The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-08
TO LOOK INTO GRAVEL PAVING.
Dull street Property Owners Want
Bills Investigated.

Bills Investigated.
The Bull street property owners viii pc
tition the City Council, at its next meet
ing, to reduce the paving assessments re-
Gently passed for collection. There IS
much dlssa4isfacton over the paving. and
the probability is the city will have to
make concessions. or contend with 2
large number of citizens unwilling 10 pay
the bills they have just received.
Pursuant to a call issued some days ago
to property owners. there was a fair-sized
representation at Mr.. w, T. Belford's
residence. corner OF Bull and Second
streets. 1t may be said some Of those rep
resenting the largest holdings in the
southern section were present, and during
the discussions some of the bad features
Of the Bull street work were ventilated
and commented upon
Mr.. Charles f. Prendergast was made
chairman of the meeting, and Mr. N. A.
Morrissey was chosen secretary. After
the object of the meeting had been stat
ed, IL was evident there was no intention
of locking horns with Council unless it
was the alternative in getting relief from
the unjust burdens il is claimed have been
put on the taxpayers by the Bull street
paving work 1t was the sense of all
present that a petition should be sent to
Council, asking that accuracy of the paw
ing bills be thoroughly investigated, that
the cost of material be inquired into for
the purpose of seeing whether the city
had not paid more than il should have
paid. This committee consists of Mr.. Prem
dergast, Mr.. Morrissey and Mr.. j. H.
Richter. They will draw the petition to-
day, so that it will be in readiness to
present to Council at its meeting to-mor-
row night. 1t is stated the committee
will present the petition in person, mainly
for the purpose Of explaining their posi-
ton.
That the property owners consider the
paving botch is fully evidenced from as
sertions some OF them made after the
meeting. One man said he desired to know
if the work could not have been done much
cheaper il it had been turn
ed over to contractors. AS
specimen of the bad features OF the
work, he declared that he knew of a re-
cent instance when eight convcts I'M
loaded a carload of gravel soil in six
teen minutes; but ne said it took nine
teen men employed by the city in tho
Bull street work three hours and thirty
six minutes to unload a car This was
merely a specimen, he said, going to show
mismanagemen
Another property owner stated the tenn
porary railroad track from the Savannah,
Florida and Western road 10 New Hous-
ton street, over which the gravel was
hauled, was unnecessarily moved several
times, which added considerable expense.
Whether this moving of the track was
necessary, is a thing the property own
ers say they want explained Another
man was worried over the high price paid
for Old crossties, which We're put in the
bills as lumber" Another said the en-
CINE was fired up day after day, and the
men paid to run il. when it was not used
at all. Soil was carted from the street in
grading and used in grading other streets.
The property owners would like TO know
If the labor In grading other streets was
charged In their paving bills.
The consensus of opinion of those present
was that there had been mismanag cement.
While they feel they deserve concessions
from the city, they do not intend to de-
mand them. They win merely lay their
grievances before the aldermen, In the
hope of getting the bills reduced. If those
directly in charge of The work have erred
egregiously In selecting Liberty county
gravel, which the property owners declare
is not satisfactory, they claim they should
not be called on to bear the expense of the
experiment. And if the work has not been
properly managed, in consequence of
which the expense has been unnecessarily
increased, they say the city should not
expect them to pay it.
'Our main purpose is to have the cor
RICHNESS of the bills investigated" said
Mr.. Prendergast. THE committee will ask
Council to look into this. We are not in
tending 10 ask ii peremptoriiy however,
but to first convince the board we have
reason for an investigation, then cooper
ate with them in making it, If there have
been blundeTs in management, and if we
are charged for gravel that should be
highly superior TO what we have, then
we think there is reason for making con-
cessions The direct object of this meet
ing was for the purpose of laying plans to
formally confer with the City Council We
hope to appear before Council with the pc
tiion tomorrow night"
Unless Council makes some kind of con-
cessions in regard to the bills, it is stated
the climax to the dissatisfaction will be
an injunction suit to prevent collection of
the assessments. II is understood the prop
erty owners either want a reduction of
the bills, or an extension of the time in
which to pay them. If both are denied, then
it is said concerted action of some kind
may be taken.
BIDS FOR ARMY HOSPITAL.