The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-05-27
FINAL SESSION LAST NIGHT
COUNCILMEN RETIRE FROM CITY
 GOVERNM
Concurrence on tho High School Bond Issue--Dcsk and Chair Resolution Wtthdrawn-A Picture of the Board Presented to the City-Accepted by Mayor Studley.

| The last meeting of the present board l of councilmen and the last meeting of | any board of councilnlen in New Iia- | ven unless that board is re-established | in the future was held last night. The | session which began about S:20 was a rather brief one, the greater part of 1t being devoted to cleaning the table of minor matters The most important matter up was the recommendation of the special committee that the addi- tional issue of $20,000 worth of high school bonds be approved. As soon as the recommendation was read it was
 adopted in concurrence with the alder
 men without debate.
 A matter to be taken up when other
 business had been transacted was the
 resolution adopted at the last meeting
 in q spirit of fun providing that the
 desks and chairs of the chamber be
 declared the property of the men occu-
 pying them. Considerable surprise was
 expressed that in some quarters this
 action had been taken seriously and the
 sense of humor of some of the news
 papers which contained grave reports
 concerning it was commented upon in
 terms not very complimentary to the,
 papers referred to.
 Councilman Kelly of the Fifteenth
 ward, who presented the resolution,
 asked permission to withdraw it and
 permission was granted while all refer
 ence to the matter was ordered stricken
 from the journal.
 Finally, the table having been
 cleared President Harkin of the board was designated a committee to wait up- on Mayor Studley and request him to appear and accept on behalf of the city large frame containing photographs of the councilmen which the board de- sired to present to the city.
 President Harkin escorted Mayor, Studley to the chamber a few minutes later the counclmen rising to their feet as the mayor entered. Councilman FL liott, chairman of the picture commit tee, in well chosen remarks, made the Mayor Studley accepted on behalf of the city and in doing so said that he knew of only one thing better to offer to the city than the pie l ture and that was the board of coun- cilmen for another year. He thought | that the frame of pictures would be | handed down as pictures of men who< | did their duty as they understood it. | It was natural that thinking and hon. l est men differ. If it was not so the | world wouldn't progress and if all l thought alike we would be a nation l like the Chinese. The action of the 1 board of councilmen in almost all mat | ters met his approval. He thought that | he had made more mistakes than the | but the councilmen didn't | have the veto power. He regretted ! that the board had been legislated out | of office He thought that the council | manic board with large membership l was one of the best things for the city ] government and that to lessen the num- per to legislate for the people was a | step backward and away from the peo- ole. He believed that there was more langer of scandal in a small board han in a large one. There was more danger of corporate influence when here were only eleven men to control 1 Instead ol forty or fifty. He hoped that steps would be taken to restore the | board of councilmen and if the board anne back he hoped that the next board would be as good as the present one las been.
 Then rising votes of thanks were ex- ended to the mayor the president of 1 he board, the assistant city clerk, the ,ity sheriff and the page and the board adjourned sine die.
 The reunion committee announced ast night that the annual banquet | would be held at Gillern & Quinn's doris Cove hotel on the evening of tune 1T, Bunker, Hill day.