The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-03
THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN
STREET CAR LICENSING ORDI- NANCE FURTHER CONSIDERED.

ehCe SOMmNIee Salleu fOT-A fEOp0
 sition for City Ownership of Water
 yVorks-Citizens Petition to Hay,
 Back Taxes and Military Tax Collected
 --Other Business Before the Board
 The proposed ordinance for licensing
 street cars came up for more consider
 ation in the board of aldermen las
 night. This matter has been favorably
 reported upon once by the committee or ordinances, to which it was referred
 and was passed by the councilmen and tabled by the aldermen. Since its re-
 port recommending the passage of ths
 ordinance the committee has decided that the matter should be recommitted and a recommendation made for the adoption of a smaller license fee, which cannot be construed as a tax, a con- struction which would render the ordi- nance void. The board finally decided last night to adhere to its previous ac- tion and request committee on con ference which might recommend as te further action to be taken.
 Chairman Cooley of the committee on ordinances recommended that the pro- posed ordinance be recommitted to the committee and offered resolution to that effect, saying that the corporation counsel had offered an opinion in which he stated that such an ordinance em- bodying the fees recommended by the committee would be illegal.
 ~I~i tod frNy
 initial. He thought that the ordinance should be passed and it's legality then tested if need be. He said: Our duty
 is to see that we get as much from the corporations for the city as we legally can and if we don't do our duty we will have the railroad brand on us."
 Alderman Atwater, a member of the ordinance committee favored recom- initial. He said that if a license fee was fixed so high that it would be con- strued as a tax and the ordinance de- clared illegal. He thought, therefore, that for this reason the matter should be recommitted. He was not a cham pion for the railroad company, but he thought that if a reasonable fee was fixed the street railroads would pay its He thought that the committee would report an ordinance providing reason- able fee.
 Alderman Dickerman said that li- cense fee was imposed in Philadelphia and he thought that one could legally be imposed here.
 Alderman Shepard could not see why, if it was legal to license small car riers, large carriers could not be li- censed. It was done in other cities of the country and he thought that the railroad companies here should be com- pelled to pay something for the large privileges they receive.
 MT. Cooley said that the reason why recommttal was asked was that the committee might reconsider the matter and fix upon a reasonable fee which could not be construed as tax. AL derman Hall said that the state tax on street railways was in lieu of all other tax and made it impossible for the city to further tax the railways. The city could license and the legality of such action would turn on whether or not the fee would be construed as a tax or not In Massachusetts $10 had been construed as a tax and not license fee. He would not support $50 fee, which, he thought, would be construed by the supreme court as tax. He was, how ever, in favor of the imposition of nominal license fee.
 Alderman Baldwin favored recommit- tai. Alderman Wallace seconded AL derman Donovan's amendment to con cur with the councilmen. Alderman Donovan called for an aye and nay vote Ito see just how many members were tied up to the railroads body, boots and breeches.'
 An aye and nay vote was then taken on Alderman Donovan's amendment to concur In adopting the ordinance. The amendment was lost by vote of IS to 6, the members voting as follows: Ayes, Messrs. Weiss, Hyland, Donovan, Shep- ard, Wallace and Dickerman-e; nays, Messrs. Cooley, Baldwin, c. F. Brennan, Corcoran, Whitaker, Dove, Atwater, Staub, Unger, Hall, Chillngworth, Da- wis and Rose-13.
 On motion of MT. Chilhngworth it was then voted to adhere to previous action and request committee of conference. Messrs. Cooley and Atwater were ap- pointed aldermanic members of the committee.
 Alderman Shepard offered a resolution for action to be taken towards ascertaining the advisability of the city owning its own waterworks. The reso- lution provided that a commission to consist of two alderman and three coun- cilmen be appointed by the presidents of the respective boards, and two citi- zens to be appointed by the mayor, to in regard to the practicable ity and advisability of the city estab- fishing it's own waterworks by driven or tubular wells and pumping stations, located within convenient distance of the city, said commission to report to the common council all information it can obtain in regard to what other cities have done in obtaining supply of wa ter in this way, and the advantages, if any, over the old method of using sur face water; also the probable cost of establishing pumping stations and wells (not including surface pipes) sufficient y large to supply the city with an abundance of water for all purposes. This resolution was adopted and Presi- 1 lent Hogan appointed Aldermen Shep- ! ard and Davis aldermanic members of the commission. Fire Marshal Gladwin's annual re- port was received and referred to the committee on annual reports The re-