The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-17
C0UNCILMENIN AFLURRY
THE SIDEWALK ENCROACHMENT
sQUABBLE NOT OVER YET.

Light Companies Bios for the CITY
Lighting-The Brush Company Pro
poses to Furnish 100 Additions
Lights Free For One Year-The City
Assessments to be Investigated-Tht
Fire Marshal Petition.
Last nights session Of the city council
was lively one. All of the members. ex
cept Aldermen Wells and Mills, were pres
emit The encroachmento Of Solomon Coheni
Waldburg street tenement row and hi
grass plot encroGchment on Jones
street were gone over again, and
with Alderman Falligant's assertion thai
nearly 81 100000 of property in the city
has not been assessed for taxation, were tbs
stirring features Of the session. Mr.. Cohsr
aud Contractor O'Conuell were before the
council, and 4. H. Macdoaell, Esq, was
present as counsel for Mrs. Mary A. Con
molly on the bay window encroachment on
Montgomery street.
On the corporation attorneys advice,
that Mr.. CoheI had the right, under a
former ordinance, to rel air steps in the
lane south Of the Jones street property, on
motion of Mr.. Cam the council permitted
the Improvement TO remain.
'
then taken up. and City Surveyor VIM
went over profles and surveys to show that
the encrOachment existed.
ALDERMAN FALLIGANT's EYE.
Alderman Falligant favored letting the
encroaching stoop remain. 1t conforms to
the apparent line Of the street, Alderman
Faligant added and his eye. he said, is as
good as a surveyors instrument
Alderman Nichols offered a resolution
that the city surveyor dispose of all his
instruments and let the builders aud me-
chanics use their eyes in fixing the lines of
streets
Alderman Haines wanted to know if the
resolution was intended TO reflect on the
city surveyor. II So the latter ought to be
heard further, but Alderman Nichols dis
claimed any such intention. The resolution
was not . essed to a vote.
Mr. O'Connell's excuse, in a lengthy
argument, was that the city surveyors
line didn't look straight, and he conformed
TO what he took for an old line by former
city surveyor.
Alderman Cam was sarcastic in his crit
icisms of the contractors course. He said
that Mr.. 0'Connelrs idea of the proper line
was apparently for the city surveyor to
keep surveying till he got line to suit the
contractor
Alderman Myers remarked that there is
no doubt that the encroachment exists
The council he said, would either have to
compel Mr.. Cohen to move the stoop back
or demand pay for the ground encroached
upon.
MUST CONFORM TO THE LAW.
A resolution offered by Mr.. Cam was
adopted requiring Mr.. Cohen to conform
with the line given by the city surveyor.
The grass-plat encroachment came up
next, and Mr.. Cohen, who, at the last meet
ing Of council, agreed to sign paper re-
Inquishing title if the curbing was per-
mitted to remsin, and wrote Corporation
Attorney Adams to the same effect, de-
clined last night to sign it. He said that
he had gone over the paper and
found it too strong. He was accused
OF bad faith by Alderman Cam, aud Alder
man Falligant was rather severe in his
comments upon Mr.. G hens position in the
matter. Mr.. Cohe said that his counsel,
Mr.. Richards, was not feeling we'll, and he
asked that the matter be postponed until
the next meeting, when Mr.. Richards
would be present tie said that he would
sign no papers and would answer no ques-
tons until be had consulted his lawyer.
The following resolution Of Alderman
Cam was then adopted:
Mr.. CoHEN's ALTERNATIVE.
Resolved, That unless the agreement pre-
pared by the corporation attorney in ac-
cordance with the resolution of council passed
at its last meeting relative to the grass Mats
and coping of Solomon Cohen in trout Of his
buildings on Jones street between Lincoln and
HaberSham, is signed by Mr. Cohen by Friday,
Oct. Is, 1889, at ~ o'clock M, the city marshal
is hereby ordered to remove the encroachment
at once
The petition Of Mary A. Connolly, ask
ing that council rescind its action ordering
that the bay windows Of her three Mont
gomery street houses be pulled down from
second story, was laid on the table, and
city marshal instructed to refrain from
carrying out the former order until the
matter is further investigated.
The petition of Alderman Bailey to nut
coping and grass plat fronting his new
house on Hall and Tattnall streets, such as
are in front of Mr. Cohen's Jones street
property, and upon the same conditions as
70 relinquishlng title 20 encroachments, was
by consent laid on the table to await a set
Element of the Cohen squabble.
The master Of the steamship Cairngorm
put in a petition to have the expenses of
piiotage and extra fuel paid by HIM for
being sent back to quarantine with his
vessel refunded by the city.
Alderman Harmon thought that the
master OF the Cairngorm ought to be fined
for coming up in the fir,t instance, instead
OF asking the city to reimburse him for the
second trip up. The petition was referred
~ bub dHu HedlbN anu cemetery
committees.
FIRE MARSHAL ASKED FOR.
A petition asking for the appointment OF
fire marshal, signed by I. D. Boodworth
president of the cotton exchange: John r.
Young, president of the board of trade. and
fifty-se en- Of the principal merchants of the
city, was referred TO the committee of the
whole
Your petitioners respectfully urge upon your
honorable body the necessity for the immediate
appointment of fire marshal charged witt
duties and clothed with powers touching fires
occurring in Savannah corresponding W III the
duties and powers which pertain TO the coroner
IN cases or violent death. Authority for that
purpose was expressly vested in council by an
act of the general assembly passed il
1888: and although since that time tht
desirabilty of creating and filling the office
has been pointed out more than once the press
ing need for action has never found a more
startling Illustration than the events OF Til,
past few weeks afford
Experience in other cities where such officer
are employed. shows that the certainty of {
Judicial investigation into the origin and cir
cumstances OF every fire results in a marked
dlminution in the number of fires; AM
II Is suggested that from this item
alone the salary of the fire marshal would be-
saved by the reduction in the consumption O
Iuel. and in the wear and tear of the depart
nent s a paratus aud stock. The loss to tn,
city from the destruction of taxable propert,
would be lessened; that large proportion o
citizens who cannot afford to carry any or ade
quate insurance would be sensibly promoted b,
a Of f1aa ,fFf -.