The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-08-19
BAD OUTLOOK FOR
NORTH END PAVE
GLARING IRREGULARITIES IN
ITS EARLY LEGISLATION.
The Necessary hree-Fourths Was
Not Recorded for the Ordinance II
Common Council-Law Requiring
the Ordinance to Be Publishe3.,
Was Not Strictly Followed-City Il
Liable to the Contractor for Heavy
Damages,
Damages.

If ex-City Solicitor /. II. Burns views
go for aught, and they are being ac-
cepted just at present with unceasing
regularity by the local courts, the
Providence road paving contract Is null
and void. Not alone or principally be-
cause of the assessment being irregu-
lar as Judge Archbald's opinion in the
Mulberry street case would indicate,
but for the reason that the Legislation
leading up to awarding of the contract
is teeming with fatal Irregularities
1t will be remembered the improve
ment was ordered without the consent
of the property holders, the Act of 1889
and the supplanting Act of 1895 giving
councils authority to do this. Under
the Act of 1889 a two-thirds vote of
councils Is required to make the ordin-
ance effective. but under the Act of
1895 threc-fourths vote is demanded.
Either through neglect or ignorance of
the requirements Of this later act COM
mon council recorded the paving ordin-
ance as approved with only fifteen
votes in its favor. Fifteen is Just a
fraction less than three-fourths of
twenty-one, but it is enough to defeat
the ordinance and knock the whole i'm
provement into a cooked hat, so Mr..
Burns holds.
AMENDMENTS LACKING.
Another defect is that the law re-
quiring the ordinance to be published
was not strictly complied with. The
ordinance was published within the
prescribed thirty days, but it was pub
lished as introduced and with no ac-
count of the amendment, consequently
the ordinance, as passed. which, of
course, is the real ordinance was new
er published
Mr. Burns also says that in the mat
ter of submitting the choice of pave to
vote or the property holders another
lrreSularlty was committed The law
dlrectS that after council orders the
Improvement, it shall submit the uues-
ton of the style of pave to the prop
erty holders Instead of doing this,
Mr.. Burns AYERS, councils took as the
census of the property holders the vote
as shown by the old petition that was
circulated for signers and votes on the
klnd OF pave, but which never came
before council because it lacked a suf-
hcient number of signatures. This pa
per- Mr.. Burns says, has disappeared
Acting for the objecting property
holders, Mr.. Burns and Hon. John p.
Kelly Will move in the course Of a few
days for an injunction restraining the
contractor from proceeding with the
work, and then move to have the whole
Improvement annulled on the grounds
outlined above.
CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS.
They are confident of being able to
knock out the improvement If they
90 II likely means a nice lot of dead
horse for the city.
contractor Mcdonald has already
given out sub-contracts for curbing.
unber, cement, brick and crushed
stone. The sub-contractors can and no
uoupt VIII hold him to make the con-
tracts good and he in turn, can and
OF certainty will hold the CITY. the
contract having been signed, sealed
and delivered.