The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-03-21

DC44AB bAC5vCAs Az 40 ~ NtAoC VA -
prosperous municipality taking
refuge behind q legal technically
10 save q few dollars and penalize
a man who very nearly gave his life
M the line Of duty.
The case q that Of Private John
.. "Chubby" COrcoran Of the fire
department, who was permanently
disabled I'm the collision Of two
pieces Of fire apparatus at Bald
win and Washington streets Feb
Fuary Is, 1941. From the very
BEGINNING the city has acted In q
way so cheap that II it were an
individual he would be very prop
erly the object for public scOrn.
Private COrcOran and an in
5ured cOmrade were still in the
hospital when the city withdrew
che nurses from their cases, leav-
Rng it 70 their families to meet
the expense of nursing care. That
was the law, the city said; the
men could get along without
nurses.
The other fireman badly hurt in
She crash is back on duty, but Pri-
rate Corcoran Is still confined to
his home, permanently disabled
he gets about a bit, with the aid Of
y cane, but never again will be able
30 Jump at the sound Of the bell
klimb q ladder or carry hose.
In previous such cases, the city
had cheerfulIy assumed the Obli-
CATION Of carrying the disabled
man on the payroll at full pay. In
one case, in fact, the injured man,
a private, was promoted to the
rank Of lieutenant and allowed to
draw a heutenant's pay during
the few years that he lived.
| But in COrcoran's case the econ
Oany complex, which can be over
done, prevailed, and the City Of
waterbury, which has piled up
huge SURPRISES in the past two
years and will pile up bigger one
this year, went into cOmpensa-
Gion court. Virtually with its hat in
its hand, the poor city demanded
strict compliance with the law,
and was given approval Of COM
pensatiOn agreement whereby Pri-
vate Corcoran gets half-pay dur
eng his period Of total disability.
waterburys firemen aren't toe
well paid, anyway, and half-pay
amounts to something like $20.12 a
Eeek. Out of this munificent sum
be must support his wife and chill
Elren and maintain a home. Anyone
hnows what an impossible task that
Is, especially in times when costs
keep steadily rising.
10 q very laudable, Of course, to
observe the strict letter Of the
law, but at times it can be very
cheap. 1t couldn't be any chaper
than It is in this case.
Here is a man permanently
crippled from injuries suffered
while serving the taxpayers -
barred from any other employ
ment the city generously allows
him half-pay.
How must other firemen feel?
What incentive have they to risk
, their limbs and their lives when
/, they feel that II they should be
injured the city government would
handle their cases as Private Cor
coran's has been handed?
Strangely enough the city can fine
enough money for purposes mucf
less laudable. Yet, for the sake o.
little more than $1,000 a year thu
city is branding itself as a graceless
6lint-heated employer, which care'
nothing for the welfare Of it
workers. The catch-word Of "econ
O,ny" doesn't ring at all true in {
ease like this.
In the case of another injured
fireman, a legislative act had TO
be passed to win him full pay
while he Is totally disabled. 1t
was known before the 1941 legisla-
Iature adjourned that Private Cor
cOran was also to be permanently
disabled, but there was nothing
done by the city to secure such
legislation for him. Certainly the
other case was a worthy one, a
very worthy one, but so Is Private
COrc0ran'S.
A special legislative act will bt
necessary to secure full pay for Pri-
vate Corcoran. but the legislature
doesn't meet until next January a11c
At will be spring of next year before
any approval can be secured. BY
then Private Corcoran will have
been on half-pay for more than two
years.
The city can't possibly be money
hungry enough to oppose such 9
bill, but the ways or Cfle Assembly
being what they are it might gel
lest in the shuttle. In that event
Private Corcorar would still have
10 be content with half-pay.
n the law must be observed so
religiOusly, then one fthe first
things the city should do when the
legislature opens is apply for a
charter change that would allow
full pay for men permanently dis
ebled from injuries suffered while
in the city's service. This would
take care of any such cases that
may come up in the future.
Statutory law may forbid Civ
Ang Private COrcOran full weeks
nay. but every law Of justice and
fairness entities him to 1t.
The law, Of course, is the bull
wark Of our democracy, but yet
i'm many csaeS, as has been so
sageIy observed, THE law is an
ass"