Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-07-18

until the very last moment, and then an etfort
was made to rush it through Council on the
heels of the session with discriminating Sun
day law tackled on to it. under the pretenoe
that if the bill was not passed, as reported by
the late chairman. the credit of the city would
suffer. The Common Council, though ready
and willing to enact proper laws for the obser-
vance of order on Sunday, could not endorse
the disreputable conduct of the late chairman
in inserting his views upon that question III
Revenue bill and administered to him proper
rebuke in striking out the section. lie had
opposed the reappolntmcut OF the Alderman
on the Finance Committee because he had read
in the city papers of June 18th that he. the
said Alderman, had positively declared his IN
tention of resiguing his seat 10 the City Coun-
Gil as soon as the Salary and Revenue bills had
been disposed Of aud he thought it would be
mere chid's play to have any one on an i'm
portant committee who had solemnly declared
his intention to retire from Council. There
were other reasons more weighty than any he
| had mentioned, Indeed more important than
! the sum Of all the others, that Influenced his
! action in opposing the reapp0lntment OF the
| Alderman upon the Finance Committee. lie
| had intended making public these reasons, but
| yielding to the earnest requests OF many per-
sona friends, he would forbear, and simply re-
mark that he had discovered certain irregularl-
ties 10 the management Of the affairs of both
the Finance and Light committees, which sat
is6ed him that the late chairman OF the Finance
Committee was not the proper person to en-
trust with such important Interests as the imam
ces Of this city The Alderman had stated 10
his remarks that he would hereafter show that
his removal from the Finance Committee was
not dcccntly done. If he meant that the ac-
tion Of the President Of the Common Council
was Indecent the President was prepared to
show that his retention on that committee
would have been an outrage upon the com
munitv. and if the Alderman desired to make
the issue he was ready tor 1t.
Toe spectators received these remarks with
applause, which was suppressed by the Presl-
| dent, who immediately resumed his chair
MIR. Portner introduced resolution instruct
ing the Committee 90 Streets to purchase $500
worth of curbiug aud Tagging for the use OF
the city.
Mr.. Mckenzie moved it be referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Mr.. Portner hoped it would not be referred.
| The Committee 90 Streets was already empow-
cred by the late Council to purchase curbstones
and hagging, and secood hand stone, good
| enough for those purposes, could be bought
from the Board of Public Works Of Washing
| ton now ut much cheaper rates than 1t could
be months. hence, aud infinitely cheaper than
new material, aud he had no doubt that 1t
could be bought payable in ninety days. by
which tune there would be money IN the
| treasury.
| Mr.. Mckenzie said he understood that the
tax bills of the First and Second wards were in
| the Collectors hands, but it would certainly be
! sixty days before they could be collected and
| until some Of them were collected, and at least
| Soue OF the interest on the city debt now over
due was paid, he thought 1t wrong to be pass
lug orders for money for new measures. Nobody
yet knew whether Council would pass the bill
to raise the Improvement Fund If what the
President had said about The Revenue bill and
It's uSutfcicucy We're true, and though he hop
ed it was not, he feared ii was, we won't have
money enough to carry on the city govern
men1, let alone that for improving new
streets, and whoever was the author OF
the Revenue bill he must be a green. horn
if he supposed that all the bills in the collec-
tors hands would be collected and made no
allowance for deficiency FROM that quarter.
The member from the 3rd Ward was fond of
improvements, and of making them right away,
but he the speaker, thought that good stone
could be bought near Carin 5 Springs, just as
cheap as from the Board OF Public Works OF
Washington, who had not the reputation OF
doing things cheaply. Still the gentleman
FROM the 3rd Ward might be on such familiar
terms with Mr. Sheppard that he Nigh make
better terms with him than anybody else. There
were necessary expenses, such as the salaries
Of the city officers, which must be paid, apd
| though the stone might be bought from the
Washington Board of Public Works on three
months time, that time ran by very rapidly
when note was due at its expiration. For
these and other reasons be tn ought 1t advlsa-
| bic to expend no more money at present than
was absolutely required. .
Mr.. Hughes could not agree with the mem
Der from the I'd Ward Council had author
lied the Committee on Streets to make certain
improvements to the sidewalks, but those i'm
provements, some of them now commenced,
could not be proceeded with if we had to wait
three months for by that time winter would
be approaching and if they we're attempted
then the city would be a mud hole, like those
parts of it were, which were attempted to be
| improved last winter. There was no reason
why the improvements should not be continued
and if the city was in such q bad way that it
could not raise $500 twas in bad way and
the Committee on Streets had better be dis
kcharged. There was no common sense IN walt
I ing for the winter TO prosecute the street ln-
movements; now was the time, and the
Bard of Public Works OF Washington the
men, from whom to purchase the second, hand
tagging and curbing. The material could be
bought from them at 25ca runDlDg loot, so
cheap that men were buying it to break 1t up
and make concrete out if it. 1t was three or
four inches thick-too thin for the Washing
ton regulations but would answer very we'll for
the purposes for which we wanted it, and so
cheap was it that the simple dressing of SINH
lar stone would cost % CENTS running foot.
The brown stone at Manassas would cost as
much in the quarry as the Washington stone
could be bought, and to dress it. Cts. additional.
The stone the gentleman talked OF as being
at or near Carlin's Springs could hardly be
brought here on his d 1nI0 co e Wsn tho
Inv at low rates we must do SO now, for if we
wait until this second hand stone is gone, and
,ve have to buy new stone Of the same charac-