Arizona republican., 1905-07-11
MAYOR MOSS NOW
New Pilot For The Phoenix
 Ship of State
City Attorney Turns Down Todd @ Co.'S CeCtilied CheCk-Other Tech nicaIities of the Bond Contract.

VI Adilh D. MOSS, actlng mayor O.
 the city of Phoenix. It was presented to him last night and he put it on without batting an eye. The city coun- ell held a short meeting, the single
 subject under consideration being the
 various phases of the municipal wat CT question as further complicated by
 the resignation of Mayor Adams ten
 dered one week before. The sum total
 of the evenings work was the accept
 ance of MT. Adams resignation, the
 election of F. B. Moss, councilman
 from the third ward, as acting mayor.
 the rejection of the certified check of | w. E. Todd & Co. rendered presuma- | ply as a forfeit for the purchase of
 the bonds, and the granting of that
 company twelve days further time in
 which to present another check diff ferently endorsed, to accompany the Todd offer for the bonds
 The council chamber was crowded to
 its utmost capacity when the session | was called to order by Councilman
 Kersting behind the first ward desk l He suggested that somebody be chos-
 en to preside over the meeting and Councilman LauVer nominated Coun- | cilman Greene. MT. Greene was elect ed by the votes of Messrs. Lauver and Moss, MT. Kersting voting no and MT Greene passing.
 T. J. Prescott tendered to the coun- ell certified check from w. R. Todd
 & Go. in fulfllment of the promise
 made when his offer in behalf of Todd for the purchase of the bonds was made and accepted one week before. It
 was properly certified and endorsed ih
 way that made it payable to the treasurer of the city of Phoenix under certain conditions. Tn these conditions
 was clause that instantly attracted
 the attention of the city attorney. IL
 related that the check was to be used
 in part payment for the bonds when
 they were legally issued and "accepted
 by us' (W. R. Todd & Co). The city attorney construed the endorsement to
 mean that it was in TO way a forfeit
 able check, or a check that could be collected by the city in the event the
 bonds prepared and offered to Todd &
 Co. were then rejected by them. To
 make it more clear. it appeared that
 in the event the city proceeds to pre-
 pare the bonds for delivery. a matter
 that would necessarily take a month
 or two, when offered to Todd & CO.
 that house might announce that it had
 changed its mind and refuse to take
 the bonds, without forfeiting it's $5. 900.
 The construction of the city attorney seemed to be ccquiesced in by the council though no action was taken until later in the evening.
 MT. Kersting then called attention to the fact that the resignation of J. C. Adams as mayor was still on the table and moved that it be taken up The motion was seconded by MT Moss and carried unanimously. MT. Kerst- ing next moved that the resignation be accepted. That motion was sec onded by MT. Moss and supported on roll call by Messrs. Kersting, Moss and Lauver, MT. Greene voting no MT Kersting then moved to reconsider the vote and the motion was lost Messrs. Kersting, Moss and Lauver voting no and MT. Greene passing.
 The matter of the certified check was again taken up and MT. Kersting moved that Todd & Co. be given an extension of twelve days time in which to issue a certified check in lieu of the one in hand, the endorsement of which would read that the check was to be forfeited to the city in the event the bonds were prepared and rendered to Todd & Co. and rejected by them, otherwise the check to serve as a par tial payment as in the case of the one then in hand. This motion was car ried unanimously.
 MT. Kersting then nominated Coun- cilman F. B. Moss for the office of acting mayor and the motion was car ried by a unanimous roll call A squad of police consisting of Marshal Kin ney escorted him to his chair An eff fort was made to extort a speech from the new mayor but it failed utterly.
 Eugene Brady O'NeiH secured the attention of the council and read to It copy of the resolutions passed l last Friday night by the Citizens com mlttee in the plaza meeting and which have been previously printed. The res olutiOns were fled
 Then came the exploitation of a cer- tain fact in respect of the bonds. ap- l parent always to the close observer, but that seemingly had been overlook i ed by, or misreP presented to, the en- thusiastic citizens who had clamored 1 so loudly for the hasty sale of the bonds to w. R. Todd & Co It has been stated a hundred times by those | favoring the sale that there would be no further trouble from litigation as Todd & Co. know all about the status | of the case and the first resolution adopted by the meeting Friday night l was in part as follows: That we are unqualifiedly in favor of the action of the common council Of the city of | Phoenix in dispOsing of the S3OO,0 ,0OO worth of waterworks bonds in such a manner as to relieve the city of all lit- igation regarding said bonds and we | approve and indOrse the declared pol | icy, etc"
 MT. Prescott was asked at the pub II ic meeting concerning this matter and Il attempted to explain but his explana- ions always fought shy of the ques- ion, and were clouded in such Ian- 5uage as 'Of course Todd & Co. know | Ill about the litigation and the court proceedings and are willing to take | he bonds subject to the disposition l 'f the claims made by the water com oany," the quotation being made from i memory but correct as to fact And 2! hat, as any close reader will see, was 10 answer at all But last night MT Prescott was drawn into a direct an. iwer to the question. MT. Greene ask