Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-10-11
CHAIRMAN OF BOARD
Is inc Problem Now Being Agi-
 lated By Politicians.

The other day it seemed to be question which of the republican al- dermen would be the next chairman of the board. Postmaster Filling will hold down the job until next January, and until the surprise of last Monday 1t was understood in certain quarters that w. J. Larkin would succeed MT Filling, while some took the ground that the dis tinction was likely to go to MT Buck or Mir Fitzsimons, MT Walker being reported as not caring to bother with It. Now thiSgs are all in the air and you don't hear word about the men who were in everybody's mouth be- fore election. Every other person you meet wants to know whether the new chairman of the board of alder men will be Hayes or Spain, Scully or Gallagher Nobody knows. It | might not be any of these gentle men, for there are five others on the | majority side any of whom is com petent to hold down that job, and | when the time comes to act a caucus may bring one of them to the front. Due ulh0I CuCO uOCS IulS uldhCse l anyway? It doesn't require half as much ability as one needs to take the floor and talk intelligently on the | different matters that come up from time to time. Besides, if the demo- crats get together and decide what to do before going into the meeting, they will not have to indulge in any speech-making. All they will have to do is hold down their seats and let the other fellows do the talking, just as the democrats have been doing for years. Then when the chair puts the question all follow the lead CT and the result will be exactly the 1 reverse of former records, nine to six in favor of the democrats. To be sure at the present time 1t is seven to eight in favor of the republicans, but such things are rare in the al- dermanic chamber. This is the way the majority has transacted the busi- ness of the board, but it is doubtful if the democrats will do things that way. They nay want to talk and after an exchange of opinions with the majority, who knows but they may agree to a fair distribution of the public money in the different parts of the city, so that no district might be in position to charge that it was not getting a square deal.
 In justice 70 the present majority representation in the board of alder men it ought to be said that there was marked difference in their at- titude and that of the last three or four boards towards the mayor and the minority to that of former boards. The present board, like other boards O. the past six or eight years, showed a disposition to help the mayor rather than hamper him, but prior to that it was a case of block everything that came from a democratic source, and as result the public suffered and few private corporations got their hands upon everything. Just think of Mayor Kilduff getting the trolley company to pave a. street. Such thing was out of the question because he never had board of aldermen back of him, and whenever he mentioned such a thing he was referred to as standing in the way of the development of the town. With board of aldermen at his back Mayor Thoms succeeded in having East Main street paved from Wolcott street to Silver street at the expense of the trolley company. The same concession could have been had for Baldwin street and other places if the city did not have too many running here and there to see what they could pluck from the people and transfer to tie trolley for nothing. People are asking what caused the big democratic vote last Monday and each one is answering it as he sees 1t. Did it ever occur to you that the presence of MT Sewell in the contest and the trolley talk set thoughtful people to thinking, and they finally concluded to elect board of alder men that would do even better by the mayor than the one now in off, flee or any of it's predecessors, to the end that the public might get the best possible results from the mayor and the aldermen.
 Indorse George Peabody Wetmore.
 Providence, R. l., Oct. 1.-The Rhode
 Island Republican state convention
 unanimously indorsed the candidacy
 for the United States senate of George Peabody wetmore and chose the fol- lowing state ticket Governor. Licuten- ant Governor Frederick H. Jackson of Providence; lieutenant governor. Ralph
 C. watrous. Warwick: secretary of state. Charles F. Bennett, Providence; attorney general. William B. Gree
 nough, Providence: general treasurer, Walter A. Read, Gloucester.
 To Transfer Coast Defense to Navy. , Washington. Oct. 11.-Radical changes ] L. A. Administration, .,rrr .nnnrh do-