The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-20
DISPUTES
COUNTY ATTORNEY
Clash Between Kane and COM
missioner Enliven Session
of the Board.

The clash between County Attorney
Kane and County Commissioner Pow
ers occupied the time of the board of
county commissioners during the
greater part of the session yesterday
morning, the argument being upon the
right of the county to expend money
from the county road fund in repairing
what are known as town roads. County
Attorney Kane held that the town COM
missioners should look after the town
roads and that the county had no au-
thority to eXpend money for road re-
pairs upon anything except county
roads. Mr.. Powers had a different
view of the matter, and for a time the
argument was quite interesting.
The trouble started when Mr.. Pow
ers proposed repairs for Rice street,
from Minneapolis avenue north to the
end of the improved road. The bids
for this work, opened two weeks ago,
called for an expenditure of about $500.
1T is not the duty of the county to
pay for these repairs" said Mr.. Kane.
They should be paid for by Rose
town; the county has already expend-
ed enough in helping out the different
townships in repairing their roads"
Powers Calls 1t Backwoods Policy.
"It may be the duty of the town su-
pervisors to pay for this work. adj
mitted Mr.. Powers, but you cannot
compel them to do so. Over in Henne-
pin county the county cares for all Of
the roads. l am tired of this back
woods policy and think the county
should look after the roads. The mer-
chants demand that they be kept in
good repair and it is to the interest of
st. Paul to see that they are kept up"
1.-THE county has already put $4,000
into the roads in your township" said
County Attorney Kane.
This statement aroused the ire of
commissioner Powers and he was on
his feet in an instant.
That is not So" declared Mr.. Pow
ers They have not put that amount
there, nor half of it. 1 am getting tired
of hearing you doubling and trebling
that amount. There is no use in telling
such tales when the records will show
different"
Get the contracts and look the mat
ter up" said Mr.. Kane.
At this point Commissioner Wright
attempted to secure a compromise by
securing an appropriation of 500 for
the repairs on Rice street, but the ma
jority Of the board was against the
compromise and the repairs will not be
made at present.
Commissioner Nash secured an ap-
preparation of an additional 500 for
ISpdIIILl5 Tie DdlS street ROAD the
detention hospital, and the money will
go to the subcontractor, who will do
the work according to the ideas Of
Commissioner Nash.
Potteieser Threatens Injunction.
This method of doing business did
not appeal to Commissioner Pottgieser,
who objected to what he termed an ir-
regular method of proceeding and he
declared he would get out an injunc-
ton restraining the county from doing
the work.
Bids were opened and contracts
awarded as follows:
Potter road grading, from Saltwater
road to Minnehaha-
Z: Pefson :...................$26 $3.50 90
Murphy & Garrick ............... 259. so
Award to Murphy & Garrick
Minneapolis avenue grading, from Nc
Menemy to Rice street
q q: hohn ..;...:.............. $3.50 90
Murphy q Garrick ................ $50 90
4. "A. Boyd .....s... ................ 64S. so
Laid over to next meeting.
Cleveland avenue grading, from
Commonwealth avenue to Longford,
awarded to Murphy & Garrick, 1910.
The road and bridge committee re-
ported that it had inspected the prog
ress of the work on the artesian wells
at White Bear and found the work sat-
isfactory. One we'll is now 120 feet
down.
The board will meet again next Mon
day to take up matters which were not
finally disposed of at yesterdays ses-
sion.