New Britain Herald Newspaper, November 16, 1922, Page 6

» , evening. New Britain Herald MNRALD PUBLISHING COMPANY (Istuod Daily, Sunday Excepted), At Horwa Biag, 61 Ohurch Breet, SUBSORIPTION RATES: 060 & Year, $3.00 Thres' Mouths, 75¢ a Month, Matercd at the Post Offico at New sritain a8 Becond Clars Mall Matter, TWLVPHONS OALLS! Ofue ., orial Roomse £he only profitable advertising rmediom In the Oity, Circulation bocke \nd press roem always open te advartisers, Memher of m wm‘ Press 50 Amoclated Press s cxclusively ontitled te the use for re-publication of all news creditod to It or not otherwiss crodited I8 this rapcr and aiso locsl news pub- Mated hereln. Membor Aodit Dareau of (irculation Tue A. B, O, is a nationsl orwsnisatl which furnisher newspapers an feers with a strictly hnu-t arnlysl etreulation, Our cirrulation etaf bamd vpon thie wcdit, This ineuren pro- teotlon against fraud {n nowspaper dls- tribution figures to both maticnal and 1o oal vdvertissrs. = = A COMMON COUNCIL 8C 1 There was attempted comedy; there was completed tragedy at the session of the common council last Seventeen members of the council set their opinions above the opinion of the Federal authority who made an investigation here, the state health authqritics and the decided conviction of the local superintendent of health. And there was much hilari- ty while they were doing it. It had been. clearly shown to the comnipn council that there was dan- ger of disease and death, possibly in the form of an epidemic, coming to this, city if ice is cut from Shuttle Meadow. lake. A federal expert had so yeported; the state health authority had so reported, and Superintendent of Health Lee had told of at least two instances where contamihated ice had been shown to bring serious ill- ness. And yet 17 members of the s “councll decided that either they would run the risk of that danger to all the people of the city, or that they knew more about the matter than the health authorities, or, that because * gome $25,000 has been invested in icej cutting’ and preserving paraphernalia out at that point, the risk must be taken. The 17 daring members of the council who will feel some remorse, perhaps, if. terrible sickness-comes to this city because of ccomtaminated ice from Shuttle Meadow lake, are Al- dermen Wells, Gill, Pajewski and Con- lon; Councilmen Rice, Nair, Falk, . _ A. Johnson, Eichstaedf, Cadwell, Hell- ' berg, Hjerpe, Ringrose, Smith, King, . Dunn and Schmarr. These worthy gentlemen = were moved also by the fear that, if ice were not cut at Shuttle Meadow lake, others bringing ice into the city vould have a monopoly on the ice suppy and the ‘“poor babies” of the city might not have any ice—a fear véhemently voiced by Councilman Nair. There was also present the moving fnducement that as ice had been cut out there for so many years it might just as well be cut this year. Buch is the argument of those who in- sist that “what was.good enough for my father and-my grandfather is good enough for me.” Then of course there were those who believed that because we get other ice which may be con- taminated we might just as well get more contaminated ice; it, pr()tiuhly. isn't contaminated any more than the other ice. But ‘there were 9 members of thé common council who believed that the health authorities’ advice should not be disregarded; who believed some goood has come from the progressive . care which is being taken of the pub- lic health; who bhelieve that protec- tion from sickness to the whole com- munity is worth more than an invest- ment in ice cutting and keeping para- phernalia which is fast falling into a sad state of repair; who believed, with Councilman Hart, that because pos- sibly some ice that might be cdontam- inated did come into the city that was no reason for allowing more ice which might be contaminated to be sald here. These nine members of the council “who did all they could to keep sick- ness from the city are Alderman J. G, . Johnson; Councilman Howard S, Hart, { Arthur G. Crusbdrg, Maxwell 8. Por- ter, Howard A. Timbrell, Frank O. , Carlson, C. Adrian Carlson, George A. Molander and Herbert P. Knowles, S 1AW ) A CITY'S LIABILITY The law in Connecticut, preventing a person injared because of the negli- gence of a city from recovering dam- dges, as a general rule, is so harsh that it has been altered in some states, Such, however, is the law here, in the absence of a special statute covering the case. clear from the citation of cases made by the cor- poration counsel in a legal opinion read last night at the meeting of the common council in the matter of the claim for damages of Dixon whose son was hurt at the Smith school. It should be said, incidentally, that the city is liable for damages caused by defective ‘strects, owing to a special statute on that subject. The theory of this scemingly harsh law, reduced to its simplest ferms, is that a person cannot recaver damages from his father, for instance, in whose house he lives, because his father has not kept that house in good repair. The city is looked upon as a great