The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-11
CITY CAN SAVE MONEY
BY COMBINING THE POLICE WITH
THE FIRE ALARM
SYSTEM
SENTIMENT IN ITS FAVOR

Su~Ject discussed aV u Meeting OF
the Conference Committee -
Comptroller McCardy Also Points
Out Way to Obviate the Pro-
posed Expenditure of $4,000
for a New System
The question of the purchase Of a new
police alarm system for the police de.
partment was brought up at meeting
of the conference committee yesterday
afternoon by communication from
Comptroller McCardy. President Clark
Of the fire board, declared that the fire
department could take charge of the
police alarm system and he ventured the
opinion that. with $4,000 a new police
alarm system could be purchased and
Installed in connection with the fire
alarm system. 1t was absurd, In his
opinion, to have two high-priced men,
one as superintendent of the fire alarm
system and another as superintendent of
the police alarm system. The superin.
tendent of the fire alarm, with the as
sistance Of two men at $50 per month
could manage the police alarm system
providing it was brought into the quar-,
tiers now occupied by the fire alarm sys,
tenn.
President Whelock, of the park board
said the matter has been discussed soma
years ago, if he remembered rightly.
President Clark said it had been three
years ago and it was turned down
against his protest
What was the reason it was turned
DOWN. inquired Mr.. Wheelock.
Politics." replied Mr.. Clark
A committee of three from the confer.
ence committee was appointed to inVes
dgate, and Mayor Kiefer announced that
he would take a day to consider the
names Of the committee. Electrical In
spector Varnum. of the fire department
and Gustave Willius Jr. were added to
the committee.
The communication presented by Comp
troller McCardy suggested the following
matters could be taken up. by the con-
ference committee and considered with
benefit to the citizens as well as the
committee. His suggestions were as
follows:
CARE OF THE STREETS.
All parties doing business with the
city Which requires digging up the streets
should be made to understand that the
rights of the public, particularly that
part OF the public who pay for the street
improvements, have not been given up.
No one should be allowed to do any work
on the streets whatever until the con-
tract is finally approved and counter
signed and the resolutions and ordinaces
published 1t is not permitted to be done
IN any other city. The street railway
company lays its track, Irrespective of
the order of the council, wherever it
cares. to- An instance may be cited in
the Cedar street loop, which was laid on
part of the street entirely different
from the terms of the permission given
by the council, and an excuse is offered
that tn mn doing tn work mad mis-
take. But why was the work done on
Sunday, when the courts We're closed?
1t will be observed that the company
has not removed the track where it was
thHs laid by mistake. Whatever is done
in these matters seems to be always on
the cOmpany'S side. 1t finds it not con-
venient to pave its part of Seventh street
and asks for delay, and did delay much
to the inconvenience of the travelling pub
lie on that street. There is no great
haste exhibited by the same company in
paying 1928 So which it now owes to
streets last winter. The people have
right to protection from the ruthless
manner in which costly street improve
ments are destroyed by railway, telephone,
gas, water and sewer contractors, and
the city government ought to take a very
decided stand on these matters. About
the only way TO Go II Is LnaL the CITY 90
the repair work and present expense bills
to the; interested parties.
- REPAIR PLANT. .@e -s-g
In this connection it may be the right
time to ask whether the city should not
do its own contract work and its own
repairing. Some cities smaller than ours
have their own repairing plants for paw
ing, sidewalk, etc, and successfully OPP
crate them We need only refer to the
work done by our park board as to their
In building a oVyi7nnrn
of what we can do if we try. We may
not have the required legal power, but
that can be had when we go after it.
Look at the bids recently made to this
city for a police alarm and telephone
system. the bids being $2S,790, $23875 and
s12,250 respectively. Practically all of the
parts on these systems worth having can
be purchased in open market. We have
citizens here who are expert electricians;
therefore 1 venture to say that were we
to employ such man and place $4,000
at his disposal we could obtain a salts
factory police alarm system and save
money besides.
CITY SHOULD DO 1T.
President Pottgieser, Of the board of
public works, agreed with the comptrol-
Ter that money could be saved by having
the streets repaired by a force of men
employed by the city. AS it was now
the streets were not repaired. He called
attention to st. Peter street, Seventh
and Fifth streets, and also the paving
on Kent, Arundel and Western and Nina
avenues on the hill. The Warren-Scharff
company had been asked by the board Of
public works to resurface $3.50 square
yards of the pavement on the four streets
on the hill, but were only willing to re-
surface 1900 square yards, and the COM
pany also wanted to be released from
the terms of the contract which required
it to keep the streets in good condition
for the second term of ten years at nine
cents per square yard. HenneSsey &c
Cox, the president of the board of public
works said, had been directed TO put St.
Peter street in a good condition, but had
not done so. If the city had a repair
force of it's own the contractors would
not have to be depended on.
Comptroller McCardy said the city
could get rid of a lot of poor asphalt
pavement in the future by laying good
brick paVementS.
City Engineer Rundlett explained that
the contractors had advised him that ow-
ing to the strike at Buffalo 1t had been
impossible to get asphalt to make the
necessary repairs As soon as the as
phalt could be obtained the repairs would
be made.
The matter Of requiring private con-
tractors who laid sidewalks to pay for
the inspection of the same was discussed.
As it is now the city contractor is re-
quired to pay for the inspection and pri-
vate contractors, as an inducemeut to Sc
cure work, announce that they do the
work without the cost Of inspection. An
ordinance will be introduced at the next
meeting of the council requiring private
contractors when they take out side
walk permit to pay 81 for the inspection
fee.
President Zimmerman was questioned
as to how much Of the one and half