Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-03-13
WIDENING COLE ST.
Monsignor Slocum Appeared Be.
 fore Public Works Board.

meeting last night, Mayor Thoms pre-
 siding and all the members being present. It was by far the most in teresting session of city board ever held in this city, and the result proved
 very conclusiyely that 1t pays to send competent representatives to talk on public matters before the city fathers
 Cole street was tho principal theme and 1t received bad pummeling, first from the property owners and then
 from the mayor and commissioners,
 who jumped upon it with both feet and unanimously voted to report to the aldermen that public necessity and convenience do not require that the street be widened. The proposi- tion was to make Cole street, from South Elm street to Franklin street fifty feet wide. Two plans were sub mitted, one showing how things would work by taking all that Is needed off the left hand side as you go towards Union square, from the center This would make cut of eight and a half feet, until you reach the narrow passway and then contin-
 uing along through the property of the Immaculate Conception property, it would Top of twelve and a half feet. If taken from the other side the cut beginning at the property of Dr John r. Hayes. would he eight and half feet and about that depth until the Keenan place at Scovill street is reached, where the cut would be six feet. It would also lop off a good share of the yard of St Marys Day nursery. All the property own CTS were present and look at their faces while Mir Lowndes was explain ing the situation was all anybody needed to convince him that they were up in arms against it.
 When the names were called, re- plies came forth as follows: Immacli- late Conception. by Monsignor Slo- cum. over 300 feet, opposed, damages $50,OOO: Katherine McGinn, 55 feet. opposed. damages 5000; Thomas Taylor, 55 feet, opposed. damages. 5000; John F. Hayes. 16O feet, op- posed, damages. $15.O00; Thomas Kane, 60 feet, opposed. damages, SlO.- OOO: estate of John Keenan and Mary Keenan, 165 feet. opposed. damages. $o0O0O; Eugene Martin, POO feet. op- posed. damages. $20000; St Mary's Day nursery, a feet. opposed.
 Attorney Carmody appeared as counsel for the opposition and asked the board some questions. He want cd to know the name of the petitioner for this widening and was informed that 1t came from the Scovill Mfg Co. Mir Carmody said that it Is generally understood that serious mistake was made when the trolley people were permitted 10 lay tracks in that street and that now they are to be made suffer for somebody clse's blunder. This was followed by some speech making. Dr Hayes taking the lead. He called attention to the shortsight- edness of giving permission to lay trolley tracks in a narrow street where over 2.JOO school children are turned loose on the highway twice a day and thought that in case it should be made wider now another track soon would be put down there and this would make the danger to life and limb much greater than at the present time. He named the streets leading to and from the plant of the ScOvill Mfg company. over half a dozen times and wanted to know if these do not meet all the require ments of the concern. If not, he sug- gested that tho company give eight or ten feet of its land on Mill street and let the trolley tracks be laid there in stead of in Cole street. This would give them more room in the latter street. without any widening. The doctor said he has plans under con temptation for the erection of bnsi- ness block on his property and that this proposed change would render 1t practically valueless for that purpose. hence he placed his damage at the figure mentioned.
 Monsignor Slocum was calm and yet very determined. He said nc Hp- peared in the interest of about 6,osO people. owners of the school property. He was very much in favor of public improvements, hut he drew the line at seeing the street turned into a shamblas. and that is what you would have there in case the street should bc widened and another track laid there. It would he worse than any thing that ever was known in Con- necticut. unless the grade crossings which finally became such menace that the public rose mp and demand cd that they be abolished. He knew