New Britain herald., 1921-07-23


 necome resigned to the fact that their wishes will not be taken into consld efation by the railroad-trolley crowd at Hartford which masquerades under the title of Public Utilities Commis sion.
 New Britain, at least, has been ofncially notified, by means of a curt and discourteous note, that it's interest m the transportation problem is of no moment and that the Public Utilities commission can't be bothered with tie local situation just now because It hasn't the time to spare. Anyone "ho read the commissions com munication which was spread upon the minutes of the Common Councl wednesday evening must realize that the board has nothing but contem pt cor the preferences of the people whom 1t is supposed to represent. The city Of New Britain, through It's Corporation Counsel, respectfully asked that hearing be held for the purpose of discussing the transporta~ tion muddle here. It was request which might be presenteds by any municipality seeking relief from con- d1tlons which chafe and was present ed in the usual manner. The reply is So utterly lacking in good form that it Is surprising that it was ever permit tee to reach the post office. It is ao affront to New Britains government and people
 City officials who have this matter Ill hand should not retreat single | step. Some method must be found to impress upon the members of the Public Utilities Commission a realiza ton that they are servants of the peo- pie, remunerated by the people and 1 'usponsible to the people. They are l not the masters but are accountable l to the great living mass that com Fr1ses this commonwealth.
 We have become accustomed to snhbs from public service corpora tions, but snub from a public body should not be allowed to pass unnc- ticed.
 It is apparent from the reply of the | commission that the members do not l consider themselves amenable to the | laws of the state. The statutes speci- l fv very plainly that a city or tow ;, | seeking relief from burdens such a. 1 that which expresses New Britain may petition the commission for hearing l With the expectation, of course, tha it's appeal will be courteously consid- cred. The lack of courtesy by the Com l necticut commission reveals clear! . i the way the members minds run l favorable to the railroad moguls. 1 Mayor Clifford B. Wilson of Bridge port, whose experience as lieutenant l governor should have given him an insight into the methods employed bS l big service corporations, makes a suS gestion which is deserving of seriou- consideration. It is nothing more O. l less than that the Connecticut com
 pany be investigated with the purpose of discovering why it cannot be made to pay as we'll as to render service at a l reasonab rate.
 ! One point in which Mayor Wilson srores heavily is his question, how the l Connecticut company intends to buy and install expensive automobile 1 busses to meet competition when j, | has claimed, and with success, that it | cannot pay taxes it owes the state. A' is a point well taken. If the trolle.' l company can afford to buy costly au tomobiles why doesn't it pay it's le- gitimate bills which it owes to the people? The late legislature, some l of whose members had decidedly re l actionary tendencies, came rushing to Inc rescue of the Connecticut company | with bills to relieve it of it's stagger l ing financial load. It was pitiful sight, they thought, to see the trolley company tottering feebly along like he old hag in the Two Orphans, plaintively calling out, Charity Charity" To make a long story short the Connecticut Company got awa> | with 1t, and as consequence it owes
 tue state a sizable amount of mones : Why not pay something on the deb
 instead of gambling in auto busses?
 An investigation of the compan.
 would be logical stel. If the con, pany officials are incompetent to cor
 duct it's affairs, we all want to know
 about it. If it is found that they art
 competent, but that conditions handi cap them, then the public will kno1 : that the trolleys must be supported.
 Are you aware that a number O f cities in Connecticut are expectins , momentarily to be called upon to hell
 suppress rioting in .New Britain Neither are we. Still, we are told tha New Britain is on the verge of yer.
 serious uprising on the part of Spanis1 men and women who make thei | home here and, according to the sam' ' informant, precautions have beer e taken to stamp out any incipient revo Il lutions that may occur.
 = Although New Britain has beer l blissfully and serenely going along en i tirely unconscious of the fact that i e was located immediately over a bub
 bling volcano, there are others wh
 live miles away who are fully alert Il
 our acute danger. For example, R. w 7. Ball of Waterbury, who has been il Washington, D. c. on business, is re
 ported in a special dispatch to tn a Hartford Times to have told a Wash s |ington newspaperman that an uprisn: