The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-05-24
$1,000 FOR DEFENSE
And $1,000 as Tribute to the
Glorious Fourth.
ALDERMAN ROUNDS IDEA OF Elk.
PENDING CITY MONEY.

CkA MVNEIs
Opposed Giving Any Assistance 1o Men on
Mcntauls But is Willing to be lavish
With Fire Cracker and Pin Wheel
Money While Country is at War.
A special meeting of the city council
was held last evening to consider three or
four things which were mentioned in the
call and which were disposed of without
much trouble. The interesting proceed
ings of the meeting were connected with
a matter which was not in the call and
the fact that it had been omitted from the
summons served on the members added
to the interest. This was the question
of providing uniforms for the men who
have left their homes to serve on the
monitor which the city council asked
might be sent to Portland These men
have enlisted in the navy of the United
States to serve one year. They have been
mustered in and they can get out unless
the government discharges them before
the year is up. They must have certain
suits of clothes and these they must buy
out of their own money. Notwithstand-
ing popular notion to the contrary,
Uncle Sam does not give the sailors any
clothes. He sells them clothes and he has
made regulatlon that his sailor custom
ers cannot leave their ships until the
clothes are paid for and the sailors in
addition have months wages to their
credit, or until these things have been
guaranteed in cash by some kind friend
of the sailor. Now it was thought that
Portland, like the little city of Bath,
| would be perfectly willing to bear the
expense of clothing the naval reserve, or
the greater part of it. The things which
each of the enlisted men must buy cost
him about $25 or $50. There will be 95
enlisted men on the Montauk when her
full complement is there. The city was
asked to appropriate $500, which would
have been about $40 each for the seamen
and little additional for the petty
officers whose outfit costs something
more. The order appropriating the money
would have passed both boards by large
majority, and in fact it had passed the
upper branch to 2, when Alderm an
Rounds discovered that the matter was
| n OF mentioned in the call and objected,
on the ground that as he had understood
that only one thousand dollars would be
required, action should be postponed
until Thursday SO that committee might
| investigate and make sure that every
thing was all right. In this view Mr..
Lamson concurred. AS the point about
the call was one which could not be
ignored, the board of aldermen agreed to
the delay. The council, however, passed
the order and asked for n committee of
conference. In the committee, Of which
he was a member, Mr.. Rounds agreed to
allow one thousand dollars to BIZ appro-
Ipriated, with the provision that the COM
mittee to expend it should report at the
next meeting If any other sums are neces-
sary. This proceeding took up nearly all
the time of three hours session. After
| the matter had been thus disposed of, the
city council appropriated $2510 for the
celebration of the glorious Fourth. The
appropriation for the New England fair
has alre ady been made.
The Montauk matter came up when
Mr.. Smith in the board of aldermen pre-
scented the order which called for the ex.
penditure of a sum not exceeding $500
by a committee of three aldermen and as
many councilmen as might be added.
| Mr.. Lamson moved that a committee OF
three be appointed to consider the advisa-
blity of carrying out the order and this
motion was put to a vote and lost.
Messrs, Lamson and Rounds voted for ii
and the other five members against it.
Lieut.. Cohen, the executive officer OF
the monitor, was asked to explain what
the order contemplated. In response he
enlightened the board as to some things
about life in the navy. He told them that
a sailor must have two white suits, a blue
shirt. a sweater, oilskins, and other arti
cles of clothing and equipment, amount
ing to about $1S man. It@ is for these
that the city is asked to pay. In addition
tbs sailor must have a pea coat which
costs about SO. 80. The cost of the outfit Of
the petty officers is somewhat more. sc
that the $3.50 would give about SIS fol
the seamen and little more for the petty
officers. Mr.. Cohen also said that the pay
of the men ranged from SIG. 80 month te
about $40, which is paid to the machin
lists. The average pay on the Montaui
woutd be about $50, with an allowance o.
80 cents day per man for rations. The
government gives the man only his ham
mock and place to sling it. 1t the men
bought their clothing of the government
they could not leave the ship until it ha6
been paid for and until they had 6
months pay due them on the books, un
less the paymaster received cash guar
antee covering these things.
When the order was put to vote it wa'
passed to 2, Messrs. Rounds and Lam
son casting the negative votes. Then Mr.
Rounds picked up the call for the meet
ing and said: II don't see nothing in the
call which calls for that to be acted or
tonight. and shall object 1t has beer
.....za.+od +o mo that n Thousand dol