The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1906-02-27
FAyoRs STONE cRusHER.
Mackenzie, Candidate for Mayor, Thinks
It Advisable to Buy.

It Advisable to Buy.
Editor Barre Daily Times; We no
tice in your issue of yesterday an in
terorgation by George Cassie relative to
stone crusher, and we would take this
opportunity to reply to same and state
where we stand on this question. In the
FIRST place we are decidedly in favor Of
the city owning stone crusher, as it
Is almost an impossibility to construct
good streets without one. On page SO
of this years city report, in the report
of the street commissioners, we say:
1--WE would recommend that the city
purchase portable stone crusher. This
could be driven by the engine on the road
roller by simply lengthening the shaft
and putting on pulley and belt and
can be operated at very little expense.
If the city owned crushef it would 20
a long way toward solving the problem
of good streets
We need scarcely add at this time that
having our water system, schools and
fire station, that more attention should
be paid to the construction Of good
streets, as they are an absolute neces-
sity for getting to our churches and
schools and they also facilitate the work
of the fire department, and as the cost
OF a crusher such as the city would
require would not exceed $1,000, it
should recommend itself. In the sec
ond place, If the city owned crusher
streets could be constructed in snch 4
manner that they would be permanent,
and the city could proceed i'll SYSTEM
attic manner and do business along the
proper lines. For instance, the abutters
on any street could petition the city
council to have q permanent street con-
structed, or when the city council de-
cided by resolution that certain streets
should be constructed they would in
struet the street commissioners TO pro.
ceed with the work and ON its compile
tion call hearings and levy assessments
in the same manner as the law applies
to granite block pavements, etc, the
amount To be levied not to exceed one
half of the total cost and as much less
as might be deemd equitable. We be-
lieve this is the only fair way to care
for and maintain our streets. This, of
course, would not apply necessarily to
doing patchwork which would have to
be done from time to time in different
localities until all the streets were OF a
permanent nature.
We would also recommend the pur-
chase ot d porcupine plough, this plough
being built for the purpose of tearing
up the disintegrated macadam, and it
could be hauled BY the roller and the
street repaired with broken stone and
rolled in very short space of time with
ts,4~ I.
traffic. Our views on this question Of
IA crusher and street construction are
more fully set forth in the street com
missioners' report and to which we re-
spectfully refer the citizens and tax
payers. {The credit, if any, of this re-
port, il shared equally by the three COM
missioners.)
There is one other thing we would
like 10 speak about while we are on
the subject Of streets, and that Is, the
mayor has no more power to build
streets than any other member Of the
city council and really has a great deal
less than the street commissioners, once
the city council decides on a street that
is to be built. They issue orders to the
street commissioners, and they, with the
superintendent. are the parties who do
the work and the completion of the
work the credit il shared alike by every
member of. the city council and not by
any individual. II Is perhaps not gen.
orally known, but 1t Is q fact, never
theless, that the mayor has no more
right or authority to issue orders to
the street department than the janitor
has. We mention this because in the
event Of our election we do not want the
people to think the mayor is the whole
thing because by trying to get people
to believe this we would be masquerad-
ing in borrowed plumage and this we
have not the slightest intention Of do
ing.
If any should question the truth of
these statements, glance at the charter
and ordinances relating TO the duties Of
the mayor and street commissioners viii
at once dispel all doubt, AS we said
before, we stand for good streets and
for crusher to make the material to
build them with, with the approval of
the city council as a whole.
Yours respectfully,
Mackenzie, Labor Candidate.
Barre, Feb. 27th, 1906.