The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-05-17
Upper Branch Cuts Out
Forty eight Of It's Fifty
Sections.
FORD PURCHASE
GETS APPROVAL
Award Of Contract for Mayo's
Bridge Finally Gets Through.
Money Set Apart for New
School Sites-Nine- Hour
Scale for City Hall
Employees.

Eliminating fortyeight of the fifty
sections Of the carefully prepared traf-
fic code. the Board of Aldermen last
night adopted single section, reuuir-
ms drivers and pedestrians At all times
to comply with directions given By any
police officer. with voice or hand, I'm
oer penalty The resolution TO ac-
quirc the Ford's Hotel property was
concurred ill., after some debate. and
the award of contract for the new
Mayo Bridge confirmed. a large mum
/ Der Of street improvements were au-
thorized. and a number of ordinances
OF lesser importance were concurred In,
aud now 80 to the Mayor for his APP
provai.
a nine-hour day was hxcd for ali
| city employees. engaged in manual la
bor; $1,000 was set apart for sites
! Tor new public schools, including, the
/ Van Low property. a resolution con-
llrinlng award of contract for Gas
Works coalwaa recommitted ii appear
ins that the contract had not gone 10
Inc lowest bidder
| ian Traffic Ordinance.
The traffic code already adopted by
the Common Council and ordered print
ed Ut q previous meeting of the Board
was taken from the table. Mr.. Blilcy
opened The light By characterizing II
as the worst ordinance ever present
ca. Mr.. Bennett agreed that il should
NC burned-not passed. Mr.. Gunst
opposed further amendments and the
throwing of ordinance from pillar
70 posi-. month after month. without
concluded action. After prolonged de-
pate, Mr.. Bliley moved 10 strike out
Inc entire ordinance down TO section
| IN
section 80, making the penalty from 81
70 VIC, instead OF Sl00, and making the
enactinS clause section ).
AT Don l-eavy protested that people
ahehtlhs from cars and pedestrians
nad some rights. and that squeaIs had
oeen heerd In the lower branch from
| automobile owners. while in the Board
me undertaken trust" was seeking TO
XIII the measure. Objection was made
mat as amended the ordinance gave
+. Inc police certain rights to regulate
trafhc, but did not place any require
nents on drivers or chauffeurs, allow
ins them 10 go as they pleased. pro
vided there was no police interior
ence or directions TO the contrary.
fhe Clause Adopted.
The only clause left In the ordi-
nance, except the penalty and enact
ms clause, reads:
.tli"privcrs and pedestrians must ct
al times comply with any direction
/ given by voice or hand of any officer Of
i the police force as TO stopping, start
ing, approaching or departing from
any place and also as TO the manner
OF taking up or letting off passengers,
and the loading and unloading OF vo.
Eicles." The other forty-eight clauses
eliminated specified the manner in
which various classes of vehicles
should use the streets. their elimina-
ton leaving the whole matter With
/ out instructions TO any passing police
/ officer. The vote on the Bliley amend :
mcnt. apparently rejected on viva
vocc vote. resulted on roll call II TO
/ 10. as follows:
-Messrs. Adams. Bennett BIZ
| ley. Cowerdin. Grimes, Hobson. Kain,
! Melton. Nielsen. Patram and Whittet-
! II. Is
| Noes-Messrs Atkinson Butler,
| Donahoe. Don Lcevy. Gunst Mitchell,
Moore. Perdue, Powers. Rennolds-1o
MIR Don Leavy and several others
| asked to he recorded against the
amended ordinance which was adopt
/ ed. . to ., as follows:
] Ayes-Messrs. Adams, Bennett, Bill
/ ley, Cowardin Grimes. Hobson. Kahn.
/ Melton. Nielsen, Patram. Perdue. Whit
| tet-12
/ Noes-Mcssrs. Atkinson. Butler Don
ahoe. Don Leavy, Gunst Mitchell
/ Moore, Powers, Rennolds-s.
The ordinance gees back to the
/ lower branch for concurrence in
I, amendments.
/ Purchase of I'ord's Hotel.
/ There was some debate over the res
olutlon appropria ting s16s,000 for ac-
| QUESTION of the block bounded by
/ Eleventh., Twelfth, Broad and Capitol
F, Streets as site for a courthouse. Mir.
| Don Leavy objected to the manner OF
4 ~,
by court condemnation. He DID not
think that the property would advance
+! in value or that he city should be "sad
/ died with a 5000, 900 debt" for n court
! house. Mr.. Adams spoke In favor OF
| the purchase saying that he did not
believe the city at present needed the
/ lot or n courthouse. but that 1t would
| need 1t In the future, and should buy
/ while the property could be obtained
! at reasonable price. fie thought tina
the city should look to the future, and
| argued that the price was reasonable,
! $ compared with surrounding values.
On the roll call NIessrs Don Leavy and
Melton were the only dissenting votes,
the Board concurring, % to 2.
1 New Concrete bridge.
J Without debate the Board concurred
In awarding the contract for rein
forced concrete bridge over James
\ iNiSeT, u Eepihce NHyOS Bridge, to I.
J. Smith & Co., Incorporated, at the bid
price OF s224.734 An appropriation of
s26o,ss4 was concurred In. to include
the bid price on the bridge proper;
approaches, to cost $1,000; engineer
ing and supervision, $4,000: testing ma
tcriai, $4,000; Belgian block paving,
$4,000. An appropriation of $1,000 was
made for expert engineering advice So
cured BY the Committee on Streets
In m n kim p tho award ilJtFr. 55iji.l n