The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-03-08
'COUNC|l ADOPTS
ANNUAL B|U|DGE.I | ! ! [.
--------------------
. Appr op.ri4 alton Ordi-
nance Carries 81,
500, 600.
FIGHT ISjMADE FOR
SMOOTH PAVING
Efforts to Divert Street Fund
Lose in Face Of Demands From
Outlying Wards for Grading
and Curbing-Mayor
Sends Annual
Message.

With but brief debate. the Common
gCouncil last night adopted the annual
appropriation ordinance as II came
from the Committee on Finance. car
rying q total appropriation OF ss,4ss,-
a5sss The opposition was mainly di-
Eccted toward an effort to allow
smooth having out or the general
street appropriation but tho friends os
the outlying districts won out, and
100000 will bo used this year entirely
for grading. grafcling. curbins and
granite spall paving. The annual mes
sage OF Mayor Richardson was re-
7ceived. reviewing In somc detail the
work of each OF the departments OF
the city government: and making
number OF recommendations. twas Ia
blcd and ordered printed. and will be
considered In detail later. The Mayor
was sustained IN two veto messages,
one changing tile ward line between
Marshall and Jefferson Wards, and the
other approving an award OF contract.
in which there was a technical error.
Without completing the docket. the
Council adjourned to o'clock Thurs
day night.
Fight ON budget.
Chairman Pollock, of the Committee
on Finance. called the appropriation
ordinance from the table early in the
night. and on motion 1t was considered
seriatim. Mr.. Hfrschberg offered the
first objection. opposing the appropria-
ton OF 10000 for building public
wharves He considered the eapendi-
! ture needless. saying that but few
boats now come to Richmond. and that
such an appropriation was a useless
outlay He wanted TO know where and
how the wharyes would be built and
What .essels would use them. He was
answered by Mr.. Batkins. Of the Com
nittee on improvement OF the James
River; Chairman Pollard, oil the
Finance Committee, and Messrs. Fer
gusson and Ratcliffe, OF Lee Ward.
\ Mr.. Ferguson claimed that hundreds
OF vessels como here every year a. nd
that Others werc deferred from coming
by the lack OF proper wharves and
exorbitant charges from private dock.
owners.
Mr.. Pollock said he had introduced
motion for building public docks
eight years ago, and had been turned
down. but that he still believed II
city. President Peters said that 1t
had only been made possible as part
OF the ultimate scheme for the reloca-
tion OF Lester Street, the city having
acquired the property last year. Mr.
Hirschberg. being in hopeless mi
nority. Withdrew his objection,
waat smooth Paving.
All went we'll until the street ap-
Z propriation was reached. when Mr..
FERGUSON offered an amendment to
consolidate the items for curbing,
grading and paving. making one item
. OF 100000 for grading, graveling.
curbs, cutters. street sprinkling, and
street paving" Mr.. ferguson ex-
piained that the committee may wish
TO experiment with sprinkllng streets
with tar water from the Gas Works.
mfr. Ratcliffe objected that appropria-
tion for street sprinkling should come
Il under the head OF street cleaning, not
4 Improvement of streets, and was sus-
tanned.
Chairman Pollard, of the Finance
Is ICommittee, called attention to the fact
4, that the proposed amendmentsnot only
4 Iallowed sprinkling. but also permitted
any kind of paving. being so worded
4 that the whole street fund for the year
!. might be spent in smooth paving.
st opens tho way to spending all
), Of the money In q luxury" he said,
{, "whcn some citizens have six inches
7 Of mud to contend with. Smooth paw
Ting ought to be done. but It is too
Il, expensive while tho outlying districts
iare in their present condition"
Mr.. Bliley. agreed that lower grade
A tpropcrty must be improved in ad-
lvance OF further smooth paving.
Says Street Committee Should Decide,
Mr.. Ferguson wanted to allow
Lsmooth paving. Something has to be
" ..I9 think 1t should be left to the Street
Committee to decide where and how
the money is to be spent. Mr. Rat
Ecliffe wanted more paving on Monu-
Iment Avenue. but objected to scatter
ing the paving about in odd blocks as
N has been done heretofore. Mr. Umlauf
thought the item right as 1t stood
~ calling attention to the need for grav-
8 cling Cary Street and Grove Avenue
where tho country roads are better
than tho city streets. The ferguson
8 amendment was lost. .3s. I, II
Mr.. Richards moved to consolidate
the two items without changing their
use. but blanket appropriation ot
that Kind was held to be bad business
1 policy, and that amendment failed. 81
Mr.. Cutchins then renewed the
smooth paving fight. by moving te
strike out tho words granite spall'
before the paving item, leaving Il
e ''paYing smooth or any other kind
Edy11lS3 AIndIF1SF4We d 1AeLA1OWf QUlCS u
restrict the Street Committee to all,
X one Kind Of paving. ssl
Mr.. Davis opposed any change. say.
ing that Clay Ward needed curbine
and gut tering that Main Street was
in the worst condition OF many years
and that q fro hose wagon had beer
+ stalled in the mud only last Saturday
while responding to an alarm, !.
Paving Was Wasted. #
~. ~.
had been scattered 8 ahou t town two
!, years ago. without any concert cd plal
x OF Improvement, t, making general allu
4 sions to odd blocks in the Yariou;
wards which councllmen had secured
y from the ward funds, without any con
itlnuing idea OF deYe lopment, ss IA
"There lis one bl ak in Tive nty-thire
Continued on Fourth 7Page,) q.