The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-07-09
Council After Struggle Refuses To
Take Rowland Ave. Property
Into Saloon District
POLICE SEEK AID. o'BRIEN
Mayor and Alderman From the First
Ward Cause the Council to Waste
the Evening Without Accom-
plishing Anything

With the police Of the city searching
for Alderman Q 'Brien, the City Council
Of Kenosha adjourned in turmoil at
ten O'Clock Monday night after one of
the most bitter meetings ever held by a
deliberative body in Kenosha. Before
that time deliberation had been thrown
to the winds and the council chamber
had become forum for the expression
of bitter personalities and a display of
venom seldom if ever seen in Kenosha.
The real minutes of that meeting will
never be written, but those who had
the courage to remain until the gavel
dropped for tie adjournment got les
son as to how City Council will work
so long as bitter personal interests con
troll it,
When the smoke Of battle cleared away
the two saloons on Rowland avenue
just south Of Market street were left
without licenses and the property by
the votes of the Council is without the
saloon district. An effort was made to
force through the licenses after the ter
.rltory had been declared out Of the dis
trict, but the matter never got to a
vote of the Council and as the licenses
Of the two saloons expired at midnight
they must go out of business for the
present at least or until such a time
as they can find some way to get a
license from the city.
All business Of the Council stopped
abruptly when Alderman O'Brien sur
reptitiously slipped out Of the Council
chamber and taking his hat from the
peg in the hall took for home Mayor
Schpley discovered his absence a minute
later and with a determination that
looked very much like spite declared
that the meeting could not go on until
O'Brien was located and returned to
the Council chamber. The law was on
the side of the mayor, but Alderman
O'Brien managed to escape the police
and at last reports was still at large
Declaring that he would do no bust
ness without 0 'Brien, Scholey reconven-
ed the Council and the labor bills were
allowed after which the Council ad-
journed to meet on Friday evening.
There were many important matters
in the hands of the city clerk. Among
other things were petitions from humid
reds Of people in the city asking that
action be taken to save the trees and
another signed by almost as many de-
manding that the original plan for the
improvement Of Market Square be car
ried out. 1t is possible that these petit
tions will be taken up at the meeting
ON Friday evening, but the fierce fac
tional spirit shown Monday night indi-
Gates that it may be some time before
the Council gets down to working order
again.
Mayor Scholey precipitated the fight
early in the evening. AS soon as the
roll had been called he sought to have
the Council take action on the ordi-
nance for the admission of the property
occupied for saloon purposes on How
land avenue into the saloon district.
Alderman O'Brien had led the fight
against these saloons and he had come
to the Council for the sole purpose
Of protesting. The alderman had not
been filing up with soda water and he
was in rare form and from the start the
battle between the Mayor and the lead
er from the First ward gave evidence
of being furious. Alderman Pirsch
moved that the ordinance be given it's
second reading and that the rules of the
Council be suspended for this purpose.
The ordinance was then taken up and
Alderman O'Brien demanded that a re-
monstrance against the ordinance be
read. There seemed to be a tendency
on the part of the mayor to disregard
this request, but he finally directed
that the protest against the saloons be
read, but before it was read he prefaced
it with bitter personal attack on Mil
ton Dowse, one of the Civic Federation
leaders who had circulated the remon-
STRANGE. The mayor showed strongly
his personal interest in the matter and
it should be stated here that one Of
the saloons in question handles brand
of beer sold by the mayor. In his fierce
castigation of Dowse, whose name was
not mentioned, the mayor charged him
with circulating the petition on Sunday
and on the Fourth of July and he in
sisted that at the time he was circulat-
ing the petition he should have been
at church. Dowse at one time attempt
ed to respond, but the city attorney
claimed the floor and Dowse was not
noticed. He made no attempt later and
evidently decided that he did not care to
enter into personal discussion. Mayor
Scholey declared in heated language
that only one nronartv owner an tho rn