The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-04-19
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HEARINGS ON BILLS EFFECTING
NEW HAVEN YESTERDAY

Board of Councilmen Had Strong Sup
port-The Bill to Change the Time of
Holding the New Haven City Election.
Yesterday the committee on cities
/ and boroughs gave the entire AFTER
noon to hearings on bills for amend
rnents of the New Haven city charter.
IA number Of New Haven citizens were
present, including Mayor Driscoll, Cor
poration Counsel Robertson, Attorney
Harry w. Asher, ex-Mayor F. b.
j Farnsworth, Alderman Edward j. Mil
Ter. Frederick w. Orr, Attorney Isaac
! wolfe. Police Commissioner David CO.
rev. General Registrars F. S. Hamilton
and Francis w. Foley, Tax Solicitor
f. q. Anthony, Town Clerk Frederick
H. Brethauer, Dr. Lindsey, secretary
Of the state board of health; County
Health officer Hoadley, ex-Councilman
Henry c. OSullivan, Registrar of Vital
Statistics Carr and Charles e. Curtis.
The first matters taken up were house
bill No. 451, amending the New Haven
charter by substituting the board OF
aldermen for the court of common
council, the bill endorsed by the cham
Der Of commerce and drawn by Attor-
ney Asher, and senate joint resolution
NO. 157, amending the New Haven city
charter concerning the court of COM
mon council. These two bills are iden-
teal, practically, except that the senate
Joint resolution, which was drawn by
Attorney Wright, provides for one al
derman from each ward and six alder
men-at-large, while the bill drawn by
Hr. Asher provides for one alderman
from each ward and five aldermen-at-
large
Mr.. Asher was the first one to speak
on house bill No. 451. He said that the
matter came before the chamber OF
commerce, and that he drew 1T by re-
quest. He called attention to the fact
that there were now seventy-f1ve mem
bers of the court of common council
and that this made the common coun-
ell cumbersome. He said that many OF
the large cities Of the country now have
q single body to compose the court OF
common council, and read letters which
he had received from clerks of twenty
five large cities of the country to show
that the one-board system had oper-
ated very satisfactorily in those cities.
Ex-Mayor FarnsWorth spoke in favor
of the bill He said that the history Of
the New Haven city charter was rec
ord of concessions. The court of COM
mon council was now a stumbling block
The Ave members from each ward see
how much appropriation they can get
for their own ward. He thought that
- &C.. 4l,0 III, hnt,
1t will result in Identifying the office of
alderman and in getting better men to
accept the office.
Attorney Wolfe spoke in favor of the
bill. He said that politics had interior
ed for years with the management of |
city affairs, and he thought that this
bill, if passed, would eliminate this.
Mr.. Curtis, member of the board of |
finence, spoke for the bill. He said |
that there were two boards now, and
that the rascality Of one was offset by
the virtue of the other at times. If |
there was a single board he feared that
1t would permit the passage of munich |
pal legislation in a hasty manner, but
if there could be incorporated in the |
bill a provision that would insure de-
Lucrative action it would be a good
thing He thought that we did not |
need something to expedite legislation
30 much as something to make thought
full legislation.
Mr.. Curtis also read extracts from a
letter from Attorney George D. Wat
rous in which Mi. WatIous stated that
he favored having one board if the pro-
visions could be inserted in the bill to
prevent hasty action. Commissioner
Cory spoke for the bill.
Alderman Miller and ex-Councilman
Sullivan approved the bill, saying that
IL there was one board that would give
an opportunity to rush through legisla-
ton which would not be advantageous
to the city. Hon, Lynde Harrison, Of
New Haven, spoke for the BILL saying
that he had been interested for several
years in municipal reform and that he
thought that the best thinkers were of
the opinion that one board would give