Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1897-07-24


ship. Whatever he touches seems to
prosper.
On the Right Track.
Mr.. Shuckhart is entirely correct
in insisting upon the enforcement of
current ordinances before cucumber
ing the town code with more to be
"despised and rejected of men" who
live on Ormond and other streets.
But he should have clinched his OPP
position to new ordinances by moving
the appointment of a committee on the
enforcement of ordinances. The city
council of Pompeii was weak to a
similar extent. as is shown by the fol-
lowing conference between two dis
tinguished citizens of neighboring
town:
''The whole trouble might have been
avoided" observed Diomed to Caesar as the
two sat ON the bank of the Styx, talking
about the misfortune which befell the city,
eff they had only had an efficient city govern
ment"
BAH said Caesar. You couldn't have
made Vesuvius quit with an ordinance"
Didn't say we could" replied Diomed.
but if the Street committee had seen to the
removal of the ashes promptly, as the ord-
nance provides, why Pompeii would not to-
day be 80 feet under comminuted lava
Worse and Worse
The Frostburg Nems definition of the
term, except for hire" would not stand
long enough in court to be sprawled.
For courts do not twist the language
of town charters into nonsense, nor do
they make sport of ordinary definitions.
A Cumberland carriage or carriages
hired to take wedding party out of
town is not except for hire" here mere
ly because as part of their work they
convey also the trunks of that party to
the railway station.
Not only so, but if the Hverymen
actually did avail themselves of this
pretext to vent their spleen upon their
Cumberland brethren for having been
hired to come here at ali, their con-
duct is yet more reprehensible.
Hence, the JOURNAL hopes that the
Neecs' sophistry as an exponent of law
is more marked than its credibility as a
chronicler of their doings on an occa-
sion when everybody should have been
glad, liberal, generous--whe even
liverymen should fall Oh each others
neck and exchange the fraternal buss.
A Brief Review
Mayor Bear is out in somewhat
fulsome and badly-edited circular eff
fort to vindicate the action of five of
his body in making the 5-year contract
for light.
But it must be taken as it is, bad
editing and all.
The Mayor first sets up the straw
that the lighting business is "a polit-
ical issue )" then he floors it by saying
that it sis not a political issue"
Hence, he is right indeed, the JOUR-
NAL never before heard the matter
classed among political issues"
The JOURNAL is not an apologist for
"the Jones administration" further
than to say that the 5000 of the peoples
money spent for new gas materials
should not be added to the future an
nual cost Of gas lighting. This $500
worth of materials, too: is evidently the
towns property, which the Mayors
method of administration throws out of
use, if not throws entirely away.
Concerning the superiority of are
lights there is no dispute. But it can
not be said that half night or all-night
service has recently been an issue.
The Mayor finds that So ,592 will pay
for 81 ares, etc., but he does not state
the limit which the contract places
upon the number of ares to be hereafter
added--by his own Council and the
Councils which are to come when his
is dead without hope of resurrection.
That the Mayor acted from honest
motives the JOURNAL has no doubt.
The JOURNAL believes he means well, ,
but his head on this subject is far from
horizontal.
The JOURNAL joins him in resenting
an Indignation meeting. 1t is opposed
also to petitions of protest.
The true way to bring Mayor Bear
to taw is or was for Councilmen
Nickel and Shuckhart to lead in an
application to court for an injunction
against the making of Il contract
which
l, Ties the hands of four succeeding
Councils =
2, Which puts the town in the clutch
of a monopoly-one so far as the
Mayor reveals which furnishes no
guarantee of ability to fill its contract
in the event of disabled machinery
or fire, and which for years cuts the
town wholly off from the benefit of il
Illuminating development, and which in
all respects
3, singularly and wholly an agree
ment whose spirit and terms are alike
against public policy.