The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-03-29
FEARING DISASTER
At POLLS, COUNCIL
TRIMS BUDGET
Rushes Estimates Through in Jig
Time in Final Session, Salary
Boosts For Teachers and 9th
ers Being Eliminated.
Next Council Will Be Democratic
is Spectre that Converts Re-
publicans To Economy.

Mindful of peril to their chances III
the election Of next fall, the Repub-
lican aldermen rallied Monday night,
and, In the space OF six minutes,
trimmed the estimates more deeply
tnan any other Detroit council has
over cut an annual budget In the last
Two decades. cutting out all salary III
cIeases. Two Democrats voted with
the majority party members.
II was fear OF consequences that
caused this rally after rout In the
afternoon session, at which the econ
omy advocates in the council were
GenoraliZed and demolished. The two
sessions were pronounced by old
timers 10 be the most extraordinary
the council ever held.
When the council first took up the
estimates. IL was pledged TO policy
OF cutting them down rs low as pos
SiDle Each committee acted With that
understanding: salary increases were
ca: cut with the exception OF few I'M
important ones. and all improvements
tnat could possibly go over year
were put aside. The committee re
,crts brOIght the budget down to
sy,347 1908 y. Allowing for all bonds
mat may be issued, this brought the
amount 10 be cut by the estimators TO
t-inC the tax rate down TO SIS TO less
than a million dollars. These COM
inittee reports are the final report 81
Inc council
SATURDAY., the council wobbled, and
division of the committee having the
school fund in charge gave opportunity
for a stampede. Aid. Grindley anc
Freiwald got the teachers salary IN
oresses through. but that only pro-
duced a deluge. other aldermen N
rlsted. In the name OF fair play. that
all other salary increases should go
through As well
In the Republican caucus, Monday
afternoon. called to attempt to stem
the tide Of enlarging the budget, some
az the Republican aldermen declared
that there was an organized Demo
cratic effort 10 swell the budget and
increase the tax rate. The presence
of Judge w. F. Connolly In the council
chamber. Saturday afternoon was
commented upon. II was asserted that
the Democrats meant to make hlSh
taxes an issue.
But no caucus agreement coulu oe
reached Aid Watson, who mad de'
clared that the fremen should nave
more pay If any city employees got IT,
bolted the caucus. The aldermen
cnallv came back into the council
chamber divided After passing on
few items. Aid. Konkell brought up
the fire department increases. He
told of the trials and perils OF the ire
men and the gallery Of so fremen APP
pIauded him vigorously.
Then Watson and Konkel took up
the fire department budget and jam
med one increase after another
throueh The seven Democrats in the
council voted solidly for every In
crease. and the fact that the Repub-
licans were divided gave them the pal
ance Of power In few minutes the
session degenerated into farce. As
fast as aldermen could scramble to
their feet, they reinserted items that
had been cut out by the committees.
The conservative members tried TO
fight but were beaten and the defeat
became a flight
In chagrin, Aid Shapland finally
moved that the general fund and the
uolice funds be restored TO their orig
inal figures. this sweeping motion al
lowing every salary increase and even
the full total Of 200 patrolmen asked
nv Police Commissioners Croul. The
Lack OF the council chamber was filled
with a noisy crowd which prompted
aldermen to call up items which had
been forgotten in the rush. All SEM
blance OF parliamentary order was
lost No one knew just what had been
done and motions were made TO rein
sert items which had already gone
back into the budget. Disguised alder
men grabbed their hats and dashed
out of tn echamber until the body had
barely a quorum.
A delegation of school teachers.
whose salary increase had brought on
all the confusion, sat at one side In
wonder. Most Of the estimators pres
ont got together for a hasty confer
ence at which 1t was resolved to bar
all lobbyists from the floor OF the coun-
Gil chamber during sessions of the es-
timators.
At one time a motion was made by
Koenig TO accept all the department
estimates and send them TO the esti-
majors untouched. This lost. Presi-
dent Gilman rebuked. sarcastically.
one aldermen who tried TO oppose a
salary increase. telling him that he
was clearly out OF order.
Aid Field got into the session late
and his protest against what was go
Ing on was fervent ana emphatic
This shows what school ma'am
can do" remarked Vernon icily in the
midst OF the tumult,
Just at the close OF the session.
after a conference among the conser-
vative leaders. Aid. Gutman moved TO
| accept the committee reports as orig
inally submitted He was voted down
and the council adjourned until even
4 ing. The report Of the committee on
streets was ready. but was purposely
| held by Chairman Goeschel and Score
tary Schreiter to give time for rally
ing the defeated economists.
As soon as the session ended.
b Schreiter. who draws a salary as n
|, clerk. not as a politician. became the
busiest man I'm town He circulated
\ among the aldermen getting their
! pledges to stand by the original com
n mittee reports. Field. Watson. Vernon.
/ Grindley and Gilman agreed at once.
r "The next council will be Demo