. They
VIII be charged with vagrancy before
the district court in the morning.
The police are still working on the
o MaIey case, They are said to be
working on the theory that there was
scuffle between Murphy and O'Mal-
ley before the latter was drowned. If
this is true, there is little to show it,
unless the police develop evidence they
apparently do not now possess. The
theory mas been advanced that the men
rolled Down the embankment together
with O'Malley on top. The theory is
not compatible with the condition of
Murphy's clothing, which was wet
around The limbs and the arms in front
indicating that he had slid down the
slope of the dam on all tours, and
doubtless crawled up in the same way
the condition of the clothing and the
idea that Murphy slid into the water
with O'Malley on top of him, can be
harmorized at all.
AS theory, the idea of a scuffle is
far-fetched. The idea that both men
walked over is much more plausible
The darn is narrow, it is fenced in on
one side, but not on the side toward
the water. If one man had been walk
ing ahead of the other and walked off,
it is likely the other in his condition,
would have followed, or one might have
lurched sideways and knocked the 9TH
er off gong himself.
The point has been raised against
Murphy that when officer William
Grady met him and asked him what
was the matter, Murphy replied that
nothing was the matter. 1t is urged
that unless he had been fighting, or
engaged in a row, he would have said
that somebody was in the water. But
Murphy was blind drunk. His subse-
quent actions indicated that he hardly
knew that he was wet himself, if the
stories Of the people in the house
where he boarded can be be-
lieved. They say that he went home,
and tried to go to bed, with his wet
and icy clothing upon him. Certainly
there was no make believe in the slum
Der from which the police awoke him
recovered. 1t was the slumber of a man
stupefied with drink.
The case will come up in district
courc again Thursday morning. If the
police have anything up their sleeves,
it viii develop then They had moth
ing Friday morning, or Murphy would
not have beer charged with simple as
sault and released on bonds of $500.
The floors of the new police station
are beginning to swell and curl, The
floor in the barracks is especially faulty.
Tie trouble is said to be that the floor
is laid too near the ground. From the
bottom Of the floor to terra firma is
but is inches. The site is part of an
old swamp, and conducive to damp
ness.
Contractor H. H. Lowe is seriously
delayed in the construction of the new
school house, A car load of stone which
was shipped from Warsaw Nov. 16, is
lost on its way, although a car that
was shipped Nov. q has been found
The latter car was found side tracked
in the Worcester freight yards, where
il had been for some days. The other
car, it is thought, may have been start
ed wrong at Willimantic, CT, where it
had to be shifted from one train to
another
In the meantime, a large gang of
brieklayers is deprived of the opportu-
nifty 10 work, except on such portions
of tue structure as can be built here
and there. These delays have great
ly Increased the expense of putting up
the building.
Tie Clinton roller polo team has been
admitted 20 the Southeastern league
The news was telephoned to Humphrey
j. Couehlin, brother of j. H. Coughlin,
who, with Frank H. Connaughton, at
tended meeting of the managers of a
number Of teams in both the Southeast
ern and Now England leagues, in Bos-