The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-06-24
COUNCIL MoDlFIEs ORDER RE-
GARDlNG CEMENT WALK.
BETTER PAY FOR OFFICERS
Readjustment Made by Which Several
Salaries Are Raised-Miscel-
Ianeous Matters.

ultimately cement sidewalk
will he constructed on the east side
of North Twenty-seventh street, be-
tween First and Second avenues, am
Pile time will intervene between now
and the date fixed by the city council
when it must be completed. A little
more than a year has been granted
the owners of the property affected,
by which time it is believed the new
court house will be finished and the
need for such convenience more
urgent than at present. This was
brought about at Tuesday evenings
meeting of the council.
Give Their Reasons.
In response to notice given them
L. H. Fenske, e. H. Becker and SUI
perintendent Buford of the Rocky
Mountain Bell Telephone company
made personal appearance before the
council to state their reasons why
they should not comply with the order
of the council for the construction
of a cement walk in front of their
property Mrs. D. M. Parker, another,
sent a written communication in
which she stated why compliance
should not be insisted upon at present
and announced that if the council in
sisted upon walk of that kind in
front of her ground now it would have
to be built at it's own cost.
Mr.. Becker said he intended to
build permanent walk in front of
the Gazette block and have it COM
pleted in time for those using the
new court house, which he thought
was soon enough. Furthermore, he
said, he was going to excavate for a
cellar under the building and the
walk, if contracted now would inter-
fere with the work. Mr.. Buford also
said that it would be hardship upon
his company to be compelled to build
a permanent walk at this time. The
company had arranged to put up a
building and to do this good deal
of excavating would have to be done
and a cement walk would be in the
way. Before winter the cellar would
be dug and then the company would
be prepared to put down any kind of
a walk the council saw fit to order.
Mr.. Fenske thought that when the
court house was finished cement
walk on the east side of Twenty-sev.
enth street would be desirable inn
provement, but until then the present
walk would answer all purposes. He
saw no necessity for any other walk
until that time.
Further Time Granted.
Some discussion followed the pro-
tests. Alderman Bennighoff was op.
posed to any recession by the council
from it's former action. Mayor Fos-
ter was inclined to be conciliatory and
thought that the proper thing would
be for the council to modify it's re-
cent order and give the property own
ers at least year in which to make
the proposed improvement.
This brought out motion from
Mr.. Bennighoff that May 1, 1905, be
the date when the walk would have
to be completed His motion failed
of a second -,
Alderman Williams then moved
that the date for completion of the
much discussed walk be fixed at July
1, 1905. This motion received the
second of Alderman Grein and pre-
vailed. The matter was finally dis
posed of and both sides to some
what exciting controversy had their
way, in modified form.
Will Get Better Pay.
Final action was taken on the mat
ter of increasing the pay of certain
of the city officers, matter that was
discussed at the previous meeting,
when Aldermen Bennighoff and Brew
er and the members of the finance
committee were appointed a special
committee to look into the subject and
if possible devise ways and means
by which increases could be made
without violation of the law. To get
around the law the committee recon-