New Britain herald., 1917-09-18
POLITICS, QUIGLEY
 SAYS OF DUMP CASE
Charges Bassett Street People With Drive on Administration
BASSETT ASSESSED $5
Owner of Dump Found Guilty of Maintaining Nuisance After Spicy Dispute in Police Court-Many Res identS Remonstrate,

Dispute in Police Court-Many Res-
 idents demonstrate.
 All this disturbance about the Glen street dump is nothing but di- rect drive against the administration through the health department" as- serted Mayor George A. Quigley this morning in police court at the con- clusion of the trial of Franklin B. Bassett, who was charged with keep Bassett street. He was fined $5. 1T do not accuse all the remonstrants of opposing the administration but many of them are guilty of opposing it," said the mayor in exteuation. He continued: "Dr. Reeks Is the most efficient health officer that the city has ever had and his efficiency has been recognized by the state so that it is beyond question:" It was the belief of the mayor that petty poli- tics was back of the whole case of Bassett keeping a disorderly dump and that the whole trouble was stirred up to put the administration and it's work in false light in the eyes of the people of this city.
 The case was tried before Judge James T. Meskill Judge Daniel H. Markham of Hartford, county health officer, conducted the prosecution and Judge James B. Cooper was counsel for the defense.
 Coleridge's Opinion on Dumps.
 The trial has been once postponed. The interest in the proceedings was keen throughout. Some of the testi- mony offered to the court in regard to the dump was decidedly contradic- tory but the testimony given by the witnesses for the prosecution was quite similar. Seven witnesses were summoned to the stand by the prose- cution and the sum of the testim ony of each on the conditions of the dump when judged from their re- spective residences might well be put in the words of Coleridge:
 T counted two and seventy stenches, All well defined, and several 'stinks"
 For the most part the defense tes- tifed that the dump was in good con- dition.
 The first witness called by Prose- cutor Markham was Harry Christen- son of 22O Bassett street The wit ness testified that he has lived there for seven years within 100 feet of the dump; that the district is a distinctly residential section of the city and that garbage has been deposited daily on the dump during the summer. Mr. Christensen stated that he is obliged under the orders of a physician to sleep in the open air on the porch of his house. For the first two weeks of August he was unable to sleep out of doors owing to the obnoxious smell emanating from the dump. The dump constantly annoyed him. The odors of the dump caused sickness in his family, he said. Christensen com plained twice to Dr. Reeks who ad- mitted, he said, that the conditions were bad. Upon the cross examina- tion of Judge Cooper, Christensen said that he had personally inspected the dump twice.
 Smoke and Stench UnbearabIe.
 Mrs. Elizabeth Miller, who lives at 181 Bassett street, was the next wit ness called by the prosecutor. At times" she testified, the smoke and stench is unbearable." Mrs. Miller declared that the conditions of the dump have been worse this summer than ever before. If the annoyance continued she would move. Day and night she has been obliged to close the windows of her house to keep out the stifing smoke, she said
 Mrs. Charles H. Sawyer of 219 Bas. sett street testified for the prosecu. tion that the dump and it's odors an- moved her greatly. She investigated and saw garbage uncovered at the dump. Mrs. Sawyer said that she would refuse to live through another
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