Omaha daily bee., 1893-08-09
CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
Sequence Of vetoes from the Mayor, Some
of Which Were Sustained
NONE OF THEM WERE AMBIGUOUS
Thomson Houston Bns Knocked Out
Lively Debate over Allowing the City
Electrician the Privilege of the
Floor-Scssion In Full.


from Mayor Bemis. The veto messages were
all lengthy and important and terse. Some
of the councilmen VINO are not in accord
with the views of his honor were considera-
bly, ruf1led, but they quickly fitted to their
feet the shoes the mayor had provided.
The most important veto was that of the
monthly lighting bill of the Thomson
Houston Electric Light company. This is
not the first time the bills,sf the company
have not met with the approval of Mayor
Bemis, but it was the first time the honora-
BILE council sustained his action and it did
so by nearly unanimous vote. The mayors
message was as follows:
To THE HONoRABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF
| THE CITY OF OMAHA: Gentlemen-For the in
| formation of your honorable body have the
| favor of the Thomson Houston Electric Light
| company for S2,547,65 in the general appro-
priation ordinance, for the reason that I am
| fully convinced that the Thomson Houston
| Electric Light company is not complying with
| the terms Of its contracts with the city, and
the standard required by said contracts.
| There can be no controversy as to what the
ard of lights, the provisions In the contract
prepared by MIR. Poppleton, as well rs the one
nell, is clear and unmistakable. 1t requires
| the Thomson Houston Electric Light COM
pany to furnish arc lights OF 2,ooo-canddle
| power. Its for arc lights of actual 1000
candle power and not lights of 1000 nominal
candle power that the city agrees, TO pay the
| has been some doubt heretofore to the
candle power light furnished by the Thomson
| Houston Electric Light company, there no
longer can be any reasonable doubt or uncer-
tainty regarding the standard of light fur
submitted to your honorable body, OF date
June 27, 1873, shows that by photometer meas
urement the average candle power which
9l7, or in other words, something, less than
one-half the candle power required to be fur
nj Inv "a Nft .,t,tr tG
between-the city and the Thomson-Houston
E'ectric Light company. If It's Just and right
cording to the terms OF the existing contracts
j. IS equally Just and right that the Thomson
nish lights of the candle power required by
such contracts. do not see how any other
%sW Of the mater ca, can reasonably or honestly
Gil. | therefore cannot, consistent with my
duties rs chief executive of the city, approve
this item. think not only should the amount
proposed to be allowed to the Thomson llous-
ton Electric Light company by the item re, re
fcrrcd to be vetoed and stricken from the ordi-
nance, but that the city should assert its claim
for money y Twrom,gfypilY paid to the Th9mson ON
SUMPTION SUMPTION that that it It was vas furnishns lights Of the
candle power equal to the rcquirments OF It's
contracts. Now that it has been demonst strated,
and can be DEMONSTRATED that the electric
tons ton Electric Liz IL company '" are much
Se AHond By
made equal to the shortage Of candle power
| III
should be made for u corresponding shortage
on all bills heretofore paid. was advised by
Mr.. Conneii, that the courts would certainly
hold that the Thomson Houston Electric Light
company should furnish lights of actual 1000
candle power, and that the courts would at
tach no value, whatever to the commercial
standard in other places, which means that a
certain number of watts should represent
1000 candle power The city attorney since
his return confirms the view taken by the as
sistant city attorney.
1t will not do to say that the tests made by
the city electrician are not reliable lie or worthy
services of the city electrician might as well
be, dispensed with. From my investigation of
trcian has acted conscientiously, and that
full credence should be given to his reports.
am therefore constrai9ed ira to stand by his re re,
same are unworthy and unreliable. bcllve il
ismy duty as chief executive of the city, and
that II Is your duty as representatives of the
J., people, even if a reasonable doubt existed re-
r garJ;ing the report of the city electrician, tc
: OF the city, and require the Thomson-H Hous.
t ton Electric Light company to demonstrates, il
/ | it can do so, in the courts the inaccuracy oil
, | unreliability of the reports of the city elec.
George p. BEM1s, Mayor.
, Mr.. Edwards Takes the Floor.
S The discussion was started by Mr.. Ed.
T. wards, chairman of the electric light com
< | mittee, who defended the action of his com
D mittee and attacked the city electrician He
. said the report of the electrician was sim ply
G a bare statement that the candle power was
: 9l7 and that the showing was made by
: photometer, an instrument in which the
1 council and committee had no confidence
r and had been demonstrated as impractical
and inaccurate. Mr. Edwards frankly ad
|, mitted that he did not know much o
t blue prints, or electricity, but he knew how
L to figure candle power when he had the
II number of watts on a circuit. He said tn,
/ committee on electric lights had been forced
G into making its report as the mayor and hi:
n satellites had gone to the press and showi
: that the committee was discriminating il
J. favor of the electric light company as agains
II the gas and gasoline companies. MIR. Ed
t wards, while he knew it was wrong ant
f against his better Judgment proposed tc
d stand by the mayors veto and shove tn,
+ whole responsibility on his honor.
( Mr.. Steel was sarcastically eloquent. fl
roasted the mayor, the city electrician anC
n the photometer He said it was the mayo
n / who wears the brass collar, and not some 0
is the councilmen. He said the power behin
the throne had settled upon the electri
light company as doomed, and the mayo
was only earring out instructions in vetolnl
IF the item in favor of the company Will
l. Mr. Steel realized that it WAS wrong de
le cidedly wrong, yet he felt as if all respons
billty should be thrown on the mayor, ant
for that reason he was prepared to vote I
sustain his honor.
MIR Wheeler followed Mr.. Steel. MI
70 Wheeler calculated on the report of the ele,
trcian and found that in but one il
NJ stance did the candle power fall belo'
- 1000, and in some cases went a
high as $500. These calculations Mr.. Whee
n er made from the report of the electrical
and the cluster of electric lights in tn
~ chamber beamed forth more brilliantly an
shed the Frightening rays of approval upo
the head of the Fourth ward statesman.
A, Veracity of Figures Challenged.
# Mr. Jacobsen thought that there wa
something decidedly wrong somewhere /
o, the figures read by Mr.. Wheeler and h
: desired that City Electrician, Cowgirl
. heard.
= Mr. Hascall was on his feet in an instan
He thought that the council was capable
n conducting its own, business, and did NJ
ne favor permitting any city ofC ial goin
behind n written report. Mr. Hascall sal
= the mayor was prompted in his action by
= lot of cheap newspaper correspondents wh
= were grooming the mayor for somethin
tHh that he could not be. He then grew fac
ch tious and wanted the photometer exchange
-" for an incubator and the council go into IL
= business of raising municipal chickens l.
did not propose 10 vote to sustain the mayo
Mr. Munro stood by the mayor. He sa
that the city had a tract for 2,OO