Putnam patriot., 1913-01-17

salary for members of the board so that the council If it saw tit might vote to do so, The control of the water works Is a most important undertaking for the city, and 1 believe will be shown to be one of the most progressive and productive steps the city has ever ta- ken.
 SEWER SYSTEM
 1 think we have cause to be thank ful and to rejoice at the completion of the sewer system the past year. It has been an enormous work and a most important one. The citizens by their generous appropriation made the work possible. The sewer committee have carried on the work in a pains taking, eeonomicai manner, giving much of their time to the work. The city engineer has also labored faithful ly for the eonsumation of this great system. 1 believe that l am but utter ing the sentiments of every member of the council and every citizen of Put nam when 1 say 1 am proud and heartily pleased that the city of Put nam has now an adequate, well-con structed system of sewers. The citi- zens have been prompt in making con- nections and that work Is still going on so that before long privies, cess pools, and vaults will be abolished and the sanitary condition of the city will be better than ever before. A com mittee has been appointed to make the assessments on the abutting property owners for the work done. Their task is a trying one as il is n difficult mat- ter to make such assessments equitably l.. al, |. so that 1t will in fairness appeal to all. l might go on at great length regard ing these important improvements but l have undertaken to be brief.
 CHARTER AND oRDINA NCEs
 I am as thoroughly convinced as ever that our city charter and ordi- nances need immediate consideration and revision. l hope that during the coming session of the legislature the matter of revising the charter can be carried through. There are several needed powers not granted us by our present charter which are essential to the proper government of the city and have arisen as the city has progressed and developed. The taking over of the water works and the installation of sewers have made further powers i'm. perative. | believe in q commission form of government and ] advocate 1t and strongly urge 1t for Putnam. | think the citizens should get together and seriously consider thls m latter. The time has come when the duties of the city officers have become so arduous that l believe they should receive pay for the work they do, and whether the present form of government is retained or change is made to government by commission l believe that some provision should be made for fixing salaries for city officials. Perhaps 1t would be well to defer the revision of the ordinances until the charter has been revised but as soon as the neces- sary legislation to accomplish the charter revision is secured 1 recon mend that the ordinances be given i'm. mediate attention.
 FIRE DEPARTMENT
 Whenever 1 have had occasion to al- Jude to the fire department 1t has been in words of commendation and praise. This will be no exception, as l believe as l have always believed, that Put nam has a volunteer fire department second to none. Recently the depart ment has been through trying times. The city recently experienced the greatest confiagration in it's history. The power and ability of the depart ment were taxed to the utmost but they came through the ordeal with credit to themselves and to the city. The department did excellent work at the big fire, and, while all deplore the great loss of property sustained, we are sI T,.l | d at.h hni iftn we must give credit where credit is due-to the men of the department who succeeded, in the face of the great est odds they ever experienced, in con fining the fire within the bounds of the burned area. Those who looked on never thought that the men could pre- vent the spread of the fire to the old Fisher Shoe shop and the buildings be- yond, but they did, and thereby saved thousands of dollars worth of proper ty. Credit should also be given to the Danielson and Webster departments for their good work and the readiness with which they responded in our hour of need.
 The council has already recognized their valued services with suitable res olutious. It is the general belief that the ii re was of incendiary origin. If so it is to be deplored that the guilty person has not been brought to justice. l know personally that there was a strenuous endeavor made to accom- plish this but without success. Both the local and state police ran down many clues but without avail. Special men were assigned to police duty nights but without result.
 POLICE DEPARTMENT
 The police department has made a good record the past year. The city has been unusually free from crime and the city court record has not been encumb bered with lot of minor cases. This is due to the efficient manner in which the police and the prosecuting attorney have worked together mak- ing painstaking investigations of com plaints before bringing prosecutions and settling many little troubles and difficulties and family disputes with out having them aired in court. The probation officer was a great help in this work.
 HEALTH DEPARTMENT
 The city has been very free from contagious disease and no epidemic has broken out. Two cases of smallpox were reported to the health officer and he took immediate steps to prevent the spread of the disease and was success ful. Complaints of nuisances have been carefully investigated and nui- sances abated. Our milk inspector has performed his duties faithfully and the reports from samples of milk taken have been excellent in all but a few cases.
 LIGHTING SYSTEM
 It is gratifying to know that we are getting better lighting service than ever before. The street lighting sys- tenn has been materially changed for