The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-01-26
DERBY

tics of this city is interesting reading. particularly in it's exhibit of the birth figures. The past year was verify pro life in this section. as an increase of newcomers is shown in the figure of 2SS as against the manifest of 1902, which gave the sum of 196. What is especially disturbing the regular physi- clans is the lean on them in number of confinements shown by Russian mid wife, this woman having made returns of forty-four births. The death rate for Derby in 1903 was just one under the figure for the year 1902.
 The good people in Shelton are com mencing to have their dander stirred, or rather their organs of sense offended by the smoke from the stack of the power house recently built by the c. R. & L. company. The smoke or dust from their big chimney fills the air for long distance, and even enters the houses. Then. too, the neighbors are seriously moved by the jar the large engines cause. The residents or Derby. howev- CT, will not object to the return of this part of the plant, for then the fire alarm gong can again be operated by the pow CT house, and a quick solution of a vital problem reached. And this leads to a discussion of some sort of a fire alarm far better than the present. Derby is really suffering to-day because of a very unsatisfactory system of fire sig nal The trouble is that the city is an- noyed by alarms that interfere. In An sonia the Gamewell indicators are in use and operate we'll As it is now,
 with the Stevens boxes it is quite possi- first is ringing. On more than one oc-
 casion the firemen have been confused by this mix up of calls, and of course the confiagration has made greater headway.
 Apropos of the recent action of the
 board of apportionment giving to the board of education the increase of two thousand dollars. is the silent remon- strance, as it were, of any need of such an amount in the report of the enumer- ation This finding shows that there are 14s less children of the school age now than in 1900, and yet the board of education claims it can not do justice to the schools without an appropriation of twenty-one thousand dollars at least. At the speed money is being voted to all the callers the tax rate in Derby is lsure to be on lively jump
 A new grocery firm has just been
 born There are enough, one would think, for the population, but like the battalion of lawyers and doctors the
 ranks are more than kept filled. The store is the one formerly occupied by Bronell & German, and the new firm is
 Green & Shaw. Mir. Green Is old at the
 business, as for years he was clerk in the Welch store on Main street.
 The Second Congregational church of ficials have decided to do away with the evening service, excepting the first
 Sunday night of every month, when a
 musical programme will be given. But
 one church bell will now be heard on the green after sundpwn. The Metho- dists hold to the importance of two services a day. and believe that there are enough in Derby willing to sustain
 an evening service. Their house of worship will be with open doors and d hearty welcome every Sunday evening the year round.
 The annual ball of the Hotchkiss
 Hose company was held Friday night
 and was well patronized. There were
 one hundred couple in the grand march. The floor was filled with jolly people till the last number, which was reeled at two o'clock. The citizens warmly
 helped to make the event a financial
 success. | An examination of the grand list of
 Ansonia shows great increase in the
 assessments. Nearly one million dol-
 lars has been added to the list, the total value now being roughly figured at nine and one-half million as against
 eight and one-half of last year. The
 changes concern the city's manufacture l ing industries, the Farren Foundry &
 Machine Co. being written up at $9O7, ,OO0, 1 the A. B. & Go. Co at $1, 500 900, and the
 Coe Brass Go. at $732,000. The grand Hist was increased in preference to rais- ling the tax rate.
 1 The much discussed Whitlock settle ment seems at g. finis. The offer to pay
 25 per cent. has been accepted by the creditors
 | The visit of President Mellen Satur- l day morning to Derby definitely settled l the long argued and vital topic of pub lie interest-the bridge over the Naug-
 atuck river and railroad. His call was
 to decide the right of way the inhabi-
 tants of that spot north of the present
 road-bed hold dear. His stay was short
 and the request was granted, which leaves Derby so far as the Consolidated
 railroad is concerned free to build any
 sort of bridge, high, low or none. It now looks that high grade concrete
 bridge will span this stream ere long. l The January snow melting which has ienveloped Derby and vicinity in vapor or dismal mist is telling on the ice in the two rivers, and the mill hands are
 busy removing goods and merchandise
 in rooms or cellars bordering on these streams. The Naugatuck is the more
 angry of the two and does the greatest l havoc. It takes about two days to
 swell this current and then with the
 general break-up of the ice and high water level the local excitement and annoyance are at a start. This year g special interest attaches to any freshet or ice gorge, as either will prove a test of the strength of the recently built ur lrailroad banks on the meadows.
 A fellow, Lawrence Kent by name, g