Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-02-07
PUBLIC WORKS
People Who Want Trolley Heard
 Again Last Night.

The department of public works held meeting last night which was at tended by as many people as could crowd into the annex, and large num- Der who wanted to get in and say q word or two on the Robbins street . trolley had to content themselves by peeping in through the windows. Com missioner Walker presided and all the members were present.
 John Henderson was the first speak CT. Ill an earnest, intelligent plea for q trolley on Town Plot, ,le pointed out various reasons why the district was entitled to the service. Large num- bers of working people have invested ill building lots on that high ground and are waiting for the hum of the trolley before building. He. had no ob- jection to the Robbins street route ex- cept that instead of passing through q thfckly settled district like Brooklyn and Town Plot the proposed line would traverse a sparsely settled part of the town and be of no special benefit to anybody except people en route to Mid dlebury. He thought the convenience of the working people of Waterbury should weigh more with the board and with the trolley company than any. thing else. A. route along James and Clark streets can be had at [ per cent grade and he hoped that the city fathers would not let this opportunity to get the line for Town Plot slip through their hands.
 Attorney James NJ. Lynch seconded all Mir Henderson had said and added a few things more. He believed that the trolley is playing dog in the man. ger with the people of Waterbury. It has the franchise to construct and Op- crate lines in all the public streets of the town, but instead of using them and giving people the benefit of the service, it manages to get an extension of it's charter rights from time to time so that while making no use of the streets it prevents others from com ing. It gives the city nothing but what it cannot help. and is not willing to stand by its agreement even when it is down ill writing. He didn't want to see the board act arbitrarily wI,n the company, but he did hope that the well being of the people of Waterbury would be no longer jeopardized bi permitting q corporation to hold rights in the streets in perpetuity without making use of them. He wanted soms- thing for Brooklyn, not things that HOme directly out of the pockets of the rate payers. but q share of the funds appropriated for public use and to which residents of that region have been contributing and getting pre- ciOus little in return therefor. He pictured the benefits that would ac- crue to the city government in the form of increased values in case the trolley should be extended into Town Plot.
 Attorney NJ. J. Byrne didn't like the idea of constructing q bridge on Rob- bins street and hoped that in case the company should go that way lots of room will De left for other travel. He wanted the trolley to get out into the open. but had no choice of routes. He didn't care whether it went by way of Robbins street or along Bank street.
 l.. k. Carter said he had no objec- ton to the trolley on Town Plot. bur the route under consideration along Robbins street to Middlebury he con sidered all right and wanted to see it go through.
 Hans Rasmussen had no objection to the trolley people. They are charm ing gentlemen, he said. full of prom. ises that are never fulfilled and f1rso rate hands at soft soaping you all over. It was the grasping corporation he was aimiUg at that holds down a population of 10000 souls and will continue to keep them under foot un- til the people rise uo in their might and throttle the octopus in the legisla- ture at Hartford. Mir Rasmussen re- ferred to the efforts of Judge Warner to give Waterbury another trolley, but said he was handicapped for lack of funds and things went on until fi- nally smart attorney. MT Kennedy. and Mir Lilley helped fix things so that the present company shall have no more competitors. He waEted to know how much longer people intend to stand for this sort of thing. MT Rasmussen made some good Ifts which provoked roars of laughter.
 Robert Walker. the druggist. op- posed bridging Robbins street, and picked up l.. R. Carter on the point of grades. He said that Mir Carter pTa- ferred Robbins street because it Is an easier grade than West Side hill anI then asked Mir Garter if. suDpOsiGg an easier grade than Robbins street could be had, would he stick to his method of reas0niEg and say. go that way. Mir Carter gave this an evasivc answer. Mr Walkers aim was to get the real estate man to admit that ow- ing to the easy grade on James street the line should take that route. but it didn't work.
 Patrick McNamara didn't w.iE to see the people of Waterbury taxed to fix roads for the trolley company to do business on. If people had money to spare he would much prefer to have it used to encourage manufac- turers tn locate here. who employ men who would become part of the com munity and spend their earnings with l tic business men of Waterbury. He l was very much in favor of the trolley I on Town Plot and feared that if adsii- l tioBaI trolley service should bc crowd I ed into the Waterfown road horse men will lose the only safe place in perS can do little speeding up.
 I'm the discussion which was brougilr out it was stated Ily Engineer smith I that it would make the route to Mid dlebury about a mile longer to go by way of Bank street than to take Rob bins street.