Telegraph Pole Taxes A tax imposed by the city of Richmond of $2 on each telegraph pole maintained in the city by plaintiff is valid, being reasonably proportionate to compensation for use of the street and for expenses of inspection, altho necessitating contribution from interstate business. (United States Supreme Court, Postal Telegraph-Cable Co. vs. City of Richmond, 39 Supreme Court Reporter, 265.) Vote Required to Authorize Bonds Under a statute authorizing issuance of municipal bonds on the assent of two-thirds of all the voters of the city "voting at an election to be held for that purpose," bonds may be issued on affirmative vote of twothirds of those voting on the proposition, altho less than two-thirds of all votes cast in the general election at which the proposition was submitted. (Missouri Supreme Court, State ex rel. Kansas City vs. Orear, 210 Southwestern Reporter, 392.) Nature of Municipal Corporations A municipal corporation is but a branch. of the state government established to aid the legislature in providing for the welfare of the public within the territory for which the municipality is organized. (California. District Court of Appeal, Akerman vs. Moody, 176 Pacific Reporter, 696.) Abandoning Local Improvements A municipal corporation has the lawful right to abandon a local improvement project, altho assessment rolls to cover the cost have been made and spread. (Illinois Supreme Court, Gray vs. City of Joliet, 122 Northeastern Reporter, 550.) Licensing Business Locations The ordinances of the city of High Point, N. C., vest in the City Manager power to license locations for meat markets, with provision for referring applications to the City Council in cases of doubt. It is held by the Supreme Court of the state, in the case of McIntyre vs. Murphy, 98 Southeastern Reporter, 820, that refusal of the municipal authorities to grant a license to conduct a market at a certain place, on the ground that the market would constitute a nuisance in the locality, will not be interfered with by the courts in the absence of proof that the refusal was arbitrary and unreasonable. Validity of Billboard Regulations An ordinance of the city of St. Louis is valid in its provisions limiting the area of billboards to 400 square feet, and their height to 14 feet above the ground; requiring a space of 4 feet between the bottom and the ground, and forbidding construction nearer than 6 feet to a building or the side of a lot, or within 2 feet of each other, or within 15 feet of the street line. If the main provisions of a billboard regulation bear proper relation to the public safety, it will not be held to be invalid because in some of its minor aspects it deals with uniform building lines, or other esthetic considerations. It is within the power of a city to discourage the construction of billboards by heavily taxing them. Restrictions imposed by ordinance are not to be invalidated because a billboard owner may have previously made advertising contracts which are rendered burdensome by such restrictions. (United States Supreme Court, St. Louis Poster Advertising Co. vs. City of St. Louis, 39 Supreme Court Reporter, 274.) Ratifying Unauthorized Contracts A municipal corporation is bound by a contract to purchase property made on its behalf by an unauthorized agent, where the transaction is within the scope of municipal affairs and the proper authorities signify a purpose to ratify the purchase. Hence, where water meters were sold and delivered to a city owning a water-supply system, upon an order given by the clerk of the city water board, and the city received the meters and paid for their installation, there was an implied ratification of the purchase, rendering the city liable for the agreed price. (West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, Union Water Meter Co. vs. Town of New Martinsville, 98 Southeastern Reporter, 516.) Assessments Against County Under the laws of Colorado a city is entitled to levy special improvement assessments against property owned by the county in which the city is situated, and can enforce the same by bringing suit against the county to collect the amount due. (Colorado Supreme Court, Board of Commissioners of El Paso County vs. City of Colorado Springs, 180 Pacific Reporter, 301.) Federal-ized Fire Fighting in Guardians of human life and public property, In the stern business of fire fighting, nothing but the most efficient and reliable of equipment can be tolerated. For this reason, good motor trucks are replacing horse equipment universally. And among the comparatively few makes of trucks so chosen, the growing number of Federals is significant of Federal dependability, speed, and ability to give year-round satisfaction. "Traffic News," an interesting motor truck magazine, will be mailed on request. FEDERAL MOTOR TRUCK COMPANY 34 FEDERAL STREET DETROIT, MICH FEDERAL One to Five Ton Capacities Constitutional Debt Limit Under provisions of the Kentucky constitution, limiting the power of certain cities. to incur indebtedness to three per cent of the aggregate value of the taxable property of the city, excepting as the public health or safety may create an emergency requiring the limit to be exceeded, it is held by the Kentucky Court of Appeals that, altho an emergency might arise for the acquisition of a water system, the city would not be justified in exceeding the debt limit for the purpose of acquiring a joint water system and electric light plant. (Samuels vs. City of Clinton, 211 Southwestern Reporter, 567.) Speaking of the object intended to be accomplished by the constitutional limitation, the Court remarks that the provisions "were intended by the people to protect themselves against themselves, when they should act under sudden impulse, or from expectations growing out of mistaken optimism, as to advantage and ability to pay, and thus burden themselves with public debts, for