Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-01-07
AFRAID TO SPEAK.
Real Estate 0wners Do Not Want to
 Come Forward.

One never knows what q lot of cow
 ards there are in Waterbury until q
 question like that put forward by the
 Naugatuck River Water Co comes up ! and people want to talk on it. but have not the courage to step into the arena and speak their little piece.
 Within the past two days four dti- Zens. each owning real estate valued
 in the neighborhood of $1OO,OUO. want
 Cd to protest against the granting of
 the companys application, but none
 or them agreed to be known as an op-
 ponent of the scheme. It is too bad
 that this is so. for whether man is
 right or wrong there appears to be no
 reason why he should he afraid to
 give his views on matter of such
 Importance as this. 'No.'' said one of
 the gentlemen. 'I couldn't afford to
 say what l think about that. but of
 course believe that if there is money
 i'll the Naugatuck river the city of Wa
 terbury ought to have 1t. If we can
 go twenty or thirty miles from home
 and build reservoirs and bring the
 water here and sell it at profit.
 what's the reason We couldn't do bet
 ter with the water we have at our
 own door? But this is too much of
 good thing and it has to go to some
 body else. The schoolboy tactics of
 the city officials, in the past as we'll as at present. are responsible for a lot of costly blunders, but think this is the
 biggest of all and don't suppose one or our representatives will make pro- rest. I'm not talking for publication. but if l were a member of the city government. and especially a big sal aried official like some of those who are fighting the city in the interest of this private corporation. I should make big fuss over this matter. I think the least the people have right to expect of the aldermen is that they ask the company to give them full particulars as to what they intend to do if they get their charter"
 Colonel Burpee. counsel for the con- pany. was asked if he had anything to say on the question. and replied that he considered it big thing for Waterbury. He didn't think it would pay the city to dam the Naugatuck. and besides it would have to get an amendment to its charter to enable it to engage in the business of storing water and selling it for manufactur- ing purposes. "Ain't the city doing that now?' asked the reporter, "Oh, yes. answered the colonel, looking wise, but you know there is q aues- tlon as to the citys right to dispose of water ill that way, but who wants to object? No, this company cannot de- prive anybody of vested rights in the Naugatuck river without paying for them. no more than I could 20 to Hart lord and get control of your property without just compensation therefor"
 It seems that one of the things which would stand in the way of the | clty doing anything with the Nauga- luck river is the difficulty in getting III amendment to it's charter empow- | aring it to sell water to the factories. The factories may get this privilege. but the city wouldn't be in it if it should try, no more than 1t was when 1t made an effort to get permission to engage in the manufacture of electric lty for its use and that of its inhabi- fants. The corporations actually laughed at the city and turned down the application ill a most unceremop- ous manner, doan the city's own rep 'ese1itatives lending q hand to knock he proposition fin the head, all of hem, with the exception of Senator kennedy. voting against it or finding tcOnvenient to he absent when it came ID. And the beauty of it is that the smart fellows who are throttlihy ,he 'ity in the interest of corporations hlnk nothing of bobbing up and tell ng the public that anybody who does lot think as they do should not have a fight to think at all and are bad peo- 'h. No doubt this has an influence is, certain quarters and has something to 10 in silencing men whose opinio1, 'ught to be heard on this and other projects in which the public has q OmmOn interest,