The Sentinel=record., 1913-11-23

NH+foIlty 10 Purchase m Excess 0f
 $500 Without Authority of Council
 The last 5000 feet of fire hose pur. chased by Mayor McClendon and the Board of Public Affairs. and which cost about $5,000 will be the subject of some legal controversy it seams. following an action taken by Alder man Williamson yesterday in asking an injunction against Mayor McClen- don, George Housley and Gus Stradss or the Board of Public Affairs, and Acting Chief of the Fire Department Loyd Tate to prevent them from by any act accepting the shipment of 1 hose last received. Mr Williamson took the plaintiff end of the action, however as a cid ! zen and tax payer. rather than as member of the city council. and stat ed 10 the court that his object was merely to set up a precedent as to whether the Board of Public Affairs l could make purchases in excess of $500 without the authority of he council as the law provides the board shall have
 The action is defended by City Attorney Mclaughlin and the mayor ] not strictly on the right as written m the digest, but they maintain that the hose was bought by the board on a promise of eight members of the ely council 10 pass an ordinance later giving the board the authority to pur- chase. The defense is that the Board of Public Affairs acted on this au- thority.
 When, after this purchase was made Alderman Peden introduced au ordinance giving the board the au- thority to make the purchase the or. dinance failed to carry by vote of ! 10 l. and therefore the board has never yet received the authority for the action in open council,
 The opposition to the Peden ordi. nance to authorize the board to make The purchase was encountered be- cause 1t was stated, former orii- nance authorizing the board 10 pur- chase an auto truck. was defeated. Some of the aldermen thought the aerial truck more necessary than the last order for 5000 feet of hose. and when some who favored the hose pur. chases objected to the auto truck purchase. the whole Of the ordinance was defeated.
 ! City Attorney Mclaughlin sets ap that the last hose shipment is ji- ready accepted now, and hat the company can secure judgment against the city and get is money, whether the council ordered the pur- chase or not, and he sets up certain cases to prove this which would at least make the ci-y's defense of such an action embarrassing after the city attorney had took the stand that the city now is bound for the purchase because it has accepted,
 Alderman Williamson takes the oth- CT view. He says the hose shipment has been at the depot for about four weeks not accepted because the coun- cil had not passed the ordinance au. thorizing the purchase, and .hat when the city yesterday instructed Chief Tate 10 unbox and test out the hose, the acceptance would have been final but for his interposing wi-h this tenn porarv injunction, aud stopping tue procedure
 Chancellor Henderson stated that there were some very important ques tions involved IL appeared that the law was plain which provided hat the board of public affairs had 10 riebt to make a purchase in excess of $500 without the authority of m ordinance passed regularly by ta9| city council
 If also appeared to the chancellor that it might be dangerous 70 grant a temporary injunction against the uee of the fire hose. for should there break out big fire, the hose mlsht be found necessary
 As a compromise, until Monday al ternoon when the evidence will ne taken. Chancellor Henderson gave a strict injunction 10 Acting Chief Tate and all others not 10 perform any tct that would render further grounds Ter inc acceptance of this hose order ul' less there should be great neces sity for the hose. The chancellor made it plain that if ,here were other steps taken merely 10 aid the elCy contention of acceptance, the viola tors of the order would be fined 70 the extreme penalty and placed m iail but that if there should arise that unexpected necessity for the use of the hose that might possibly come, and afterwards the proof showed snch q necessity, he probably "ou'o help make up a sum to pay TOT lho hose and settle the controversy