Putnam patriot., 1916-09-29
From the Editors Desk

The PATRIOT has for some time past advocated an all night street lighting system for Putnam. We sincerely hope that the street lighting com mittee of the common council will re port favoraby on the mattertof an all night service three hundred and sixty five days in the year, that the council will adopt their report, and that Ht the next annual city meeting the voters will authorize the expenditure of sufficient sum of money to cover the extra cos. of such system.
 The mayor has told the council that such service Is advocated by some of the most influential business men of the city. The captain of police and membefsi Of the department have urged such a system. The adyisability of such ia system appeals at once to any thinking citizen.
 An all night service would improve the efficiency of the police department to great degree. It. would be above all a protective imeasure. We under stand that the all night winter service is soon to become effective, excepting only moonlight nights, or at least nights when the moon is due to shine according to the almanac. This being so 1t might be well to wait, as the mayor suggested, until thes annual meeting next March to allow the cili- zens to vote upon the matter.
 When the lights go out at one o'clock the city is thrown into pitch darkness. IL is an invitation to the criminal class to operate and they have not been slow to.aceept the invitation in tbe past. This is evidenced by the records of the police department. With only one officer on duty in the down town business section the only wonder is that burglars have not entered the city and carried oil the stock Of some store. It is not for lack Of opportunity. This Is in no way casting reflection on the police department. One man can hardly cover the whole down town section effectively and when that sec. ton is so dark that A person cannot be seen on the other side of the street, and this Is at times the exact condition, the officers ability,to detect criminal operations Is ialmost entirely cut off.
 Perhaps some will be heard to say that.we ought not to advertise that tDt al nothing not already known. Crooks that have been caught have told our officers that conditions here are well known to the fraternity and that Put. nam Is ,"easy.n We need to correct these conditions so that they will not exist to advertise, and ,so that in the future crooks will say that Putnam s'is hard nut to crack If an all night lighting system Is adopted it will be i long step toward this end.
 IL is pleass - to note that Putnam's s population Is increasing. The recent more children of school age this year than last. II is n fact that throughout the state the school children average one fifth Of the entire population. Tax Ing this as a basis Putnam has in- creased In population 2S5 the past year. This Is a healthy growth. No new industries have come to the city during that time but the present in- dustries are evidenclng healthy state. In fact more help is needed. The supply Is not equal to the demand and where machinery is idle IL Is for the lack of hands to keep 1t in motion. Putnam Is enjoying an era of good, wholesome prosperity.
 The Hartford Courant says editor ially: "Archibsld Macdonald of Pnt- nam, who has been nominated for the Senate by the Republicans ot the Twenty-eighth District has had SUI ficient experience in the House to warrant his promotion"
 
 t 4