Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-16
BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
Policemen Will Not Be Allowed to Sell
 Tickets for Games.

All the members of the board of. pRp- ! lie safety were present at the meeting i held last evening save Mayor klldufr. I Tn his absence Commissioner Reeves was chosen chairman. Business opeheu with the reading of applications from William Miller and Daniel Leary to be appointed on the call fire force. Miller 1 is member of the Brass City hose company. Both applications were 1 fled Callmen William Thibbodeau and David Dillane of Hook and Ladder company No 2. stationed at the Burton street engine house. were before the 1 board to state why they were not pres ent to be reprimanded on Saturday night some weeks ago. Dillane said he has been in the department five weeks. and Thiddodeau about five years. Action was deferred. Conn plaint was made against Bremen Will 1 liam Keenan of the Leavenworth street house and John Kelly of the Scovil street house. They were cited to ap- pear before the board next Tuesday evening, when a special meeting will 1 be held.-
 l A request was received from the board of finance asking that the board
 
 in the Brooklyn district for fire pur- poses on account of the great expense the city is undergoing through small pox epidemic. The communication was l filed. A communication of thanks was received from the Watertown fire de- partment for the action of the board 1 in recognizing the services of the de- pertinent on the occasion of the big a0.1 fo1l an mi i tee on sites for a fire station in the Brooklyn district then reported. This committee consists of Messrs Beach and Reeves. They reported that they could have a lot owned by St Johns church for S2,000. This lot is situated on Washington avenue. The Town Plot association offered two sites, each for $500, one 153xS5. the other 21fxS0. These are situated on Greenmount ter race. Another site was situated on South Leonard and Washington aye nue, 60x119 feet. for $500, and an- other of the same size and in about the same vicinity for $3,500. Of the whole lot the committee recommended 1 that owned by the St Johns church so- ciety, and it was voted to approve it's purchase. It can be had for the price udIHGu uulI May I. SOiuulSSIOuGIS Hardie and Beach were chosen com | n1ittee to purchase the lot. The pay roll of the fire department, $S4250. was then approved, and it was voted to purchase hose wagon.
 4 petition was then read from the policemen asking permission to form a ball team to play other police teams throughout the state. The petition was granted, but their request to be al- lowed to sell tickets was denied. This matter evoked considerable discussion. Chief Egan was asked his opinion of ] the subject and he sat upon it with all his might. He said that on general principles he would oppose the idea, as i it could not fail to result in deficiency of the department. It would certainly | impair the usefulness of the men, for it would put them under obligations to men who have no earthly use for ball game tickets. He said he remembered 1 the days of the volunteer fire compan- ies when be used to hear enough cuss 1 words from men to sink ship. These men felt that they ought to buy a cou- pie of tickets for the firemen's ball. and 1 they did buy, but they had no use for them and expressed their feelings in cuss words. 1t was a bad idea in the chiefs opinion. to allow policemen per. mission to solicit the sale of tickets, Furthermore, it was the first he had heard of the petition. This seemed to cause surprise, and Commissioner Lahey said he was informed that he chief knew all abont it. The chief re- peated that this was the first he had
 heard of the matter. and added that TWO years ago he opposed the idea of
 the men selling tickets, for he knew < those who had to go down in their pockets for s bills to pay the fiddler
 However, the chief would say that he
 had heard the men were intending 10 i form ball team, but as for the peti- ton, he had never heard of it before. Commissioner Lahey, who cham Dioned the cause of the cops. said then
 that he saw no harm in the policemen
 selling tickets. The other cities in inc
 state nave such teams and so far as he
 knew they are allowed to sell tickets
 and he knew of no harm of inefficiency
 coming to the department. The other 1 teams hoped to get this city into their league. To this the chief replied that
 he could sell $500 worth of ticlxets for
 any kind of an enterprise. no matter what it may be, without any trouble
 He would like to ask the board if they
 had heard people in the past groan about feeling obliged to buy tickets. If the tickets could be put on sale some
 where or disposed of without the TO-
 hcemen personally soliciting it would be all right
 Commissioner Lahey said there has been a league established throughout the state of policemen ball teams.
 Commissioners Taylor favored the
 chiefs suggestion as to disposing of the tickets, or any other way that
 would dispose of the necessity of the
 policemen personally selling the tickets.
 Commissioner Lahey said that the
 New Haven policemen give a ball eyerv year and sell tickets for 1t. and vet be
 would consider the New Haven police
 force away on top of all other similar
 organizations in the state.
 commissioner Taylor said the towns
 of the state are full of such bumbnos
 as this. Every day there is something
 hke II going on, some one going around
 soliciting for this or that benefit. for the navy department for the federa-
 ton of railroad men, the federation of
 labor, or the federation of something
 else. These organizations do not get
 the benefit at all. A man is given the