The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1905-01-03

The council held its first meeting Of
the new year at noon yesterday and
settled upon the seating of new mem
bers, heard the mayors message, and
then adjourned, after short amount
of routine business had been transact
ed.
Mayor Suprenants message, in full,
is as follows:
Astoria. Ore. Jan. ., 1905,
Gentlemen of the Common Council:
1t is customary for the mayor al
the beginning of each year TO commu-
nicate to the council by message, set
ting forth. as far as practicable. the
general condition of the city's affairs,
and making such recommendations and
suggestions as he may deem proper.
Owing TO the fact that the yearly re-
ports Of the city officials are not at
hand, cannot so into details, but only
treat Of them in a general way.
The affairs of the city as a whole. in
my opinion. are much better than they
have been previously; the various Of
ficers of the city are performing their
duties in a very satisfactory manner.
and their work has been increased 10
a very great extent by the vast amount
Of improvement made recently, Of
which / am sure the public generally
feels proud and thankful. OF course
there are some dissatisfied. but while
you are sure that you are serving the
public honestly you can continue TO do
so without fear. As our city is growing
quite rapidly. there will be a neces-
sity for more Improvements during
the present year. and hope the pre-
liminary work viii be taken up during
the dry season. would urge the strict
est economy in all departments, but
not to the detriment of necessary i'm
provements. cannot Complain Of lack
Of care in the past. for have not been
able to find where any of the public
funds have been wasted through the
lack Of proper care.
The streets throughout the city are
our greatest source of expense, and
necessarily require great care and at
tention. for the repairs on old streets
must be kept up to avoid danger to the
public. In building new streets, Of
which you will have several this year
/ would recommend that provisions be
made to have someone clothed with full
authority TO superintend the construc-
ton Of same, to see that the materials
and labor are furnished in accordance
with the plans and specifications fur
nished by the engineer. If compet-
ent person is employed for this pur-
pose. 1t will insure faithful work. and
avoid great deal of trouble to the
street committee.
The fire department I find In very
good condition. but its efficiency isl
somewhat hampered by the lack Of
few more extra men. believe that
the employment Of four more men for
this purpose would be good policy, and
the cost Of such additional help would
be not more than s34 a month.
The police department I find is eff
cient and well regulated, and the funds
passing through the hands Of the chief
are all properly accounted for.
The auditor and police Judge Is per-
forming his duties in a very satisfac-
tory manner, and believe the council |
and public generally agree with me in
this. I also wish to say that the city
treasurer, city engineer and street su-
perintendent are doing all that could |
be expected Of good and faithful pub
lie officers.
would call the attention Of he coun-
Gil to the necessity Of creating a street |
cleaning department. While / would
not recommend going into a very ex-
pensive outfit. believe that the en-
ployment Of two men with one horse |
and cart, would be sufficient at pres
ent. At least you might try this, or
some other plan whereby the streets
may be cleaned up and made more
pleasing to the eye and more inviting
to strangers.
To meet the necessary expenses that
would occur If these Recommendations
are adopted, l would suggest taat
reasonable licenses be imposed on all