The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-03-23
REFORNIER. THURSDAY MARCH % 1922

caused us to offer to discount our claim |
about $4,000. We are willing to discuss
this matter with you at any future CEN
ference which we may have.
Second The building of the Boston
d Maine bridge, as you say -Four years
after the Vernon dam was built was
long after your liability was fixed by
your charter. and so far as we know you
took no steps to prevent the building of
the bridge although you now claim that
it increased the hazard from high waters
against which Won were bound to protect
the town. We doubt very much if you
could now shift your responsibility to the
Boston & Maine railroad company. But
further than that, in this particular case
our information, and the best disinter-
ested expert advice we could get. is all to
the effect that the Boston & Maine
bridge had nothing whatever to do with
the disaster which befell our bridge. 1t is
a matter easy of proof TO show where the
ice jam occurred which caused all the
trouble. but it is unnecessary to go into
details here. OF course you would not
attempt to say that the Boston & Maine
bridge in any way encroaches upon the
original channel of the river as it was be-
fore your dam was built.
Third We assume that at our re-
cent conference you stated correctly and
exactly what was said at the meeting in
Mr.. Fitts's office when the matter of
raising the bridge was under discussion
before your dam was completed. namely,
that you and Mr.. Fits and Mr. EintOn
were present when the matter was
brought up that Mr.. Charles Il. Crosby
was called in and that he made objection
to the bridge being raised because of his
stOrehOuse that after some talk Mr. Vim
ton said, he being one of the selectmen of
the town, that in view of the objection
perhaps you had better wait a year or
two and see how high the water did
come The matter. 50 far as you were
concerned. was then dropped and nothing
further ever done about it. Our informa-
ton Is that on more than one occasion
after the dam had filled the attention of
Your company was called to'the fact that
the water came up so high the bridge
ought to be raised, therefore. we do not
think this Is any matter of defense to
our claim.
I'VE have given consideration to what
! YOU call AN extraordinary combination
/ of natural conditions when the bridge
went out and during the preceding win
! ter, and we find nothing in any Of them
to lead us to the conclusion that it was
an Act of God that caused our damage.
In tins connection you make reference to
decisions of Vermont courts, and we pre-
sumo YOU refer particularly to the case
of Eagan vs.. Central Vermont Railway
company, but that case is not at all a
parallel case, as would be cOnclusively
demonstrated IL II came into court.
I'VE conclude that in making an offer
of 80 per cent of our claim you have
entirely overlooked the fact that neatly
30 per cent of our claim is made up of
items other than the actual construction
of the new bridge. such as the Vernon
street damage, the damage to the Chester
field road the damage to the east abut-
ment of the Chesterfield bridge, the cost
of raising the abutments so as to place the
present bridge seven feet higher than the
old bridge with the necessary approaches
etc, none of which could even. upon your
theories. have any relation to the Boston
& Maine bridge and that the offer YOU
have made of $4,000 would not mucI
more than pay for the actual cost of these
things and leave us practically nothing
for the new bridge itself In view of al
the foregoing and many other things that
We might mention we are surprised that
you should think we would feel that you
have made a liberal offer or one that we
could, IN fairness to the taxpayers Of
the town of Brattleboro.. accept
We appreciate your Willingness to try
to reach Il settlement of our claims and
} we shall be glad to hold another confer.
! ence with You. in accordance with. your
suggestion made at the close of our recent
conference. that we have further con
ference sometime within a month W,
Will take the matter up with YOU again
at any time YOU may suggest
Very truly yours
IS. a. RICHMOND.
} wv. f. STELLAIAN.
? FREEMAN SCOTT.
'Selectmen of the town
. of Brattleboro.