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Doings Of The Common Council

Doings Of The Common Council image
Parent Issue
Day
13
Month
April
Year
1877
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The new Council held its first meeting on Thursday evening of last week, haring beeu convened in special session by the Mayor AU the members were in attendance. mayoh's inauoueal. Upou, taking the chair Mayor Craraor addressed the Council as follows : Gentlemen of the Common Council of the city of Ann Arbor : Called, with you, to assume the duties oi office by the voluntary acts of our fellow citlzens, it is perhaps appropriate and beütting on this occasion that I should cali your attention to a few of the responsibilities we are about to undertake. Happily located as we are, and pleasant as are our surrouudings, uevertheless it becomes us in the outset not to forget that with these come respon8ibilities that we cannot avoid. In an inland city, renowned for its educational mstitutions and the general intelligence of its people, it is especially meet that its Common Council should be composed of men whose life is so interwoven with the eutire interests of the city that all classes of society will feel an especial confidence in the authority and management of those to whom for the time beiug they have delegated their own power and judgmeut te a great extent. Where obstinate firmness is tempered with wisdom and prudence, strict economy with a wise discretion, arbitrary power with gentle kindness, firm convictions with an abounding charity, then the legislativo halls of auy municipality will become the fountain of good order from whence shall issue those laws and regulations wliich will gladden ratber than Hadden the entire body politie. In a city like ours there always has beeu, and always will be, much of difference in regard to the best line of policy to be pursued. The varying interests and occupations must naturally bring about such a result; but amidst all this, and out from all this the faithful, thinking, houest, city officer will be enabled, if governed by the principie of " malice toward none," to select the real truth, and when the same is on e found to adhere flrmly thereunto. Jobbery and favoritism in municipal governmeut has become almust the crying evil of the land, and here let me say that if any of us have come to these .uties with our hands and feet bound and haiued with promises of reward to friends or election services, better by far that we now esign and go home, for as sure as time will all uch plans be brought to light and their auhors to disgrace. Extravagance in city governments has already thrown upon tho taxpaying portion of municipalities a grievous burden and while :hey struggle annually or biennally to relieve ;hemselves, yet to many it seems like " hoping against hope." There is no good logic or good ense in saying because the charter of a city llows certain large amounts to be raised by ax for certain funds that the original intent was that the city legislator should endeavor to ae, as soon as he is lairly sworn into office, ïow soon and how lavishly he can scatter that uud. If two, five, or even ten hundred dolars of a certain iund should remain in the reasury of a city over one year there would e no revolt or revolution among the citizens, or would the public be obliged to cali public meetings of indignation in order to put their tamp of coniemnation on the acts of their tublic servants. Expenditures in a prudent direction will at 11 times be approved by all good citizens ; but he mere pastime of drawing clay upon a treet one Spring for the exceeding pleasure ot craping it off the next may be useful and ileasant to the clay, but of very little proflt to hose whose money toots the bilis. A day's work in this country always implies fidelity ud usef ulneas, but the placing on the streets he maimed, halt, blind, indolent and lazy is not only a diversion of the street fund for poor mrposes, but is an indirect bid to the idle and isious to come to your city and live as the riend of an Alderman and the almoner of the ity treasury. Variety in business is not only necesïary ut in accordance with the the taste of individuals, and is largely benefleial in a municipality on account of convenience and accomnodation, but the locality for certain specified tiuds' of business is to a great extent goverued y individual views and interests, and so long as the business is legitímate and right per se i is quite a stretch of power for the autnoriies to destroy or divert the business merely to please the uneasy or suit the olfactories of lome sensitive individuals who unfortunately lave placed themselves in too close proximity 0 a legitímate and lawful though not agreeble pursuit. gome men when elected to office are flatered thereby, and soon get into that habit of hinking which slowly draws them te the conlusion that theïr services are worth more than ;hey contracted with the public to do the duies for. Henee as soon as they flnd there is no way in the organic law ef a municipality by which they can get one dollar over and above a tat.prl onm. immediatoiy themsHlïBB Ui oii .o see how much of (in their estimation) extra ervice they can reuder and how large pay ;hey can get for the same, thereby indireotly mtting into their ppekets the price of a be;rayed trust, and Helling their masters to line their pockets with the thirty pieces of silver. Various schemes and devices are planned to accomplish this purpose, such as extra streets, sidewalks, sewers, crossings. alleys, lamp-posts, grades, amended charters and amended ordinances, until, to