Norwich bulletin., 1914-06-13

early hour after his regular tour Of duty instead of hobnobbing about the city and because he does not maKe public any change he may have under consideration as to the change in his routine work. He is accused of beiug responsible for the absence of po- lice signal service and for not having the patrolmen cover more territory and for permitting officers taking their annual vacations and for almost everything else on the calendar, re- gardless of his real responsibility, which is confined to small limits by the action of the police committee Of the court of common council who i1- sist on managing the police depart ment in all its details. As a matter of fact the captain is attacked without the slightest real justification. and every fair-minded citizen in New Lon don knows 1t. It may not be known to all that committee in charge of the police department installed a geod-for-nothing police signal service several years ago and that later an appropriation was made for an up-to- date service. That appropriation was not used for the purpose and the cap tain had no more to do with that &C., tien than did his present captious ciined to permit the secret book kept in the police station to become public to the newsgathers, or something of that sort, hence the adverse criticism of a competent and experienced police oficial.
 Strange how strangers in a strange land unearth 50 many matters that they know not of and attempt to have things done in the place of their adop- ton just as in the place they left be- hind them. There was a young fellow named Jones who came from Wor- cester to New London, some years ago, and secured work on a local newspaper. He liked the work and he was satisfied with the pay, but, strange to relate, he did not like New London: One night he stepped up to the desk and said: Say, if a man does not like a city he ought to pull out of 1t.
 so I gues will pull out" And he dId-
 New London is becoming . city of bili boards and with mushroom rapid
 fly but of more enduring material. Every open space in the city is being sought by the promoters who are pay ing fancy prices for rentals and the result is a general difgurement of the whole city. There are bill boards iI the business and residential sections and even on the housetops and there
 does not seem to be any check to the progress of the bill board nuisance. Tn many instances they tend to de-
 preciate the value of property in their vicinity and cases are known wher.
 bill boards are erected not only for the money there is in them for the fellow who owns the property on which they are located but to force
 his neighbor to sell or buy out the other fellow. practically the equiva- lent of the spite fence.
 There are other forms where the rights of tenants are ignored and the owner of the property leases the
 property supposed to be in the pos
 session of tenants for bill board pur-
 nf dnSifahlA
 building lots on business and resi- dential streets take advantage of the chance to lease land for bill boards and thereby get enough cash to pay ties so that they can be held without
 cost to the owners for rise in the real estate market.
 At the last session of the IssisIa-
 turs there was an act emanatlno
 from the New London Municipal Art
 society presented, referred to a com
 mittee, a hearing ordered, but was
 never acted upon with favor. and
 perhaps owing to the laxity of the parties who fathered the bill. There
 does not seem to be any state law that prevents the erection of these bill
 boards, even if the old wooden affai B
 have been superseded by the sheet iron ones with some attempt at orna- mentation. While it is conceded that these bill boards are publ1c diShB-
 urement and In many instances col- founded nuisances, they are just the same, quite a source Of income to the owners of property whereon they are located. In other words they increase the value of the property to the own CTS and it is therefore but fair that l there should be increased assessment of valuation in these cases. For the amount expended, these bill boards
 bring more return to the owners of property where they are located, than would the rental of a modern dwelling | house. It is therefore more profitable to rent land for bill boards than to erect tenement houses so far as the land owners are concerned. but the city as whole is the loser in the | matter of taxes.
 It Is argued that property owners have the right to build as they please on their own property, which may be | true in some cases, but they should
 be taxed for what they build. 1t is | a question whether 1t Is not violation | of law to erect these boards within | the fire limits, or in any other part of l the city, for that matter. without first | getting permission from the court o1 | common council, as is the case when new building Is to be erected, or when repairs or additions are to Dc made to existing buildings. Under the law, not even a veranda can be | added to a house without the permit 1 is given by the council. It is time there was something done to curb this I hfll hoard ayfl