The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-08
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
A Contest About Paving the
New District.
WAS WARM FOR A TIME
Water Main Bxtensions-Day Labor to
Be Employed-Report of Expert
Rahan on the Treas
urer's Books.

pletion of the deal by which the city
acquired the water works there has
really been little business of pressing
Importance brought before the city
council Possibly that is the reason
why the words which were spoken at
the average meeting would require a
library for their presentation and the
actual performance may be jotted down
on nalf sheet of note paper; it may
also account for the development in the
council of a contentious spirit over
minor affairs which tends toward the
rapid clearance of business about as
much as daily association with a mule
TENDS toward the development of a
meek and contrite heart. The meeting
OF last night was considerably in this
line and continued well toward mid
night before adjournment, The main
light was on the question of the paving
or the new district, and about the same
features We're presented as at the meet
ing of week ago. The same property
owners and agents desired to be I'M
defstood as protesting, not against the
Improvement, but against the law, but
the issue was changed, for the council
on the later occasion fulfilled the prom
Use made in the preliminary resolution
and ordered the district paved.
The similarity to the former meeting
appeared again when the city engineer
arose with an air of detection and
wished to know whether he should pre-
pare specifications for the contract in
accordance with the resolution passed,
or something else, the Book of Ruth,
for example, and wished to know who
was going to pay for the sewer open
lngs and other such things. Alderman
WadsWorth intimated, with some as
perlty, that if the city engineer would
take the trouble to read the resolution
he might learn that all such matters
had been provided for therein and
moved that he be instructed to bring
in specifications for the approval of the
council in one week. Mr. Sweringen
got up with a show of considerable
warmth and stated that he could not
get up the papers in that time, as he
had work of more Importance. Then
he countered on the champion of paw
ing again by requesting instructions as
to what kind of block he should specify,
and apparently he was much detected
over the whole business. Alderman
Wadsworth again remarked that it
would be we'll to call for bids on about
every kind of block which common
sense would suggest as suitable and OBJ
talnable and the incident closed with
the passage of the resolution without
any investigation of the number of lots
represented by the protestants. The
slgners were Messrs. Wilt Graham
Took & Freeman, Morony Bros, Collins,
Atkinson and Wegner
The water committee recommended
that as the city had the supply of pipe
on hand the work OF making water
main extensions be done by day labor,
under the supervision of the city en-
sineer. The recommendation was
adopted by unanimous vote of the coun-
Gil. The city attorney smiled and re-
marked to a spectator that he had
grown tired of reminding the council
that they are commanded by statute
to let all work exceeding $50 in cost by
contract to the lowest responsible bid
der, but he guessed that the adoption of
the report could do no special harm.
Petitions for the extension of the
water main on the west side, for a
sewer on the north side to alleviate bad
sanitary conditions. We're read and re-
ferred to committees. The report of the
accountant employed to check the books
of the city was then read. Mr. Raban
stated that he had checked the books
of former City Treasurer Frary and
had found an error of $6667 due the city
which Mr.. Frary had since made good.
had also found an instance where a
license had been twice paid for the
same period of time and the error had
been corrected by issuing an extra Ii
cense to the firm paying twice. He
had found several errors in the books
of the police magistrate which offset
each other with the exception of $175
due the city He took occasion to
again recommend the adoption of some
system of checking this department of
the city He had found that delinquent
licenses to the amount of $257 were on
the books of the city, and gave a de-
tailed statement of such licenses. Most
of them were due from professional
men, and the audience were again re-
minded for the ninth time that the city
license closely resembles the passing of
the hat in a church congrega tion-each
man pays just about what he thinks
is right. The report was adopted.
The judiciary committe introduced an
ordinance creating disability fund for
firemen of the paid department provid-
ing that to such fund should be passed
all amounts obtained by the taxation
of fire insurance companies and also
any gifts made to individual tiremen
for extraordinary courage or ability in
their line of duty. This was laid over
for one meeting. A second ordinance.
same practically as that presented at
last weeks meeting, was read and
passed. 1t amends the license ordin-
ance so that the present opera house
shall pay the nominal license of 81 per
month; any opera or concert singer
using any other building shall pay So
(no statement whether for one month
or one performance; any minstrel or
legerdemain or any other show not
otherwise specified, which shall not rent
the opera house, shall pay the sum of
SIS for each performance. AS the pro-
prietor of a steam laundry is forced to
pay SIS per month, of a feed stable So. 80
per month, it is evident that the coun-
Gil is keeping the promise, expressed
some time ago, of assisting the lessees
of the opera house to make their bust
ness a profit. However, as for the past
two years the lessees of the opera house
have not paid one cent on their license
tI1o1,g linn Of thnt ,NnltE
collection will result in a smaller loss
to the city, from a Hibernian stand
point.
After a long and wearisome discus
sion of the fire department, which re-
suited in no action, the council adopted
the report of the auditing committee
on the monthly claims against the city
and finally adjourned.
------------ns--
Wagner-Wegner.
Great Falls, June This evening at
the home of the brides parents. Ed. w.
Tan md II