The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-06-27
Mayor German and ]. O'DonneII
Pass Compliments on Each
Other at Council Meeting
WOMAN R0UTS CITY COUNCIL
Tragedy and Comedy Mark the Meet.
ing of the City Fathers. But Ad-
journment is Taken With
out Important Action

The Common Council met in ad
journed session on Monday evening
To those who were present the state
ment opens vista Of excitement, bu
it would take a volume of no small
size to tell the whole story of thai
Council meeting. It was session 81
I fierce personalities, of charges and
counter charges, of twitching fingers
ana clenched fists, of speeches filled
with great emotion of comedy and
| tragedy and it remainedfor a woman
a little frai1 one at that, to talk the
warning factions out of breath and
when the Council adjourned the
woman was still talking. There was
nothing of importance done at the
meeting save the granting of some
/ ninety saloon licenses which are to
go into effect on next Monday morn
ing and the remainder of the evening
was given to sparring.
But this sparring and war of words
was not without its interest. The
| trouble started when John O'Donnell
PAOSOAbCO q PSbAlAOA " SAV OOAIOA4
asking that some action be taken to
prevent the Kenosha Electric Rail.
way company from laying double
track on Elizabeth street. Mr.. O'Don-
nell spoke in regard to the condition
of Elizabeth street and declared that
the street would be made worthless
by the laying of double track. He
declared that the ordinance granting
the franchise to the company had
been rushed through the Council and
that the aldermen had refused to
listen to the protest made by himself
and other property owners on the
street. He declared that he had been
advised by the city attorney and by
the chairman of the committee on
streets and alleys, that a single track
was all that was planned for the
street and spoke in denunciatory
words of these two officials of the city.
He charged the Council with not rep
resenting the people and in closing
he declared in emotional language:
Nobody has asked you men to accept
these Offices, you seek them and when
| you seek the Offices you should stand
! for the rights of the people. If the
! city is to be run by the corporations /
am in favor of getting good corpor-
alton to run it and paying it right"
The face of Mayor German was a
J study as O'Donne1I reeled off his
charges against the committee and
the Council and the speaker had
scarcely finished, when the mayor,
his face drawn with the excitement
! went over toward the lobby where
O'Donnell was standing. German
shouted to O'Donnell that he had &C.
cused the committee recommending
the passage of the ordinance and OF
receiving bribe in connection with
the passage of the ordinance. O'Don.
nell broke in long enough to declare
that he had never accused the mayor
or the members of the committee, but
that he had said that it would be
! cheaper for the corporations to deal
with the people direct than with the
City Council and that he was not
backing up one iota from this state.
ment.
Here the mayor sought to bring a
counter charge against O'Donnel1 in
regard to the erection of a water
trough some years ago, but the coal
dealer fenced and declared that he
was never connected with anything
] that scented of boodling. German
said that he would say that he was not
in favor of double track on Eliza
beth street and that he had never
voted for the passage of such an ordi-
nance. IF you will repeat that state
ment you made, shouted the mayor,
| fright here will make you prove it. +"
German then said that it was Willis
Russell that had told him of the
statement made by O'Donnell.
O'Donnell spoke with suppressed
/ emotion, but repeated the statement
that he had formerly made and de-
clared that he was willing to back it
up.
Even in the presence of ladies Mr..
O'Donnell declared that he did not
care something that sounded like
lamb) what the Mayor said in this re.
gard, and things began to look more
interesting. 1t was at this time that
Willis Russell, coming like Sheridan
from twenty miles away made his
dramatic entrance into the Council
chamber, and he stated that the state.
ment made by O'Donnell might have
been the substance of the statement
that he had referred to, and O'Don.
nell, jumping to his feet, said: "Yor
know that this is true, Willis, and
when said what did You turned
your face about and grinned." Rus
sell emphatical1y denied the grin.
ming, but insisted that he did not re.
member the exact words of O'Donnell
but that they we're to the effect that Il
was cheaper to build railways thar
deal with the Common Council
], O'Donnell insisted that he was no,
going back on anything that he had
said and that he was ready and abba
I