The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-10
Especial to the Farmer.)

1t (Specldl to the FdTner.)
 Hartford. March 10-Not If the trus- tees of the Bridgeport Public Library and their friends can prevent will their power to continue themselves in office, by appointing themselves as often as their terms expire.
 This they do under an amendment to the State law which provides for the appointment of library directors by the Mayor. From this general rule Bridgeport has been excepted.
 It appears that some time ago the Common Council of Bridgeport in structed the city attorney to prepare a bill restoring the law to it's former scate. and destroying the self perpet- uating powers of the trustees
 The hill was referred to the com- mittee on Education which numbers not a member from Bridgeport. nor from any city. except Putnam which has less than 1000 inhabitants.
 City Attorney Cullinan appeared for the bill. saying that the people of Bridgeport were entirely opposed to the perpetuating principle.
 $ Representative w. w. Bent support ed the bill. declaring 1t un-American, 'undemocratic and intensely hostile to the principles of popular government.
 The chief argument in support of the bill was presented by Lynn w.
 
 the opposition was not to the per sonnel of the board. but to the prin- ciple of self perpetuating boards.
 The opposition was represented by former Mayor Henry Lee, Attorney John c. Chamberlain. Attorney V. R. Attorney L. K. Gould, former Senator Moses W. Manwaring, Tax Collector John M. Donnelly. Henry A. Bishop Judge A. B. Beers. Robert N: Blakes-- lee. Jerome Orcutt. Jacob Klein. and Charles H. Armstrong. the last five named being members of the board.
 Judge A. B. Beers made the chief argument in favor of retaining the powers of self appointment. He ex- plained to the committee that once a Mayor had exercised his power as Mayor and had removed certain mem bers of the board and appointed oth CTS. This. he explained, placed the board in politics. If the present right of the members of the board to fill vacancies should continue. no other Mayor could ever interfere with it. and the board would be always out of politics. He said that the self perpetuating principle existed in the Park board and that the people had approved it. Most of the other gen. tlemen present offered substantially
 Mayor Lee told the committee that he would favor every board in Bridge port being constituted in the same way.
 The argument presented by MT. Will son. for the bill, follows:
 Section 4,639 of the General Stat utes relates to public libraries It provides that when the Common Council of any city maintains a iib- rary, the mayor may appoint a board rary. This is the general rule for the state. But in 1909 certain persons in duced the General Assembly to amend the General Law so that the library directors in Bridgeport, and ;n Bridgeport only, were constituted a self perpetuating board. They receiv- ed power to fill vacancies arising in their own number, however occurring The council retained power to refuse to confirm any such nomination. But if the Council should fail to confirm any such appointment, the member whose place was to be filled would simply remain as a holdover and the board might go on, irresponsible, spending the city's money, but in most things beyond the citys control, un- til death should take off all of it's mem bers.
 AS soon as the change became known it immediately met with pub- lie disapproval
 Not only was this method of 'creat- ing board to spend the city's money
 
 dangerous both as a precedent and in fact.
 Opposition to the change was gen. orally increased when it became known that this self perpetuating body had also obtained power, under certain circumstances to break a sac- red trust, imposed upon the city, and upon them, by the legacy of the late Catherine Pettingill, who left a large and costly building, advantageously located in the business center of the city for library purposes forever. At that co-Ordinately they had ob- tained the power to condemn land upon the east and upon the west side of Bridgeport and to build libraries upon such sites.
 Have Power to Sell or Buy.
 Opposition to this change was fur ther increased because two years ear Her the Park Board of Bridgeport had also managed to get itself con- stituted as self perpetuating board with broad powers to spend the mon- ey of the taxpayers, such as the pow CT of condemning land the power oi constructing parkways, or boulevards between any two parks under its con- trol.
 The members of this board were named for eight years, and each va i cancy was to be filled by the other members of the board. The condi. i tions of the act were such that the members of the board had reason. able assurance of remaining in office 1 for terms ranging from ten to fifteer | years.