New Britain herald., 1921-08-03
CITY AFFAIRS,

CITY AFFAIRS. l The sentiment that pervades City Hall is "Give people all the work possible; help people cut down ex- penses; make people pay out as little as possible t | This slogan affects every plan made for the city.
 | Building Inspector Allen is anxious to enforce regulations, to compel property owners to make needed changes in buildings. He is met by pleas of taxes to pay, families to be !supported-and no work in sight Who would blame him for being lenient? The board of public works is eager to pave South Main street, now that the Connecticut company is ready to cooperate and pay it's comparatively small share; the city engineer has been anxious to do this work The street needs repaving. Now they are met by the knowledge that, if pave ment is put down, less than $5,OOO would be spent for labor-the giving of work to men in need of it-while about 1000 would be spent for ma terials. Who could blame them if they should, as they have not yet done, give up the idea of placing pavement there now, recommend the spending of about $1,O00 for repair work there thereby employing prac- tcally all the money for labor and not favor the spending the larger sum of $19,O00 when there is great likelihood that such sum will be needed to aid the distressed The } board has done work already not contemplated when its budget was pared.
 The Mayor is eager to see such work done. He is anxious to get , trolleys fares reduced. Would the 3 Connecticut company cite this ex- ] pense of paving as one of the rea-
 sons why is could not reduce fares e This morning, for instance, the i e calling for thousands of dollars spent e for those more than willing, but : quite incapable because of lack of S work, of earning money with which t to support themselves and their fam e flies. Who can blame him for op- s posing the spending of $15,OOO for S material when such statements are
 coming in, and when, every few min Il flee telling hopeless tales of hard. 2: ship and all seeking work
 y Who can blame those connected
 with the Municipal Employment
 Agency for brushing aside as of smal
 importance every suggestion other
 than thoss. which will provide more = work for the unemployed?
 These are the men-these official. daily with the actual situation They
 have time for little theorizing.
 A typical case came up this morn
 ing. A man with an injured bacl
 
 ,, a card to do pick and shovel worl
 which he could not do.
 Nothing else today said thu ,s Mayor. Come in regularly ant 70 something may turn up.''
 if Shall I come here to your office ,+ or to the Employment Agency?
 asked the man.
 c- Come to both," replied the Mayor h. The City Engineer happening to b nv present, spoke. Our foremen" h " said, have instructions, where a ma ;r is not accustomed to the work, get V, sore hands and so forth, to give hir rs a few days on the work to get hard do ened up." ,e Each board of the city and each of or ficial is anxious to do the specis of work under his charge with efficien Iy cy. All want to "get results whic to the people can see. Each boar
 knows it's own business better tha ch any others; each knows what Id needed in matters to which it attend Id But under conditions such as exi. Int today in the affairs of the city eac .aI board and each official should ten he per it's eagerness to get result