The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-12-08
Mayor Clashes With Members
of School Board in Argu-
ment Monday Night
ACTION ON BOND ISSUES
Council Defers Action on Elizabeth
Street Contract Regardless of the
Protest Of the Property Owners
Other Council Business.

The City Council had one grand, glor-
| ious,r hilarious time on Monday night.
It was the second stage of the training
of the Mayor for his legislative duties
and for more than two hours the Mayor
occupied the floor of the council hurl-
ing his lance of polished oratory full
and free at every thing and every body
and at the end of his long period of
forensic brilliance he was not even
groggy. The Mayor made his first
start into oratorical fields when he
arose to calm the troubled spirits Of
j. j. Currier and a band of Elizabeth
street property owners who had come
to the council meeting to protest
against the continued delay in letting
the contract for the paving of that
street. Currier was insistent that he
be answered but the Mayor declared
his fealty to the claims of the property
owners, assured the leader of the Eliza
beth street insurgents that he was the
originator Of the "square deal policy
| and that the property owners need have
no fear that their interests would not
| be protected, He pleaded his own illness
and the impossibility of a meeting of
the street assessment committee and
gave pledge that the whole thing would
be fixed up before the next regular
meeting of the council. Still protest
ing against delay the property owners
urged the Mayor to action and he urged
| them to wait and the council echoed,
"wait' and the matter of the demand
that the contract for the paving be
made as well as a protest signed by
fourteen property owners in which the
council was asked to give the contract
to the lowest Kenosha bidder and use
Purington brick went over until the
next meeting.
This go for the Mayor was only a
practice bout and he seemed expectant
and even confded to Alderman O 'Brien
who had complained of illness that he
should wait for the big show. This
came when the Mayor again hurled his
castor into the forensic arena and pro-
ceeded to assault the school board,
past and present. This was the most
vehement expression that the Mayor
| had given to his thoughts in many
years. He left his place of honor at
/ the east end of the council room and
marched down to the very railing that
separates the council from the lobby
and poured hot shot into the members
of the school board. President Curtis,
DR.. E. F. Rowelf and Attorney A. E..
| Buckmaster were the men who were
dashed by the Mayor s tongue and after
they had attempted to get word in
edgewise for the better part Of an
hour they retired disguised into leaving
the council chamber. The Mayor ram
bled all over the history of the city in
/ his address to the school board mem
bers. He started On deficit of $40 900
in the funds of the board and ended up
with a discussion of the Durkee avenue
paving which he declared had been put
over him by a gang of FFeurb stone pol
iticianso who reduced the tax levy for
! political purposes. The address of the
Mayor was not connected His point
of view in regard to school matters
| was decidedly at variance with the
| view of the men on the board of educa-
tion but at that the Mayor declared
| himself the dictator. elf i am going
to answer for all of you, I am going to
have all of you reporting to me before
you do anything" was the proclama-
tion of the Mayor. Right here presi-
dent Curtis got in a word to say that
the Mayor and his finance committee
had been asked to meet with the fin
anoe committee of the board of edu-
cation but that the council committee
| had failed to come. But this only stop-
ped the Mayor for second and he
proceeded to charge the board with ex-
travagance declaring that seven thou
sand dollars could have been saved by
accepting the ''other" plan for the re-
building of the Frank school, Once or
twice the Mayor and the members of
the board met in rapid fire repartee
but this was only for second as the
Mayor always broke away and the elo-
/ quence of ellis HONOR was far foo
much for so humble man as presi-
dent Curtis of the school board. #
lead into fields where the president of
the board did not care to foAow and at
the close of the vehement hour Curtis
simply declared, u can not argue this
question with you in this manners and
he retired. The outcome of it all was
that the council directed the finance
committee to borrow the money that
the school board needed for its imme-
date needs with the understanding
that the board will repay the loan with