Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-08-02
COUNCIL DETERMINED TO ADOPT
MEASURES TO THIS END.
IMMEDIATE STEPS TO BE TAKEN
Ordnance Providing for Appoint
ment of n Book-Kecper in City En-
sineer's Department Passed-s6,5O0
Appropriated for the New Sewers.

o ~ eAO hANC4AAo "
the water supplied to the citizens 70
drinking purposes. There were two reso
lutions to this end; one was referred L
the Water Committee and the other pro
vided for an immediate remedy.
Quito a lengthy debate was brough
about by the introduction of an ordinance
providing for the addition Of a book
keeper and accountant to the City En-.
gineer's force. 1t was subsequently
adopted.
The Council did not stand on ceremony
with the sewer difficulty, and the reso-
luton that came from the Committee
on Streets that $500 should be appro-
priated to meet the expense of building
the new sewers on Cary and Twelfth
streets was adopted without discussion.
A resolution was introduced to reduce the
price OF water by meter to 25 cents per
thousand feet, and many matters Of
minor interest were disposed of.
When the Council was called 10 order
the following members were present.:
Messrs. Caskie President). Blanks,
Bloomberg, Camp. Cottrell, Curtis. Ebel,
Ferguson, Gibson. Grimes, Gunst, Har-
relson, Heeke, Hobson, Mccarthy. Miner,
Peters, Shea, Tanner, Teefey, West, Will
liams, Winston, and Woody.
STREET IMPROVEMENTS.
Resolutions from the Street Committee
were adopted. as follows: Appropriating
500 for granite curbing on the north side
of Jackson street between First and Sc
cond; ap~propriating $61 for paving Louis
lana street between Fifth and Sixth:
granting permission to the Founding
Hospital, situated on Thirty-second and
Marshall streets, to connect with the city's
sewer upon certain conditions: ordering
the payment of certain employees for loss
of time through injury sustained in the
city's service; authorizing the committee
to hear allegations for numerous sewers
and other improvements.
The Council unanimously approved the
action Of the Street Committee and Of the
chairman of that committee and the City
Engineer in dealing with the emergency
hat arose through the collapse of the old
stone sewer. Their action In ordering the
building of new sewers along Cary and
Twelfth streets was also ratified. With
out a single dissenting vote IN without
debate the Council then adopted a resolu-
ton appropriatlng $500 to the sewer fund
TO complete the above work.
BOOK-KEEPER AND ACCOUNTANT.
From the Committee on Finance came
an ordinance providing for the appoint
ment of a book-keeper and accountant TO
the City Engineers office. The said book
keeper is to be nominated by the City
Engineer and elected by the Committee
81, 900. The duties of the clerk are clearly
and competence is, of course, a
sine quo non. The accountant is to give
bond in the sum of $1,000.
When the ordinance had been read Mr..
said he had voted for the ordi-
lance in committee, but he had heard it
10 strongly criticised that he was now OPP
POSED to 1t. He moved that the paper be
eferred to the Retrenchment and Reform
Mr.. Cottrell opposed this course, n
-sked that the City Accountant should be
leard.
Mr.. Gunst opposed the ordinance.
Mr.. Bloomberg said the ordinance had
'een considered by four committees at
Inherent times. He detailed the course
ordinance had followed in the last
when 1t passed three committees
md the Common Council, and did not
ass the Board of Aldermen because it
vas presented at the end of the last ses-
ion.
No NEED FOR 1T. .
In reply to MI. Bloomberg, Mr.. Gunst Z
tated that the accounts of the Grounds {
Buildings Committee were not so 2
'ery heavy that they required additional >
lerical force to take care of them. r
Mr.. Bloomberg, continuing, emphasized ]
ne needs of a book-keeper in the City c
Engineers office. The work of the Street r
apartment and James-River Improve A
tent had accumulated to a very conside-
able extent. he econded Mr.. Cot
ellis motion that the City Accountant
lould be heard.
Mr.. Gum urged the committaI Of the
'dinance to the Retrenchment and Re-
Committee. He was not opposed to IL
lie creation OF this position, he said, but o
, thought nothing would be lost by z
'stponing the passage Of the ordinance D
i a month. {
VIEWS OF CITY ACCOUNTANT. y
Mr.. Ebel made a strong plea for the q
'dinance, on the ground OF absolute ne -
sslty. After some further debate Mr..
)ttrelPs motion was carried. and Ny
cCarthy' the City Accountant, was
ard on the subject. He said the state
affairs in the department was really ID
.plorable, and If a book-keeper straight
ed out the counts so that the amounts
to the credit OF the committee
uld be readily ascertained, the proposed m
larry would be we'll earned. tc
There are, he continued. no accounts Is
between the city and the contractors. 4,
addition to the bookkeeping there is :,
amount OF correspondence 10 claim VI
g attention of the b~ook-keeper. and in W
'minable difficulty about the allegations ia
SPOKE at length on the duties that 4,
'uld fall TO the lot Of the clerk. The ut
iole system Of pay-rolls, he said. needed as
'lsion. The way they were conducted =,
to really criminal negligence.
d II the city were as corrupt as some 81
stern cities the present system would ia
nit endless jobs. At one time IL was an
'tomary for men to make their mark !
IN the payroll. this being witnessed by ag
clerk who paid the money. and the %
plain of Police signed the payroll for trt
their subordinates. Mr.. Harrelson's !
ton to recommit to the Committee ON ap
t~renchment and Reform was lost by a We
majority. pc
WOULD NOT AMEND 1T.
II. West moved to amend the ordinance o.,
striking out those words which pro- gu
e Tor the nomination of the candidate ser
the City Engineer. he
Bloomberg opposed the amendment m,
the ground that ward influence would ar,
tate against the election of a tho mr.
shly competent man. Colonel Cutshaw gro
absolutely fearless, and would choose viii
a man who was thoroughly compe- a
HARRISON thought. as the CITY En- of