Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-03-13
THE MEN's LEAGUE.
Heard Interesting Talk on Municipal
 Work By Engineer Cairns.

Heard Interesting Talk on Municipal
 Work By Engineer Cairns.
 The Mems league of the Second Congregational church were enter tained last evening by an interest ing talk on municipal work by City Engineer R. A. Cairns, including review of the several proposed plans of approach to the union depot. MT Cairns said in part:
 If you want to make criticism of municipal management sure to be applauded just say something, any, l thing in fact, about the bad state of the streets and rnads. Preferably you should refer particularly to your own section, where they are always worse than anywhere else. With 25O or 300 miles of highways to be kept l in order, with many miles waiting to be laid out, graded and hardened,
 and with only very limited amount
 of money, comparatively speaking,
 available for the purpose, it is sim ply an impossibiljty to make the
 progress which4the public would like
 to see but Is utterly unwilling to
 pay for l Next these streets must be grad
 ed for their full with, gutters form
 ed and provision made for the es- cape of surface water. Our steep l grades make this latter oftentimes
 an occasion of large expenditure, and
 where neglected the cost of repairs is very great. When sidewalks are
 laid by the property owners the city
 has to lay the gutters, and thereaf-
 ter it has complete street on it's l hands to care for forever. This care I includes keeping both the roadway
 and sidewalks in condition for safe
 and convenient travel, keeping the 1 gutters, drains and culverts free l from obstruction, and the provision
 of sufficient lights.
 As population increases the time
 comes when it seems best to substi-
 tute a more durable surface for the
 roadway, and then 1t may be macad-
 amized or paved Macadam is laid
 without special cost to the abutting
 proprietor, although the law would
 admit of such an assessment. When
 regular pavement is laid it is GUS
 tomary to levy about one-third of the
 cost on property ou either side of
 the street, leaving one-third to be
 paid out of the general tax.
 ''In Waterbury we have used the
 following material for permanent
 paving: Dimension stone block, yit-
 rified brick, sheet asphalt, block as-
 phalt, bitulithic cglorified macad-
 am.') So far we have laid no wood
 pavement on account of it's cost and the fear that it is too slippery.
 '.As soon as street is paved there
 comes the cost of sweeping it and
 keeping 1t clean. The real argument
 in favor of pavements Is not the say
 ing in cost of maintenance so much
 as it is the benefits resulting from
 the reduction in power required fol , traction and the improvement in san.
 itary conditions resulting from the ability to keep the street surface clean.
 "The last argument is one which
 must be used in extending pavements | in the poorer sections. It is said that
 business does not need such pave ? ments and ;, is unnecessary to lay them for the sake of appearance
 Everyone derives benefit from sucf 3 work in the better health of tho 3 whole city pavement is wortf n more to our people as Q whole SC :. far as health is concerned on Cana n street than one on Grand street
 , 'In spite of the so general sdiscon r tent with our conditions we hav 7, made great progress in the pas g twenty years. It is just that lengtl : of time since the first permanen ' pavement was laid in Waterbury. l Il was put down on Bank street, be e tween Exchange place and Gran' c street. It was in 1890 that Exchang r place and East Main street wer g first paved. At that time there wa !. no macadam in the city. The stree U system has been greatly extende E and I am confident that the genera r condition of our streets and road has improved greatly, notwithstand
 ing that we all recognize the fac B that it might be much better.
 : Tn our public water supply W 's have ever been aud are now yer T fortunate. In the quantity and qual !" ity of the water supplied, Tn tn = pressure under which 1t reaches us - the substantial character Of It's con {. struction in all it's parts. in the hrs P cost of construction and the cost c . operation, and in the administratio u of it's finances the record is one
 be proud of. Among the cities the world few can show better.
 S' within the past few years a not :, able improvement was made in tn i. water supply, so far as distributio " is concerned, by creating a separat T. high service, by which device wate ., is brought to large districts lying o
 high ground aroups the city. Thes works are still unfinished, a pumI :, ing station being needed to insur " against possible shortage, and ,o trunk line is to be built across tn " valley from Washington Hill :, Highland avenue. At one point O '. this line the pressure will reach ls m pounds per square inca. ,r Were the growth Of the city ,o be retarded and meters introduce ,s generally, our present supply woul n he a6euuate for a considerable tim ', But there seems no reason to antic in nate anything but continued rapi
 growth. in which case it will not ii, long before anothe- storage rese !, yoir will be needed. Happily ou ,n Branch system is 90 built that al
 other reservoir can be added at an TO time without other expense than thu n- involved in the construction of u Ii. dam and the cleaning of the basi a There will be no NV problems hl h damages for diversion of water. ct
 such as are met with in locating m entirely new supply. All the - k.Ls-z bawo haau Arranged for (