Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-07-21
AS YOU LIKE IT.
Some Stray Leaves From a Reportsr's
 Note Book

Note Book.
 The fund of $25.000 placed at the disposal of the president by congress to pay his travelling expenses may not, under the provisions of the law, be used to pay the travelling expenses of members of the cabinet. Even the president himself will not take ad- vantage of it. He proposes to pay his own personal travelling expenses, including his railroad. private car fare and meals, using the money al lotted by congress to pay the ex- penses of those employees of the gov ernment and other persons whom he is obliged to have with him.
 "A few days ago. said we'll known cabinet member, T was in- vited by a friend of mine to visit him in northern Maine. I was obliged to decline the invitation be- cause I did not care to go to the ex- pense the journey would entail and the distance was too far to walk. In expressing my regret to the friend at my inability to accept his invitation, l told him a story of two fellows who had agreed to race between their homing pigeons. Just before the birds were released for the race one of the men got hold of the other fell lows pigeon and clipped his wings. Naturally the race was what might be termed a 'fy-away' for the un- clipped bird. About week after ward the owner of the winning pig con met the other man on the street and inquired if his bird had arrived home yet. Yes, he replied mourn fully, he got back last night. Was he all right?' Yes, generally speak ing, he was, but you ought to see his feet That probably would have been my response to a similar Ques- tion If had accepted my friends invitation"
 Waterbury farmers-and they are not so scare as some think-say that the indications points to good crops, although hay is hardly what was expected considering that it was not dry season. But on the whole, there is nothing to complain of and unless something now unforeseen sets in ev- erybody ought to be able to get gar- den produce for low figure this fall, including potatoes. The bugs were unusually annoying this sea- son, but the t!llers of the soil were equal to the situation and went for the tormentors hammer and tongs with the result that they didn't get time to do large amount of damage. Some tried to drive them out by doses of spelter taken from the cast ing shops, but the thing didn't prove very effective and as a last resort all had to fall back on the old re- liable paris green. A little of the green stuff mixed in water Is worth cart load of spelter dust for kill ing the red devils that devour potato vines almost as fast as a hungry COW licks up cabbage leaves.
 "Now that Mayor Thoms has car ried his point on the matter of con- ditions for trolley extensions" said a prominent Bank street merchant to a Democrat reporter to-day, "I hope to see him go ahead and make con- duits in the streets 1t is proposed to, pave and have the telephone and trolley companies rent them from the city and pay a little something for the use of them. have been told that in some places the cities and towns get almost as much as run the city from corporations and private indi- viduals who find it to their own ad- vantage to do business on, under and above the public ways" After being told that the city couldn't make move in that direction until 1t had first obtained permission from the legislature the gentleman turned pale and exclaimed: What! Do you mean to tell me that Waterbury can't excavate in its own streets without consulting the hayseeds and politi- clans from all over this state" Being answered in the affirmative. he shook his head and turned to his books and the reporter couldn't get another word out of him.
 The proposition to have the in- mates of the Brookside home do a little work on the streets in the vi- cinity of the institution Is by no means as ridiculous as one might think at first thought. It is but fair to assume that nobody intends that the old and feeble should be asked to get out and hustle, but what's the matter with getting little work out of some fellow who prefers to live there rather than work for living, Is there anything wrong in compell- ing a man to work. who is sept up there from the police court because he can't behave himself. In many cases the city is supporting the wives and children of such jokers and 1t does not seem anything at all out of the way to make them give some thing in return therefor. There are on an average 100 persons at the Brooks.de home and the proposed new change would apply to about ten or fifteen of them. Some of these have a knowledge of roadmaking and probably would be glad to get out and do something of that sort. The worst thing about it to men of sem sitive temperaments is being seen by their old acquaintances operating with a pauper gang. This hurts; so does many other things that people have to do from time to time who don't live at the Brookside.
 IA. All