Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-05-12
TELL OFFICIALS TO
ENFORCE THE LAW
CONTINUED From Page ~

owner of the building pay the tax the
violator failed to pay. G.. B. Simmons
! insisted that the commissioners in
struct the assessor to assess the mulct
tax against all such places.
Mr.. Foster said that the leagues
have secured the evidence Of the vio-
lations they charge and ask the city
to enforce the laws and not make it
necessary for the private citizen to do
the work that the officials are paid to
do. Later In the course Of the talks
made Mr.. Foster stated that he had
evidence Of one of the commissioners
being in place where liquor was sold
since the saloons closed, but would not
mention names.
DR.. Sheafe in his remarks recalled
q conversation with the mayor when
the latter was an alderman in the old
council, and charged that Mr.. Leeny
then told him while they discussed the
existence of Bookkeeping, that if he was
the mayor he would stop bootlegging
in twenty-four hours. Mayor Leeny
said he recalled the conversation and
that he said it was the mayors place
to stop Bookkeeping, but that all was
being done to stop it.
Commissioner Bremhorst asked the
committee if it had served the same
notice on the sheriff and justices of
the peace, saying that the police have
had number of search warrants to
serve that were sworn in the justice
courts. He also asked for specific
instance where the city officials either
ordered the police to shield some Of
fender or turned violator loose when
the evidence was sufficient to convict.
G. B. Simmons cited the Rem Lane
case and was informed that the police
judge had the right to do as he did in
the case, and that he fined Lane, but
RENTED it upon certain conditions.
DR.. Lowry closed the remarks by
stating that the committee has the
evidence that the things charged are
being done, and that he believes the
police are efficient, but that if they
cannot find these violations they
should step down and out and let
others take their places.
Transact Regular Business.
After the visitors left the regular
business of the session was taken up.
c.. c. Edgington and G. F. Moss who
reside in the west end, asked the COM
missioners to take some steps to make
the Rock Island railroad clear natur-
al waterway on its right of way
which became clogged during the
storm Sunday night and flooded their
properties They were told to make
complaint to the railroad and that the
city would assist them although it had
no right to take up the matter itself.
A resolution for a permanent cement
sidewalk on West Maple avenue, be-
tween Court and Blackhawk streets
was passed. The dedication of a strip
of land, thirty feet wide, by Charles
Koran and wife for city street pur-
poses, was received and placed on tlle.
This land lies to the east of McPher-
son avenue and will be continuation
of Highland avenue, in the west end,
when that street is opened up A mo-
ton was made for the third reading
of the gas ordinance but it received no
second. The appointments of H. A.
Fielder as regular policeman. and j.
J. Tracy as street commissioner were
placed on file
The ordinance calling for the in
creasing of the police force to seven
men and the fire department to ten
men were both passed by a vote of two
to one. The council adjourned to
meet Friday afternoon, May Is, at 2
o'clock.