which they would receive in the end no fair consideration, and beyond the reasonable ability of municipalities to pay, and to protect the minority against the excessive optimism of the majority, but it was not intended by the section to deprive the municipality of all remedy necessary to preserve its health and safety, when an unexpected and hard-pressing necessity makes such remedy necessary." But, applying the limitation to electric light plants proposed to be acquired by small municipalities, the Court adds: "While an electric light plant and a system of electric lights is a great convenience and a most delightful and desirable luxury to the inhabitants of a municipality of the fifth class, the necessity of having one for safeguarding the public health, or public safety is not so great as to create an emergency which would authorize the municipality to create an indebtedness beyond the 3 per cent fixed by section 158 of the constitution." On the Calendar of Conventions AUGUST 12-14.-KINGSTON, ONT. Union of Canadian Municipalities. Annual convention. Secretary, W. D. Lighthall, Montreal Trust Building, Montreal, Que. AUGUST 12-14.-WEST ALLIS, WIS. Annual League of Wisconsin Municipalities. convention. Secretary, Ford H. MacGregor; Madison, Wis. AUGUST 19-29.-CHAUTAUQUA, N. Y. Open Forum National Council. A Summer School of Open Forum Methods. Secretary, Harold Marshall, 359 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. AUGUST 26-28.-HARTFORD, CONN. American Association of Park Superintendents. President, J. F. Foster, South Park System, Chicago, Ill. AUGUST 26-28.-ALLENTOWN, PA. League of Cities of the Third Class in Pennsyl vania. Annual convention, Secretary, Fred H. Gates, City Clerk, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. AUGUST 26-28.-TORONTO, ONT. Ontario Municipal Association. Annual meeting. Secretary, B. H. Spence, 705 Lumsden Building, Toronto, Ont. AUGUST 26-29.-TORONTO, ONT. Fire Marshals' Association of North America. Annual convention. Secretary, John G. Gamber, Springfield, Ill. AUGUST 27-29.-YARMOUTH, N. S. Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities. Annual convention. Secretary, Arthur Roberts, Town Solicitor, Bridgewater, N. S. AUGUST 28-29.-MADISON, WIS. Centralized Buying Conference, for representatives of state and federal purchasing departments. First national conference. Address M. F. Blumenfeld, Superintendent of Public Property, State House, Madison, Wis. SEPTEMBER 17-19.-MUSCATINE, IOWA. League of Iowa Municipalities. Annual convention. Secretary, Frank G. Pierce, Marshalltown, Iowa. SEPTEMBER 23-24.-DANVILLE, VA. League of Virginia Municipalities. Annual convention. Secretary, L. C. Brinson, Portsmouth, Va. SEPTEMBER 23-26.-CHICAGO, ILL. International Association of Municipal Electricians. Annual convention. Secretary, Clarence R. George, Houston, Tex. SEPTEMBER 29-OCTOBER 2.-CLEVELAND, OHIO. National Safety Council. Eighth Annual Safety Congress. Secretary, S. J. Williams, 208 LaSalle Street, Chicago, Ill. SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 3.-ALBANY, N. Y. New England Water Works Association. Annual convention. Secretary, Willard Kent, Narragansett Pier, R. I. OCTOBER 2-5.-URBANA, ILL. Better Community Conference. Held under the auspices of the University of Illinois. Address R. E. Hieronymus, Community Adviser, Urbana, Ill. OCTOBER 8-10.-ATCHISON, KANS. League of Kansas Municipalities. Annual convention. Secretary, Albert A. Long, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans. OCTOBER 27-29.-INDIANAPOLIS, IND. National Association of Commercial Organization Secretaries. Annual convention. Secretary, Willis Evans, Association of Commerce, Peoria, Ill. OCTOBER 27-30.-NEW ORLEANS, LA. American Public Health Association. Annual meeting. Secretary, A. W. Hedrich, 169 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Mass. OCTOBER 29-31.-PHILADELPHIA, PA. American Civic Association. Annual convention. Secretary, E. E. Marshall, Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. NOVEMBER 12-14.-NEW ORLEANS, LA. American Society of Municipal Improvements. Annual convention. Secretary, Charles Carroll Brown, 304 East Walnut Street, Bloomington, Ill. Shale that Machine Cut at 3 Ft. Per Minute Waterworks Men! Look to your costs in these days of P & H Equipment covers every phase PAWLING & HARNISCHFEGER GO. 660 Ft. In 3 Hours an During 1915, considered ordinary year, the city laid 25,000 ft. of 6- and 12-in. mains in hand excavated trenches at a labor cost for digging, laying and back-filling of 28.8c. a foot for the smaller and 36.08c. a foot for the larger size. Much more pipe was laid in 1916 and this year because of the rapid growth of the city. While complete unit costs for the last year's work have not yet been compiled, it is known that rising wages caused considerable increase over those of 1915. Records for 10,000 ft. of 6-in. main laid at one time last year show a total labor cost of 37.1c. per foot, of which digging alone represented 19c. with common labor 271⁄2c. an hour. The trench was in clay, with shale at the bottom. As compared with this, the first performance with the trenching machine, excavating for 1620 ft. of line, was accomplished at a fuel and labor cost of $132.84, or 8.2c. per foot for actual digging. This was in gravel which required sheeting, the cost of which is included in the above figure. On another occasion, in digging through cut-over land, where many large but partly rotted stumps were cut through, 682 ft. of trench was dug in four hours, at a cost of $7.55 for three men and 15 gal. of gasoline-only 1.1c. per foot. On Oct. 5 the machine made its speed record of 660 ft. in three hours, but $3.02 for gasoline and $1.88 for the wages of the engineer and helper being charged to the operation. This was about 3/4 of a cent per foot. Both trenches were in shale at the bottom. excavators, back fillers, tampers. |