Waterbury Democrat., 1901-01-28
AN UP-TO-DATE MAYOR.
Interesting Message of Mayor Thomp.
 son, Socialist of Brockton.

SOu, SOCllI1SC or rbTOcktOu.
 The socialist mayor of Brockton, Mass, has just been inaugurated for a second term. His name is Elroy s. Thompson. and he promises many re forms for the little clsy over which he will preside for several years longer. In his inaugural address to the council, on assuming his office, he expressed many unique ideas. Some of them are as follows:
 ''The tools of modern industry rapid ly concentrating into the hands of few individuals, the development of the trust and the department store are but the witnesses bearing mute testi- mony to the fact that the competitive system is rapidly drawing to q close. The very fact that the tools of mod ern industry are essentially social tools, requiring the united efforts of society to produce them and operate them, is beginning to impress the aver age citizen that, as they are of neces- sity operated by society as q whole, so should society own their product.
 Facts and experience prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the city can and should do it's own street lighting just as it furnishes it's citizens with water, and the same arguments holds good in the case of all other municipal utilities
 Firmly convinced that better re- suits can be obtained by the abolition of the contract system in all kinds Of public work, I would, urge that you carefully consider the advisability of building any municipal buildings you may see fit to construct the present year, without the aid. or rather hin- drance, of private contractors.
 Were you to build your streets, your sewers, or lay your water mains under the contract system. you would be considered as having retrograded in municipal progress, and yet I am firm ly convinced that you will find greater improvement if possible in the con- struction of buildings than in other municipal undertakings.
 II reiterate my statement of last year that union labor should be em- ployed wherever possible and encour- aged. for the trades unions are con- ceded by all to be an important factor in the development of the American workingman.
 The city printing should bear the union label, and testify to the fact that its people stand for the best con- ditiOns.
 My position on the question of municipal repair shops is so we'll known that it Is unnecessary for me to discuss the subject at length at this time.
 That the city can do it's own repair work at, an immense saving is fact that can be clearly demonstrated, and I trust that you will avail yourselves, of the earliest opportunity to establish a repair shop complete in all it's de tails.
 II believe you should, as soon as practicable, set the wheelwrights and carriage smith to work building carts for the highway department and other departments which may need carts the coming year; that you should take steps toward securing q force of good painters, with q thoroughly competent foreman, who could work under the direction of the committee on public property in painting our public bu1ld- ings: that competent blacksmiths and machinists sufficient in number to do the city's repair work should also be employed, and that they be suitably housed in a building with departments, amply accommodating their various crafts.
 During the year past committee of your honorable body has reported favorably on an order looking to the establishment of q municipal coal yard.
 While the city cannot under the present laws supply coal to it's peo- pie, there is no reason why 1t should not buy its own coal and deliver 1t in its own teams. which is done by many cities at a great saving.
 ..I earnestly believe that the city should own and operate its own street lighting plants. but while lighting our streets by contract with private cor porations I believe it to be sound busi- ness policy to have an inspector of street lights to look after the city's in terestS.
 .One of the needs of q manufactur- ing city such as ours is, in my opinion, a public bathhouse, where working men can avail themselves of modern improvements. for personal cleani- ness is recognized by all as an import ant aid to health