The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-08-08
Former Officials Signed Ac-
ceptance OF Sewer After
Defeat at Election.
DOCUMENT DATED APRIL Il
Names of all Members of Former Street
Assessment Committee Appear on the
Copy of Acceptance Which is Now in
Possession of the City Engineer.

Was there a deliberate effort, on the
part Of defeated office holders to COM
promise the city Of Kenosha in con-
neetion with the settlement for the
trunk severe This is the question that
lis being asked today by the members
of the common council following the
discovery Of the alleged acceptance of
the sewer by members of the street as
|sessment committee of the last admin
istration of former Mayor M. j.
Scholey. While it was thought that
the facts in the matter were pretty
well bottled up, a copy of the alleged
acceptance of the sewer was brought
to light this morning by City Engineer
Baltzer and this shows that the accep-
lance of the sewer was made after two
of the members of the street assess
ment committee had been retired from
office by the vote of the people
of the city and after the men
who had been elected to succeed them
had been formally declared elected and
had qualified for the offices by signing
their oaths of office.
The copy of the acceptance" was
found in the private records of City
Engineer Baltzer, slowed away with a
number Of his personal reports on the
progress that had been made on the
sewer. It bears the date Of April IL,
1912, and was evidently signed ten
| days after the city election was held
and full week after Mayor Scholey
had been declared defeated by the city
council and after Mayor Head had
signed his oath of office. The accep-
tance is signed by M. j. Seholey,
August Baltzer and George R. Wade.
| 1t is a straight acceptance of the
sewer and declares that after care
full investigation Of the work done by
the Cleary, White Newman Company,
with the exception of small amount
of uncompleted back filing, the ma
terials used in the sewer and the work
are formally accepted and approved
The acceptance is not in the form of a
report addressed to the common coun-
Gil, but it is addressed to the Cleary,
White Newman Company. Engineer
Baltzer declares that he held the ac-
ceptance as an unofficial record and
that he had declined to send the
same either to the old council or the
new council. At the time of the sign
| ing of the acceptance it was reported
that an effort would be made to have
| the council act on the sewer problem
| before the new council was organized,
but there was such storm of opposi-
tion to any plan for accepting the
sewer before all the work was complete
that the matter was not brought for
mally before the council. The aecep-
tance by the old street assessment COM
mittee was signed on the Friday before
the organization of the new council.
Members Of the council as we'll as
the city attorney hold that the accep-
lance could carry no weight as the
sewer must be accepted by the vote
of the council and at the best the
street assessment committee could only
make a recommendation. The contrac-
tors hold that the contract demands
that the work be done under the direc-
ton of the street assessment commit
tee and that the approval of this com
mittee of the work is all that was nee
essary to have the contract completed
and the work turned over to the city.
Undoubtedly the finding of the copy
of the acceptance will refresh the
memory of the former officials should
they be called into court to testify as to
their part in connection with it.
Mayor Head was not inaugurated as
mayor of the city until three days af-
ter the acceptance was signed by the
former mayor, but it is declared that
notwithstanding this fact the former
mayor had no right to sign the accep-
tance for at that time he had been so
far as the law is concerned, already
succeeded in Office.
The explanation of the men who
signed the acceptance is expected to be
of interest, and it is probable that the
former mayor will go into details in
explaining his actions as he is now a
candidate for an elective office and he
will desire to have himself set right
with the people. Former Alderman