The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1913-05-22
soDs, GRAVEL AND THE MAYOR.

Among the "crimes" of which Street Com
missioner Burgess is accused by the mayor is
that of placing sods on the Travelled portion of
the highways. We have seen no evidence of
this, but if the charge is we'll founded Mr.. Bur-
CESS has simply followed practice that has
prevailed every year that Mayor Hanson has
been in Office. Under his predecessor, Mayor
John R. Dunton, Street Commissioner Wilson
thoroughly graveled the roads in the outlying
districts. Since then, as if by a concerted
plan, the gravel has been covered with sods
and dirt from the bitches. Under Street Com.
missioners Wilson and Levi L. Robbins Sec
tions of State road were built on Northport
avenue, with center drains on a true grade
that carried off the water into culverts, and
the travelled way was we'll graveled. No bet
ter roads have been built since, if so good.
But Mayor Hansons road machine was sent
down the avenue one spring and covered this
gravel with sods and dirt, making the road
practically impossible, so that many knowing
its condition went around by the back road
The avenue remained in an unsatisfactory
condition all summer, and those familiar with
the mayors peculiarities. to use the mldest
possible term. believe that this was done to
discredit the good work done by Street Com
missioners Wilson and Robbins Later the
road machine was run over residential street
and fully half of the travelled way was cover
ed with sods. right side up. which of course
were avoided by passing teams, and grass
buttercups and daisies grew and blossomed
there for two years. This was generally
credited to the policy that prompted the "spite
ditch" on Waldo avenue. In the city streets
place sods in the travelled way, but the leaf
mould and decomposed dressing from the gut
ters, to form dust to be blown into the stores
and inhaled by passers. Street Commissioner
Burgess inaugurated clearing the cutters of
this stuff and hauling it off. and the mayor
has been using it to grade the lawn in
front of his $4,000 residence on North
port avenue. 1t is an excellent fertilizer.
Mr.. Howard F. Mason, an experienced road
builder, built some fine roads in the city park
from the entrance to the shore. They were
of ample width and we'll graveed. But one
day the mayor mounted the road machine him.
self and tore through the park, nearly doub-
ling the width of these roads and covering the
gravel with earth, in which weeds and grass
have since been allowed to grow. Not only
this, but in hauling gravel from the water
front, in violation of an order of his one-man
city government to place on his own drive
ways the teams are said to have cut up these
dirt roads badly. and they were unsiyhtly
enough before. The mayor has seen fit to call
attention himself several times to this de-
spelling the park beacn Of gravel for his pri-
of al WOi1lH MI
he would be glad to have forgotten If this
gravel was superfuous, an obstruction as the
mayor would have the public believe, the
proper use for it would be on the park roads
But after violating order of his own crea-
tion, and on the fact becoming known, the
mayor constituted himself Judge, jury and
prosecuting attorney and fined himself $lO
This despite the fact that the order was SIM
ply mandatory and did not provide for pen
atty.
For many years the city had been getting
gravel from bank at the easlerly end of the
lower bridge, taking what was needed, making
its own returns and paying ten cents cart
load. The mayor brought his personal politics
into this arrangement, charging graft to the
amount of thousands of dollars charges prov
ed to be utterly groundess, but which were so
annoying to the real owner of the gravel, who
was not the person assailed by the mayor that
the city forbidden further use of this
gravel. A pair OF horses could haul ten or
twelve loads of this gravel day, but now it
was necessary to 60 into the country to obtain
gravel and team could haul only four loads
day. for which the city paid Is cents load.
The difference in expense is what the tax pay
ers of Belfast have had to pay for the may or S
spite work. Not only that, but yellow clay
loom, in which there was not a trace of gravel,
was deposited on some of the streets and made
the worst kind of mud. 1t would seem that
the mayor is the one who should be placed on
trial and not Street Commissioner Burgess,