The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-09-18
CITY COMMISSION
HOW THEY GOVERN THEIR LIT.
TIE ISLAND-AS SEEN
FROM THE ROAD.

The city commissioners took Off
cial action in shifting their positions
last night at their weekly meeting i'm
the city hall. The supervision of
streets. sewers and salaries was given
into charge of A. G.. Schmidt when
T. A. Johnson found it necessary to
go away for medical and surgical
treatment. AS Mr.. Schmidt was
elected to fill the vacancy of j. A.
Johnson, who had charge of finance
and public safety, and there had been
no official action or record made Of
any change. he was in doubt as TO
just the departments over which he
was to preside. He brought the mat
ter up last night, and Mayor Robert
son appointed A. G. Schmidt as com
missioner of streets, sewers and sal
sioner of the less alliterative fl
nance and public sacety departments.
During the present unstable state of
our street scenery and until our land
scape is again resolved into features
which the ordinary citizen can recog-
nize from day to day as having IN
dergone no radical change during the
night. they will all give their time
and assistance to the street depart
ment.
T. A. Johnson was authorized TO
purchase a gravel pit of +. j. Ma
loney for the use Of the city. the
gravel of which will be used to mend
the dirt streets. There has been a
crying demand for this material for
some time on the part of the city.
and it is thought that this will settle
the shortage of the gravel for the city
use for some time to come.
The city is involved in litigation. d
suit for damage having been brought
by Emil Stark. his cause being from
the city having made graded streets
around his residence property. con
yerting the naturally low ground in
to a constant and consistent pond.
His bill recites damages to lettuce
beds and cabbages and cellar. and
the i'll health of the family and other
material injuries, various, diverse
and sundry, ii is said. The commits
sioners argued his rights and limita-
tions at length, and in detail, and i'm
their Owl minds, justified the acts Of
the city to a mathematical certainty,
and Mr.. Stark's delinquencies in buy
ing such property and living in such
a place We're just as firmly decided
City Attorney c.. j. orter was present.
but ~vouchsafed no legal opinion. He
was not asked any opinion.
Mrs. Alameda Brown is also max
ing insistent demands that the city
replace certain features of landscape
which improvements in the street OF
creek work has disturbed. The com
mission fidgets considerably over
some of the demands.
The ordinance against running
tractors weighing in excess of 5000
pounds over the streets, providing for
planking and obtaining permit of the
commissioner of streets, was given its
second reading. and adopted. The
appropriation ordinance was amend
ed in the item of the levy for sewers,
raising it to 3 5000 instead of $4,000.
There was much labor and travail
over this change. The ordinance had
been given one reading, and the time
for turning the levy ver to the coun-
ty auditor is getting short. When
the necessity for more money in this
fund was spoken of, this matter had
to be threshed out, considering
whether the board really had time to
make the change and get it through
the two weeks as amended. This
was finally settled satisfactorily,
then the original proposal of $4,000
for the fund was scaled down to the
S3 5000. The debate included almost
every possible phase, incident and
feature of W work, from the re
fusal to vote bonds at the last cleo
ton to the action taken by close
%neighbors of the septic tanks east of
the city. Mr.. Rae quoted the total of
the city levy as $4,000, and they
gasped once and turned to the con
sideration of buying a flusher for the
asphalt streets.
A representative of the S%tudebaker
wagon people was present with pic
lures and ~loquacity to sell a flusher.
He had all kinds, and would furnish
anything in this line that the com
missioners' hearts desired, but rec
commended one with a gasoline en-
CINE, which was guaranteed to flush
streets, spray wormy trees, or on oc-
casion be used al a fire wagon-the
price is now $1,700, and as usual, the
cost will be $500 more in a week or
two. The board was evidently deep
ly impressed, and the mayor. on be-