The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-04-07
MAYORS REASONS.
Street Railway Ordinance Re-
turned Unsigned.
The Ordinance, Amended to Meet the
Objections, is Immediately in
troduced Again.

Mayor Pau presided at the meeting
of the council Saturday night, and all
of the aldermen were present. The
most of the time was devoted to the
consideration of the street railway or
dinance, and the election of an assessor
went over until Wednesday evening,
when an adjourned meeting is to be
held.
The first thing done was the reading
of Mayor Pfau's message accompanying
his veto of the street railway franchise
asked by Messrs. Wilhartz, Clark and
others. The message give his reasons
for placing his veto upon the ordinance,
and was as follows:
To the Honorable Members of the Com
mon Council of the City of Mankato.
herewith return unsigned to your
honorable body the ordinance hereto at
tached, being entitled IAN ordinance
authorizing and regulating an electric
street railway, lighting, heating and
power system in the city of Mankato,
Blne Earth County, Minnesota" passed
by you on the 25th day of March, 1899.
and handed to me on Monday, the 27th
of said month
My reasons for not signing the same
and my objections to said ordinance are:
LIST. That it purports to give an ex-
elusive right and privilege to the per
sons named in the ordinance to build
and operate street railways upon all the
streets named in the ordinance, and
does not make it obligatory upon such
persons to build any thereof save and
except. three miles which they
shall build within twenty months
on such street or streets as they
may deem advisable. 1t thus
gives to the said grantees the
right to build or leaYe unbuilt,
as they may deem fit the greater portion
of such railway, thus they would pre-
vent the city from granting to any
other company or person or persons
who might ask for franchise the
privilege of building on such streets
named whether the same were occupied
by the grantees in this ordinance or
not. 1t would be in the power OF the
grantees named in the ordinance to
leave nearly all the streets mentioned
herein unproyided with a street rail
way, and prevent any being built by
others The above is my principal OBJ
lection for returning this ordinance un-
signed.
1 would further suggest that there
should be left in the city discretion
ary power to allow other roads or enter
prises of like character to build in said
city and across the tracks of the
grantees. The said ordinance should
further protect the city against loss
which might be occasioned by the con-
structing of the several improvements
named in the ordinance and the opera
ton of the same. And while | believe
it is proper as general rule to lay the
tracks of street railways in the center
of the streets, there are cases where 1t
might be better to have them laid to
one side and therefore think the coun-
Gil should reserve the right, where they
deem it advisable to have the tracks
laid at one side of the street, to compel
the company so to do, and in this con-
nection I draw the attention of the
council to Cemetery Ravine road, one
of the streets mentioned in this ordi-
nance, and ask them if they would pre-
fer to have the track laid in the center
of the road and thereby almost III avoid
ably put the city to large expense in
the matter of properly fixing and per-
haps widening said road.
Aid. Zimmerman moved that the
message be received and placed on file,
and this was carried
After some other business had been
transacted, Aid. Peterson reintroduced
the ordinance granting franchise to
the Mankato Electric Railway and
Power Co., amended so as to meet the
objections raised by Mayor Pau, ex-
cept that the franchise is to be exclu-
sive for the first six months 1t was re-
ferred to the committee on ordinances
to report during the evening.
A recess of about an hour was taken,
during which the aldermen talked the
ordinance over in Mayor Pfau's private
office.
When the council reassembled, Aid.
Zimmerman, for the ordinance COM
mittee presented favorable report
and moved that the rules be suspended
and the ordinance given its first read
ing. This was carried.
No change in the streets effected is
made, bu the council has power to
have the track placed at one side OF a
street where desired, and the city's in
terests are protected in several other
ways.
After the reading was concluded,
Aid. Zimmerman moved that the reg
ular order be taken up, and Aid.
Fowler moved that when the council
adjourn it be until next Wednesday
evening. Both motions were carried.
Other BUSINESS.