The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-02-06
Unanimous Demand Upon Body to Terminate Ob- noxious Arrange
 ment with Fly
 draulic Go. Fifty-three Against ,. 20-Year Mulcting Device; Four Inspectors Neutral
Aldermen and Citizens Dis sect Agreement to Show the Injuries It Occasions Opinions of Former City Attorney Wheeler and that of City Attorney Cullinan Freely Quoted.

fest against the continuance of the 20
 year water contract, in the Common
 Council chamber, last night. The hour
 was late. The arguments by the lead
 CTS of the movement to get rid of the I obnoxious contract had consumed several hours Chairman Hincks ex- lpressed the wish that the hearing be 1 concluded as speedily as possibly. AL 1errnan McMurray suggested that matters might be expedited by polling lthose for and those against the con- 1 tract Commissioner Osborne moved that this plan be adopted. Commits i sfoner IIoewth seconded the motion. I The vote was taken with the above | result. The only persons in the room who remained seated were said to be four inspectors employed by the Bridgeport Hydraulic company. ! One of these said, afterward: we l wanted to vote with the rest, but we didn't think it would look well in the office"
 l The hearing, although called almost ! without notice, and at the early hour of half past seven, was more largely attended than any public hearing the board has held in several years. sL 1 the chair, in compliance with the terms of the charter that says he shall preside over the meetings of the board when he is present.
 ! Those present were MT. Hincks, MT. Phelan, MT. Paige MT. Sherwood, MT. Loewith MT. Osborne and MT. Smith. At the beginning of the meeting MT.
 Smith was excused. The point was
 raised that there was no quorum. ] Mayor Lee decided to continue the hearing upon the ground that quo rum was present when the meeting l opened. Presently MT. Setzer came in and the number Of members required ! to do business was again present. Alderman John Fl. McMurray, Alder man John ". Near and Lynn W. Will son, made the principal arguments in favor of terminating the contract. No one appeared in opposition.
 | 'tMr. Wilson said: Your board has l before it an instrument which is com mon1y known as the 20 year water ] contract It purports to bind the city to pay the Bridgeport Hydraulic com- pany large sums of money, for 20 years to come.
 If this instrument Is a, contract for 20 years, it would be useless to urge you to terminate it. The constitution of the United States and the constitu- ton of our own state provide that nothing shall be done to impair the [ obligation of contracts. If this instru- n1ent is a contract for 20 years you could not break it if you would. "But it Is not a contract for 20 years for the excellent reason, that no mat ter how willing the authors of this in strument may have been when they made it, they had not the power to
 bind the city,.
 1 seThe common council cannot make contract that is binding upon the city for a term longer than one year.
 stLet me read you from an opinion
 by Judge George w. Wheeler, render
 ed when he was city attorney in 1892,
 in relation to proposed contract, with
 the electric light company for @ term
 of years"
 At this point MT. Wilson read the
 opinion, and continued:
 You will see that City Attorney
 Wheeler now Judge Wheeler, says
 distinctly that the best feature of the
 consolidation act is that it prevents
 the city making contracts for more
 than one year. The common council
 can't do it. The tax board can't do
 it. No city officer can. You heard al-
 so what he said about the great dan-
 gers upon making long contracts, as
 that the revenues of the city will be
 mortgaged for the future.
 But, gentlemen, great as is the au-
 thority of this opinion by this emin
 ent lawyer, who is now an eminent and distinguished judge of our super for court, it is not the authority that
 is binding upon this board
 "TT1e authority that you.,a to heed, from whom you are to take the law, is the City Attorney, who at present is MT. Thomas M. Cullinan.
 Now I propose to read to you from
 the opinion of MT. Cullinan, to show you that he is in absolute agreement with the opinion of City Attorney Wheeler, now Judge Wheeler.
 AYou note that City Attorney Cullin- an says of the very contract before year. He says that the council had no power to make any other kind of contract. He says that you, this board, can terminate it at any time, by re- fusing to make an appropriation and that this will be a legal way to annul it and that the city will not be liable in any action that may be brought by the Bridgeport Hydraulic company.
 ssThe city attorney also points out to you some of the wrongs that have been done to the city and the taxpay- CTS by this instrument.
 nHe says that the city has waived The right to forfeit the charter of the <,oyr1ns ny for failure to live up to cer- fain pledges made in it's contract.
 s.He says that if there is any where {. city getting cheaper water than this <.itv9 or free water. that this city is 1sfled to that cheaper water. or free M Eer. but that this contract valves s''s .srie tells you that it is feature of fni9 luotrume1lt which he cannot com