Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-02-15
CHEAPER GAS FOR CHICAGO
Ordinance Piscine Rate At Eighty
Five Cents Passed over
Maye<<s Veto.

CHICAGO. Feb. f4--Thc city council at
a special meeting held today took action
on three important propositions afTectins
the city. An ordh ance fixing the price
to be paid for gas byNconsumers at s. cents
Instead of 70 cents anu y. as heretofore.
was passed over the veto OF Mayor Dunno
by a vote of 81 to 10; an ordinance placing
the saloon license at $500 instead of 500,
the old figure. was adopted by vote Of
% to 81, but Mayor Dunno ruled that the
measure had failed Of passage because tt
did not receive 36 votes, the constitutional
majority. The $1,000 license ordinance was
then re-introduced. but II was referred to
the license COMMITTEES 10 he presented again
at the next meeting of the council on
February 26, and It was also ordered that
the question of voting $T5ooo,OOo for the
purchase OF the street railways of the
city be submitted to the voters of the
city at the next election.
The Importance OF the impending mea-
sures and the excitement which has at
tended their agitation drew an enormous
crowd to the city haIl late in the day.
Special guards of policemen were stationed
around the building and all the doors were
guarded In order to prevent a dangerous
jam inside the building, but despite these
precautions the council chamber and hall
way outside were packed to suffocation.
The excitement was such that at times
the police were compelled TO remove dis
orderly people from the halls, and one ar
rest was made. q
The first matter to De taken up was the
gas ordinance, which 1t was well under
stood would be vetoed by Mayor Dunno.
The mayor based his veto on the declara =
ton that he considered the So cent rate
too high and 15 cents the proper figure.
He asked that the gas companies be COM
PEELED to furnish free of cost to the city
such gas az it needs for street lighting
purposes. The mayor also asked that time
be taken by the council. to investigate the
operation of the gas companies to deter
mine why they cannot furnish gas at rs
cents and make a reasonable profit.
The consideration of referring the ques-
ton of purchasing the street railways to
the people at the next election was next
taken up II was settled without debate
and on a single vote. The ordinance pro
vides that there shall he printed on the
ballots at the next election the question
of whether or not the city shall issue certi-
ficates to the amount of S5,000,O00 for the
purchase of the railways which are then
to be operated by the municipal authorities.
except the opinion of the majority of the
voters of the city regarding municipal
ownership.
The question of saloon licenses was pro-
ductive of the greatest amount of feeling.
The numerous crimes that have been perpe-
trated against women in this city of late
have aroused much Feeling and it was
| believed by many people that the raising
of the saloon licensed from $500 to sl,OOC
! would wipe out many pf the small saloons
| in the disreputable SECTIONS of the city
| which have been harboring places for
| criminals.
! The saloon men have been ranged solidly
against the proposith1r sAd the fight. has
been intensely bitter The council com
mittee presented a majority report favor
ing a license fee of 5000 and a minority
report placing it at $500 The latter was
adopted by a vote of 80 to 80. The re-
suit was greeted with great cheering by
| those who favored the smaller license fee
and the police had considerable difficulty
| in restoring order Aldermen who voted
| for the larger license fee declared that
| they would have the matter UP before the
| council at some later time