Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-04-03

aldermen from the fifth, and one from the fourth, entered a very viz 0rUus protest. Mir Jackson is men- bef of the lighting committee and he knows how hard representatives of that district as well as private indi- viduals tried to convince him that Il few lights were sadly needed over there. It may be true that the lights went where they accommodated a larger number of people than they would if they had been placed where the fifth ward people would have them, but even so, the fact that the people made q fight to get them shows that they are not unmindful of their rights and that if they have not received them it is no fault of theirs.
 The same thing might be said with reference to fire protection. For the past ten years the fifth district has been conducting vigorous warfare with q view to getting some measure of fire protection. They kept at 1t in season and out of season until their speeches finally were dubbed as ''chestnuts' in the city boards. men who kept it up being stigmatized in the press as demagOgues who took Il pride in talking to the grandstand and all for political effect. Since the attention of the city government was called to this matter several houses went up in smoke and yet not hand has been turned towards improving the conditions. Is this because the al- street muddle at the Mulcahy school? ,oE, T the subject by the people unless they wanted to get out into the street and use force of arms to call attention to the wrongt1oing. and still the present board of public works lets it drag along just as they found It. It may be all well enough for public otfi- cial to say that he is not especially in terested in certain section. but that's hardly fair. It would be well to bear in mind that the fifth district has no representative on any of the boards appointed by the mayor and probably to this rather than to the inactivity of the aldermen can be traced the source Of trouble in the fifth district.
 Commissioner Jackson has repeat fedly called attention to the miserable condition of Baldwin street since the rails were laid there. He appears to be thoroughly in earnest in his desire to give the people the kind of street whicl. he knows they are entitled to. but he is going the wrong way about it. The aldermen from that ward are not responsible for the "bulr' and there is no reason why they should he charged with it. The fifth ward and the fourth are beggars before the city government and in many in- stances they are treated as such, but it might not he amiss to state in con- cluding that they have not been bash full about making known their wants and if they have not received in pro portion to their needs. let those who have the power in their hands look to it. Don't the city officials and the re- porters know that property owners from the fifth and fourth wards arc laughing stocks before the city boards simply because they come so often about the same thing? Why do they keep rapping? Because they have grievances. but cannot convince the city government that they are cn- titled to redress. What is the reason the board of public works is spending vast sums on the Middlebury road, where. few Waterbury people ever travel. while some of the streets in the thickly settled parts of the city are menace to life and limb? This is simple question and the answer can he found in the fact that the man in the automobile or rubber tired. coach is it and the fellow on foot or in common vehicle is no longer worthy of consideration until after the bigger person has had all he wants. To be candid about it. city of ficials in the past kicked against eo- ing out there to spend money for the present. but Highway Commissioner Macdonald. man whom City Engi- neer Cairns says fixes streets by mak;. ing the hills higher and the holes deeper. came down flatfOOted and said the money would go on the Mid ,llebury road if it was to be spent at all and the city seeing it was a sec. ond fiddle to the commissioner. wilted and so 1t came to pass that the tax payers had to do without streets themselves and pay to make boulc- wards for owners of automobiles. who like to take a w'hirl along the Middle | lh,,...