Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-05-03
WAS IT 4 rRIck.
pesbls TracEs In Waterbury Streets
 ~ . 1prninf Qsestien.

| z
 ! There is apt to be a row between City Attorney John P. Kellogg and the
 trolley people over the sharp trick they
 are said to have played on the city
 attorney regarding the bill with ref.
 erence to double tracking. It was ull.
 derstood between counsel for both
 sides that the double tracking would
 not be pushed and with this assur-
 ance Mir Kellogg did not appear at the
 hearing, but when the company's bill
 regarding other matters which there was no objection to came into the
 senate fayorably recommended it con tained a couple of lines in the center
 of the measure giving them the right
 to double track whenever and where
 ever they pleased. This aroused the
 ire of the City Attorney Kellogg and
 he donned his war paint and hied him.
 self of to Hartford and looked up the
 smart folks who had planned to fool
 him with the result that it is under
 stood an amendment will be agreed
 to which will suit both parties to the
 question. If this can be done all right,
 but if not the city should make stub-
 born fight against the whole measure.
 The city of Waterbury is handicap
 ped in its dealings with the trolley
 company on account of the attitude, of
 a few men who persist in maintaining
 that the company is always right and
 that the officials don't know what
 they are doing. This encourages the
 company to look for things which it
 never would dream of looking for if all
 the officials would act for Waterbury
 and let the trolley look out for itself,
 something which it is fully competent
 to do. It is not the intention of this
 article to throw cut flowers at JoIm
 P. Kellogg, but to be candid about these things 1t is loss to the city that all the representatives of his party do not look at things from his standpoint. To be sure he is a hard shell republi- can and was candid enough to say to the members of the Waterbury Bar as sOciation when they talked of recon mendi1lg democrat for judge of tine district court. He couldn't support a democrat no matter how worthy he might be or how much backing he had among the lawyers. He may not have meant exactly that way but in any case that is how it appeared in the papers, still this did not deter demo- crats from making mad scramble to vote for him Monday night. But that Is another matter. Mir Kellogg takes the city's side of public questions and does his level best to do what is best for Waterbury. He did good work for the city when the trolley company sought to get out of the cost Or build ing retaining wall on the Water town road and stood up to the rack with Mayor Kilduff, Commissioners Whiting and Mahaney of the depart ment of public works on the 0akville trestle fight notwithstanding that some very prominent republicans "knew" that the mayor and everybody else on the opposing side was making a fool of himself, because the trolley would knock them out in the first round in the superior court. What was the result. That case has been | passed upon by the superior court and the city came out of the scrap with | flying cOlors, every contention which | the city didn't have leg to stand up- | though even the present mayor re marked on the eve of the battle that the city didn't have a leg to tand up on. Of course the company has ap. pealed to a higher court, but even so what has happened proves that former officials and the city attorney knew their business and made good their claim in the courts in spite of the ad- of weakness on the part of men who should have taken the ground from the outset that the city was right and stick to that until the ,ourts had ruled differently. It is
 rue, of course that some will say that
 he city wouldn't have been in 1t had t not been for John O'Neill, who ought the case in the courts, but this s not n fair way to look at 1t. If some ,eople's counsel had been followed the .ity would have thrown up the sponge ong ago and John 0'Neill never would lave been brought into 1t and the com. ,any would have had things Its own way which would mean that the tax payers would have to foot all the bills md let the private corporation reap III the benefits. The trolley company s entitled to fair play as is the city
 md 1t is the plain duty of those whom he people choose to safeguard their interests to look out for the city, put all of them do not do so nd as a consequence the taxpayers
 ften have to carry burdens which hould be borne by others. A few days efore the decision of the superior ourt relative to the Oakville trestle mbroglio was handed down a city of-
 cial told a representative of this pa- er that he expected it soon and that , Then 1t should be made public every , nan who had forced the thing to a ght would feel ashamed of himself. ecause he knew the court would find 1 favor of the company. When asked bout the matter since the decIsion ras received the gentleman dismissed he question in this fashion: "On, I xpected you would throw that fin my ace. but you should bear m mind thar re have not yet reached the end. low do you know but the company Till carry it to the supreme courtT ,o you catch onf Still contending hat the city was wrong and the com any right: actually prompting the cor oration not to give in. What would !. lerchant or a manufacturer think of n official in his employ who took such
 position in case the concern should e engaged in a lawsuitf The officiafl