The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1914-08-21
Office Of Night Sergeant Abolished
and Salaries Of Police Officers
are Slashed Water Force
is Reduced
ELECT new HEAD
OF WATER DEPART.
Frank Scrimager Chosen to Succeed
PeytOn by Vote Of Five to Two
After Salary is Cut
to $50


Facing the necessity of curtailing
expenses, following a substantial cut
in the city estimate by the county ex
else board, the city council last night
armed itself with a knife and whit
tied the expenses of the city, cutting
salaries in the police and water de-
partment and dispensing with the SER
vices of three Ilen in those depart
ments.
Alderman Hayes started the carv-
ing early in the game when he intro
duced a motion that the position of
night police sergeant be abolished, the
same to date from September /. Mr.
Hayes stated that necessity demanded
that expenses be cut and as the task
was up to the council, they must be-
gin somewhere. The vote of the coun-
Gil was unanimous.
An ordinance was then introduced
repeating all conflicting ordinances
and cutting the salary of the water
superintendent from $125 to $50 per
month. A vote on the motion to pass
the ordinance as read showed Cavett,
Hayes, Loreatsen, Neal and DuBose
voting yes, with Harbour and Cane
man voting no.
rdI hn oil In, ..f
men from the water department,
Mayor Burton asked e. A. Peyton, wa
ter superintendent, for an opinion as
to whether or not two men could be
cut from the department without SER
iously Gripping the organization. "We
cannot dispense with two men in my
opinion. 1t is impossible to keep a
man on duty at the plant "a hours a
day, which would be the result if a
man were taken from the force there"
"If it were private business
instead of municipal it could be done,
couldn't it?" asked Mayor Burton.
"a municipal and an individual af-
fair differ" replied Mr.. Peyton. Put
one man down there "a hours a day
and Wen have the commissioner of
labor on our backsn
q regard municipal and individual
proposition as the same, said Mayor
Burton. IF it were my private bust
ness ! would cut the force at the plant
to one man."
Some discussion followed in which It
was brought out that the station is
now pumping about twelve hours a
day and has not pumped less than
eleven hours since the beginning of
the hot weather. In the opinion of
Mr. Peyton, one man could be cut from
the water department at the city of
flee and in the event extra help were
needed the same could be picked up
for a day or two at time.
"If it requires IL hours a day to
pump water for Chickasha, think it
is a mighty big one mans job,' said
Mr.. DuBose.
Alderman Hayes of the water com
mittee stated that that committee had
made an investigation of the PROPOSE
tion and that as far as they could see
there was practically no actual labor
to perform at the plant since the in
stallation of the electric pumps, but
that it was matter of tieing a man
up for number of hours. BY unan.
imous vote the council instructed the
water superintendent to cut off one
man at the city hall and one at the
water plant.
Very little discussion as to the cut
in the police department was evident
A motion by Lorentsen, seconded By
Cavett calling for cut of $40 per
month in the salaries of every police
man in the city, carried. The salaries
of the policemen range from $75 to
$95 per month. The motion does NOT
effect the chiefs salary, as that is
fixed by ordinance.
1t being the law for the city council
to elect water superintendent every
year and as yet such action by the
new council not having been taken
Alderman Carsman move dthe cleo
ton Of E. A. Peyton. The motion