The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-10
COUNCIL IGNORED IT
CONFERENCE Committees REC
CONCENTRATION ABOUT A NEW
POLICE ALARM
ADVICE Is PIGEoNHoLED
Assem- l lyman Dix Explained the
Trouble to BE That In a Consolf-
dattOn There Would Be Fewer
own Repairing of Wooden Pave
ments. t1EE

The conference committee at its meet
Ing yesterday took another whirl at the
police alarm system. Some weeks ago the
committee had City Electrician Varnum
prepare report as to the necessity Of
putting In new police alarm system. Mr..
Earnum recommended the putting in Of
a system which would cost about Sill 900.
and using part sef the present plant
The conference committee adopted the
suggestion, and sent a resolution to the
council recommending that the police
alarm and fire alarm systems be CONSOLE
dated. The resolution went to the COM
m1ttee on police Of the board of alder
men, and has been resting in the pigeon
hole since. The assembly committee on
streets ordered Supt. King, of the police
alarm. to prepare specifications, and at
the last meeting of the assembly a resolu-
ton was passed directing the city clerk
to advertise for bids under the specifica-
lions prepared by Mr.. King
Mayor Kiefer called the attention Of
the conference committee to the action of
the council, and queried If the committee
could do anything to prevent a much
larger expenditure than the conference
committee had recommended.
Aid. Sanborn didn't see how the COM
mittee could do anything. The recon-
mendations had been sent to the council,
and it rested with that body.
President Clark, of. the fire board, said
he understood that the specificat lions pre-
pared by Supt. King would result in hav-
ing much more costly plant, and one
not as desirable as that under the Var
nun; specifications. Assemblyman Dix
said there was no doubt but that a new
system was needed in the police depart
ment, but under the specifications drawn
by Supt. King it would cost about $4,000,
and he was sure the assembly would not
agree to any such expenditure, at least
this year. The trouble with the recon-
mendat1on Of the conference committee
in the matter was that provision was
made for consolidation under one head
of the police and firm alarm systems, and
this would mean the dropping of several
officials In
President Zimmerman, Of the school
board. offered a resolution which was
adopted, requesting City Electrician Var
mum, City Engineer Claussen and Supt.
King, of the police alarm, to prepare spe-
cifications based on the report of Mr..
Varnum for system, the same to be in
stalled in the basement of the city hail.
The feport~fs to be submitted at the next
2naeeting of the conference committee.
City Engineer Claussen, President Pott-
gieser, Of the board of public works, and
President Dix, of the assembly, to whom
as a special committee, was referred the
question of hayipg the city do it's own
repairing Of wooden payements and main
/, tain repair shop, submitted the following
report: T.
The repairs on. cedar block paving, now
being done undeG CONTRACT, are estimated
general repairs 10. snow plows. wooden
rollers. !scrapeE machines, street sweep
ers, hand carts, wheebarrows and tools
concerns! and billed. to- the city, are esti-
tai tai $4,000. '
After. carefully Investigating the mat
would undertake to do the work outlined
above by doing it's own repairing, both to
cedar block paving and general repairs,
a saving of 20 per cent could be effected.
We, therefore, recommend that such
steps be taken as will insure to the city
the saving above referred to- and the
paying the year $500 be- done by the
city direct and not let by contract.
As The city doing its own repairing
Of asphalt streets; we find that to, insure
the best results it, is advisable to let this
work BY contract in the. same manner
as has been done heretofore, and until
such time as the asphalt streets will be
freed from the guarantee under which
most of them are repaired at the present
time. After the guarantee has expired 1t
will probably be to the advantage of the
city to install a plant for the repairing
ssof asphalt streets.
President Pottgieser Informed the COM
>1nittee that if it was considered advisable
to have the city do its own repairing the
board Of public works and city engineer
could have the suggestions carried out
without the council being called on to
take any hand in the matter. The COM
mittee decided that if the amount men
toned by the special committee could be
saved it was advisable to- do so, and the
board Of public works and city engineer
were instructed to take steps to have the
amount saved next year.