Evening journal., 1893-03-24
SILVERBROOK BILL DIES
Most Stubborn Fight of the
Session Ended.
CARPENTERS DIPLOMACY DID n


Arr um mt Helped BIaterially-The
shrew aud Persistent work of MIR.
] ord and Commissioner Smith Availtd
Nothing-Mr. spruance SAYS the Peo-
pie Demanded IL.
STAFF Correspondence Evening Journal. i
DOVER, March "a After the most
stubborn fight of the session the Silver.
brook Substitute bill was killed by the
House at a special session held yesterday
afternoon. It was killed by the dipl6
macy of Joseph l. Carpenter Jr, Of the
Street and Sewer Department of VIII
mington, and the eloquent and logical
argument of Representative Cooch of
Pencader hundred All of the skill Of
Peter J. Ford aud s. Redmond Smith
and the eloquence Of Representative
Spruance could not avert the disaster
which overlook the bill in the face of
favorable report from majority of che
committee, and no minority report
against It. The bill was not lost because
a majority of the members did not vote
for it. The vote was 1 4 to in its favor
but it required fourteen votes to pass it.
as it pertained TO a corporation and re
quired two thirds vote. The friends Of
the bill counted without their host, and,
for once, six beat eleven, and ended tor
the time being a war for drainage which
has been waged in the courts and State
House for years.
Just before the morning session closed
Mr.. Spruance moved that an afternoon
session be held commencing at 30
o'clock. with the Siverbrook Substituted
bill as the special order of business. 1t
I'D L..
both sides began laying their pipes; bit
none of them were of the 24inch terra
Gotta variety
When Speaker Whiteman called the
House to order Mr. Spruance. on behalf
of the committee on Municipal Corpora
tions reported the bill favorably with,
an amendment providing that legal pro Fl
ceedings TO prevent the construction Of
the sewer through private property or
litigation over the right Of way should
not make 10 unlawful for the Street and
Sewer Commissione rs to consume more,
time in the construction than that al
lowed by the bill
The amendment was adopted and the
bin was put upon its final passage
Mr.. Cooch led the oppos tion He WAS
armed with large map and several legal
cap pages of notes. Beside him sat Mr.
Carpenter giving him pointer afer-
pointer, each one having is effect. Mr.
Cooch presented the matter very forci
bly,, although handicapped by being un
prepared for the fight
Mr. Spruance was spokesman for the
bill p, ter J. Ford was at his elbow
and was as industriously engaged Ia Civ
ing Mr. Spruance pointers, as Mr. Car
penter Was in helping Mr. Cooch out
NI...a a. 1.~. L
similar in many respects 10 that already
made at public hearings He referred to
the first demand for the condemnation of
Silverbrook and its abandonment for the
substitute or compromise bill which pro
vided for terra Gotta sewer from Third
aud Webb streets 10 the Christiana a
distance of two miles and one half He
said that two miles of it would be With
out the city limits. Tne work and cost
of rights of way would cost the city
fully 500 600; make il impossible for
the street ana sewer department to carry
out its proposed sewer contracts snd
seriously impair the usefulness Of the
board. He did not believe in going out
side the city TO build sewers when Ave
siXths of the streets In the heart of the
city have no sewers. He did not thnk
that the General Assembly should c62ii
pei the Street and Sewer Department 'FB
do a thing which did not meet with 80
proval, and spend 500 coo for the benefit
of one manufacturing establishment and
few houses. He was opposed to The
General Assembly interfering in that way
with the internal affairs OF an inSof
porated city. sisgo
demanded 10. The growth of the civ
al Vi
for the sewer was the natural watershed
Of the section The people have sdme
rights which the Street and Sewer pa
partment should respect There are so
or 800 houses in the district aud no
sewerage. He moved that the House
take a recess for ten minutes to allow
Mr. Ford to explain the situatiou@ bnt
after Mr.. Cooch had objected TO the
proposition he withdrew the notion -
Nr Dasey said that the little stream Of
line. " had become prominent ,as
he willard he oftgei=.as man can
sl'e-A- . PA. revar. 90
be vacancy in the Boar .s-- sweet .ut
Sewer Commissioners and he had no
doubt good man would succeed tue Fe.
tiring commissioner and that he would
expsnd the city's money iudiciously and
serve the whole people Laughter
lie was opposed to the General Assembly
interfering with Wilmington in the way
proposed
The vote was then taken and was as
follows:
Ayes-Armstrong Pay, Gam, Harriug
ton, Jacobs Kenny. Lynch, Pratt,
Prettyman, Spruauce, Whttock-1t.
N es-Cooch, Dasey, Hickman, Sev1
Watkins, Mr. Speaker-6
It having failed to receive two thirds
vote Speaker Whitman dec it lost
The House then adjourned. Messrs
Ford and Smith were greatly disap
20 nted, and even Mr.. Carpenter was
surprised at his own victory
Colonel Enoch Moore was here carry.
ing the commission for Mr.. Carpenters
place in the Board of Street and 5 weI
Commissioners. He proudly showed if &
several members during the afternoon
and intimated that the new boar q woulC
solve the Siverbrook problem Mr.
Ford told your correspondent that b,
would wait and see what the new board
would do before he would urge an,
further action
r.rnwrrrD rpprrUr rrrnu