Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-11-30
LAW FAVORS PAVING GRAFT
Kettle Company Fights Two Years
for the Omaha Contract.
ORDINANCE VETOED BY MAYOR
DRhlmRn Three Times Puts official
Taboo ON Document Until Fam
ming Switches aud Courts
nlOck Veto.

DIOck Veto.
After they had overridden three vetoes
Of mine they took the case to the district
court and the first thing l knew the con
tract for paving Sixteenth street from
tarnam to the viaduct had been lot
never did know just how It happened"
laid Mayor Dahlman. referring to the
Two years fight put up by the Kettle
River Creosote company to get a portion
Of the paving fund of Omaha.
The campaign to create creosote pave
ment district In Omaha began in 1909,
when the Kettle River and the Republic
companies sent representatives to Omaha
to take advantage of a charter provision
which permits contractors TO dictate what
laving material is to be used by getting
up their own petitions.
Mayor Dahlman vetoed a proposition
passed by the council to give an opening
lor the Kettle company June %, 1903.
resolution favoring this action OF the
council had followed a firm fight by the
brick paving combine, led by c. Il. Fan
ming. The document passed by the coun-
ell instructed the city engineer to pre-
pare plans and specifications for
creosoted wood block pavement, trans
uniting same to the council at its regu-
lar meeting"
DRhlmRn Opposes CreOsOtc.
In his explanation to the council, ac-
companying his veto, Mayor Dahlman
took the Tanning end and declared that
I am not In favor OF any wood block
pavement being laid in our city, We have
had trouble enough in Keeping districts
in repair with asphalt and brick without
| going back to the wooden block"
BY a vote of to ) the council passed
the resolution over the veto, Councilmen
Bridges Brucker and McGovern voting
in the negative.
a second time the measure was vetoed
by the mayor, but with Councllmen
Bridges and johnson absent II passed
unanimously In returning the document
with his second veto Mayor Dahlman
said
IT think 1t unwlse for the city to go
back to block pavement. After three
years of hard work we are just beginning
to get our streets in good condition. and
by using brick and asphalt they will all
be uniform. We know from practical
experience what that pavement will do,
while on the other. hand there is a wide
difference of opinion as to the creosoted
wood block.
IF these specifications were carried out
to the letter we might succeed in secur-
ing good pavement but It would be i'm
possible to secure inspectors who would
do this, and in a few yeahs we would see
streets in Omaha such as described in
the pictures accompanying this docu-
ment taken in the city of indianapolis.
Late Engineer Opposes Plan.
For several years during the late An
drew Rosewaters term as engineer eff
forts were made to have him submit
specifications TO be adopted by the city
council for the use of this creosoted wood
block pavement, but in his wisdom he
refused to entertain the proposition for a
moment. 1t seems to me we should let
we'll enough alone. Our city is growing
The pavement OF our streets is one of the
most important problems we have to deal
with, so hope your honorable body will
entertain this Veto"
ordinance Passed ana vetoed.
After the second veto the ordinance was
passed, and this was also vetoed. For a
few weeks a legal battle was waged by
the opponents of creosote, but the Kettle
River company played their trump card
by annexing the opposition. in the person
of Tanning. who had been bitterly oppos-
Ing every STEP
Suddenly Fannings opposition weak
ened and then ceased altogether. The
ordinance had been vetoed, but the courts
had been asked for q restraining order,
preventing the mayors veto from going
into effect. An injunction was secured,
but the contractors carried It further,
and on December q, 1910 John p. Breen,
as their attorney, presented an order of
the district court setting aside the re-
stralning order, and the veto of the
mayor was forthwith killed by the coun-
ell.
Ordinance Passed, Contract Let.
How It was done l have never been
able TO find out" says the mayor, but
the ordinance became a law and after
advertising fer bids the contract was lei
to Tanning himself, whose only opposing
bidder was the General Contracting com.
pany, a bluff put up by the Kettle River
company, which was to supply the cre-
csoted blocks. The job called for $4,000
but interested persons caused the con.
tractor and the Kettle company to shave
IT to $4,000
Kettle Company Profits.
City officials asserted that 1t was their
belief that the Kettle and Republic com.
pany reaped the biggest profits from the
final victory in getting the ordinance
through and securing the contract. Mr.
Tanning" said one of them, may oil
may not be innocent, but It is my opinion
, that the biggest graft was gathered by
the Kettle company"
Omaha was not stung as sorely as
South Omaha" said City Engineer Craig
''and neither South Omaha nor Omaha
suffered as much as some OF the eastern
cities. which raid as high as "a per YARD
FOR creosote block pavement"
What ought to be DONE" said Mr