The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-05-20
Council Spends Four Hours Just
Discussing Things But Nothing
of Importance Is Done
GETS A DOWN TOWN OFFICE
Council Orders COMMITTEE Room
Rented at the First National
Bank Building-one OBJ
lection Against Sewer


Fonr hours of wrangling without the
accomplishment of thing Of value to
the people was the record of the Com
mon Council on Monday evening and
there was absolutely nothing done save
the fact that the Council by majority
vote decided to open a committee -
room in the First National Bank build
ing and incidentally this will crafty
the personal vanity of the mayor in
giving him a down town Office This
matter was brought in by the commit
tee on buildings and water works and
it is evident that majority of the
members Of the Council were in favor
Of preserving peace in the Council and
voted for the report of the committee.
The present Office of the mayor will be
removed to the new room at once and
the city engineer will take the two
rooms in the west portion of the Bene-
dict and Tarbell building, these rooms
having been leased for period of one
year with privilege of an added year.
There was little or no debate over the
matter and the report Of the commit
tee was accepted without division. Lat
er in the evening the Council agreed
to allow the bill for the rent of the
s office during the last three
but the vote was not a unani-
nous one by any means.
Most of the time of the Council was
spent in discussing the fact that most
of the funds of the city are gone
and the report from the pauper com
mittee showed that it is going to be
to keep the poor of the city
this year on the appropriation made.
.Fhe fact that this fund is already de
pleted and that but $4,000 is to be add
ed to it shows the condition that the
fund will be in before the next tax
levy is made The cost of maintain
ing this department during the past
year was in the neighborhood of $4,000
and but $4,000 will be available for
the year now started and the greater
part of this has already been spent.
This fact gave the mayor chance to
air his views on finance in the Council
and to declare again that he had been
burdened with debts contracted by
other Councils. The mayor became
very vigorous in his discussion and de-
clared that the tax levy had been re-
duced two years ago for political pur
poses. The mayor followed this up
with long speech on conditions as he
found them when he came into office
a year ago, but the speech did not do
anything to reduce the speed of the
city in making for the red side of the
ledger in the bank. All Of the alder
men recognize the fact that the city is
going to be without funds and many Of
them spoke last night in favor Of a
general policy of retrenchment. Just
what line this will take remains to
be seen
The street assessment committee re-
ported that the protest from A. E.
had been the only protest
received against the building of the
trunk sewer and it was announced that
the detailed plans for the sewer will
be presented to the Council at the
meeting to be held three weeks from
last night. The Judiciary and ordi-
nance committee which had been con
Sidering a remonstrance from people in
the northern part of the city against
the annexation of the property known
as the Hastings property reported to
The Council that it would be impossible
under the law to annul the action of
the Council in annexing the property
and the matter was dropped.
The committee on harbors and break
water reported against selling the
recently purchased from the
Durkee heirs to the Kenosha Yacht
Club and this property will be retained
by the city.
There were long discussions in regard
to the widening of Grand avenue, the
opening of Garden street to a width
Of Sc feet, the sidewalks on Middle
street and the lowering of the tracks
Of the Northwestern, but nothing was
done on any of these matters and they
are left just where they were when
first brought before the Council The
Council decided that the reservoir at
the corner Of Market Square and Main
street should be kept open and it will
be covered at once with steel beams in
order to permit the paving to continue.
The Council killed the ordinance
granting the Northwestern Railway
Company the right to build a switch
track to the Jacobs warehouse on Chi
cago street and it is probable that this