Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-04
SIM ROOTS PROPOSITION
He Talks Interestingly About
 the Old Rink Building.

Buildings That He Thinks More of Menace Than the Rink, Which Cannot or Will Not Burn Down He Says If Certain Buildings Are Torn Down the Rink Will Follow ] and Beautiful Building Will Go Up In It's Place.
 1 Samuel Root who has large if not the major interests i'll the rink build ing, proposes to have some fun with the city ill case the petition to rage that structure is granted by the board of aldermen. The only action the city can take is to either grant or re 1 fuse to grant the petition which bears the signature of many prominent and conspicuous men, In case the peti- tion is granted, then begins the fun. The city must fix upon sum for dam ages to the owners before a stick in the building can be stirred There is even probability that the matter may go to the supreme court. How ever, MT Root has not considered the matter to that extent so far He said to-day that the building is worth about $1O,000 and is far better in ev- cry respect than many buildings owned by some of those who signed 1 the petition. He does not believe that patriotic motives was the motive that prompted others to sign it, and to still others he attributes selfish inter- eSts.
 1 If the betterment of the city was the motive that made some sign the petition he said, they should first take the beam out of their own eyes. Then l they might be entitled to interfere with his affairs. They should first improve their own property, or some of it, to make it as slightly as the rink building. He said that the property standing on the south corner of Canal and Grand streets is far more dan gerous and unsightly than is the rink | building. That he says, is com posed mostly of theatrical posters, paste and a few shingles. Another place he compared with the rink l building is the frame house situated on the corner of Cottage place and Grand street, just beyond the rink. There are few places on East Main street which he said were serious menace to the adjoining properties and the Brown building on the cor ner of East Main and Exchange place was, in his opinion, the worst of any place ill the entire city. This place, hes said, should have been razed by the city long ago. It was botl un- slightly, damaging to the city, detri- ment to the adjoining property, dan l ger to the business heart of the city, and if his building, the rink, is not safer than this one, he is greatly mis. taken.
 It has been shown to the satisfaction of everybody that the rink cannot be destroyed by fire; few weeks or SC before the disastrous confiagration ot February ?, fire broke out in the rink said MT Root, and notwithstanding that everybody expected the end of the building had arrived, it is still on deck with all it's feet. The night of the big fire sparks and blazing brands fell all over the roof and never even marked it.
 If those who signed that petition 1 were so anxious for the removal of the rink, why don't they try to buy it?' asked MI Root. .'They can have il
 
 for $10,0O0. Do you know that one of them, one of those fellows whose names appear near the top of that pc tition, did try to buy it, but he could not, and Mir Whittemore, I under stand, has engaged MT Boyd 10 buy it and when MT Boyd succeeds he, MI Whittemore, is to put up q building This may be a cheap way of getting about that, but I don't know if it is
 "You can say that if the city votes to knock down the Brown building or the corner of East Main and Exchange place, the pasteboard box on the cor. hner of Canal and Grand streets, and that other ramshackle on the corner o1 Cottage place and Grand street, wt will knock down the rink and put III an elegant building there. guess that's fair, isn't it?'