Norwich bulletin., 1914-02-04
WESTERLY BOARD OF TRADE ACTIVE
Upon Highway Methods More Satisfactory Than Those of Town Council-Shapno And His Chum Held For May Term-Wll of Miss Mary J. Pendleton Pro- bated-Bequests To Lebanon And North Franklin Wo- men, The Latter Deceased :,

The Westerly Board of Trade, dis satisfied with the highway methods of the town council, decided to institute a reform in road construction and maintenance and change in the man agement of that department. com mittee was appointed to take such steps as would bring the desired change. After much investigation the committee decided to ask the director of public roads of the United States department of agriculture to send an engineer to Westerly. to make a thor ough investigation of the work as per formed by the highway committee of the town council, to inspect the work and to submit a report with specific recommendations of changes for the better management of the department.
 Here the committee struck snag. When an application was made to the agricultural department the commit tee was notified that the Board of Trade had no official standing in the department. If a competent engineer was wanted to investigate the highway department of Westerly and to make report of findings and submit recom- mendations, the request must come from the Westerly town council. George Benjamin Utter, chairman of the committee, went before the town council, seated the fact and told the council@he wanted the body to request the visit of the engineer to Westerly, and the council so voted. So the en- gineer is probably coming, and there's going to be deep digging into the methods of the highway committee of the town council, and the town, not the Board of Trade. will pay the ex- penses of the engineer during his stay in Westerly.
 It is not so very long ago that government engineer did like service for the state of Rhode Island, being invited to come by the governor. His report teemed with amazing state meAts, showing gross mismanagement, a waste of the public funds, lack of business methods, and so on down the line. The board of public roads of Rhode Island took exception to some parts of the report, and the engineer submitted a rejoinder, going more into detail in regard to unbusinessiike meth ods.
 Based on the report made to the governor, if the report of the engineer to the Westerly town council, on local conditions, is considered as 8 public document there will be live topic for discussion by the people of Westerly.
 As publicly expressed at the January meeting, it is the intention of the Board of Trade to take from the town council the building and maintenance of the highways of the town and place the management with a commission on basis similar to the present conduct or the water system and the public schools. The board even went so far as to appoint a committee to consider the best plan of taking the legal steps necessary to bring about this change
 The resolution inviting the govern ment engineer to Westerly was adopted at the executive session of the town council and was favored by Council men Maxson. Flynn. Culley and Thom- as, and opposed by Councilmen Lang worthy, Saunders and Haswell. A clause in the original resolution which provided for a public lecture by the engineer was expunged and It was also decided that the engineer should not examine into or make reference to the past, but confine himself to a plan for the betterment of the highway condl- tions of the future. Blank forms of application were received from the government for signature in connect ton with the proposed visitation of the en- gineer, but the councilmen decided not to comply with that feature, but to be content with forwarding the resolution as adopted to the department of agri- culture.
 If the government insists that these blank forms must be filled and official ly signed before the request for an engineer can be compiled with, there is 8 probability of complications that cannot be readily overcome. In that event the committee of the Board or Trade will comply with. the vote of in struction that was coupled with their appointment and take the legal steps to bring the matter before the present session of the general assembly and endeaver to have the highway work of l the town controlled by a commission rather than by the town council or any i committee thereof
 | It is said that the Board of Trade l committee expressed willingness to l withdraw and leave this matter entire | ly with the town council, but as this was not acceptable the committee de- 1 cided to force the issue in the council l When David Shapiro and Louis Mil i Ter (Recker), the New York boys wfs l were arrested in Bradford for breaking 1 and entering and committing larceny 1 In a freight car of the New York, New l Haven and Hartford Railroad compa- | ny, were arraigned before United 1 States Com1ni issioner William P. Cross 1 pleaded guilty and were held in bai l of S1, 900 each for their appearance be 1 fore the grand jury of the United l States district court May 28. There iE l 8 warrant for the arrest of Becker il [ l ployer S25 which he and his chun l Shapiro spent during the week priol to their arrest by Police Constabl, Thompson The two packages of sil. yer backed brushes and combs tha, they expressed from Bradford to Nev 1 York have been recovered by Inspecto 1 John Cleary of the New Haven road l The boys were unable to furnish bal ! and were committed to the Providence county jail, where they will remain un
 til called into the United States cour
 three months hence.
 John J. Dunn, of Westerly, secretar,
 of the state board of agriculture, say that action will be taken at the nex
 meeting of the board to forestall al
 epidemic of glanders, and will prob
 ably establish a quarantine agains
 horses, burros and mules coming int,
 Rhode Island. from Connecticut, Mass
 says there is much apprehension les
 some of the affected animals iron neighboring states be brought iEt
 Rhode Island. If the quarantine is es
 tablished it will mean that the animti
 will be subjected to the application o
 the opthalmic- -Mallein test before be ing admitted into the state.
 At session of the Westerly pro
 bate court Tuesday afternoon, Juds
 Edward M. Burke, the first and fna 1 account of Wayland D. Chapman, ex ecutor of the estate of Harriet 1 Chapman and the second account Q
 James Mccall. administrator of th Crun1b estate, were examined, alloWe
 and ordered recorded