Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-05-16
BROKEN STONE.
Some Mysteries Of Street Repairing
i'm Nashville.

Some Mysteries Of Street Repairing
i'm Nashville.
brave Irregularities Charged by Mem.
bers of the City CounciI-A Radical
Change In the Whole System Neees-
sary.
Our readers are aware that at the last
meeting of the two Boards of the City
Council the accounts for broken stone fur
nished the city By various parties, were re-
iected by both Boards, on the Ground that
the broken Stone was contracted for ia vio-
lation of law. Being DESTROYS that the
truth with regard to this matter should be
fully understood by the public, several
members of the City Council were Inter
viewed yesterday on this point by UNION
AND AMERICAN reporter
BE first called on, COUNCILMAN Towles
and that gentleman, in answer to a ques-
lion proposed by the reporter, as to whose
duty it was to make contracts for furnish
ing broken stone, replied that law was
passed last March, authorizing the Street
Committee to Advertise for sealed propo-
sails to furnish the city with one hundred
thousand bushels OF broken stone, The cen-
tract to be awarded to the lowest bidder.
Proposals were received and opened. and 1t
was ascertained That the lowest bid vas
th:Se and four cents per bushel, there being
two kinds of rock to be furnished. The
contract was not awarded to any
one particular persem btt II differ
en-. parties. The chairman of the Street
COMMITTEES, without any authority from his
committee, authorized at least one firm to
break stone, and when the bills were sent
to the committee for approval, they called
for 81 and A cents, per bushei. TIE EN-
mittee refused to allow the accounts at that
time. The next morning the Chairman of
the Street Committee called a meeting of
the committee, at which time the members
present consented to allow the accounts.
They were sent to The Fihahee Committee
for approval, bit that committee refused to
allow them, which action was conclfred in
by both Boards Of the City Council.
The Finanee Committee held that the
Chairman of the Street Committee had
violated the law in taking the one with
out the authority of the Street Committee,
(Which he has been doing all the time.l
81 understand said Mr.. Towles,
''that the parties who furnished
some Of the Stone are now suing the city
for the One-half cent difference between
the amount claimed by them and the
amount the Street Committee allowed
them. The Fihance Committee agreed
that they would audit the accounts. if the
claimants would sGtee to the reduction;
but they Would not agree and hence the
suit against the city. Through the Mayor
and chairman of the Street Committee. the
narfiac W no crnaA no OFT Ysanatx-aI $500
portion of their claim, from the Treasurer,
upon their stating to the Treasurer that
there would be. no trouble about it.
II had been the custom of the chairman
of the Street Committee to purchase hay,
lumber, ETC., for the use of the city depart
msnts, which was also in direct conflict
with the law. The Mayor has made a
great many appointments without any au-
thority. Among these is that of
the Waterman at the upper
island-a place that was I'm
der the water during the recent food.
The Mayor, however, approved his Salary
account for ''Services rendered" during that
time. There is no such an Office known to
the law as ''watchman for the upper
island" it is one ofthe Mayors own creation,
By referring to section IS, page GO oil
Lellyett's Digest, 1T will be seen that he has
no authority to make such an appoint
ment.
The reporter called on Mr. Philip Linds-
ley, President of the Board of Common
Council, and whose name also appears on
he Street Committee; bit Mr. Lindsey
'ald that he resigned his position as a |
member of the Committee three months |
l9o, which had been accepted by the Mayor |
Md Aldermen. Breen has been appointed in |
his place. He remsrkedthatthe system under |
which the Street Department was operated |
vas a very bad one, and ought TO be Teme-
lied. He suggested that there ought to be
alaried men appointed by the city to act
IS Street Commissioners. II this were
lone there would not be nearly so much
made.
In conversations held with various other
members of the two Boards, the reporter
earned that three or four cents per bushel
Tere the lowest responsible bids sent in
y contractors; that at the meeting of the
treet Committee, three members of the
ody favored the letting of the contract for
he entire one hundred thousand bushels
D one man, in compliance with the
solution authorizing the advertising
Dr. bids, while three members of the COM
littee were disposed to 'Igo back on the
to a certain extent and let con-
acts to various persons who have been
rock heretofore, though at the
CURES named in the lowest bid. At sec
nd meeting of the committee, the chair
ian stated that he must have broken rock |
as many of the streets over
hich cotton wagons were passing, were ID
sry bad order and getting worse every day,
hereupOD Councilman Moore offered a
solution authorizing the chairman TO
lrchase broken stone at the lowest prices
d, which resolution was adopted by the {
flowing vote:
Yeas, Messrs. Moore, Consadine, Breen
Id Pentecost.
Nays, Messrs. Luck, McGavock and Eds
ards. :
The suit to which Councilman Towles /
fers was brought by Messrs. Singleton ,
I'd kleiser, and was set for trial before {
lstice Everett last Thursday afternoon, '
1t was continued until four o'clock p. NJ, S
sterday, at which hour the parties to the {
it assembled at Justice Everett's office,
hen, at the request of w. G. Brien, eoun- a
for the plaintiffs, the trial of the case was '
stponed until Monday afternoon. i