Omaha daily bee., 1896-04-08
HEARD MANY COMPLAINTS
City Council Session Prolonged for Several
Hours.
LIGHTING COMPANY NOT WELL SATISFIED
Reductions Demanded Said to Re In
crensing Monthly and the Cor
porntion's Attorneys Are Pre-
pared to Resist.

All OF the members Of the city council
with the exception Of Aldermen Barstow and
Greenshields met as a committee Of the
whole last night and remained in session
until nearly midnight, struggling in a whirl-
pool of talk, striving to attain a satisfactory
conclusion or the bill of the Electric Light
ing company for last month. There is a diff
ference of nearly 5000 between the bill pre-
sented by the company and the estimates
made by the committee in the council upon
the reports made by the city electrician of
the shortage in voltage and lamps that did
not burn satisfactorily or at all during the
month. General Manager w. S. Wright APP
peared foi the company and Chairman Brown
of the committee represented the city's in
terest.
Mr.. Wright asserted that for years his
company had been obliged to accept the
city's estimate and corresponding reductions,
but that the difference, constantly growing
greater, had reached the limit of patient
endurance In the reductions demanded for
March. He claimed that the city had
doubled the reductions by careless man.pu-
lations OF the reports of the city electrician
reporting short voltage and the police re-
porting lamps out; that the electrician would
test two lamps on a circuit for eight in
all and base his estimate of the entire volt
age consumed for the week upon the one
test. and that the lamps tested would al
ways be the ones burning lowest. The police
under their instructions would report these
lamps as no good or out, so the company
would get a double dose Of reduction.
The matter was argued for two straight
hours by Chairman Brown and Mr.. Wright
without any conclusion being reached, and 1t
will be the subject of another conference in
committee of the whole during the week.
During the controversy Alderman Brown and
Mr.. WRIGHT hprarnp warmly aarpect and tho
mayor was compelled to use his gavel with
lots of force.
The Chicago & Northwestern Railway COM
pany asked for a refund of $50 water taxes,
upon the grounds that its property extended
a mile or more beyond the fartherest fire
hydrant. The committee decided to refuse
to the refund, for the reason that
the railroad company was not entitled to It
and incidentally because the company was
occupying a right Of way through Lake View
park without having paid anything for 1t.
Petitions for electric lights on the corners
OF Fourth avenue and Nineteenth street and
Avenue B and Thirty-fourth street were
presented and reported upon adversely.
Charles Baughn, the we'll known local cap
italist, filed a claim for S1.75 for damages
done to a house belonging to him located on
the alley between Broadway and Vine street
on North First. A hose wagon team became
uinanageable while the fremen were reel
ing hose after a fire in the vicinity last win
ter anu the crank scratched some OF the
paint off the siding Of the house. The bill
had been presented to the clerk a number of
times. The aldermen voted unanimously to
reject the claim.
]. B. Bennett filed a claim for $40 due for
a horse owned by him and hired to the city
and which died during the time. The city's
liability in the matter was questioned, but
the bill was finally referred to the commit
tee on health and police with instructions to
inquire into it.
The only other matter of Importance that
came up was the petition from a large num-
Der of property owners on Pearl street, ask
ing to have the street repaved with as
phaltum. Alderman Casper, as a representa-
tive of the park commission, objected to
asphalt and strongly favored vitrifed brick.
The frontage on Bayl.ss park, added to that
of other property owners favoring brick,
gave the brick advocates a majority, and the
committee decided to instruct the engineer
to draw up the usual ordinance specifying
brick and have It ready to report to the
council on Thursday night.
The engineer called attention to the ne
cessity Of deepening the bed of Indian creek
from Thirteenth avenue, and the council
agreed 10 adjourn and meet at 1870 this
afternoon and go over the ground with him
for the purpose of investigating the situa-
ton.