The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-06-18

oStlSS OI pGl PAoPSAhS AAA 'AAS SNS tody of the several departments, boards or officers of said city, shall be made by the departments, board or by the ofli- cers having the subject matter.
 He also read the following section: Except as herein otherwise provided, this act shall take effect upon its pass age; and all of the officers of said city in office when this act takes effect are hereby invested with the powers con- ferred to this act, so far as may be consistent herewith, and all officers and appointees of said city shall continue in office for the terms for which they were respectively chosen, except as otherwise provided
 Alderman Rourke-"If any member can made cheese out of chalk the sen- for gentlemen from the Tenth can. But this thing of questioning the validity of the councils awarding the contract is trick, but I appeal to the honor of every one of you. I knew the new charter prohibited awarding the con- tract, but I object upon higher ground than a mere technicality and place it upon the conscience of every man here. As to the objection that the mayor can veto the order, is it not better to adhere to our former vote than to place the re- sponsibility of a veto upon the mayor?' Alderman Brennan asked if the whole matter was not out of order and wheth- CT in the opinion of the mayor the court of common council had the right to award the contract.
 Mayor Farnsworth did not think the contract could be legally awarded by thp pOl1rt of common council The motion to adhere was carried by a large majority.
 Alderman Chillingworth offered the following resolution concerning the statements made at the last meeting relating to the Grand avenue bridge: Whereas-Statements made in the cham Der of the board of aldermen at it's last meeting reflected upon the faithfulness of the city engineer and upon the good faith of the contractors who are constructing the subStructure of the Grand avenue bridge; | And whereas, the public press have stated | that the contractor Is said to be contem | plating q suit for an alleged claim of $30,- GOO damages for delays;
 | And whereas, other parties who have been | damaged by delays i'll the construction of said bridge are also liable to present claims | against the city,;
 or, the Mayor, be and he hereby is author | ized and directed to appoint committee of five, with power to send for persons and papers to take testimony, make record of l the same, and report 1t to the court of com mon council with recommendations upon the following lines of inquiry:
 First-Whether or not the city engineer l or other employees of the city have neglect ed to perform their duty or or have tried to exact of the contractor more than his con- | tract calls for
 | Second-Whether or not the materials and labor furnished or offered by the con | tractor has been of proper quantity and quality, and whether any of it has been re- | jected or condemned
 Third-Whether or not the contractor has | performed his part of the work within the | period of time specified in the contract, l and, if he has not, whether or not he has | forfeited his contract.
 Fourth-Whether or not any claims have been presented against the city of any kind l or nature, which have resulted from the construction or the delays ill the construc- tion of the Grand avenue bridge | Fifth-The committee are hereby author | ized and directed to cooperate with like committee of inquiry, should the seectmen of the town of New Haven appoint such q | committee.
 | SlXth--The committee shall cause notices | to be mailed to the contractor, to the town agent, and to the city engineer of all meet ings of said committee, at which it Is pro- posed to take testimony. And said notices l shall be mailed at least twenty-four hours | before the time appointed for said meeting | Seventh-The corporation counsel is here l DN autnOTlIeu ana u1rPtIpu 10 render 10 such committee such help and assistance as | they may call upon him for.
 | Eighth-The city sheriff Is hereby direct
 ed upon the approval of His Honor, the | Mayor of the foregoing resolutions after they shall have been adopted by the court of common council, to serve certified copy | thereof upon the town agent and the se- | lectmen of the town of New Haven, the city engineer, and the parties who have contracted to construct the substructure of the Grand avenue bridge.
 Action on the resolutions was post poned until the next meeting. l Alderman Brennan characterized the resolution as perfiidious attack upon
 an innocent man in the interest of a competitor. He said that it was a cow
 ardly attempt to stab James J. Geary in the back.
 In connection with the report of the
 committee on claims Alderman Chil-
 lingworth offered the following con-
 munication and appended order, which were passed:
 New Haven, Conn.,, June 16th 1897.
 To the Honorable Court of Common Coun- | cil:-
 Gentlemen-The joint committee on
 claims, at it's last hearing. had under con-
 sderation no less that twelve claims ars- l ing from injury to persons from falling
 upon icy sidewalks, and your committee
 deem it their duty to invite attention to
 the growing neglect on the part of prop
 erty owners to clean the sidewalks within reasonable time after each storm During last winter the police records show reports | from the officers of 2,249 cases of uncleaned
 or dangerously sllppy sidewalks; and upon
 inquiry it is found that the property own l CTS have not been notified as provided for
 in the charter and ordinances; but that the | inspector of sidewalks, when he feels like | It. has visited the office of the police and | taken off list of the unceaned walks, | some of which he has caused to be cleaned | by employees of the city, but has not nOti.
 fled the property owners
 | It seems to your committee that under
 the new charter new provisions may be | found which will require new ordinances
 relative to this matter.
 We therefore recommend the passage of | the following vote:
 Voted-That the joint committee on ordi
 nances be and they hereby are instructed
 to report such additional ordinances as they
 may find necessary to secure the city from | claims or loss resultant from the neglect tC
 clean the sidewalks by property owners. | All of which is respectfully submitted.
 A communication was received from
 Anthony Carroll calling the attention
 of the board to the character of the
 signers of a petition received by tht
 board at the last meeting. Forty-fou1
 of the signers, according to the com.
 munication cannot be found in Esse di.
 rectory of the city for 1S96.; that but
 twenty of the names appended to the petition were to be found on the tax
 list; that one Michael Sullivan had ad.
 mitted that he had written the major. itv pf the names aDDeaTiney and that