Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-03-17
THE PAVING PROJECT.
Will the Council Do Its Duty To.
night?
me Bids to BE Submitted and What
May he Looked for In the Way Of an
Effort e. XIII AlI...wui the Alder.
menStand Firmy

The city council will at Its meeting to.
night, 1t ia quite probable. take some &C :
ton on the new bids relative to the ex>
tension of the paving improvements on
second avenue and on Twentieth street.
III has been the custom of the council
heretofore to receive the bids on one
meeting n ght and defer action until a
succeeding meeting. This is not neces>
sary procedure and in this case, it is the
opinion OF the ARGUS, should be deviated
from. There is no reason why the coun-
ell after receiving the bids. should not re
solve itse into committee of the whole,
take q suitable recess, agree upon the
bid most desirable, make the proper recon
mendation, rise and report back to the
council, and that body may then receive
the committees report. adopt it and let
the contract tonight. With the advice of
the city attorney such action would be as
satisfactory in all ways as if the matter
were laid over until another meeting.
There are two reasons why the council
should act without unnecessary delay in
the awarding OF the contracts on the i'm
provemer Is alluded to. One is that the
city attorney is anxious to have the nec-
essary court action at the present term of
the circuit court, though it could be ar
ranged To have the court adjourn over
from day to day until the matter can be
brought up il necessary. Still it would
be better to have it settled at once. The
second reason is the desirabiity of hav
ing all details arranged so that there will
be no dely when spring opens. The pres
ent council has not long to last, and if it
desires to pass out Of existence with its
reputation for pushing necessary street
Improvements uDbroken. it should not
jeapordize its chances by delaying mats
tiers more than is absolutely necessary.
It's to be hoped the municipal body will
take ell these things into consideration.
The movement which had its origin on
Twentieth street to kill the pavement
and as a result of which the last batch of
bids were thrown out, which cried out
against he eight hour law, as a means of
defeating the paving improvements, has
been extended to Second avenue, and to =
night there will probably come before the
council A warning not to let the contract
because of an alleged conflict in the law,
the claim being advanced that in the stat,
utory provision under which the contem-
plated paving operations are TO be made
upon the installment plan, the warrants
shall not draw interest until the July Of
the succeeding year unless judgment is
dinance on the other hand provides that
the bonds shall draw interest after July
l next succeediHg the confirmation by the
council With this representation of the
conditions an effort is To be made TO de-
lay the council still longer in letting the
contract with a hope that all will he
rejected tonight and that before new
bids can be received the present council
will have expired. and that with the in
coming council the Obstruciionists may
have better fighting chance. II this
plan does not work, however. the boule,
ward OF Twentieth street will be used as
q handle to inlimidate the council. In
adoptiT 9 both the special assessment plan
and the boulevard on Twentieth street
the council has cOnsidt red the interests
of the property holders. who alone get the
benefits and these are the very things that
are TO he taken advantage of with a view
OF defe itIng the councils purpose. II is
not unlikely that before the council gets
through with its present job it will wish
it had let the contract to one of the first
bidders that came in for this work and be
gun the fight at once. as there seems to be q
determination to oppose the council in
its determination to improve on one score
if not another.
The alleged conflict between the
statutes and the ordinance was intended
to be sprung upon the council as a sur>
prise tonight. The coun Gil will of course
have the advice of the city attorney to
guide /.