The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-23
Desk Sergeant Emery's Request Re-
ceives Favorable Consideration.
WILL co TO THE MAYOR
BETTER PROTECTION AT TIE
RAILROAD CROSSINGS.
The Proposition to Construct Water
measuring Weirs-City Engineer
Kelsey Gives an Estimate of the
Cost-Improvements For Pioneer
Park-Claims TO Be Paid.


Whether. in order to afford better
protection to the lives and limbs of
pedestrians and transfers who have
occasion to cross the railroad tracks on
any Of the streets from First North
street to Third or Fourth South streets.
to compel the railroad companies to
construct viaducts, to lower their main
tracks twenty-one feet below the sur
face. or to maintain automatic DROP
guards, was the problem confronting
the city council committee on streets
last evening. with the city attorney
and city engineer associated. To sink
the tracks below water, as suggested,
would require a 2 per cent grade for
a thousand feet, while thirty-foot wide
Viaducts, with $50 feet of approaches
on Z per cent grades, would cost $4,000
for each street. A diversity of opinion
was expressed by the members of the
committee. AS a legal proposition, 1t
was contended by one that the city is
poWerless to require the companies to
do anything. City Attorney Hall sug-
gested. as a measure of economy to the
railroads. that the main tracks have
fence guards, the companies to employ
Tatchmen at the crossings, and to be
compelled to abandon surplus switches.
No decision was reached, other than an
agreement to reaSSemble at 10 a. m. on
Monday, at the Oregon Short Line pas
senger station, to confer with Superin-
tendent Young and Chief Engineer
O'Melveney, and to look over the
ground where it is dangerous for any
one to attempt to cross the many
tracks.
The street committee agreed to rec
ommend the acceptance of D. E. Full
mer's bid at the rate of cents a square
foot for roughening slippery cement
sidewalk pavement, and also ratif1ca-
ton of the supplemental contract with
A. L. Hobson relative to the special
guarantee for satisfactory wear of the
West Second South street asphalt pave
ment.
SERGEANT EMERY'S PROTEST.
The merits of Desk Sergeant David S.
Emery's protest against Chief Pratt's
retention of his salary for November.
and denial of his request that his
brother S. F. Emery, be allowed. to
substitute for him on division of sal
airy until he RECEIVERS his health. was
canvassed by the police committee and
City Attorney Hall. By a vote of 3 TO
1. Councilman Buckle dissenting as to
the method of allowing substitution. II
was agreed to recommend TO <;le coun-
ell the allowance of the sergeant's No
Vember salary, and that Mr.. Emery'S
brother be recommended to the mayor
for appointment as his substitute dur
ing his sickness, or, at the pleasure OF
the appointing and confirming power.
the substitute to give bond. as was re-
CURED of the disabled serzeail.
Action on the petitions of H. F. Ev-
ans and James Hegney and others for
additional police protection on the west
side, was deferred another week.
THE WATER QUESTION.
It was brought out before the com
mttees on waterworks and irrigation
that the canal companies and others
having joint interests in the Jordan
river water from Utah lake are ayerse
to uniting with the city in the expense
OF constructing measuring weirs, for
the alleged reason that an accurate
distribution of water might mean a loss
to them. No further action on this
point was taken, pending a definite re-
ply from the canal companies. How
ever, all the committeeman agreed that
II was highly necessary the city should
have permanent Weirs placed in all
streams to determine whether the
municipality is receiving it's share of
waters and to prevent unequal divi-
slons, by ditchfuls, to the city's detri-
ment City Engineer Kelsey gave a
rough guess at the cost Of weirs, but
pending a report from him on the ex-
pense and the number OF weirs needed
in Parley's and the other canyon
streams from which the city derives
water supply, no action will be recon-
mended to the council.
PIONEER PApK