Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-07-08
HOLDING UP WORK. The Injunction Being Used Frequent
 Iv Just ait Present.

I " Just at 1Ttecul.
 Injunctions are quite fashionable in Waterbury just now and they ar'
 coming in upon City Attorney kel
 logg so fast that he scarcely know:
 which to pick up first. They are won derful instruments, but after all It f rather tough to have them issued tt
 suit a mere whim and without any notice whatever to parties who art
 likely to suffer by them.
 Take for example that injunction
 issued by property owners on Meadow street The complainants may have
 a grievance, but they have taken ap,
 peal from the award of benefits and
 damages arising from the new layout of that street and consequently they have redress in the courts.
 Besides more than half the allega- 1 tions in the papers are wide of the
 mark. In the first place they state
 that the work was ordered without any appropriation being made to car | " it through. This is a mistake, There is bond issue for that pur- pose. Then again they complain that
 the awards of damages have not been paid. Well, who's to blame for that?
 The money is ready for every prop erty owner on the street who was
 awarded anything and all he has to do is drop into the comptroller's off, l flee and get it. All this talk regard ing the wall which is now being built not being let out in a legal way doesn't amount to a row of pins. The order for the construction of that
 wall was passed in full conformity to the provisions of the charter. It is true that it was not advertised, but that is not necessary when the con- mittee or officer having the matter in hand represents to the mayor that public interests will be better served by not following the usual course and this view of the case meets with the approval of the mayor and record of the same Is left where it is open to inspection. All this has been done as anybody can see for himself who wants to take the trouble to look over the minutes of the board of public works. One may say that this was not the best thing to do, but that is an- other matter. The question raised is that the method adopted was not le- gal. A lot of folks about town never believed in that railroad project any way, but we have gone too far in that direction now to take a backward step. Every person who is in any way damaged by what is going on at the railroad station should be amply compensated, but nothing should be done to bring about a condition of things which will hamper the city and put the taxpayers to unnecessary expense in the prosecution of a work which may yet meet with the approy- al of even those who have been and still are opposed to it. Under the most favorable conditions the expense to the city for its share of the union station will be enormous and if we are to have injunctions which will pile up thousands of dollars to have dissolved to say nothing of the ex- pense incident to delays the cost will be increased considerably without any appreciable benefit to those who rep resent that they have not been treat ed right by the city government.
 The injunction does not stop any work which the city was particular about doing at this time, but it does hamper things somewhat. All the city is enjoined from doing is not to move any buildings nor interfere with the property of the plaintiffs.
 The order for an injunction with reference to the relocation of the thirty-six inch water main from it's present bed to Seery place is some- thing that doesn't amount to any thing so far as the city is concerned and the water department is not wor- rying over it. The main will remain where 1t is until the railroad provides suitable place to change it to so that really that injunction is up to the railroad people instead of the tax payers of Waterbury. so that while one might not be inclined to throw bouquets at those who handled this matter 1t cannot be said that they left the city at the mercy of anybody. But all these things will right them selves in time. They look like moun- tains, but when you come close to them they are not even good sized mole hills.
 The statement that the James street injunction has been dissolved is not a fact. It is on just as tight as ever. but it is hoped that it will soon be set aside so that the city may be in a position to work the street to the new widths and thus open the way for the proposed trolley to Town Plot.