family, theoretically. The ¢ty gives its children the benefit of The cily does not make money out of This was made John 8. schooling.” it; the benefits go to the children, Even though the city, or Its ugents in this regard, are negligent and let a stone stay loose so that it falls and hurts some member of the family, that member, or his legal representa- tive, has no redress; the injured per- son was secking and obtaining beneft, and the eity 18 not responsible If something goes wrong with the ap- pointments of the place in Which those benefits are obtained, Certalnly the eity would not be presumed to want to run any risk of such a hap- pening. Tt was trying to do good, Un- derlying the theory of the law on this point s the idea that it Is better for a city to make every effort to educate its ehildren, even though those chil- dren do run some chances, dim and faint, of Injury, than it would be for the city to take no progressive steps because it would be afrald someone might be injured and it would become liable. As before said it is a hard principle, but that s the law of fthe state and no corporation counsel, or no school board, sympathizing with the injured person, can change it. If the city, realizing that it was to blame for the injury, desires to go beyond the law and make some sort of repar- atlon, it might do so, but its officers would be transcending tieir legal au- thority and a precedent would be es- tablished that might lead to hard feel- ing at least, & Although the case of the young man who was drowned last summer in the city swimming pool was not touched upon in the opinion of the corporation counsel last night because this claim for damages has just come in and had not been submitted to him for determination, the same rule of law would apply, it is believed. The ‘young man was taking advantage of something offered by the city for the pleasure of its people. Even though proper care and super\‘inio’n was not furnished, his father can not recover damages caused by his death. ' Going a little deeper into the law in this matter than there has been brought out in the cases cited, it would seem that there is a distinc. tion between the case where a child s forced by law to go to school and here a person voluntarily goes into u municipal swimming pool. For these refinements of the law there is need of extended research. AT LAST 1t is with considerable satisfaction that The Herald notes the decision by the common council to adopt the two- platoon system for the firemen. While the human side of the question, the giving to this efficlent body of men decent working hours, made a strong appeal, the practical value of the sys- tem was at no time forgosten by THe Herald in its advocacy of .it. "The service our firemen have given the city in the past deserves this recogni- tion, and where deserved recogni- tion is coupled with practical advan- tage to the people, a situation arises which may well call for commenda- tton. e Another matter suggested in these columns has found favor with the common coungil, namely tite analyzing of the water in the places whence comes ice.sold in this city. The fact that the common council has decided to use ice from Shuttle Meadow lake, which may be contaminated by cutting it there, does not nfake it less nects- sary that other sources should be ex- amined. Because a city opens the door to one known danger there {8 no reason for throwing open alt the win- dows also tp all possible dangers. The Herald will continue to try to progress with the progress of science in the'matter of public health which progress is bringing a reduced death rate and longer lives to citizens of the world, THE BIBLE IN SCHOOLS This country was founded by men and woren who sought mgligious free- dom. FKor years, they believed “free- dom” meant the worship of God in their way. They were narrow and bigoted, but religious freedom has be- come a fact, not a theory. A person does not have to profess belief in the Bible to become a citizen of the United States. In New York Btate a witness is not obliged to kfss the Bible in order to have his testimony accepted in court if he does not be- lieve in taking such an oath. In Con- necticut the law demands only the oath made with the upraised right hand, or, where a witness so desires, he is permitted to swear upon the Bible. The marriage ceremony may be made a purely civil contract. TA other words the United States nor the political divisions thereof do not insist officially that all people ac- cept the religious belief of the ma- jority. Church is absolutely separate from State. Our public schools are creatures of theé State, as are: the They are sfree to people of all bellefs. Those things are taught which people of all beliefs want to know. No propaganda of any sort is knowingly allowed to enter there. Our country is a free country. Dr. Burton, in referring to the “Kkicking out” of the Bible from our schools regretted the fact merely on the ground of its splendid literary value, If he was understood correctly he did not advocate fts repldcement there on any religlous