The Detroit times., 1911-09-11
BRICK SQUABBLE is
NOW IN HANDS OF
TOWN LAWYER
Hsily Asked to Define Councils An
thOrity in Paving Material, With
Particular Reference to Unfn-
ished Job on Fort-st.
Plan is to Bring Commissioner
Haarer to Time If There's Any
Way Of Doing It.

The brick controversy IL now up 70
Corporation Counsel Hally entirely, as
far as the common council IL concern
ed. The council some time ago asked
Mr.. Hally for an opinion as 10 the
mayors right to veto bills for brick
ordered under contracts which he had
himself approved. but the opinion has
not been forthcoming as yet, though
Mr. Hally says he may have II ready
for Tuesday night Monday morning.
the committee on streets met to dis
cuss the holding up OF the paving OF
Fort-st. west. from Dearborn road TO
the River Rouge, and decided to sub
init some more questions to the cor
poration counsel, who was represented
In the meeting by his chief assistant.
Richard I. Lawson.
The questions which the COMMITTEES
wants answered are:
Can the common council com
pei the commissioner Of public
works to use any make Of brick
II may see At to specify in paw
ing street?
Has the common council the
right to order Fort-st paved with
cedar, Notwithstanding that the
contract has been let for a brick
pavement and that the assess
ments have been made out for q
brick pavement?
Is the commissioner Of public
works the sole dictator as TO what
materials shall be used In paving
jobs, and what brands Of brick
shall be used, or has the council
the right TO designate the mate
rials?
Mr.. Lawson will try to answer
these questions In time to enable the
committee to make some sort OF q
report to the council, Tuesday night
The committee will meet at 9 o'clock,
an hour before the council convenes.
for that purpose. II Mr. Lawson finds
that the council really has some pow
er I'm the matter, 1t In certain that the
commissioner will be ordered to get
busy and complete the pavement with
some kind OF material. Several OF tho
aldermen. notably Aid. Gilman. were
inclined to favor the substitution OF
cedar block for brick, and II this can
be done legally, without plunging the
city into q lawsuit and running the
risk OF invalidating the assessments,
the committee, according to the senti-
ment, Will be only too glad to order
the change. However. everything de-
pends on Mr.. Lawson's opinion.
! Commissioner Haarer was not pres
ent but Secretary Porter Murphy.
who represented him, stated that the
commissioner was willing to pave the
street with any brick he could get.
or with cedar block, II this could be
done legally. but he would not 60
outside of his contracts to buy brick.
| Mr.. Murphy went on to state that
the commissioner Is unable TO buy
any more Bessemer or Nelsonvillo
this year and that he could not get
enough Massillon to finish the street
These are the only three kinds of
brick that have passed the mayors
test OF 21 per cent abrasion. and the
manufacturers of the other six kinds
of brick used by the city have refused
TO make any further shipments until
the accumulated bills are paid The
inference from Mr. Murphy's state
ment was that the only way the coun-
ell can get the street paved Is by re-
leasing the bills for Medal block pur
chased to date.
| Several brick men were interested
| listeners In the meeting. Several OF
them expressed the opinion privately
that the city could not now change
TO cedar block. after entering into
contract for brick pavement, with
out invalidating the assessment roll
and getting into entanglements. This
| Is new paving, and the work is beinf
done under the forced paving clause
When the assessment district was
laid out there was no protest against
the use of brick and the assessment
roll was approved with the under
standing that brick was to be used
To change now to cedar block, would
give every interested property owner
an opportunity TO pay his assessment
under protest, II was pointed out.
Under the act creating the deparc
ment Of public works, the brick men
claim, the commissioner is sole
judge OF the materials to be used only
in re-surfacing or repaving Jobs. In
new paving the council can designate
what material Is 10 DO used, but az
ter the contracts are entered into.
the materials cannot be changed.
1