The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1909-06-09
MAYORS FIFTY
GRANTED $4,000
Council Will Supervise Expenditure,
Thus Dodging Pending Litigation
NO Action on Ferry Squabble.

Mayor Breitmeyer's Committee OF so
has foster-parent.
Accepting a recommendation OF the
mayor. Tuesday night. the council
formally adopted the street railway
investigating committee. which will
draw sustenance hereafter through
the franchise committee OF the coun.
Gil. Aid. HARPER takes the place OF
Mayor Breitmeyer as the means or
passing out the $4,000 appropriated by
the council to investigate street rail
way conditions here and in other cit
les
A jolt was given the administration
when the aldermen voted by 20 to IL
to leave the appropriation at the So
900 originally allowed the mayor for
the purpose. which appropriation has
been tied up In litigation ever since.
instead OF Immediately increasing II
to $1,000.
This means that the franchise COM
mittee of the council will have an op-
portunity to investigate the commit
tees expenditures before more money
is allowed. II will require another So.
900 to finish the work, as the commit
tee has already run beyond the first
limit and the appraisal is far from
finished.
II was the fact that the $4,000
which the council allowed the mayor
to spend for street railway investiga-
ton, through the committee, Is tied up
by the supreme court for some time
To come that caused the mayor TO
make his move He had gone to the
rescue OF the Committee OF so some
time ago by raising $4,000 temporar-
lily but, as he stated In his message
TO the council, 1T does not seem 20
me that II is the province of any one
official or any private citizen to tax
his own resources that this work may
go on"
BY shifting the appropriation to the
franchise committee. the council
lodges the pending litigation and lets
loose the money.
Aid. Gilman took occasion, during
the debate, TO criticize the Committee
Of so for paying a salary OF $50 per
week to Secretary Paul c. Renaud.
He said that the committee members
were supposed to serve without pay
and that, II anyone was getting a big
salary, that committee was no place
for him.
Nothing was done In regard to the
Belle Isle ferry situation. Mayor
Breitmeyer sent message to the
council urging that. inssmuch as no
other company could be had to run
ferry boats to the island this season,
the council make temporary terms
with the old company for this sum-
mer
The mayors message went to the
ordinance committee. Later Louis
Smilansky's application for a 10-year
franchise for a new company was
read. There was long wrangle over
the disposition OF 1t, various aldermen
struggling to have II sent to the or
dinances, franchises or public utilities
committees. To cap the mound OF
motions. amendments and substitutes.
Aldo. Field moved that the matter lie
on the table. President link had be-
come swallowed up in the parliament
tary tangle and solved the situation
by ignoring all the motions, etc, and
sending the matter TO the ordinance
committee.
Another tiresome wrangle Fsveloped
over the matter OF the contract for
furnishing official bonds. Aid. Gilman
brought in a committee report favor
ing readvertising in the hope of
breaking the combination on rates pre-
vailing among the bond companies.
Aid. Allan wanted TO accept the bid
of the Federal Union company, which
was $40 less than the others through
mistake. but he was voted down. 2S
TO 3.
The mayor asked the council to
amend the auctioneers' ordinance so
that the flaw In regard to bonds VI
auctioneers will be done away with
and the ordinance be legal.
The ordinance committee reported
favorably on the proposed contract
between the city and the Detroit Utili-
ties Co., by which the latter offers to
collect all rubbish. papers and waste
material within the city.