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

Comptroller McCardy Also Points
posed Expenditure of $4,000
for New System.
The question of the purchase of new
police alarm system for the police de.
partment was brought up at a 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 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 systere
providing it was brought into the guar,
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 1t 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
committee of three from the confer
ence committee was appointed to inVeS-
tigate, and Mayor Eiefer announced that
he would take a day to consider the
names Of the committee. Electrical Ina
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 or the public, particularly that
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 II
cares to- An instance may be cited in
the Cedar street loop, which was laid on
part of the street entirely different
II IF CSiO OF ron
by the council, and an excuse is offered
that tn mn doing tn work mad a mis-
take; But why was the work done on
Sunday, when the courts were closed?
1t will be observed that the company
has not removed the track where it was
thns laid by mistake. Whatever is done
the company's side. 1t finds it not con-
venient to pave it's part of Seventh street
and asks for delay, and did delay much
to the inconvenience of the travelling pub
haste exhibited by the same company in
paying 1928. 35 which 1T now owes to
this city for. cleaning snow from the
right to protection from the ruthless
manner in which costly street improve
ments are destroyed by railway, telephone,
gas water and sewer contractors, and
b the city government ought to take very
decided stand on these matters About
the only. way to do it is that the city do
the repair work and present expense bills
to the interested parties.
REPAIR PLANT. -
In this connection it may be the right
time to ask whether the city should not
do It's 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
success In road building as an evidence
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, $50, $23.875 and
S12,250 respectively. Practically all Of the
be purchased in open market. We have
citizens here who are expert electricians;
therefore l 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 $500 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
1t to keep the streets in good condition
for the second term of ten years at nine
cents per square yard. Hennessey &
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 its 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 inducement 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 a half
mill tax was to be used in the payment
of an increase in salaries or teachers and