Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-04-08
BRENNAN WAS MARKED.
.Janitor Says it Was Impossible to Clean Walls--He Was Slated to 60.

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 No vote ever passed by municipal board has ever been criticized more severely than the one which prevailed the other evening at meeting or the board of education discharging Law renee Brennan as janitor of the Clay street school It has prompted many very good citizens to suggest that rule be adopted which will make repetition of such arbitrary conduct impossible.
 The action is looked upon as far more high handed than anything yet attempted by the department of puD- lie safety, and that is saying great deal, for it appears to be pretty gen orally admitted that the safety boards $ coattails projected some distance be- yohd limitation walls, still they gave their victims hearing and tnls IS where they showed themselves q tr1he more fair minded than the body or men that presides over the destlnles of the city's educational institutions, a majority of whom. refused to near what the accused had to say, and de- capitated him in the most tyranical fashion known to the human family
 MT Brennan was regarded as one of | the department of education and no doubt this had something to do with all the talk his discharge stirred up.
 MT Brennan was denied an oppor- tunity to state his case to his employ CTS, but fortunately for society the system of government which condemn ed him without a shadow of trial has not yet reached the, point where 1t can prevent him from giving his yer sion of the case to the public. ''The first intimatton got of my discharge, said MT Brennan, "came to me through Joe Weiss, who told me about it just as I was entering the school yard. While it was a big surprise still I didn't see what I could do about 1t and was in the act of walking across the yard to give the keys to Miss Cass when noticed MT Tyrell hitch ing his horse, and went near enough to him to toss him the keys. It was simply a case where I was marked to go. The trouble came about the con- dition of the walls in the hallway. The color of tie mortar shone out through the paint and I tried every thing I could think of on it without any appreciable result. used soap suds, bon ami and other things, but all to no use. Then asked MT 1yrell if he could suggest anything that would do the work. He told me to use little kerosene in the solution. did this and the next time he came he thought it was a little better and told me to keep at it. I did as directed, but when he made the next call he got furious over the looks of the wall and said if I didn't have it cleaned before I3< I, ie,ik r Lox to get through. This set me thinking the wall I thought I'd call down to the New England Watch Factory and state my case to Mir Chapman, vice. chairman of the board of education. He paid a visit to the school, looked at the source of the trouble and as- sured me that could do nothing with it. He said it was the intention of the board to paint it last summer but the funds didn't hold out and it had to go over, adding that it would be paint ed during the summer vacation this year and that that would settle the question. In the meantime he said he would speak to MT T'yrell and that would be all there would be to it. Whether he spoke to Tyrell or not I cannot say, but I understand he listen ed to what was charged against me and never said word about what passed between him and me, and voted with the others to dispense with my services"
 Asked if he had ever told the build ing inspector to go ito h-lI," MT Brennan said that he never used such an expression to the inspector nor any, thing else that could be construed as showing a disposition to disobey his orders.
 ..Why didn't you answer the com munication addressed to you by MT Griggs P inquired a Democrat re- porter, who listened to MT Brennan's statement. SsI didn't suppose it called for reply" he said. '"Ehe letter sim ply defined the duties of the Inspector and stated that I was subject to his orders. I saw nothing in the com munication which I thought called for an answer, consequently I put it in my pocket and thought no more of it. If I supposed it required an answer I should have called upon MT Griggs, instead of answering him by mail, but i it never occurred to me that it called for an answer. But I'm satisfied, rot that this was not the cause of my discharge. I was slated to go, and the onlysway they could get rid of me was by giving me something to do that nobody could do, and then charge me with insubordination because failed l to do it."
 One of the members of the board told Democrat reporter that even at the risk of doing an injustice to NIT Brennan, he felt justified in voting to discharge him. 'If we didn't do that" he said, every janitor In the district would be up in arms against l the district The hoard nn11Id moi