Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-10-12
CITY LIGHTING PLANT
Buried Deep By Republicans lar
 payers at Mercy of Corporation.

The different factories have first. class electric lighting plants and
 when necessary they are able to come
 to the rescue and Illuminate the
 whole,city, as was the case last night
 when electricity was furnished for
 most of the arc lights by the Scovill
 Manufacturing Co. Did you ever stop to consider what an imposition 1t is upon the city government to be de- pending upon private corporation
 to keep the streets lighted when 1t could do this itself at greatly reduced cost to the rate payers If few smart Ieiiows had not got together and suc- ceeded Tn having a law passed which denies the city the right to manu- facture electricity for use on It's own streets? A few years ago the board or aldermen, seeing the folly of trusting to others for what they were so well able to do themselves. in- structed the city attorney to prepare ana have passed an amendment to the charter authorizing the city of waterbury to engage in the manu- lecture of electricity for the purpose or lighting its streets, parks, squares ana buildings. MT Kellogg did as directed, but the bill was strangled and the attorney was lucky that he didn't share similar fate, for most or the legislators considered 1t a piece Of impertinence for a man Of MT kellogg's intelligence to bring such measure before them. The Dill was buried and during the fu- neral one or two, legislators deliy- cred orations which are still ringing in the ears of Waterbury people who want the best possible results for money expended for public utilities. MT Lilley was in public life at the tune, so were quite few of the
 champions of the people, who gath cred at the banquet table with him at The Elton last night. but If he or any of his colleagues said a word in favor of the lighting bill or made even the most modest kind of protest against the insults heaped upon the board of aldermen of Waterbury, the Journal is beautifully silent about 1t. other towns in the state and all over the country do their own lighting and save money at 1t for the taxpay- CTS, but Waterbury can't do anything or the sort because such a course would greatly reduce the income of the Connecticut Railway and Light ing Co. Mir Lilley told his friends at the republican state convention that whenever the people made up their minds that 1t was for their in- terests to change a law. all they had to do was say so. Waterbury did this by unanimous vote of the board of aldermen. which was signed by its mayor and presented to the legisla- ture in the form of an application Tor permission to do its own light fhg. What was the result? Isn't 1t a wonder Mir Lilley and others who talked last evening never hinted at such things as this? Of course that wouldn't suit their purpose. and be- sides 1t sounds better to declaim about prosperity and tell the people they ought to be thankful that they are not starving. Why should a working man complain SO long as he Is given leave to toll and has the privilege of voting for nice men like MT Lilley and all the other republi- can nominees? This has been dinned into peoples ears so regularly that un- fortunately very large number of our citizens look upon 1t. as gospel truth and as a consequence a mans fitness to represent public interests is too often measured by his closc- ness to corporations that are ever on the alert to pilfer from the masses.