The record-union., 1894-05-29
THE CITY TRUSTEES BACK DOWN.
They Restore the License of the
Fountain Saloon.
The Mayor Vetoes the Two Water Or
-Nickel-in- the-Slot
Ordinance Proposed.


City Trustees was held last night. Trus-
tees Lawton, Wachhorst, Kent, DAVIS
Bragg, Leonard, Tozer and Pennish be-
ing present.
a. i. Hart asked to be heard ID reiatloh
to the contested gas bills. He had' ne
said, gas bills amounting to S9O9 oo. ne
observed that gas was burning 10 the
room at present and someone would nave
to pay for IT, He understood that the
board had appealed from the decision ol
Judge Catlin to the Supreme Court ne
thought that if the city did not pay for the
gas the members would have to.
If the board takes the gas without
authority from the company 1t makes
itself responsible. The company wished
to be courteous to the board and he would
therefore give them notice that unless
the bills are paid the company will shut
off the gas on the first of the month. he
thought that Judge Catlin's decision was
sufficient for the board to rely on.
w. II. Devlin, the Mayors Clerk,
started to read the Mayors messages,
when Leonard said that there was reg
ular order of business, IN which com
munications" had their place, and ne
thought that the messages should be
read:under that head.
Mr.. Devlin said that there was regu-
lar method of procedure in all Legislative
bodies in relation TO messages. In Con-
gress the Presidents messages are read
by his Secretary. In the Legislature the
Governors messages are read by his
Secretary when presented.
After short discussion, President
Lawton ruled that, as there was an OBJ
lection, he should have to adhere to the
regular order of business and the mes
sages would be read under the head OF
communications.
STREET IMPROVEMENT.
The improvement of Tenth street COM
ing up, Devine protested against award
ing the contract to any of the bidders, as
the prospect is that macadam can be pro-
cured much more cheaply than at pres
ent.
Bragg moved to reject all bids which
was done.
The bids for the improvement of the
alley between Seventh and Eighth, l and
J streets, were opened and the contract
awarded to Joseph Altman.
CITY DIsPENsARY.
A large number of bills were allowed,
but when the bill of NJ. S. Hammer tor
drugs furnished to the City Dispensary
came up, Devine thought the county
should pay half OF it. The bill was al
lowed.
Tozer moved that the President ap-
point a committee Of three to consult
with the Supervisors in reference to es-
tablishing a City Dispensary. The
motion was carried and the Chair ap-
pointed Wachhorst. Bragg and Devine.
FROM THE MAYOR.
Devine moved that the Mayors Clerk
be allowed to read the communications
from the Mayor. The motion was car
ried.
The following communications from
the Mayor were received:
AN UNINTELLIGIBLE ORDINANCE.
To the Board Of Trustees: I hereby
transmit to your honorable body, with
my disapproval indorsed thereon, Ordi-
nance No. =, entitled ''FiXing Water
Rates in the City of Sacramento"
My reasons for disappearing this ordi-
nance are as follows:
/. The ordinance, as submitted, abounds
in grammatical errors and mispelled
words. / have no power to correct these,
and therefore must consider the ordi-
nance as submitted. The ordinance,
when passed. becomes the statutory law
OF the city aud will eventually be pub
lished IN book form, as provided in the
charter. 1t is therefore proper that our
ordinances should be grammatical in
form as well as certain in their provisions.
For the purpose of illustration, | cite the
following provision from the ordinance
Boarding schools shall pay water rate
of 81 80, And 20 cents for each sleeping
room. exclusion Of those occupied by, tor
servants, (rooms exceeding ten in num-
ber).p
Ii is impossible to tell what this provi-
sion means. In Section 3 letters are used
which form the word ''constound," il
o1ph word pyicTc huf L M
Of any such word, and the dictionary
containing no such word, | am led to be-
lieye that 1t was written fer the word
''construedu The word assessor is
misspelled throughout the ordinance
There are many more errors of a similar
character. The marks Of punctuation are
used at random. Some of these errors
are of such nature as to render the Sec
tions in which they are contained mean
ingless. The enactment of such an Ordi-
nance, and the placing of it upon oul
statute book in its present form, would
in my opinion, be sad reflection upon
the educational facilities of our fair city,
and for the purpose of avoiding similar
repetition l respectfully suggest that in
passed it be referred to committee for
the purpose of engrosSment.
2. The title of the ordinance is Fixing
water rates of the city of Sacramento
Section OF the ordinance contains 2
penal clause. The punishment provided
in the penal clause in my opinion would
be imperative, as Section IA of the char
ter provides that every ordinance shall
embrace but one subject, which shall be
clearly indicated in the title, and in al
cases where the subject is not so ex-
pressed in the title the ordinance shall be
void as to the matter not expressed in the
title.
8. Many of the provisions do not fix tht
rate to a certainty. For instance: 1t is
provided that confectioners, etc., shall
pay from 81 upward. Before approving
the ordinance | would like 10 know how
far upward it is to go. There being nC
limit, it is certainly not fixed, and the
title which states the purpose OF the Ordl
nance is TO fix water rates is not sustained
by the body of the instrument. If thu
ordinance provided that confectioners
should pay from 81 to $40, then the As
SCISSOR would be able to fix the amount
each should pay.
T. The ordinance submitted provide:
that certain water rates shall be liked by
the City Assessor and the Committee OF
Water Works, subject to the approval o
the Board of Trustees. This provision Il
not in accordance with the charter. As
the charter does not recognize any Com
mlttee on Water Works, it is Impossible
Tor the legislative department of this city
10 delegate any power or authority tC
such committee. Section 16S of the char
ter expressly provides that it is the duty
OF the Water Assessor TO ascertain the re-
specCVe sums properly collectable for the