The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-01-30
MAYORS ONVENTION
DRAFT PETITIONS TO CONSTITU-
 YIONAL CONVENTION.

ILOHAL CON ENIIONs
 They Favor UnifoI m Municipal Char.
 ters With Local Option ss to Details
 Also No Limitations of Cities' Rights
 to Own Gas, Water and Electric
 Plants.
 Hartford, Jan. 29.--The Mayors asso- citation of Connecticut held a meeting with Mayor Harbison in the city hal; this morning, the meeting being called for the purpose of adopting resolutions to be presented to the constitutional convention. There were present, be- sides Hartford's chief executive, Lieu tenant Governor D. o. Keeler of Nor walk, Cyrus G. BeckWith, eX-mayor of New London; Samuel Bassett, mayor of New Britain; William H. Loomis, mayor of Rockville; K. E. West, ex- mayor of Meriden; J. Milton Coburn, eX-mayor of South Norwalk, and Ho- mer $. Cummings, mayor of Stamford. Ex- Mayor Driscoll of New Haven, Mayor Peix of Danbury and Mayor Studley of New Haven were unable to be present and sent regrets.
 After social chat in the mayors inner office the meeting was called to order and Mayor Cummings of the special committee appointed at the last meeting in Middletown reported reso- lutions which were unanimously adopt ed, as follows:
 Whereas, The people of the towns, h c,4,> -.e( necticut, are, in the opinion of this, the Mayors association of Connecticut capable of determining by popular vote whether or not they desire their respec- tive municipalities to engage in supply ing to the public water, gas and elec- tricity, and
 Whereas, Tn our opinion, every such municipality can safely be trusted to wisely determine such question upon popular vote, and
 Whereas, common justice requires that the right so to do shall be pre- served to each and every town, city and borough in this state, and
 Whereas, We have observed that these rights have been impaired and by means of both general and special leg islation, are being frittered away, and
 Whereas, It is essential to the ma- terial progress of the state of Connec- ticut and necessary to the cause of good and economical local government that these rights shall be rigidly preserved and
 Whereas We believe that this can be done without interfering with any just claims in behalf of private corpora tions already established, now, there fore, be it
 Resolved, That the constitutional convention now in session at Hartford, be requested to take this matter under consideration and to insert in the con- stltution, about to be adopted, an ap- propriate provision covering the points in question and conserving to the va riou towns, boroughs and cities of the state, this inherent attribute of the priceless right of local self government, and,
 Resolved further, that this associa- tfon especially endorse and recommend for insertion in the constitution pro- vision reading as follows, viz:
 The general assembly shall not enact any law, public or private, which shall infringe, abridge, limit or impair the right of a town, city or borough. to en- gage in supplying water gas or elec- tricity for public, private or commercial purposes within the limits of such town, city or borough, except, however, that the general assembly may require a town, city or borough, before engag- ing in so supplying water, gas or cleo tricity to pass at regular election one