Omaha daily bee., 1893-11-30
CORPORATIONS IN THE CITY COUNCIL


No one present at the last meeting of
the city council would have had to be
told hat election day had passed. The
proceedings of that body would have
informed him before many minutes had
elapsed that the majority of the mem
bers feel themselves entirely absolved
from their immediate responsibility to
the taxpayers and citizens who elected
them, and the conclusion must have in
evitably Deer forced upon his mind that
the corporations rather than the people
are represented in the Omaha city
council.
Not to speak of the shameful treat
year gas franchise ordinance in refus-
ing even to receive the papers which he
had sent toit at the previous regular
meeting when simple courtesy demanded
that they be at least placed on file in
cast the council were not ready to act
upon them, the council managed to show
several times how it stand in relation
to corporation raids upon the rights of
the taxpayers. A communication from
the garbage contractor, a contractor
backed by the combined influence of the
franchised corporations, asking for per-
mission to erect a tool house on ground
comprising a part Of the streets of
Omaha, was quickly referred without
debate to the building inspector with the
understanding that the prayer be
granted. If the garbage contractor
wants to erect q tool house, why does he
not do as other private individuals do
buy or rent a piece of land suitable for
his purposes? If the council can au-
thorize the erection of a permanent
structure on a street lea the river. it
can authorize one in the middle of Far
nam street, The garbage contractor
has already secured valuable privileges
from the city for nominal eturns. Why
should he be given further privileges,
however small their value may be?
The corporations In the council have
| also pushed through all the disputed
claims of the Barber Asphalt company
that have been hanging fire for months.
The merits OF the original dispute need
not detain us. But the city engineer
had taken the trouble to institute a care
full examination of the work for which
the last monthly claim had been pre-
scented and had recommended certain
deductions On account of failure to live
up to the letter of the agreement. Two
councilmen in a two hours drive, in
company with the agent of the Barber
company, had convinced themselves
that the twenty miles Of paved streets
were in excellent condition and on their
report the repair claim was allowed,
The repair contract calls for keeping
the streets constantly in good order.
With the corporations running the
council all that is. needed is to have a
mile or so in good order on the day
when the committee takes its monthly
drive with the company's agent, anC
holes and cracks may be left in tn,
streets the remainder of the year, il
spite of the protest of the engineering
department.
The corporations are daily becoming
more and more bold in their manipula
tions of the city council. This course o
action will probably be continued unit
the taxpayers rouse to the protection
of their interests. The veto power of
watchful mayor has in too many in
stances proven unavailing. Unles
things change for the better the task O
driving the corporations out of the cit
council will soon have to be taken up.