grounds. One may be a thorough believer in the Bible as the inspired word of God courts. T T ol L < s < Nl A St St et s R S B e D and still see the justice in the elaim that it should pot be read in the schools as a religious tex-book. One may hope ardently that'all children grow up to be sineere Christlan men and women gnd still belleve that the secular” schoolroom I8 not. the place for religlous Instruction, & * “A PUBLIC DEFENDYR" The Herald has opposedl surrendet of authority by the common council in the appointment of the publie prosecutor, Some time ago The Herald opposed the proposition ~ that the mayor be aullowed to appoint the corporation counsel, on the ground that such corporation counsel was, in no seénse, personal attorney for the mayor. The corporation councll I8 attorney for the city strictly speaking, It 18 quite conceivablo that his legal opinton 'would differ trom the opinion of the Mayor; it s well that such pos- sibility exists. The corporation coun- sel should not be a politician; he should be essentlally a good lawyer and his opinions should be guided by nothing except the law. o Now comes the suggestion that theré should be a public defender to represent the poor people brought into the police court. The statement is made that the city spends money to present se against a man arrested for some alleged offense; so the city should spend money to present the facts in hls favor. The conclusion is based on unsound reasoning. There is necessity for a pgosecutor. Without a prosecutor there would never be any case against a person arrested by the police for doing samething wrong. The Jjudge ‘could not invéstigate the facts; the police oould not attend to their duties were they obliged to prepare cases foritrial. The peace of the @ity would haye no champion. On the other hand the accused may present his own case. The judge is careful to bring out all the circum- Atances. The public prosecutor him- self will not seek to press a charge which, upon investigation he finds is wrongfully'made. The accused in po- Nce court, where the matter is of comparatively little importance com- pared to those charges which are tried in the superior court, often gets along quite as well without a lawyer as with one, Moreover, in practice where cases are disposed of so rapidly ef necessity, it would be a practical im- possibility to ascertain whether or not a man had the means to employ & lawyer. Certainly the provision for a public defender in police court would merely add to the expenses of the city without bringing greater justice. This is known by those familiar with the inner workings of the police court. Cases have been known where & man obtained the use of the services of the public defender in the higher court although he had ample.means to employ a lawyer. Then he boasted of the fact. This would be the condition which would often arise in police court, The calendar w’uld be 80 clogged that few cases could be dis- posed of daily. And justice would not be furthered. The.‘xe are taxes endugh on the people without providing for another official to be pald for by the people who do not get into police court for the doubtful benefit of those who do. 25 Years Ago Today (Taken from Hefald of that date) Joseph Halloran was appointed to the committee of the Y. M. T\ A, & B. soclety’ to arrange for the annual me- moflal exercises to take place in Jan® uary. P. §. McMahon and August Burck- hardt are witnesses for the city in a case ‘against a local man, P. F. Burns has entered the employ of the Thomas McCabe company. Mrs. J. Skinner will read a pa- per on “The relation of household economics to life,” at the annual meet- ing of the Woman's club tomorrow afternoon, The Nutmeg Soclal club, will cele- hrate the second amniversary of the organization this month. Willlam J. I"arley is chairman of the committee, The annual ball will be held in Janu- ary and Willlam F. Delaney, Edward Liynch amd William J. Farley are in charge of this. \ Facts and Fancies (BY BOPERT QUILIEN), The height of fashion refers to al- titude, not pulchritude, An experienced boarder is one who can tell whether it is coffee or soup. The alien never really learns to feel Amgricanized until he can say “Wot t'en.” “Do you love mq still?” she asked. “Still,"” he answered, And then the row started. Sheik stuff makes courtship thrill- ing, but sheiks let their wives carry in the coal, The chief objection to & Jiving wage I8 that it makes no allowance for blow.outs, When the movied are purified, the final close-up will show the hero madly throwing kisscs at his distant sweetle. thoroughly Protecting the rites of a minority means permitting them to bury thelr dead without interruption, L . That 8 O, 8, may mean that busl- ness {5 In distress, or it may stand for Stantdard Oll Satisfied. “Women .are aiming higher now." Not.all of them. A New York woman shot her husband in the leg. The game of §earts is very old, The only difference s that the cave man used a club instead of a diamond. About the only difference is that in the Black Hole of Calcutta there was