The Savannah morning news., 1902-12-30
PAY FOR ALDERMEN
MAYOR MYERS WILL SUGGEST 1T IN
HIS ANNUAL REPORT.
SHOULD BE COMPENSATED.
MAYOR WILL START ON REPORT
WHEN DEPARTMENTS FINISH.

VIII show What His Administration
Has Done During the PFese mt
Year-HeaGs of Departments Busy
on Annual RepOrts-POIice Will
show an Increase in the Number
Murder - Fire Department VIII
Make a Good Showing.
Although 1902 Will not end until to-
morrow midnight. the heads of the
various city departments are busily en-
gagged on their annual reports to be
submitted to Mayor Myers next Mon
day The report of City Treasurer
Hardee will hardly be finished before
the middle of January and will be the
only belated report.
1t is likely that the clerks of most
of the departments will be at work
Sunday finishing up their reports in
time to present them to the Mayor
Monday, the day upon which all annual
reports must be filed. After the re-
ports have been gone over by Mr.. My
ers he will write his own report.
The ACCESSIBILITY of paying aldermen
for each regular meeting attended will
probably be touched on by Mayor Myers
in his report. He believes that the
members of the board are entitled to
something for their faithful service to
the city.
Mayor Myers thinks that they should
receive at least SO for every regular
meeting they attend. They are paid
l.
should receive some compensation
here. With each year the amount of
work falling upon Council increases.
Mr.. Myers has said that "only those
who have undertaken the responsible
ties of the position can appreciate the
multitudinous matters coming up for
consideration, and the time and atten-
ton that must be given to them if the
interests of the municipality, which
means the interest of every man, wom-
an and child in Savannah are to be
best served
Aldermen are backward.
Despite the fact that the Mayor and
many others think that the aldermen
are entitled to remuneration, the MEM
bers of the board have for some rea-
son persistently refused to vote them
selves a salary, or provide for those
who will follow them.
In his report the Mayor will point
to the fact that the necessities of a
growing city have rendered it impos-
sible at this time to further decrease
the tax rate. The attention of citizens
will be called to the fact that larger
expenditures are being made for bet
terments, than probably ever before,
and that the various branches of the
government are giving excellent serV-
ice. Mr.. Myers will say that street
paving and opening streets are things
that must be indorsed. Savannah has
advanced rapidly in recent years, and
a policy of continued Improvement is
bound to be wise one.
with the Police.
The report of Supt. of Police
Owen Reilly will probably show an in
crease of about $50 in the number of
arrests made. This report is a COM
phcated one and will hardly be finish
ed by Clerk Haym before the close of
the week. 1t promises to be crafty
ing and will show that the police have
been active during 1902. A total of
IL persons arrested for murder will be
shown against % for the year before.
The number of persons arrested for
the crime of murder does not show how
many homicides have occurred during
the year. however
A total of 1888 arrests were made
by the police last year and already
more than that number of arrests
have been made. it is believed. The
work of the detective force has been
particularly gratifying and ii is though
that when the record has been COM
piled it will be shown that they re-
covered more stolen property during
the present year than last. In 1901
the detectives recovered property
valued at $26,S9S.75. The arrest OF
Mamie DeCris by Detective Murphy
and the recovery of the stolen dia-
mands will help to swell this column
materially.
Very Few Fires.
There is no way at this time of
telling just what was done in the fire
department, but Supt. Maguire's re-
port for 1902 WIN compare favorably
with 1901, which was an exceptional
iy good year This is probably the
most complicated of all Of the depart
nent reports and several clerks are
kept busy compiling the figures.
During last year there was a total
of 263 fires with a loss of only $751;
1915. 1t is believed that the figures
for 1902 will not be very far from those
for the previous year. This can only
be roughly estimated and it is not
likely that the report of Supt Mcguire
will be finished before Monday.
The losses at some of the recent fires
has not yet been ascertained and not
even the. number of fires has been
counted up. This work is left for the
last. On the whole it is believed that
the fire department VIII show up well
and that there will be no criticism
he Of of