The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-02-04

Amendment of the city charter to
give the common council whip hand
over the board of education, bobbed up
serenely at the meeting of the common
council on Monday evening and on the
motion of Alderman Kisten, the city
attorney was ordered to advise the
council at it's next regular meeting Of
the steps necessary for the council to
take to amend the city charter so as
to place the council more fully in
charge of the funds to be expended by
the schools. Alderman Sullivan of the
first ward opened the fight on the pres
ent system of levying the school tax
and the system had no defender at the
meeting. The demand of the council is
that the charter be amended by taking
from the school board the power to levy
the school tax and putting the board
into an advisory" capacity It's an
old fight in Kenosha. The same move
ment was started in the city several
years ago and it was stopped only after
more than eight hundred of the cleo
tors Of the city had signed a petition
demanding that the question be sub
mitted to the people for referendum.
When the promoters of the plan for
changing the charter found that the
matter must be submitted to the peo-
pie the proposed action was dropped
The big petition was never formally
filed with the city clerk and it is now
being held in a vault in Kenosha. Tt
is probable that the petition will now
b. filed if there is any serious effort to
change the present system of school
government in Kenosha. Many of the
members of the council seem to be
wholly in favor of changing the
method of school government Many
people of the city who are most friend
ly to the schools would welcome re-
duction in the membership of the board
of education, but these same people
would insist that the power of fixing
the school levy be left with the school
board rather than be transferred to
the common council.
Pitts Charges Bunk -
1t had been expected that there
would be a lot of sensations in connec-
ton with the Investigations of charges
brought against Street Commissioner
Pitts of the north division Pitts was
at the meeting of the council prepared
to defend himself, but when the matter
was called Alderman Tully, who had
made the charges, declared that he had
made an investigation of his own and
had found that tie charges were "iust
plain bunk. - This statement put an
end to the investigation, but the COM
missioner was questioned by the mem
bers of the council in regard to methods
of work. Alderman Kisten declared
that snow was being shoveled from
walks in the city without any charge
being returned and he demanded that
the lists of all walks shoveled be sub
mitted to the council. This will be
done at once and if all walks are not
on the list there will probably be some
fur flying.
The evidence to substantiate the
charges brought against Pitts is said
to have been based entirely on the
statement of a former commissioner.
Feb. % Last Day to Pay Taxes.
Acting under the authority granted
by the legislature the council by
unanimous vote extended the time for
the payment of the city taxes until the
last Monday in February-February
22nd. There was no debate on the
question.
The finance committee put an end to
further consideration of collecting
taxes semi annually. Alderman Shear
er, the chairman of the committee, de-
clared that he had taken the matter up
with the officials of fifteen cities and
had not been able to start any interest
In any of the cities and the committee
recommended that all activity on the
part of the city of Kenosha be dropped.
The report of the committee was
unanimously accepted.
The formal resolution to submit to
the people the proposition of issuing
bonds for the building of the Collins
street school, was adopted by the coun-
Gil and the question will be submitted
for the electors to decide at the April
election. The amount of the bonds is
| p1acad at S100 000 and +ba in+orar+ -, ! :
at five per cent.
The monthly report of the city treas
urer showed that the city now has a
balance of more than $4,000 in the
two repositories.
| The question of extending the school
districts of the city to take in territory
recently annexed to the city was
| brought up in a communication from
the county board of education. The
council voted to leave this matter with
the members of the Judiciary commit.