Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-08-05

The petition Of John Yowling, asking
the refunding Of q fine imposed by
Recorder Winters, amounting to five
dollars, was referred to the police COM
missioners.
The following petition on the subject
! OF bawdy houses was referred to the
| police commissioners:
To the Honorable Mayor and Councilman OF
the City Of Memphis:
Your petitioners would respectfully
| beg leave to call the attention OF your
! honorable body 10 the bawdy- houses
kept at numbers thirty-eight, forty and
! iOTty-fOur Washington street, immedi-
ately west of Second; aud one hundred
and ninety-One Second street, being at
the corner of Washington md Second
streets, and would state that the said
houses, kept as they are, are nuissnc=s
to the whole neighbOrhOOd 10 which
they are situated, rendering the locality
/ unfit for the residence OF respectable
people and greatly depreciating the value
Of all property around. Petitioners
would state that efforts have heretofore
been made to abate the said nulsances
by petitions to your honorable body,
| one of which by your petitioner,
| Thomas O'Suilivan, was recently refer
red to the board of police commission
ers, who, after hearing the proof which
showed conclusively the great damage
which was being done to our neighbOr-
hood by the said bawdy-hGuses, both in
the way of comfort and the depreciation
Of property, refused to interfere with
them, upon the ground that the evil Wss
an unavoidable one, and that they could
not see what benefit was to result from
suppressing it in this particular locality
L. Al,
10 another part Ct the city. Petitioners
would state that they are property.own-
ers in the immediate DeighbOThOOd Of
these houses; that the property is ss-
sessed at its fail value by the
city, and that they have punctually paid
the taxes to the city as other good
citizens. They would state that their
property is assessed at many thousands
of dollars, and that the taxes which they
are required to pay into the treasury Of
the city is also counted by thousands
annually. They therefore respectfully
submit whether they are not entitled to
the protection of the city government
from having their property rendered al
most VAlueless bysuch q nuisance. They
submit that if the action of the board OF
police com missiOners is to be sustained,
it amounts to & protection to such nui-
sances, wherever they exist in the city;
and that if this is 10 be the policy of the
city government id reference to such
houses and their inmates, the sooner it
is known the better, that good citizens
may know whether they are quietly to
suCcumb to the evil or can ask the pu0,
lie authorities for aid in its suppression.
They state that the fact that four such
houses are permitted to remain with
a q nd nH in, ~ kIsa
neigbb0rhoOds Of the city, within
stOne's-thrOw Of three of its principal
churches, and of its principal street, be-
sides being an immediate injury Of the
gravest character to your petitioners, is
public disgrace which should u3, b.
tolerated for mOmeat; and they pei
ton, not only for themselves, bU ya 'ue
public behalf, that the said nu1 49, -
may be suppressed.
G. W. TRUEHEART.
X. s. COCHRAN,
for estate o. NJ f Cochran.
w. M'GOIRE.
A. f. CANNON.
JAS. CHAMBERS.
VAN X. ELLIS.
THOS. OSULLINAN.
Councilman Cochran called for the
reading of the following memorandum |
clipped from one OF the city papers at |
tsched to the petition:
yesterday, Chief Athy notified the |
Washington street bagniO.keepers thai |
order must be preserved, and any viola |
ton Of such police rules will bring about /
a raid and suppression of such houses as /
become nuisances in the neigh b0rhoOd. |
The inmates are informed that such /
plans exist only on sufferance and dur !
ing good behavior"
Councilman Cochran hoped that the T.
chief of police would be present and ex-
plain upon what authority he Issued |
such orders.
The petition Of E a Merriwether and
Clara G. Foster, on the subject OF certain
taxes, was referred to the finance COM
mittee.
A resolution on the subject Of gQnb-
ling houses was referred TO the police
commissioners.
1t was greed to settle with M'MahOn,
the lamp'lIghter, according to the re-
port of the committee.
The ordinance fixing the rate of taxes
on market stalls at one hundred dollars
per year passed first reading.
The council COncurred with the action
Of the board of aldermen Oh the Grdi-
nance regulating the cOuntersigning of
tax receipts, etc.
The mayor is authorized to advertise
for bids to furnish one thousand barrels
Of coal for the use Of the city hospital
An ordinance authorizing the issuanca
Of certificates OF Indebtedness Of the city
to the lGbOreTs passed first reading and
was referred TO the ordinance committee.
Adjourned to Friday afternoon at
half-past three O'Clock.