no mo¥ing picture to watch. Colonel Harvey questions woman's possesajon,of a poul. What speclal ele- ment {8 he currying favor with now? No mere man ever feels as hard- boiled as a small boy«feels when he learns to spit through his teeth. . Another fine thing ‘about being a nobody is that” nobody will expose your weaknesses in posthumous let- ters. Europe need not be discouraged. Uncle Sam played the role of observer for a long time after the big war started. / The funfiiest thing about the comic supplement is dad’s pretense that he is merely reading it alowd to pleasc the kids. The little boy An the fourth row will now tell us what great changes have been effected since Bonar Law took the reins. Correct this sentence: “After five years of married life he spilled the catchup on the table cloth and his wife smiled sweelly." SHOULD BE POPULAR Stanley .\lemnrh.l Church Puts Pre- ;lfllllll on Good Clothes and Gives Prize for Tattered Garments, Calico dresses, ‘'mud-stained blue \jeans, old battered brown derbies, shoes much the worse for wear,” flan- nel shirts and gingham saprons will form the costumes at a ‘“poverty so- cial” to be given in Stanley Memorial church tomorrow evening. The so clal will be held under the auspices of the brotherhood and friends of the church have been invited to attend. Guests found guilty of wearing good clcthlng or any garment that ap- proaches modern styles, will be fined at the door on their way in and sub- ject to an assortment of various fines after they get in. On tHe other hand, the most appropriate outfit for a “‘poverty “blowout” will be given a vrize. Refreshments will take the form of shandouts” and will' be sold at the back door, for a dime. Former Sec. of War Wright . ) " s in Critical a Condijtion Memphis, Tenn,, Nov. 16.—Gen, Luke Wright former secretary of war who has’ been ill at his home here for more than a week was reported in an cxtremely critical condition ear- ly today. An erroneous report that Gen. Wright had died was denied to- day. 1 e ————— —NOTE— | i Fitting Glasses is not a matter of chance, ~Properly fitted glasses are the result of painstaking, scientific eyé ‘measurements and skilful ad- justment, Our many ‘years of suc< cessful practice enable us to give you the satisfaction your cyes de- mand. FRANK E. GOODWIN. Eyesight Specialist 827 MAIN ST, TEL. 1905 “The Home of Satisfied Eyeglass Wearers,” BAYTLE of MUSIC FRANK CLYNES OF THIS CITY GEO. SANSTROM OF DBRISTOL. STATE ARMORY ARCH STREET Friday, Nov. 17 BIG TIME ASSURED. COME EARLY—STAY LATE: RO UND THE WORLD CLARK'S 3rd CRUISE, JANUAIY 22, | 'RESS of FIANCB" 18,481 gross tons. 3 til! o(R d World Cruil ‘MIM-MTI.W:‘!';U;? :r"‘ rul lllllldlhl only ewYork, Panama, !n lln. Hiln Hnohl-.“ ndis, Burmah, Ceyly Ve, ipore, in mpton: (stop overs .o& oy t0 Somtrearand Now Sork 4 MONTHS, $1,000 aad up, including Hotels, Drives, Guides, Foss, ste. MEDITERRANEAN 'S 19th CRUISE, PEB, 8.8. IMP ESS of !COTMND“NIU’I SEARCH e Ready Friday and ¢ Saturday 238 MAIN STREET The Dress Store: of New. Britain ANOTHER SENSATIONAL SALE DRESSES Rich Soft Textures Poiret Twill Tri- cotine, Canton Crepe, 81k, Vel- vet, Romaine Crepe, CHARMING COLORS navy, Yand with Black, caracul trimmed embroidery, girdle. $1 5 brown, cocoa; braid . ornaments, | You buy Dresues we sold t‘l?i: season for $25.00 You can buy Dresses we sold this season for $22.50 You can buy Dresses we sold this season for $19.75 You can buy Dresses we sold this season for $18.00 You can buy Dresses we sold this season for $16.75 GROUPED INTO ONE BIG LOT AT Misses’ Sizes 14 to 20 Women’s Sizes 36 to 46 Plenty of Velvet Dresses with the new Bertha Collars in this Sale All Colors HOSIERY Fwvery Pair Guaranteed " Perfect Van Raalte ()n) X Ik h(twkim;s $1.95 ™ $2.25 Onyx Pointex Thhatisen . g O Stockings ... Guaranteed “Kramer,” the $1.88 Qilk “Gordon” Hoslery 95c = $2.95 “Jay’s” Full Fashioned —JAY’S— New Britain—“On the Square.” 238 MAIN STREET “end to my Yoot troubles” “I was right up against it with broken-down feet and hadgiven up all hope of wear- ing decent-looking shoes again, when I went to the Walk-Over store and they fitted my feet to their fa- mous Archfit model. I want to tell you I've been a new man ever since!"” You see the Archfit braces theinstep, fitssnugly around the heel, and has plenty of toe-room and width across the ball of the foot—AND it’s a good-loolking shoe. Insoftleatherso: o I{skin, « ‘DAVID MANN SHOY STORI 211 MAIN ST, Enjoy Thanksgiving Every Day In the Year And a Home ~ Clean As’'A Hound’s' Tooth, Geta New - ‘Univérsal Electrie . Vacuum Cleaner When A ‘“New Universal’”’ Comes ih at the Door All your House Cleaning Worries Fly out at the Window The “New Universal” is the Talk of the Eitire Electrical Industry Lowest in Price for Greatest Value $1.50 Down—Balance in One Year # Also Special $5.00 Allowance made on your old carpet sweeper or vacuum cleaner . Free Home Demonstration Above Offer Expires November 29th. The Connecticut Light & Power Co. TELL. 239 92 WEST MAIN ST. “ We've Tried ’Em All We Sell Universal Washers and Vacuum Cleaners