The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-07-13
INVESTIGATION WANTED.
Doings Of Public Works Commits
sion To Be Examined.
AID. ROUNDS RESPONSIBLE FOR
WARM CITY COUNCIL MEETING.

itches Into Public WORKS Commissioh-
Charges Them With DIsregarding
Orders of City Contradictions to
Limit Their Power Defeated-In-
vestigation Finally Ordered.
Last night special meeting of the city
government was called. The regular July
meeting should have been held on Mon
cay, July 9Th, but owing to the fact that
on that date Portland was celebrating
the national holiday the regular meeting
was passed and the special meeting OF
last night called in its place.
The meeting was scheduled to be very
tame affair. There was very little bust
ness of any consequence to be brought
forward and every one expected very
slow meeting. Those who were looking
for this, however, were disappointed, for
in reality it was about as lively a meet
ing as has been held since Mayor Randall
and the present city council We're in
augurated.
Alderman Rounds has had his mind
made up to get at thu present street COM
mission and has been laying for chance
to rub it in" to this department of the
city's affairs ever since he was elected in
Ward 8. The storm has been brewing for
SO long that last night the gentleman
from War 8 was all cooked and primed
for the affray, and during the half hour
which he took to explain his position and
to bring out facts in connection with
the commission and the work it is, or
rather which he claims it is not doing,
the aldermen's chamber was very warm
place.
The fun began when the report of the
commissioner of public works for the
three months ending July LIST was pre-
sented. This report showed an expendi-
ture of IS, 252.57 on the streets, sidewalks
and bridges during the past three months.
AS soon as Alderman Kehoe had fin
ished reading this report the gentleman
from Ward was on his feet and demand
ing recognition from the chair. He OBJ
jected to the report being received. He
said that the commissioner had been re-
quired by law to make a report to this
board for the three months ending April
Rounds moved that the report for the
last three months be laid on the table I'M
til the report for the previous three
months should be made. The board
agreed with him in this and so the COM
missioner's report for the three months
ending July was tabled.
Alderman Ilsley made suggestion to
theReffect that the cityEauditor be requested
to have printed the reports of the COM
missioner of public works for the months
of last year and of this year as far as pos
sible so that the board might be kept in
formed as nearly as possible of just the
kind of work that the commissioner was
with the last year. The city auditor was
present and said that this suggestion
should be carried out.
Alderman Rounds then presented Pc
tition from Marks q Earl, asking that
sewers be built to accommodate the resi-
dents of Fessenden park and in connec-
ton with this petition he presented an or
der instrueting and authorizing the COM
missioner of public works to build sew
ers in Fessenden park.
In support of this order Alderman
Rounds said that the city of Portland had
been waiting to see what agreement
could be made with the city of Deering
about draining this piece of land, but as
far as he knew no agreement had as yet
been arrived at. Meantime the people
who were erecting buildings at Fessen-
den park were suffering for want of sew
erage and the city of Portland was obliged
by law to furnish them sewers, if he I'M
derstood the law Alright. He said that he
had been informed that the city govern
ment of Deering had refused to back up
the proposition made by the sewer COM
mittee of that city to the city of Portland
which proposition had been accepted by
Portland, or by the subcommittee act
ing in behalf of the city. Alderman
Rounds went on to explain that this pro-
position which had been made to Port
lands subcommittee by the Deering
committee on sewers was to the effect that
the city of Deering would build sewer
on Forest avenue to accommodate the
residents of Fessenden park who might
want to drain into it if the city of Port.
land would build sewers to accommodate
a part of Deering lying beyond Libby
town. In other words the proposition
was for the city of Deeirng to furnish
sewerage for 40 acres of Portland if Port
land would furnish sewerage for rs acres
of Deering Now that Deering had re-
fused to accept the proposition which