The Common Council

Mayor Beakes bad it planned with his coterie to surprise the common council visitors a little, Monday evening, but the newg leaked out during the day and reached The Register office. They had no surprise in store, therefore. Their plan was well worked out and a majority had promised to vote for it. First, the fire commissioners reported that they would like to have the chief of the fire department given the work of distributing the poor fund, thus taking away that patronage from the city marshal. Tira singular roquest was itself enough to give an inklÍDg of what was to follow. Then they announced that taey had appointed Pred. Sipley chief of the fire department with a salary of $60 per month. Later Fred. Sipley's resignation as city marshal was read and promptly accepted and the report of the fire commissionera was adopted. Then Mayor Beakes' commun catión was read, announcing his appointment of Ex-Sheriff Walsh to the position of city marshal, and it was immediately confirmed. Bat Aid. Allmendinger had a genuine surprise for Sipley's admirers, who use public patronage to reward the mayor (or truculence to the saloons. Rule 20 of the common council requires a vote of twothirds of all the members to pass any resolution creating a fiuancial obligation, if there be an objection raised by a single member. The resolution bestowing the printing upon the Argus without competition received only eight votes, one short of the necessary number. Both Aid. Allmendinger and A. F. Martin had objected very yigorously to the passage of the resolution. The council didrt know what to do about it, and floundered around for sorae time. Aid. C. Martin said he supposed they ought to reconsider the vote on the resolution. President Belser ruled very oorrectly that there was nothing to reconsider, as the resolution was not passed. Aid. Allmendinger offered a resolution that the clerk be instructed to receive bids from the four city papers for printing the proceedings of the council, boards, etc, but this was promptly tabled, and the city ia yet without a legal official paper. This city printing business is causing the common council much trouble. The proceedings of the meetings under the new charter have not been printed as the charter requires, ezcept the proceedings of last week, and now it geems that that was not done in striotly proper form ; for the Argus is really not the official paper of the city. On account of all this the saloonkeepers were nervous lest they had no liquor bonds. The bondg were accepted by the council ; but as the proceedings had not been printed as the charter requires, perhaps they are not legal. Awful possibility 1 Instead of taking the commongenge course of having the proceedingB printed. they were going to make sure of the bonds and let the rest go to the dogs, and so they acoepted the bonds all over again, and City Clerk Bach will have to spread the list on the record a second time. All the rest of the proceedings may rest under a cloud of technical defect, but the liquor bonds, never ! A communication from the board of public works announced that Nelson Sutherland had been appointed street commissioner, and his salary fixed at $800. He is required to keep a horse and light wagon for use in his work, and devote his whole time to the city. Prof. J. B. Davis was appointed city engineer. The report was adopted with only one opposing vote, that of Aid. Spafford. It is understood that Mr. Sutherland will resign his position of deputy sheriff. The street committee reported in regard to widening Division-st, that the parties whose property would directly be benefited by the wideningofthe street had not eigned the petition, and that it was not advisable to do anything so long as that was so. The report was adopted. Richard Zeeb was appointed a special pol ce for the Baptist church and Albert Pierce for the fair grounds, without expense to the city. H. F. Belser, H." Kittredge, and others asked for the extensión and opening ol First-st, from Miller ave. to Felch-et. The city marshal reported that he was unable to find Mrs. A. DeForest to notify her relative to the decisión of the council that her building on Detroit-st must be pulled down, and the cotice had been served on Jas. R. Bach, her agent. The liquor bonds of John Kahoe and Michael Bteeb were accepted. The amount of the bond of the city treasurer was fixed at $80,000. Will W. Watt's bond was presented with the following Rureties : Moses Seabolt, $15,000 ; Fred. Schmid, $10,000; J. C. Watts, $12,000; N. J. Kyer, $10 000; Eugene B. Abel, $10,000 ; Fred. A. Howlett, $3,000 ; John R. Miner, $20,000. Aid. Allmendinger, as chairman of the committee on ordinances, read a proposed ordinance governing the sidewalk question.