The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-05-17
HAMDEN's TOWN MEETING
NEW SCHOOLS AND HIGHWAY CHANGES SAT UPON.
Both Mills Shut Down to Permit Voters to Attend-A Spicy and Interesting Discussion of Town Affairs.

Hamden enjoyed special town meet ing yesterday afternoon and the pleas ant weather combined with genera
 suspicion that ''things would be live ly," served to crowd the pretty towr
 hall to almost overfowing. It was ex plained to those unfamiliar with tht
 municipal modus operandi that all
 though the meeting was called for o'clock it would be considerably latel before 1t got agoing because Towr Clerk Cooper had 50 many dogs to H.
 cense. About 2:30 nearly 100 employes
 of the two local mills marched into the
 hall, the shops having shut down fol
 the afternoon to give everybody c
 chance to participate in the struggle
 Toward o'clock MT. Cooper had check
 ed off all the dogs in sight and took his | seat. Ex-Representative Shares was 1 chosen moderator, and took his office
 with the remark that he was no par | limentarian, but would try and be | square to all concerned.
 | Two topics held chief attention highways and public schools. 4 hard but short and decisive fight was made | on both, but both were defeated over- whelmingly. Citizens were ifot Inclined to spend even comparatively small
 sur1s in building new roads even
 though their necessity was unquestior- cd. Regarding the schools three were
 asked for, but a motion for the appro- priation of mot to exceed sS.0OO' for tie first school so paralyzed the voters that they downed it at once. and ad- journed before peep had been offered
 concerning the other two. It was the
 old fight between the north and south
 ends of the town, and the north won.
 The argument Is that the south end
 people adjoin New Haven city and
 will one of these days be annexed
 Therefore Hamden declines to go to
 further school building expenses for
 that section.
 The business started with the very
 first article of the call. "to change the
 method of advertising town meetings"
 First Salectman Downes offered mo-
 tion to paste such notices in each school
 district at least five days before the
 date of the meeting. In opening he said that 1t cost $22.35 to advertise the last meeting in four New Haven news papers, "an outrageous sum-" while if only cost B to bill the town for ur-
 licensed dogs. An amendment was of fered that the proposed notices should be nailed to the school house doors, which provoked another voters protest that the doors would look like ''perfo- rated circus boards Still another wished bill posts planted in the dis tricts. but this was deemed too expen- sve. Andrew McKeon won the first applause of the meeting by his argu- ment against spelling up the school house doors but the motion and amend ment, nails and all was finally carried
 Under article ? the Arch street line was accepted as laid by the former board of selettmen. Ka
 Some merriment was created by dis eussion of ar.icle 3, Ito change the method of paying town bills.'' MT. Downes presented a motion, which was carried allowing the selectinen more time between the presentation and pay ment of bills against the town. The bills have increased In number from 450 to nearly 1,20o in the past ten years, and he said the selectmen had to pay tUciIl oftGu WltuOut CIdIICG u add and certify them An inquisitive citizen asked why, if that was the case the town had to employ auditors. Tn the laughter which resulted MT. Downes remarked: ITO be perfectly honest, auditors ih country towns don't | amount to much anyway the select men sign orders just the same whether the auditors are there or not" There seemed to be disposition on the part | of his hearers to concur with him.
 Article 4 drew out new story in- | volving Walter Scott Miller, the colored New Haven attorney. now in jail pend | ng trial for alleged Irregularities. The own Of Hamden had for some time been aiding in the support of MT. and Mrs. Peter Frey, but on investigation 'esulted in the disclosure that they owned the little place on which they ived, worth perhaps $1,50O. Three years ago this was deeded to Mlller's | vife, on some basis of remuneration ret indefinite, and later the property | vas involved in several other mort sages, greatly to the distress of the i'd couple, who are poor but worthy. E The town voted yesterday to take Trey's property, give him life inter- st in it and pay him $10 monthly.
 Under article five it was voted to K hange the route of Dickernan street, t the Mt. Carmel Bolt company's 'orks, west and north of the screw actory, at the expense of the company nd subject to the approval Of the own. tSR
 The question of changing the route of cooper lane so that the two hills might c avoided, giving farmers thereabouts ecided advantages in teaming over resent conditions, provoked long and piey discussion and was finally do- sated by indefinite postponament
 Residents in that section strongly rged the motion. claiming that other ortions of the town received improve rents without opposition, and that ley were entitled to some considera- on MT. Flight spoke for the petition IS, calling on the voters not to go ack on the folks that live on the hills. ut Clifford Munson spoke so energeti- lily against the measure that he car- ed the day. He claimed that the |t 'ad could not be built for less than 1000, and would prove very expensive
 maintain owing to the swampy na- | ire of the ground. First cost, to his ]