Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-12-23
Although One Occasionally
 Hears a Name Mentioned.
THE WATER AND STREET JOBS

Number of Eyes are Focussed
 Mayor Elton Gan Have Life Ten-
 tlre of the Position of Mayor if He
 Can Only Harmonize the Men Who
 arc Now Seeking Office.
 The politicians are keeping prette quiet these days, so much so that those not on the inside cannot get a line on. what they are doing. But it Is safe to conclude that they are not idle and thaf Dy this time Mayor-elect Elton knows more than he ever supposed there was 70 be known about men and things clry-W1se. Some say that everythlng 5is nxed and in fact that all the details were arranged long ago, so that his honor has nothing to do but sit down Tn the municipal chair on the first Mon day ln January. It is hinted that Con- gressman Lilley, George A. Driggs and three or four other nabobs of the re- publican party acted as grand advisors to the coming executive; whether what they said went or not is something no body pretends to know. Many are curious to learn whether the minority representation will be made up of men who sailed in their own shin even though they had an fnklfng that if was apt to founder in mid ocean and leave. them to the mercy of the pltiless waves, or recognized democrats who gave him hand while he was on the track, while at the same time leading the other fellows to believe that they were with them come what may. Hut this is small matter. anyway. The question Of most moment is. who will be the next superintendent of streets. and who'll be the head Of the water works? It is a fact that during llae past four years nobody has found fault. with the character of the work per- formed by the present incumbel1fs of: these offices, but it Is said that fhiS will not amount to anything, notwith< standing all that was said to the con rary prior to the great battle of last October There is talk Of a litfle sprinting match between Henry Hotch- kiss nd akeham. for the posi- ton of ent of&streete, whil8 Dan Streefer is said to be the only one who aspires to succeed Mr O'Brien. Nr Hotchkfss is prosperous Bucks Hill farmer and MT Ketcham was until recently yardmaster for the Scoxill Manufacturing Go Mr Streeter IS ;a msmber of the firm of Hardwick & Streeter. plumbers.
 MT Elton will enter upon tie dutiea of his office with brighter prospects, than any man who ever held the posi- ton before, He llSbe better equipped so far as appropriations are conca1ned and will have every board the alder- men included, and the heads of ths < different departments Of his own polifi- cal creed. It is much easier to accom-. i. plish something under such cond itiona than when hostile forces beset you at every turn of the road. and man who are in positions to do1a lot of pushing one way sor the other set their teeth a against you and do all in their power. covertly Of to discredit yo1r efforts and subject your administra. tion to ridicule.
 If Mavor-elect Elton makes ths most of his opportunities as mayor Of Waterbury he is likely to sshang ol', for many years. if he wants to. One of the most prolific sources of disturb. ance in the city government, the re- pairing of sidewalks. has been re. E moved from individuals and trans ferred to where it rightfulIv belongs. the public. so thet in the future you will hear no fault finding about the condition of the walks One ma eax' that this was small matter, anyway and didn't cut much of a figure in tho affairs of the city. Is that so2 Ask the superintendent of streets about the. matter and see what he will tell yol1.' It was one of the most diflcu1t Jol3s| ' in connection with the department or public works and caused that body more trouble than all the rest of theif lafors. If you failed to have tha walks kept in proper condition for public travel you were knocked. and if you did you were at swords points with owners of the abutting property. The new law goes into effect on Janu4 ary 1. and the department has Sh000 for that class Of work. enough 10 rs pair every hole that will appear in ths walks during the tear 1904.