Omaha daily bee., 1897-09-15
PROCEEDINGS OF CITY COUNCIL.
Franchises Taken Up In Regular
Order Amid TnmnIt from Outsidc.


When the council convened the minutes
were read but the uproar that came from
the meeting in the street was sufficient to
drown the voice OF the clerk. There was no
escape from It but by shutting down the
windows and the torridity OF the room for
badc that When the reading was finished
the ordinances were taken up. The council
ann ncunced the decision that both were sub
stantially In the same condition as new or
dinances and must go through the same
process and be read a first and second time
under the rules.
The Manawa ordinance was first taken up
after the reports from the committee OF the
whole recommending the passage OF both
had been received and approved. The tedious
process of reading 1t in full was gone
through. At the conclusion the motor com
panys ordinance was taken and advanced
to the same point and the council was pre-
pairing to take up an improvement ordinance
when the committee appointed in the street
meeting forced its way through the crowded
halls and stood before the bar of the council.
Alderman Casper moved that the committee
be heard and Atkins seconded 1t. When the
question was put there was no objection
registered by any member of the council
and Mr.. McCabe came forward as the speaker
for the committee. He made one of his
usual strong and somewhat bitter speeches,
and particularly called attention to the de-
clared policy of the Iowa legislature against
| long-lived franchises for anything. He de-
clared that until the most corrupt Legislative
! body that had ever convened on earth, the
| Illinois assembly of last winter, had given
| Yerkes the Chicago street car magnate. a
| ffty-year charter for his monopoly, that
| hfty-year franchises had never been heard of,
| and that no brain, however bold and daring,
! had conceived the idea of such franchise.
| He urged the council to defer action until
| the people could have an opportunity to say
| whether these companies should have these
| extraordinary concessions.
| j. c. DeHaven, another member OF the
| committee. asked permission to speak, and
was accorded the privilege. His remarks
| were in line with the arguments OF previous
| speakers. and he reiterated the statements
| of Mr.. McCabe that the value of the fran
| chise was between SO, ,000, 900 and $4,000, 900
and he sought to show that this valuable
| franchise should be compelled to bear the
largest share of the municipal expenses. He
read from sheet of newspaper a mass
| of statistics showing the value of franchises
| in European cities where they are all owned
| by the municipalities. His argument drifted
into a demand for municipal ownership OF
| all such properties and he urged the council
! to take no steps that would interfere with
| the possibility of the city early acquiring the
| ownership of the street railways, electric
| lighting plants and water works. The alder
men listened with marked attention.
The council then dropped the franchise
| business and took up the regular routine
work Frank P. Fowler was elected poll taN
collector to fill the vacancy caused by the
resignation of Collector Blood, following 0
report of Auditor Evans that there were
still uncollected $50 notices. remon
STRANGE was received against the proposed
change of the bridge over Indian creek tc
| Twenty eighth avenue, and the matter was
referred to the committee of the whole
The alley in block 16, Williams second ad
ditiou. was ordered brought to grade. six
foot brick walk was ordered on Third street
between Tenth and Sixteenth avenues
| After some minor business the council ad
| journed until O'Clock this evening.