The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-18
COUNCIL HEARS FROM MAYOR
 AND ELECTS CITY OFFICIALS

city by way of license tax the aggree
 gate sum of Ss4.0oo The disparity Is 1 in mind that the license tax upon the
 insured In the higher insurance rates
 in the instance of the life insurance
 form rate. So by apportioning to the the burden incident to the maintenance of our municipal government we may in part at least reduce the difference
 between our receipts and disburse-
 If this license, instead of being s1oo per year as at present. were made $50
 per coectons tMf witn shs eity no addition. would be made to the bur l den of any citizen, and our revenue
 would be increased several thousand san l ship be worked upon any compAny | Those doing a small business woNd
 pay possibly less than at pres present. while ,n,b ute only in proportion to their ability.
 Streets aa1 sidewalks.
 Another matter desire 70 commend d betterment of the condition of our I streets and sidewalks In certain sec- tions of the city-especialysin the ter need of immediate attention. An awak- I ened spirit of civic pride. nefghborly rivalry of a legitimate sort. will do much to keep the external premises and | and slightly condition. Our citizens can | do much, not only to add to the general | health of the community, but also to studiously preventing the presence of I garbage or trash in and around their premises, and seeing that weeds are. re- drslns sP Kept open and aiieys sgs development of healthy civic pride Is the privilege and duty of every citizen, l the obligation rests on the Council to l ing to the establishment of well con- | structed streets and sidewalks.
 | T believe 1t to be worse than waste this direction. For a dozen hands to l spend a day in shoveling sand out of | dirt ditch to throw it on a dirt road
 way with ,i no retaining .sa cap, capacity Is day, and is waste of the peoples time and the peoples money. It is better. in my judgment, to construct properly continually to be tampering with ten | miles in the blind hope of stopping the action of the clements. Those streets
 to pave should be put to grade. curbed and severed as speedily as possible, that they may retain the benefit of such work as may be done upon them. Their mast important matter demanding at Well built and well kept streets are a vast material asset that we can never 1 lessen nor lose. We should appropriate for this purpose every possible dollar augment the working force 1availabie for this department by the speedy en- actment and rigid enforcement of a valid a vagransy ,,ae; act; This would IT rid same time furnish the city cheap labor with which to gravel and grade it's streets. This can be done with conn paratiye little expense. as we already have the paid machinery for carrying 1t into effect.
 Sanitary Sewers and Wiring.
 Tn July, 1904, $50,000 of bonds were issued for the special purpose of pro- viding funds for constructing sanitary sewers Of the proceeds of these bonds $46.424 are still lying In bank unused. tial improvement. Apparently the only benefit therefrom thus far enjoyed by the city has been the privilege of paying amount is altogether inadequate to the city's needs for this purpose, the great est relief that 1t can be made to afford should not further be delayed
 Tn a recent communication from the City Electrician he states that the dan gers and unsightliness arising from the vast number of wires necessary to meet the demands for electric light and DOW CT on Dexter Avenue. Court Square and Commerce Street has brought the city of Montgomery to the point where it Is not only a matter of considering the advisability of getting rid of these | overhead wires, but has become a mat ter of necessity heartily concur with | mend the enactment of such measures as will require those operating such | wires. within the business district. to | place the same underground This net work of overhead wires is a continuous | and growing menace to this district | which should be removed as early as Increase this hazard. but also increase | the expense that will be incident to the | removal.
 "sunday Closing. Ordinance.
 ''The last Council adopted an ordi- | nance commonly known as the Sunday | closing law which failed to be- | come operative by reason of executive | firms me in the opinion that the en- | actment into law of the essential prin- | ciples contained in that ordinance is | of existing laws upon that subject, and | l earnestly commend to your favorable | consideration the enactment of such a | measure.
 "Conceiving 1t incumbent upon us to | exercise the same diligence in pro- | tecting and enforcing the city's claim | that we would exercise with respect to | claim against the former City Treas | urer demands attention.
 The military organizations main tained by our citizens are objects of | our just pride, and are entitled to our | fostering care. recommend that a | Committee on Military Affairs be ap- | pointed, especially charged with the | duty of securing cooperation of the | State in the erection of a building that l will serve both as an armory for our | companies and as a State repository of | arms and military stores.
 Fire, Water and Police.
 The excellence of the city's fire de- | partment reflects credit upon the sew eral administrations under which fl | has been developed. and 1t Is our duty | to maintain this high standard. To | further increase its efficiency. 1t will be l necessary to provide another engine when the new fire stations are com pleted. With these additions. this de- | partment will be much better enabled | to meet the increasing demand upon | 1t than at present. As soon as our re- sources will permit, we should con- struct and equip one or two more sta fully adequate to the demands of our increased population and extended ter
 The principal attention demanded by the water department will be the com pletion of the extensions now under way vide funds for this extension has en- tailed upon the department an addi- tional interest charge of 5000 per year. As a number of the installments of this interest will have to be paid before receiving any substantial in- | crease in receipts. by reason of the ex- tension. 1t will not be expedient to re- earning capacity of the extended plant shall have been first demonstrated.
 By putting into commission the pa troi wagon, purchased some time since,