The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-11-23

 this matter with. I should say, about two score of our heaviest taxpayers, whom I, at this hearing, unofticiaily represent.
 T made a discovery that our large property. owners are determined that the grades over the bridges must be reduced to or below 3 per cent.
 s'The reason why this determination of our citizens has not been made man. ifest before, is that the heavy moneyed
 men of the city have not been present, nor have they been represented at the several aldermanic hearings, because they could not spare the time from their business.
 "The attempt to get the Chamber of Commerce to act for them failed for the same reason. It became evident to me from the first that the views of these influential and exceedingly busy men could not be ascertained and made clear to you and the city government unless some one, who could devote his whole time to 1t should visit each one the matter with him.
 This I have undertaken to do, and in these few days I have called upon not less than forty citizens, not one of of whom pays taxes on a valuation of less than $190,00O. It was hastily ar ranged, that these various interests, which there has not yet been time to crystalize into homogeneous body, should have been represented at this time by Judge Henry Stoddard, who accepted the brief, but who at the last moment, has been called to New York, hence I am compelled to ask your in dulgence, while do my best to lay be- I fore you the views of those whom I represent
 1 Several crude plans and propositions l have been made and discussed by the Chamber of Commerce and before the l aldermanic committee, but they were one and all so crude and contradictory, as to be of little value. It is not my in tention to take your time on this occa- sion to explain my own plan, but | simply say, that it seems to have sufff- cients merit to claim the attention of our citizens, and as it has been develop l ed and modified, be acceptable to MT. l tMellen and his associates We are all as sure as can be, that if we are al- lowed two weeks time, our city en- gineer together with the railroad en- gineer, can develop railroad system that will be satisfactory to all parties, and which instead of throttling and ar resting the development of New Haven for all time, will establish the date of 1904 and 5 as the commencement of a prosperity, such as the most sanguine of us cannot now imagine.
 T am therefore instructed to ask that l if you cannot see your way to decide against the railroad plan, now before you, you will adjourn this hearing and allow us to suggest to MT. MeIlen and his associates that a commission be ap- pointed to try and formulate a plan which shall be satisfactory to all par ties concerned. We propose that this commission shall be constituted as fol- l lows:
 The counsel and engineer of the rail- road company and two other men ap- pointed by MT Mellen. #
 The corporation counsel and engineer of the city and two men selected by the property owners, whom repre- sent.
 l We, therefore, ask you to adjourn this hearing without having granted l the petition now before you, in which case, we promise that within d few days you will again be called together to give your formal sanction to a plan ] that the railroad company, the city of New Haven and you yourselves will be proud to have helped to consummate.
 For far, MT. GrisWold, there does not seem to be any one plan on which the citizens are united,n commented MT. Wilcox.
 Introducing himself as the rapresen- tative of Louis and Isaac Cohn, former i Mayor Driscoll poured ice water on MT. Griswold's plan, quoting local newspa- pers in disapproval of the scheme and picking it to pieces most relentlessly. l Speaking on behalf of his firm, Shee- han & Groark, William L. Sheehan op- posed the plan without qualification, averring that it would work great in- jury to the concerns 75-foot frontage in State street, adjoining the Whittle- sey company's house. Charles c. spreyer advanced the opin- ion that the city would not be willing to contribute one penny toward the im- provement, despite the assertion made at the last hearing that the municipali- ty would be willing to give up from $50O,OOO to thrice that amount. No reason could be conceived by Harry Leigh for the railroad refusing to lower the roadbed of the cut, the speaker expressing the belief that "en- gineers can accomplish anything 1 His remarks prefaced by a summary of the damages threatened by the pro- posed improvement, General. George Hare Ford said: l II wish to protest as an owner af- fected, as taxnayer on property in other parts of the city and as one deep- ! ly interested in the city's welfare l against both the original plan and the amended proposition. Since you were