The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-08-15
HELD ACCEPTANCE VALUELESS
Engineer Baltzer Declares He Signed it
Only After Protest and Then on Ad-
vice of Attorney-City Attorney
Sees no Chance for Loss to City.

The street assessment committee Of
the common council had heart to
heart session at the city hall on We'd
nesday to take up the proposition of
the alleged acceptance of the trunk
sewer by their predecessors. City At
torney Slater was present at the meet
ing and the copy of the acceptance
which had been in the hands Of the
city engineer was turned over to the
mayor and the city attorney, after a
careful inspection of it, declared that
in his opinion it would in no way affect
the bill for extra work now pending
before the council. City Engineer Bait
Ter in turning over the acceptance,
turned over to the committee a number
of other private papers that he had in
connection with the construction of the
sewer and he made perfectly frank
statement to the committee in regard
to the matter. He declared that he
had objected to signing the acceptance
at the time and that he had refused to
sign it until after he had consulted an
attorney and had been advised that
the course was perfectly proper and
that the signing of the acceptance was
in no way binding upon the city coun-
Gil. He stated that the acceptance had
been signed in Kenosha by the former
members of the street assessment COM
mittee and that the original copy of it
had been turned over to Engineer
Haley who represented the contracting
firm at the conference.
Mr.. Baltzer declared that he had
been told by members of the contract
ing firm that the acceptance would
never be used after he had refused to
send it to the common council, and he
asserted that he was willing to give
to the committee every possible aid
toward the settlement Of the PRESENT
difficulty.
At the time the acceptance was
signed efforts were being made 10 clear
up all the work in connection with the
sewer in order that the final settle
ment might be arranged by the former
council and this is given as the reason
for the acceptance.
City Attorney Slater went carefully
into the nature of the unique document
and he was not willing to say of hand
that the acceptance had no weight,
He declared that the acceptance might
affect the sewer as to the manner i'll
which the work was done. There has
been absolutely no complaints against
the sewer save the complaint that in
some places there is sand in the big
pipe. 1t is understood that the con-
tractors are perfectly willing to see
that the sewer is flushed from one end
to the other before it is finally &C
cepted by the council.
It is also declared that the alleged
acceptance will not be presented to the
council in any formal demand that may
be made for the closing up of the con-
tract.
The records of the aldermen and the
mayor have been carefully considered
in connection with the case and it is
certain that Mayor Head and Alder
man Rauen had both taken their oath
of Office and had qualified as officials
of the city before the acceptance was
signed.
No time has been set for further
conference on the bill for extras and
it is regarded as certain that the mat
ter will go to the courts before set
Element is reached.