Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-04-14
HASTE CAUSES ITEMS
TO Be OVERLOOKED
Order for Warrants for Police Officers
Salaries Buried in Expense
Report
MACY TAKES A FLING
AT CITY ADMINISTRATION
Says There is No Responsible Head of
Affairs and Recommends Com
mission Form.

Covered deep in the report of the
committee on accounts and current ex-
penses were the items which told that
Police Officers Gaines, Sanders and
Fisher, whose salaries have beed held
up for the months of February and
March by injunction, were given heir
/ pay by order of the council, which met
last night in regular session in the
council chambers.
Recently Judge William Galloway
sustained demurrer to the complaint
of the city of Salem in relation to l..
j. Vibbert against City Recorder Elgia
to restrain him from paying the police
officers on the grounds of not being
residents of the city for three years.
Immediately on the dissolution of the
injunction by Judge Galloway, the Of
ficers received their salaries FOR Feb
ruary, the warrants for which had been
ordered drawn and signed by the
mayor.
Early in the routine of business the
report of the committee came up, but
before the items were half read, mo-
tion was made that the recommendation
be adopted. The motion was carried
through with rush that later became
obvious
When the street COMMITTEES recon-
monded that the outs tanding warrants
of the Warren Construction company.
which amounts in total to $1,000, be
paid, it gave Councilman Macy an op-
portunity to take fling at the man
ner in which city affairs are run under
the present charter system. Wholly on
account of the fact that warrants had
been issued when there was no money
to pay them, he declared, the city will
be compelled to pay $500 deficiency on
one block Of paving on Liberty street
between State and Ferry.
This mudde he said belonged to the
/ methods of doing business in the way
the city has for years. He said the
fact of the deficiency on Liberty street
was potent argument for the commits
sion form Of government. With the
city being run as it is now, he pointed
out that there was no responsible head
The street committee had recommend.
ed that $4l00 be transferred from the
general improvement fund to the Chem
eketa street fund, on which the largei
share of the warrants were due, leaving
Y balance due the company Of $4,000
The report stated the muddle on .thi.
street was caused by having the worl
done at two different periods, the last
part one year later then the first.
Councilman Southwick asked City At
torney Page for an explanation and he
replied by saying that it was difficult
matter to get everything Strengthened
out. The city attorney blamed the con
struetion company for sending fore,
of men here to urge the citizens to close
the contract and then press so hard ana
persstently for payment.
In the opinion of the city attorney
the fault lies in the fact that the munic.
ipality is required to carry the burden
of the city's improvements. He said
he believed the old scheme Of collecting
the money before the improvement was
made was better than the method now
in vogue He said there was cleaI
, liability on the part Of the city to pay
tho warrants.
After the city attorney completed hi,
explanation, Councilman Hatch, chair
man of the street committee, moved tn,
4, adoption of the report. The motor
| carried. Later in the evening a reso
luton, authorizing transfer out Ot
( the general fund to the ChemeketI
street fund to meet the outstanding
warrants with interest, was adopted.
} According to the report Of the wayi
/ and means committee, there will be N,
/ reduction of the force of employees II
5 the engineers office of the recorder :
, office as was at first contemplated
S After n careful investigation Of the sit
\ uation, the committee reported that
| reduction would tend to destroy the ef
= ficiency of the service rendered tn
= city, and reported that the propose'
s change was unwise. The report wa
r adopted.
r The committee on public building
t reported back on the bids submitted a
t the last meeting Of the council for SUP
; plying wood to the city for the seaso
c of 1914. The bid of the Star Wood CO
G for 100 cords of 4-foot slab wood Il
! T-s'V per tOfu WIS Htttpttu us II Dtltt
I bid considering the quality of the woo,
c than that Of the Sraulding Logging c.
i at $2.37la per cord. This was on aC
c count of the fact that the Star Woo
7 Co. S wood was not soaked in the rive
for a period Of time. A. r. Southwic
h was awarded the contract for furnish
c ing 80 cords of second-growth fir a
: $3.50 per cord delivered at the city hal
= by September /. The recommendation
7 Of the committee was adopted
The committee on ways and mean
1 establishing a method of conducting th
establishing ethod Of conducting tn
city elections reported that further cor
sideration of the matter be indefinite
= postponed
Several sewer refund claims were II
II ported favorably by the committee 0
accounts and current expenses an
y passed by the council.
IN In regard to the petition of .he prol
erty owners 10 pave the alley in bloc
RI 60 the committee on streets and tf
n. city attorney reported favorably an
recommended that the city engineer |
et instructed to give the necessary grade
The report was adopted.
oo The report of the street commit,
and the city engineer on the matter