The San Francisco call., 1897-12-14
TN
SAN JOSE'S
council
Rea and Anti-Rea Fac
tons in Acrimonious
Debates.
LIBERAL EXCHANGE
OF ACCUSATIONS
Each Side Defeats the Pay
mont Of Claims Urged by
the Other.
SOME SiNECURES BROUGHT
TO LIGHT.
Even the Pouodkeepar Wsxlng Rich
at the Expense of the Tax
Payers.
Each Side Defeats the Pay
mont Of Claims Urged by
the Other.
SOME SiNECURES BROUGHT
TO LIGHT.
Even the Pouodkeeper Wsxlng Rich
at the Expense of the Tax
Payers.
Special Dispatch to THE CALL

SAN JOSE. Dec determination and
| recrimination filled the atmosphere dur
| ing the session of the Common Council
| tonight. 1t was not long after the
Mayor called the council TO order before
its proceedings were enlivened by the
sensational charge made by Attorney w.
2. Veuve against Councilman Noting OF
having mutilated a public document,
thereby committing felony.
This charge was made in connection
with Noting having Cancelled his sigma
ture of approval OF the claim of Charles
s. Riddel, Poundmaster of the city of
San Jose, which claim had been assigned
to L. S. Cavailaro. In replying TO the
charge Noliing referred to his accuser as
| a fifth-rate buffer, and explained his &C
tion in canceling his signature by stating
that there were other claims that ante
dated the one assigned to Cavallaro.
Attorney Feuve asserted that he had
been told by his client, Cavaliaro, that
Noting had informed CavsllsrO that the
reason Le had Cancelled his signature was
that Dittus had refused 10 approve claims
in which Noting and Nolting's friends
were interested.
In the course OF the rather acrimonious
debate that followed attention was called
to the extraordinary revenue that is being
enjoyed by the poundkeeper. There were
three claims due this indlvidua under
consideration. One of these, dated Octo-
| ber 19, 1897, called for $50 for twenty-five
horse scalps and $117 for MANY dog
scalps. This is assigned to Ii. B. Martin
d Co. Another dated October 30. 1897,
| calls for S4S for twenty-four horse scalps
and $4S for forty-eight dog scalps. This
Is assigned to l.. S. CavaIlaro. The third,
dated Novem Der 10, 1897 charges the city
SOL for dog scalps and $44for. n orse scalps.
This is assigned to II. {. Doerr. AS will
be seen these claims aggregate $3.50 and
cover period of only forty-one days, CIV
ing PoundkeepeT RiddelI daily income,
Sundays included, of more than $I1.
When these facts were fully brought out
Mayor Koch felt com PEELED to remark:
This wholesale business ought to be
stopped. Such state OF affairs was never
before known In the history of San Jose.
The Governor has not got such sinecure
as thls.'
There were some further rather warm
| exchanges between Noting ard Dittus,
and in which Fay also participated. The
general tenor of the remarks was that the
members of the Claims Com mittee, Nolt-
ing and Dlttus, were simply playing a
game OF "hOld-up," the object of each
being TO compel the other to sign certain
| ClalInS LDaI odCn was not Q1SpOseu 10 aD-
| prove for reasons best known to himself.
Dittus claimed that he declined to sign
| the Poundkeeper'< claims, assigned TO
! Martin and Doerr, because he had reason
| to believe that there were other claims OF
| the Poundkeeper i'll circulation among
| the merchants of the city, and he wanted
| all OF these claims to be presented to the
| Council before any were passed. Noting
| declined to accept this explanation, and
| charged that Dittus had approved the
claim assigned to Cavsllaro because oi
| DIttus close relations with that gentle
man.
The Mayor again took a hand in the
controversy and said that it had come TO
| his know ledge that the Poundkeeper had
| gathered horses, cows and dogs from all
| over the county and had charged the city
| for their scalps.
Councilman Fay made bold play by
| suggesting that the issue be squarely met
by making an investigation OF the PounI-
keepers office, but his bluff was not
| called.
At the conclusion of the de bate Noting
| made motion that all three claims of the
| Poundkeeper be passed. The motion was
! defeated, DittGs and krieg voting no
and Fay and Noting aye.
| Dittus followed with motion that the
claim assigned 10 CGvallaro be passed. but
| this met with the same fate as the prevI-
Gus motion, the noes and ayes, how
ever, being reversed.
Noting next called up some claims for
the payment OF men who had been en-
| gagged as substitutes to take the place of
| hremen who had Deen granted vacation.
| lie charged that some OF these had not
been approved by the other member of
! the Claims committee, because the claim
| ants were not satisfactory to Dittus.
| krleg made motion that the people be
| notified through the newspaper to pre-
| sent all bills to the Council Tomorrow
Noting objected. He said that for the
last lew months the papers had heralded
the statement that San Jose could not
pay its debts. This, he added, had now
| been shown to be untrue.
I'VE are in position to pay every claim
| ana they ought to De paid" he concluded.
The Mayor declared krleg's motion out
| OF order
| About S3O,OO0 worth of claim were read
! oy the clerk and on motion of Nollinc
presented for passage. The motion was
IoSt- by the votes of Dittus and Krieg.
| ray ana Noting voted AYE"
Here the following communication was
read:
SAN JOSE, Dec 13, 1897
| - 70 me Mayor and Common Council, san Jose
| 3ENTLEMEN: l hold warrant No. 2245, dated
June 80, 1897, for the amount OF $50 IN favor
OF Nj. McDermott who assigned The same
To me in exchange for groceries, etc
| rms warrant. is on the street con tingent
| lily Clerk, but upon presentation to the City
| same.
Therefore 1 appeal to you that you will ask
| the Clty treasurer to show cause why such
"aI IAnI shouid not be pad, and instruct or
| order him to honor the same. Respec FULLY,
j. A. BELLoLI.
| In connection with this there is shown
azeaIousness on the part of some of the
CRY ofhcials TO see that no money is al.