Omaha daily bee., 1909-08-05
CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
Ordinances Taxing Earnings Of Public
Service Corporations Passed.
PAYMENTS TO BE QUARTERLY
Rate - Three Per Cent on Gross
Earnings-Mnk Ordinance Passed
After Protest of Dairy
men IL Heard.

The occupation tax ordinances. providing
for a tax Of 3 per cent on the gross re-
ceipts Of all public utility corporations
occupying the streets of the city OF Omaha,
passed the city council Tuesday. They
will now go TO the mayor for his sigma
ture, and with his approval they will go
into effect September l.
The ordinances are amended to provide
for payment Of the tax quarterly instead
OF semi-annually. as originally provided,
and with their going into effect on Septem-
Der l the first payments will be made
December l. 1t is expected that the yearly
tax will be in excess Of $125, 0o.
Councilmen Berka and Hummel intro
duced the ordinances. and they were passed
by the unanimous vote OF the council.
They are six in number and affect the
following corporations:
Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway
company.
Omaha Water company.
Omaha Electric Light and Power com
pany.
Omaha Gas company.
Nebraska Telephone company.
Independent Telephone company.
Western Union Telegraph company.
Postal Telegraph company,
One section
In amending the ordinances, prior to
placing them on their passage, 1t was dis
covered that one section, which provides
a means of collecting the tax, had been
omitted from the ordinance affecting water
companies. The omitted section was
amended into the ordinance and reads as
follows;
1t shall be the duty Of the city clerk
to deliver to the city treasurer a certified
copy Of this ordinance levying the said
occupation tax and append thereto a war,
ra nj ranuiTinR the said treasurer TO collect
the said tax.
This section is contained in all the ordi.
nances.
Street railway, telegraph and telephone
companies are excepted from paying ar
occupation tax on receipts from business
done without the state OF Nebraska. Al
exception is also made In the ordinances
applying to telegraph and telephone com
panies on business done for the govern.
ment Of the United States or any of it,
departments,
MIX Ordinance Passed.
The council also passed the ordinance
fathered by DR.. r. w. Connell, health
commissioner providing either for the pas
teurization Of all milk sold in Omaha oil
the testing Of all dairy COWS for tuber
culosis and the condemnation of thos,
COWS found to be infected with tubercu
losis. The ordinance was vigorously pro
tested by a number of small milk dealers
and F. w. Fitch, attorney for the Dairy
mems association, was given another hear
ing before the vote was taken.
Ordinances were introduced giving J. L
Brandeis & Sons the right to build
subway under Seventeenth street to con
meet its present store building with tn,
new theater building. giving the City Ma
tional bank the right to build subway
under the alley and sidewalk space abut
ting its proposed office building at Six
teenth and Harvey streets, and givinl
Thomas Fitzpatrick & company the RICH
to build a cellar under the alley In tn
rear of its store on Douglas street, be
tween Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets
The Brandeis firm must put UP an in
Identifying bond in the sum of SO, 900, tn
bank in the sum OF $1,000 and KilpatricI
in the sum OF 5000.
Prior to the INTRODUCTION OF the ordi
nsnces, a resolution was passed givinI
]. L. Brandeis & Sons the right to bull
their subway,