Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-02-11
ENGINEER CAIRNS
Talked on Municipal Affairs Be-
fore Mems Club.

Engineer Cairns talked Interestingly
on municipal affairs. After some in
troductory remarks Mr. Cairns said:
| I'VE see, then, that in spite Of the
very considerable work done III the
past, there are to be great and urgent
requirements in the immediate future.
Ii Waterbury Is to continue its re-
markable and largely unforeseen and
unexpected development in population,
it will be necessary almost Immediate
ly to recast our public works on far
| greater scale.
1.-THE period of gradual enlargement,
by stretching and piecing out old gar
ments, will have for the most part
| ended, and 1t will be compulsory upon
us to redesign street systems, sewer
age systems, and water systems, giving
them such broad general lines as will
| form the framework which, when fill
ed In with the work of years, will fur
nish adequate service for city Of at
least 10000 people.
1 "And in such remodeling we must
allow not only for the greater de-
mands of a greater number but also
for the greater demands per capita.
What has sufficed hitherto will not suf-
1 flee for the future. The street whose
width seemed to our predecessors like
~ to be sufficient for the needs of
travel, even should the city become far
larger than they believed spossible,
would not have appeared to them to
so fully discount the future. could
they have foreseen it burdened with a
double track railway and used as a
racetrack for motor driven vehicles
not confined to any particular portion
of the roadway; with its sidewalks set
with great poles and eXcayated be
meath for coal bins; with its roadway
honeycombed beneath with water, gas
and sewer pipes; with telephone con-
duits, electric conduits, perhaps, also
pneumatic systems, steam pipes and
even subways for passenger and
freight transportation.
: ''The sewers designed for sixty gal.
Ions per capita on an estimated popu
lation of say 100 per acre-what vii
they do when called upon to carry of
the water used at the rate of 100 OIL
100 gallons per capita by daytime
population of 500 per acre?
THE water distributing system, in
the same way, will have to be laid out
on a wholly different scale from the
present, with greater provision for the
exigencies of fire protection and back
ed up by far greater supplies far of
:. among the hills.
: "The greater expenditures imposed
upon city, by reason of the increas
, ingly higher standards of the peopl
is well illustrated in the field Of stree
surfacing. At one time it was con
; sidered that the selectmen had don
; well when the most of the road wa
; we'll rounded up, cutters open and tn
real cuagmires corduroyed or mat
tressed with brush. Later on it wa
thought that these swampy place
ought to be filled in with stone an
the whole roadway coated with fou
! to six inches of gravel.
!. "As recently as 1886 the first ston
block pavement was laid in Ban
street, from Exchange place to Gran
street. This was considered prett
fine, and other streets were paved
the same way; but soon the people
used to solid support where thei
J., ancestors rode In mud to the hubs, AN
to a street SO clean that overshoe
lwere scarcely needed in the muddies
$ times, began to complain of the nois'
v This consideration led to the trial {
q sheet asphalt and latterly to bitulitf
a ic. AS this process goes on the COZ
" per mile OF roadway has greatly il
; creased, the old argument that th
q decreased cost of maintenance woul
o largely Offset the high initial expeni
N having proved fallacious.
such pavements as we are no
? laying down, where quietness is II
" ruling consideration, are to my min
i nothing short OF luxuries, fine thint
r to have If one can AFFORD them. tt
h same effect of higher standard
\ seen in street lighting, street swee
e ing, and in almost every other branc
e of city administration. And In plai
d ming for the future this factor mu
IS be allowed for.
Is THE inevitable question sure
a presents itself where and how wi
A. the money for these millions of dc
RI lars worth Of improvements be o
IT tained?' You remember the reply r
= Gently given by Taft to the questio
a How shall men get work when the
2 is no work to be had?' God know
lie | do not Well, that is subject b
T. enough to be taken up and consider,
g. by itself. But there is no questiC
4 in my mind that Waterbury is
II continue its growth and that
standard of municipal living is to
maintained and even advanced. IT.
necessary money will be raised al
expended. Ii is for the thought
responsible citizens to decide how
A. shall be raised, how much by annu
tax, how much by loans throul
bond issues. II is for the same peop
Is TO say whether or not the city shs
IN get an adequate return for every d.
i lar expended, a most critical matt
y. where the demands for expenditu
e are 30 great in proportion to q
j. amount OF money available.
e, "As a native Of Waterbury. int
s. ested as we all are In the future
e. the city, but influenced In my yie'
n By long consideration Of affairs fro
the engineers standpoint, II seems
ie me that the present status Of our pu
lie works is such as to demand {
y very best thought OF our most al
men.
I'VE ought not at this stage Of o
= development TO drift along in al
temporfzing spirit. A thorough stu