The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-09-10
TURNSD0WN B.P. W.
COUNCIL SLAMS, PROGRESSIVE
MOVEMENT LAST NIGHT.
Improvement of the Main Street Hill
Is Postponed, Although a Tax Levy
of One Thousand Dollars Was Made
Two Years Ago for This Work;
Plea of the Residents of No Avail;
Bridge Suit Is Continued.
From Saturdays Daily.


The council acted in a negative way
last night. rather than in an affirma
tive way, on important matters before
it. 1t refused TO instruct the city at
torney to bring action for the reeov-
cry of the value of water alleged to
have been Illegally obtained for the use
of the City Hotel, and the mayor APP
pointed an investigating committee
composed of those who had voted
against the motion to bring the ac-
tion,or those who had refused to vote,
so the committee is one calculated, 1T
would seem, to bring in '.whitewash-
ing" report. The council turned down
the board of public works cold on a
little stroke of progressiveness which
the board had shewn. The board wish
ed to put in a block of tar macadam
surfaced with granite, to compare it's
wearing qualities with that of lime
stone, in view of the fact that much
tar macadam is likely to be laid in
lIankato in the future, and the gram
tie surfacing is highly recommended.
The council would have none of this,
however, and voted down the board of
public works unanimously. The i'm
provement of the main street hill road,
for which 1000 was levied two years
ago, was also postponed again
Mayor Meyer presided and all of
the aldermen were present and business
went ahead with less oratory than
usual for the present council.
A Bashaw asked permission to erect
a wagon scale on the boulevard at $50
North Broad street, corner of Lafay-
cite, on the south side of the street.
The request was granted. the scale to
be set under the supervision of the
board of public works.
Ramsey street property owners asked
that sidewalk be constructed on the
north side of the street from the end
of the present walk east to the Silver
ravine road. The petition was referred
to the street committee, to report at
the next meeting.
Don't Want Granite Surfacing.
The board of public works reported
having awarded the contract for paving
Jackson street with tar macadam, from
Broad to Fourth streets, to Fowler &
Pay. the lowest bidder, at $l.05 a
square yard, with granite surfacing.
The contract and bond were also pre-
scented, the bond being for $1,000. with
DIR z. G. Harrington and John r.
Thomas as sureties. The firm had bid
So cents if limestone was used for sur
facing.
a discussion arose over the granite
and limestone, and Aid. Pass was OPP
posed to using granite on street so
little travelled. Engineer Wilson stated
that it was desirable to have a block sur
faced with granite, as an experiment, to
see which kind is the best, as there
may be large amount of this kind of
paving done. Duluth thinks that the
granite surfacing is the only kind with
tar macadam. Other cities believe in
limestone.
1t developed that the tar macadam
on Hickory street is to be only six
inches thick, while that laid some years
ago on the same street between Front
and Second is a foot thick The speci-
fications for Jackson street call for an
inch or two thicker, but Aid. Pass
thought that six inches was enough.
Aid. Lloyd did not agree with this.
The difference in cost of having a gran
lite surfacing would be $240.
The council finally voted to reject
the bids and change the specifications.
so as to knock out the granite sur
facing. New bids will be secured.
City attorney Schmitt said that the
bridge injunction case would soon come
on for trial, but as the money that the
city depended upon to use in building
the bridge has been knocked out, there
seemed to be no reason to burden the
courts with the trial of the case An
other judge would have to be secured
He suggested that he have authority
to continue the case. The council sc
voted
City Engineer Wilson said, in regard
to the improvement of Main street, up
Agency hill, that $1,000 would 90 but
a short distance if the hill was to be
graded. Very little more could bt
done than to ,inderdrain it and round il
mp. To go back far enough to give
an easy grade would cost enormously
Judge Comstock and w. W. Smith
spoke in favor of a permanent grade
for the hill. They said that the city
bad levied $4,000 for the Improvement
Aid. Pass moved that the board oil
public works prepare profiles and es
Inmates of the cost of cutting down
the grade of the street, six, twelve
and eighteen feet, and report back
This was carried.
Aid. Eichsteadt moved that the mat.
ter of building walk from Baker
avenue to the West Mankato school,
be referred to the street committee, to
report at the next meeting, and this
was carried. The alderman stated that
many children get their feet wet going
to school and sit there all day with
wet. feet. A two plank walk would be
enough.
The contract with J.. III. Skiff OF
Brookings, S. D., for constructing the
Sixth street sewer, and his bond, fol-
$3,300.50 with the American Fidelity