Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-08-27
TROLLEY EXTENSIONS
Agreement Not Carried Out on
 Pearl Lake Road.

Trolley extenslon Tn WaterDury is an interesting topic but 1t appears to be kept in the background in the in terest of proposed extensions to
 neighboring towns and unless those
 who feel the need of the service be- stir themselves and get after the city officials they will walk to and from their homes for the balance of their lives, for such trolley extensions as will be made unless we have q change of tactics will not amount to anything for the working people of this town.
 Take for example the Baldwin street line, which stops at Post street, although the company agreed to carry 1t to the Pearl Lakes road, just seven teen hundred feet farther south, which would bring employees of Smith & Griggs factory within a two min- utes walk of the shop. It would also be a great convenience to people who live on the Pearl Lakes road and on the way between where the line stops and Hopeville, but the company doesn't want to extend the line and the work Is not likely to be attended to very soon unless the residents of that district get after somebody with a sharp stick. It is easy to see why the company prefers to let things re- main as they are. It earns as much money with the unfinished road as 1t would with the completed one, be- cause people who walk all the way to and from the Pearl Lakes road to the cars pay their nickels just the same as they would if the line went down farther and so long as they do that suits the company's purpose. The other day the Improvement club talk. ed the matter over and voted to sub- init petition to the board of alder men requesting that the trolley com pany be ordered to complete it's Baldwin street contract. It was pass- ed along to the board of public works. It Is likely that the next move will be to get an opinion of the city attor- ney on the matter. The people want that road extended on time to render service this winter and Mayor 1noms and the board of public works should see that they get 1t.
 But this is not all. Look at that larger territory known as Town Plot, district with about 1000 building lots owned by working people who will build upon them as soon as they are assured of the trolley. See what this means to Waterbury, and yet you don't hear anybody mention 1t ex. cept when it comes up now and then in the Brooklyn and Town Plot Im- provement society meetings, and then what is said is not always taken seriously by the public. although per. haps no trolley extension could be mentioned which means so much to Waterbury. The high ground over- looking Brooklyn never will be built up until 1t has the trolley for the very good reason that people couldn't live there and work in the factories. The hardship getting to and from their homes would be too great. but with the trolley all this would be re. moved and in less than a year the place would be dotted with handsome homes and everybody would profit by the transformation.
 Are these all? Not by any means, Walnut street. Farm street, Long Hill, Oak street and the whole south- easterly section need trolley exten- sion. They have petitioned for it and It's advocates have been before the city boards several times. They told of long trips afoot in all kinds of weather and talked of the hardships which women and children are sub. jected to until one would think that if the trolley people didn't care for the money there is in the extension they would do the work in the inter. est of humanity. But, no. things are the same there as they were years ago. notwithstanding the fact that the district embraces very wide territory and probably not less than a fifth of the population of the town live in 1t. This and the other two extensions already referred to are real necessities, but there are others, so that 1t will be long time before Waterbury will have the trolley ser. vice 1t needs unless all sections of the city get together and agree to work for common end. All these extensions will not be made in the same year. neither can the city afford to have them made on condi- tions which would create an expense to the taxpayers of s75.00O or sfO0.. 900 each as was the case on Baldwin street when beautiful roadway was rendered almost impossible to teams. If the people could be got together and forget their politics for a time trolley extension would be made along the lines of fairness to the city and the company, but under existing conditions 1t is a case of drive tho sharpest bargain possible. If the company realized that the citizens of Waterbury really meant to petition the legislature to grant 1t no further time to take advantage of the rights 1t has to lay tracks in certain streets in Waterbury. 1t wouldn't be hard to induce the management to 70 ahead but SO long as 1t can play dog in the manager SO long will it continue tc worry the public and keep them waiting in the hope of getting some thing for nothing.