the uninitiated, it would seem that the laws of a city and the obligations of an offleer imposed no original duties but all were extras with a tremendous extra compensation. Now, if there is any duty in a muuicipalty that the laws of necessity and the demand 01 the people require should be done, which is outside of the legitímate duties of a Mayor, Recorder, or Alderman, then let the Common (Joiuicii as a body hire it done ; but let no member of said Council lower the dignity of his office by hiring himself, for no man can act as master and servant in the same transaction without one party or the other being defrauded. Change is not always progress, and in most cases that muuicipality legislates best that legislates the least. It costs but little to strike out an ordiuance or enactment, and yet it often provea erronous to adopt and enforce one, and many a Common Council could be better employed in weeding the erop already planted than in planting more with doubtful seed and in a doubtful soil. Good order and sobriety is for the well being of an individual family, corporate body or a State, and all opposers thereof are not only enemies of themaelves but enemies of the race. Our homes and firesides cali upon us by everything that is sacred and dear to act for others as we shall wish that others had acted for ours. It is not and ought not to be a cross or self-denial tor any man to do what the nearly unanimous voice of his own fellow citizens as well as his own conscience and judgment dictates to be right and for the universal well beiug of society. The good sense of any man teaches him that the night was made for sleep, and some portion of our time for rest and quiet, and the further natural reason of the thinking and caudid teaches them also that said sleep, rest, and quiet should not be disturbed by the frolics, orgieB or Bachanalian reveis of those around us. Almost by common consent, so much so that it might be called the law of the .and, have the people of this country decided that business should be closed at certain times bf night and on certain daya of the week. I speak not here as a religionist but as a man, with the kindneas and fearlessness of a man, when I say that any man who will willfully attempt to evade the law of rest, quiet, and good order on the Sabbath by sidedoors, screeu8, back alleys, or second stories, must expeet, and ought to expect, to atone for the offended law. Ai to matters of good order, in regard to which there are large differences of opinión, and a community are not only nearly divided in opinión but alao nearly divided in numbers, then other methods of persuasión must be used largely until oue sentiment or the other has gained such a stronghold upon the judgment and conscience of a eommuuity that a legislator would feel that he was but carrying out the common law of a commnnity in enforcing said views in a legal direction. Oppression and proscriptiou in a community is uot tho way to give a municipality thrift and enterprise, but a fair and liberal treatment of our neighbois on disputed points will do much more to strengthen our cause and weaken their than the opposite method of procedure. The member of a city government need not basten to impose new views, cultivated and obtained in a foreign soil or in a distant State, upon the community where he is a public servant. Rather in the spirit of the immortal Lincoln " let him wait the moving of the tidte before he steps into the healing waters." To make haste slowly is an old adage that is as well adapted to legislativo as to other departments ot life. No legislativo body entrusted with the interests of a muuicipality can succeed in estabhshing good order, permanensy, and economy, unless harmony shall largely prevail among the members of the Common Council. All ambitions of an unwarranted nature should be banished from the Council Council room. Each and every one should endeavor to exactly understand what the business is before him, and attend to that. A constant itching on the part of some persons to make business and speud the people's money, totally unflts them for a Couucil room. Every man's words should be few, unless he well understands what he is talking about, and the acts that he approves of or the bilis that he allows should be well investigated and examined. In fine, gentlemen, while carrying out the temporary trust accepted by us, let us not forget our responsibilities, but in all things hartnoniously and peacefully see that the city and its varied interests suffer nothing at our hands, BLKOTION OF CITY OFFIOBBSi On motion of Aid. Besimer, the Council ceeded to the election of city offloers, as fol lows: For Marshal and Chief of Pólice- lst ballot. 2d billot George W. Cook, 6 6 John G. Johnson, 8 ï Mr. Johnson declared elected. For City Attorney - Robt. E. Frazer, 6 8 B. F. Granger, 3 3 A. McReynolds, 2 2 J. Q. A, Sessions, 1 1 H. O. Waldrou, 1 E. J. Johnson, 1 - Mr, Frazer declared eleoted. For Treasurer - A. A. 'ferry, 6 9 E. J. Johnson, 2 1 Fred. Sorg, 3 3 J. M. Willcoxson, 2 1 James Jones, 1 Mr. Terry declared elected. STANDING 00MMITTEE8. The Mayor anuounced the following standing committees : Streets- Aldermen Besimer, Cate, Sprague, Page, McDonald, Kyer. Finance- Aldermen Gott, Ortmun, Woodruff. Sidewalks -Aldermen Schond, Bower, Gott, Woodruff, ürtman. General Fund - Aldermen Sprague, Bower, Kyer. Pólice- Aldermen McDonald, Besimer, Page. The bonds oi the following constables were approved : Wu. A. Shaw, George W. Brown, Tasper Imus, Andrew S. McMuhon, Eli S. Manly. Adjourned to Monday evening, May 6th,

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus