Iditarod pioneer., 1915-06-05
COUNCIL, ! !,
 ME! E 2 !II||iii'l['lIl||NC 2 IN

Although there was bare quorum pres ent, and but few spectators, last Thursday evenings session of the Iditarod town coun- 1 cil was not without interest. Among the business transacted were the ordering of payment of number of bills, the report of i City Treasurer Button, the apportionment of S450 to the school board, the dropping from the pay roll of the chief of police, who was also ex offclo chief of the fire de partment, superintendent of streets and dog catcher, and discussion of the eternal dog problem.
 Mayor Stanton called the meeting to or der at about 8 80, with Councilmen Smith, Button, Ansley and Riley and Clerk Meyers in attendance After the regular routine the reading of bills was taken up, and this 1 developed an interesting incident which arose over bill of The Pioneer for printing city ordinance ordered by the members of the police committee The members of the finance committee refused to lndorse the bill and on the question of its payment the council divided--three voting in favor of it's payment and two against. The con- tention seemed to be that the police com mittee had no authority to authorize the expenditure All of the bills submitted were ordered paid. These totaled about $100.
 The financial report showed that there were outstanding city warrants to the amount of $1,328, and there was an in debtedness against the school district of s947. There was in the hands of the treas urer the sum of Sl 030 An apportionment of S450 was made to the school district, and the city warrants will be paid in numerical order to the extent of the funds on hand.
 Fire Department
 An interesting discussion of fire depart ment matters was preciptated by report submitted by Fire Chief Byers. When the present fire apparatus was purchased one of the principal arguments used in its be haIt was that no salaried official would be required to operate it that it could be put in use at a moments use by any one ot numerous volunteers who would be always at hand. The report of Mir Byers disposes of this belief. His report was as follows:
 "The city's fire fighting apparatus IS in perfect condition and is ready for instant service It is, however, valueless and may easily be ruined unless skilled mechanic IS in charge of the pump when n operation. When the office of watchman is discontinued ] with E. J. Uhl and Charles Denton to test the pump occasionally and to operate 1t during fires
 Tn my opinion, well should be exca- vated between the fire hall and the river for the pump suction. Accidents to the suction line, such as occurred at the time of the Winner fire, and recently when It was damaged by steamer, would then be impossible. The apparatus as 1t IS now IS out of commission when ice IS running. It will also be much easier to handle water Tn cold weather if the suction Is shortened and placed in we'll To construct such we'll and house, it should cost not more than $500
 The discharge line should be covered be- fore next winter. The valves at the hydrant pre steam valves and should be replaced by gate water valves. A bypass should be placed in the discharge line Ill the engine room, so that water may be returned to the we'll during tests. and not through the whole discharge line, as is now necessary. l attach list of supplies needed for this station, which includes fittings for this change. Approximately fifteen cords of wood and one hundred gallons of gasoline will be re quired by the fire department during the coming year There are on hand plenty Of supplies for the chemical engine.
 q have appreciably mitigated the dog nuisance and have not found it necessary to impound any dogs nor to make an arrest. If dog catcher is appointed, the ordinance should be amended so that owners may al low their dogs to run a short time during the evening or night Such an ordinance will meet with very little resistance. It IS my opinion that large majority ot the business men and citizens of ldltarod wish the dogs kept off the street during the day 'If the council wishes this ordinance en- forced, a dog catcher will have to be ap- pointed"
 On motion, the report of the fire chlet was accepted A motion was also carried that the further services of MT. Byers be dispensed with, the councilmen, however wishing it understood that this step was taken only because of lack of funds MT Bvers volunteered to continue Tn charge ot the fire station during the current month without pay, and he was duly thanked, and one councilman also suggested that he ought also to be thanked for past services.
 The Deg Question
 An extended discussion of the dog ordl- nance followed. An effort was made to au- thorize the police committee to appoint poundmaster to enforce the ordinance, and to clothe him with police power, but Mayor Stanton declared the city had no right to delegate the appointment of officials to committee It was stated that there were no applicants for the position. As the mat ter now stands, therefore, although the or ,dinance prohibiting dogs from running loose in the city limits is still in force, there IS no one to enforce it. If any ambitious and energetic citizen finds himself with tune hanging heavily on him, here is chance to find vent for pent-up energies and ac- uuire an interesting experience.
 The council adjourned at 9 45
 pTACAPDS big and small, printed on