Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-09-03
Motives for Attack on Superin-
 tendent Kelley Coming Out
ONE DlSGRUNTLED INDIVIDUAL

stands His Business Have
 to Get Vote of the Board Every
 Time He Harnesses a Horse-The
 Payroll System in Vogue Is the Same
 as Is Used in All the Factories.
 Ihe motive for an attack upon Su- perintendent Kelley of the street de partment is beginning to appear on the surface It evidently is the work of somebody who wanted something that the superintendent of streets and certain ex-aldermen thought he ought not to have and consequently could not see their way to helping him along. It is stated that an official has discovered that Mir Kelley put down nice wide gutter in front, of an ex-alderman's place and that, although he looked up the records yesterday, he failed to find a vote authorizing such work on the records. The author of this gray charge did a wise thing when he told the accommodating scribe who jotted down his allegation not to use his name, For if the public knew it he would be 'jollied by his colleagues for his gross ignorance of the powers vest ed Ill the superintendent of streets, who does not have to go to tie depart ment of public works for an order to repair gutters and make ones that are too narrow a couple of feet wider if ill his Judgment such a course is neces- sary. It is a good many years ago since the city woke up to the folly of maintaining the stingy three feet wide gutters and decided that on steep grades all gutters paved or. relaid should be five feet wide. Why, it is not long ago since General Kellogg complimented Mir Kelley for the splen- did job he did on Prospect street by making the gutters wide enough to carry off surface water in time of freshets instead of having it tearing up the roadbed, as was the case when the gutters were but three feet wide This is something that is being carried on all over town as fast as the appro- priations warrant the outlay, and there is no reason why the superintendent should want a vote on the matter be- cause it was found necessary to do a little of it opposite the residence of an ex-alderman. It is one of the things which shows that the parties who are aiming missiles at the superintendent of streets are pretty hard pressed for material. Why, if the man in charge of the streets didn't have power to do something without a vote of the. board of public works the board would have to be in session day and night, and if a boulder rolled onto the highway it would have to remain there until the superintendent was ordered to remove it. This kinr of rot is in line with the insinuations. about the system in vogue in the street department with refer ence to paying off the help. This has been explained time and again and proved to be substantially the same as that in use in all the factories and other places where large numbers of men are employed, so that to use common expression' it is the same old chestnut and contains nothing worth looking into. If there was anything wrong about it 1t would not remain for somebody who has not faith enough in what he says to use his name to tell the public all about 1t.
 It is also alleged that the board of public works violated charter proyis ion by acting on petitions that had been y please? Evidently whoever is doing the talking has some charter in mind other than the charter of the city of Waterbury. If the local charter con- tains a provision to the effect that pc titions not granted at the end of the year shall be null and void, why not trot it out and let everybody see it? Four years ago, when Mayor Kilduff succeeded MT Barlow as mayor, there was a mass of petitions on the file which if acted upon favorably would more than use up the appropriations for that year. MT Kilduff thought conditions might have changed sinca. some of them were presented and that probably what they asked for might not be needed at that time, and had a vote passed that none of the old pc titions would be taken up. Later on this action was mentioned in the alder manic chamber and Chairman Hall stigmatized it as a high-handed piece of business, adding that when citizens go to the trouble of getting up petitions. and filing them with the city govern ment they should receive attention re- gardless of time or change of admin istration. And, to be candid about the matter. it was pretty gen. orally admitted that MT Hall was right, and it looked as if Mayor Kilduff thought so, too, for he didn't recommend the passage of such an order when he was re-elect-, ed two years later.
 It may be true, that according to. a strict interpretation of the charter, the board of public works did not adhere to the contract law in all cases, but there is some doubt about this. It frequently happens with all admins trations that when several pieces of work that have been ordered done have been carried along through sew eral years that such sums as can be used upon them is expended and in this way the city secures road material and in the end the sum total of doing the work is greatly reduced and differ ent streets are put into shape for pub lie use while under any other plan but one could be worked. It often happens too, that the city commences opera .4