Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-06-16
REPORTER AND CLERK
Had Run in About PsTy Mons's
 Resignation.

] As a sequel to the session of the department of public works Thurs
 day night, Reporter Ford of the
 morning paper and Assistant City I Clerk James R. Lawlor had run-in
 last evening which came near ending
 in passage at arms. The resigna- ton of Perry Morris was toothsome
 morsel of news and naturally re-
 porter would want to get it; but 1t
 was something that the most alert
 scribe might miss and yet not leave
 himself open to charge of neglect
 of duty.
 Here is how 1t happened. In the
 afternoon Mayor Thoms requested MT
 Lawlor to be in the office between
 the hours of and o'clock in the
 evening, but his honor said nothing
 about what the clerk was wanted for, consequently MT Lawlor had no
 knowledge of what was up until after
 8 o'clock, when he was called into
 the meeting in the mayors ofice,
 whereupon the mayor handed him
 MT Morris's resignation and asked
 him to read it. The warning for the
 meeting was not made out by Mir
 Lawlor, nor was 1t served by Sheriff
 Smith. This part of the work was entrusted to Constable Lunny, and
 the commissioners. like the clerk,
 were in ignorance of the purpose of
 the meeting until they met the mayor and talked the matter over with him.
 MT Morris was not present at the
 meeting.
 In making his rounds of the City hall reporter for the morning paper dropped into the city clerks office shortly before s o'clock and asked MT Lawlor if there was going to be a meeting. The clerk replied not that he was aware of, and the news ] gatherer went on about his business and returned no more. The session was very brief and when the meeting adjourned all hied themselves to their homes, and that was all there
 was to it. It didn't get around and as a result the City hall reporter fell down on 1t, but that was something he couldn't help, neither was 1t any thing for which the assistant clerk could be held responsible. Last even ing the reporter wanted to see the records and Mir Lawlor showed him copy which had been prepared for submission to the board, holding them in his hand as he exhibited
 them to the reporter, who took hold of them and endeavored to wiring them from the clerks hand. Both held on. glaring at each other like gladiators, and pulled until the min
 utes were twisted and torn so that they had to be written over again. While this was going on they said | things to each other, but during the exchange of courtesies and tug of war MT Lawlor never lost his grip on the minutes and had the document
 when time was called.
 Then the reporter appealed to Mayor Thoms. who called the clerk into the ofice and said that the re- porter claimed he had refused to show him the record of that meeting. MT Lawlor replied that the minutes were not matter of record yet, that he was simply making them out. to
 which his honor replied that that was all right, adding that he might
 let the reporter see them when they became a matter of record.
 The mayors remarks acted like oil on troubled waters and when the two disputants promenaded out to where the typewriter was operating, MT Lawlor handed him new copy, which the reporter read and satis- fled himself that the account of the meeting as published was correct, and there the incident ended, not withstanding reports to the contrary. | Every newsgatherer feels hurt when he has bad miss, whether he | is to blame or not. but in the long run he finds that 1t is much better to swallow his indignation than rail at somebody else. Mir Lawlor is a very accommodating public of1cial, and does many things to help out re- porters that he need not bother about | if he wanted to keep everybody where he belongs. But as the old saw says. much is expected where much is given, probably he would find 1t easier | to get along if he made it plain to all corners that he has a rough side as well as a smooth one. In any case, the clerk spoke the truth. and any inference to the contrary does him great injustice. If there are doubt ing Thomases on this point they can satisfy their curiosity by asking Mayor Thoms if Mir Lawlor knew anything about the meeting until he was summoned to take the minutes.