The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-08-28
BOOK OF CITY LAWS.
Revised Ordinances Almost
Ready for Delivery.
NEARLY 5000 ON THE RECORDS.
First Attempt for Years TO Compile
Local Laws-ssatastics Of City
Councils' Legislation.

OF city ordinances are about completed and
within week or so <he printers will have
the book ready for delivery. 1t is so long
since any have been printed in book form
and to many have been passed during the
past three or four years that the compila-
ton has been exceedingly iaborious and
tedious. Hundreds of ordinances have
outlived their usefulness, as many hun
dreds have been amended out of existence
and rs many more have been repealed by
Implication. Ii was necessary to read
these and TO remedy their provisions in
order TO determine how much of them re-
manned still in force.
While the work, which has been done by
John w. Pratt. was in progress it became
manifest that 1t was sheer waste of money
to print many ordinances which remained
on the records. and these have been either
superseded by new ordinances drafted by
Corporation Counsel Donworth in accord
ance with the new charter and modern re-
quirements or have been repealed entirely.
The Revised Ordinances will contain
constitutional and statutory provisions re-
lating to cities of the first class. These
are followed by the charter of 1890. as
amended in 1892. but with the original
text In foot notes. Following these are
all ordinances of general importance in
force on June 50. 1893 They are divided
as follows: General ordinances of a mis-
ceilaneous character which apply to, or
are of interest to, all citizens, such as
those relating to the keeping of animals.
depositing ashes, water rates, election pre-
cincts. etc. police ordinances. relating to
disorderiy persons, gambling, and all re-
iating to peace and good order; relating
to public officers. their salaries, bonds,
and duties, all arranged so as to be readily
ascertained; regulating trades, beginning
with amusements (which is a trade so far
as the promoters are concernedl and end
ing with vehicles, building ordinances, in
Guiding ali relating to the construction,
alteration and removal of buildings; sani-
tation and sewers; streets, alleys. plats,
etc. public parks, public library aud har-
Dor regulations; ordinances regulating
railroads, telegraphs. etc. These are fol-
lowed by ordinances governing franchises
and relating to the city bonds and other
financial matters.
Most of these ordinances will be needed
for reference during the next twenty years.
but they need not be again published. so
that will be many years before so COM
plete compilation is needed. So many
franchises and so many bond issues will
not occur again within so short time. for
the next quarter of century probably.
They ara nowhere in permanent form ex-
cept in the one manuscripts record in the
city clerks Office, and If these should be
destroyed. as many were in the fire of 1889,
il would be work Of enormous difficulty
TO get them together.
As II Is, the task has not been an easy
one. Mr.. Pratt has compiled list of IL
ties of ordinances from No. l, passed De-
cember %, 1859, down to the present time.
The earlier records are, so far as known.
entirely destroyed, and from the misce-
celaneous papers he had gathered mn
from time to time. he has completed the
list One of the records he had collected
fell to pieces during the transcript, having
passed through the tire apparently intact,
but scorched almost TO embcrs. He has
also completed list of officials since the
incorporation Of the city in 1869, all of
which matter, now gotten together for the
first time, need never be printed again.
Hereafter it will be necessary only to issue
each year or so q small supplementary
pamphlet containing additional ordi-
nances, and If the same system of arrange
ment be followed there will be an uninter-
rupted and practically imperishable rec
ord
There have been passed altogether 2,aSs
ordinances, or within twelve of 5000; or
1880 since the fire. Just sol more ordi-
nances have been passed within the last
four years than during the previous
twenty years of the city's municipal life.
The yearly average from 1869 to 1889 was
SAY; since the fire to the present time,
four years, the annual average has been
472l< During the first year only twenty
one ordinances were passed; and during
the following year only five new ordi-
nances were passed. Since the advent of
the present administration there have
been passed $50 ordinances.
The entire volume will consist of nearly
900 pages. of which most are in closely
printed type. The titles alone occupy
nearly 10 pages, and the index about
l04 The book shows only half the
amount of labor necessary 70 COM
pletion. The number Of ordinances
printed Is eauaiied by the number which
have been read and discarded as having
exhausted their vitality. The charter
and ordinances are arranged in a table of
contents aud analysed by thorough in
dex. The city council has ordered 500
copies bound in sheep and ZOO in paper.
which can be more strongly bound as they
are required. CITY Comptroller Carson
has been designated to supervise their
distribution. but the price has not yet
been fixed.
In 1854 George venable Smith, now of
Port Angeles. compiled the ordinances in
book Of 4ea pages. and in 1855 L. C. Gil
man, then city attorney, also made COM
pilation. At that time there had been
passed 500 ordinances, since which time
2 iss have been niaced on tina reeor5x