The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1900-03-08
MAY NEVER COME Up
Opinion of the City Attorney and Street
Railway Men in Regard to the
Franchise Cause Trouble.
Of ORDERED PUBLISHED.
NOT

Haynes and Clauson say That the City
ATTORNEY das Not Interpreted the Law
Properly, and it Is Not Thought That
the Ordinance Will be Published Until
After the Council Takes Some Action on
It.-Bohmrich Stands Firm.
From present indications it seems
that the city council will not be called
TO pass upon the merits of the Haynes
C1auson stteet railway ordinance, for
by the action of the city attorney at
the meeting of the council Monday
evening it seems thats a legal contro-
.versy has been started which will seri-
ous1y delay the plans of the wou1d-be
street railway magnates.
At the meeting, the city attorney
made the statement that the ordinance
could not be received or have any Off
cia1 position in the hands of the city
council until after it had gbeen0pub-
1ished for two weeks as demanded by
the state law. This Interpretation of
of the law was new to the franchise
hunters and they have refused to &C
cept the opinion of the city attorney.
On account of this controversy it is
announced that the promoters have re-
fused to have the ordinance published
and will wait aud present it as second
time at some future meeting of the
council.
OF course the council refused to take
any action in regard to the matter on
Monday evening, but it was under
stood that the promoters were to pub
1ish the ordinance at their own cost
for the perusa1 of the public. This they
have refused to do, as they claim that
the document must first be accepted by
the council and then ordered published.
If the City attorney holds to his inter
probation of the law and insists that
the ordinance be pub1ised before the
council take official notice of it, it will
probably result in the ordinance being
withdrawn.
This seems to be an easy solution of
the whole matter. It is not the kind
OF ordinance sought by the people of
the city and the common council would
lightit would be just as we'll for the
promoters to save the expense of pub
LEGATION and wait until they can pre-
sent an ordinance which will in some
manner meet the demands of the peo-
pie of Kenosha. At any rate the pre-
senting of the ordinance is inoppor-
tune. It would be positively impossi-
bic for the present council to pass the
ordinance as their terms of office will
run out before the time comes for The
vote on it.
The ordinance and gifts provisions
have awakened little discussion among
the people. Several people were asked
today to express an opinion of the
matter, but they stated, without ex-
'ception, that it was not worthy of con-
sideration.
The alleged local line, which the or
dinance calls for, has been the cause of
a great deal of joking at the expense
of the promoters. That Kenosha is
easy may be a fact, but she is too old a
bird in the franchise business to be
caught with such chaf.
Again it is stated that the ordinance
could never be,legal, onSaccount Of the
fact that one of theSgreat concessions
made to the city permitting the police
to ride free, is a direct violation of the
anti-pass law. The city attorney states
that this alone is sufficient toinva1idate
it if it were passed.
But the ordinance has done one thing
It has manageable awaken the resi-
dents of Ashland avenue to activity
and one of them said yesterday that
the people down that way were getting
out their guns and if the railway came
down that street they would pay for the
right Of way by paving it from curb to
curb.