Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-08-07
SECOND WARDERS
Threaten an IDiuuciioD if They
 Don't Gel Improvements.

piOpciLy O"uSlo anu lhO SisJ " garding changes incident to the big railroad project was a tame affair ! compared with a threatened rupture between the powers that be and second warG land owners, who claim that they are deterred from getting l their property into the market on account of the conduct of the board of public works in neglecting to | open certain streets, constructing water mains and do some other few 1 things in that district.
 Already a delegation has waited | upon Mayor Thoms and informed him that unless certain work is taken hold of in that part of the i town in the near future the city will be enjoined from using any of the proceeds of the park bond issue and will also be held up on other work so that things will come to a stand still all around.
 Mayor Thoms said to-day that he had nothing to give out on the mat ter but he did admit that commit
 
 ened to slam down the lid on every thing unless they get what they want. He said he does take this seriously because he knew the men making the threat have no griev- fence and more than that he was of the opinion that they are aware of this themselves. He dismissed the subject with a remark that it would be time to decide what to do when it becomes necessary to take action.
 This street question is many sid ed. The second ward is big place and has always received the lions share of money appropriated for public Improvements, although it is by no means the heaviest taxpaying district in the city. The fourth and fifth wards pay the bulk of the taxes and invariably receive the smallest share out of it. Edward McManus is putting the finishing touches on a job in the second ward which will cost about $25,000 or $30,000. Pine street in the same district will cost several thousand dollars, to say nothing of the money put out on water main extensions, sewers and other things. Nothing is being done in that part of the town that is not needed and a vast amount of work that should have been attended to long ago is on the waiting list and will remain there for many years. The same thing might be said with reference to every other district and the situa- tion will be worse few years hence unless we have a revision of the system of taxation in the near future or stop making improvements where people are not taxeds for them. At the rate the city is re- yeiving petitions for new work it would take a million dollars to com plete what will be unfinished at the close of the present year. At the last meeting of the aldermen peti- tions were read as follows:
 Water mains in Meriden road from East Main street to East wood avenue; water main in West Main street from present terminus to Park road; wa ter main in South Wilson street from present terminus to Washington ave- nue; and of George N. Marshal. ct al, for water main in Ridgewood street, from Chestnut avenue to Waterville street; for a crosswalk across Bridge street at Pemberton street; building lines on Gloves terrace, both sides, from Roseland avenue 10 Randolph avenue; sewer in South Leonard street, from the plant of the Connecti- cut Oil Co, to Sixth street; electric light on Wall avenue; electric light on Hamilton avenue, near the plant of Sake & Floto; an electric light on South Leonard street, below Sixth street.
 At the present time there is not a dollar available for water main ex- tensions. lights or new work of any kind that is not contracted for, and yet people who are coming in and those who will call later rail at every body because they can't have what they want right of.
 Some say the money would go farther if all the city work was done by contract. Probably this is true on very large projects, but SO far all the tangible evidence available is in favor of the other plan. The city is getting good sidewalks cheaper than ever before and water mains are be- ing laid at less than the engineer esti- mates.
 Whats the matter, then? There must be something wrong else there would not be so much fault finding. Of course there Is but 1t is almost out of the question to get people to look towards the source of the trouble. AL derman Larkln explained it very briefly Monday night in reply to AL derman Hayes of the fifth district.
 'I live in a district where I pay very little although I have every thing" said Mir Larkin. He meant, of course. that he was not carrying his share of the burden of taxation. He pays about s35 in taxes, but he admits himself that his bill should be considerably more. but this is not his fault because according to the sycS tenn of taxation under which we are working Mir Larkin or anybody else in the outside district cannot pay for everything when he gets it. A man might talk for month on the sub