THE CITY WRONGED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1048, 10 February 1911, Page 8

THE CITY WRONGED.

QUESTION OF WATER MAINS. A REPORT ANTICIPATED. . WARM DEBATE IN COUNCIL. At tho meeting of the City Council last evening Councillor Cohen brought up the question of a report from tho Superintendent of tho Firo Brigado published in a local paper on the previous day. The speaker did not know who had given out tho report. Tho Mayor: I will find out for you. , Councillor Cohen: * I think something ought to be said about it. ; Tho Mayor at.this stage ruled that Councillor Cohen could only proceed by the unanimous consent of tho council. The council on a vote gave tho desired authority. ' i Councillor Cohen was proceeding when Councillor Hindmarsh said: "I moved that wo hear Councillor Cohen. AVe can't hear hinnover here." ' •.. ■". Continuing, Councillor Cohen said tho "report to-which ho had referred stated that in a number of- important streets there were only three-inch mains. Tho speaker supposed tho report would be telegraphed all over tho world. (Laughter;) ■• .:-■-,■• ■•-..■ Councillors: Is it correct? ;. Councillor. Coh.»n: ; No, it is not- correct! '- '•■ - - '•" •■ ; '- '■■ ■ ".';'"-■' Councillor Fletcher, rising to a poin.t of order, asked whether. Councillor Concn had been given liberty to speak as to the propriety of hnnding tho report to tno' press" or to discuss tho report itself. Tho Mayor said he. could not restrict Councillor Cohcn's'remorksso long as he spoke to the report. . ' . ' '. Councillor Cohen, resuming, again referred to a statement in the report that certain* streets contained' only tnrcc-inch mains.' • • ' • '■, ' The Mayor: The engineer tells mo that that'is incorrect.. ; .". '-.'.* ■ ■'• - Councillor Cohen stated that somo .of tho streets-said to '.contain,- 'only- threeinch mains also, had sir-inch and some both five-inch and twelve-inch mains. The report as it stood was'no right thing to givo to the,papers. • ■. '■~.,' Tho'Mayor said tho engineer had-told him, that tho .repor.t-.tjiven by somobodyto a newspaper was erroneous in its state-, ments about .watermains. It was a fact that streets said in the report to contain" three-inch - mains contained five and twelve-inch mains as well. Tho, speaker agreed that an injustice had been dono the city.' lie was informed that tho report had not beer, gone over by the committee and had not been, considered. ■ ■ • Councillor Trevor said ho objected to this sort of thing.'and thought it should bo stopped.. It was scarcely the thing to.have reports in tho papers before mem-; bers of the.council had seen them. . ' . i The 1 Mayor: "Bear, heir." Continuing, Mr. Wilton! said the Town Clerk informed . him .that'the report had not been given out. from, tho council office nor from' the Firo Brigade. A copy had been "iven to every member of. tho committee, "'ho committee must tako itself to task. One of its. member: must havo handed out. the. report. . Councillor Cnrmichael:' I. did not! Councillor. Trevor said tho report was published before it. was, supplied to tho committee. . . ' < ■''.■"'■ ■ The'• Mayor said he wanted to say 'f members that for the sako of the city they should' prevent 1 future ; happenings of the kind. He did not blame any newspaper, for displaying journalistic enterprise in, getting a -report ahead of ordinary procedure. • At tho. same tiino he asked that before printing a report of this kind they shoull verify it from sonic substantial siurce. In his opinion it was unquestionable that a great! wrong had been done the city by the publication cf this report in the form in which it had ,apneared. r -.., - .„..,..,.,,.. . Councillor Barber: Is not 'tho"report sisrned by the superintendent of the Fire Brigade? , ' •■

.Tho Mayor; Tea. , Councillor Barber asked if this'were not a. sufficient verification for any nowspaper? ' *' ' The"jrai:ojf: It should' be verified by the committee. The superintendent might report on three-inch mains and tho publio toko it for granted that these ■were all-tho street contained.. , What was reported was correct, but there were other mains that had not. been mentioned. ' ■ •

Councillor Frost said the members of the.committee were absolutely freo from suspicion in this matter, personally, tho speaker read the report in Hie paper before ho -received it inordinary course. Councillor Cohen: I can say tho same.

• Councillor Fletcher, who had now obtained a copy of the report, roso at this stage"to-state-that the matter was much |inorP v sorious than he.had at first deemed if. v Ho" understood 'now that - the superintendent of the Firo Brigade, in , this' city had roported that there were only three-inch mains in certain streets. •Tho speaker understood further that the '■ superintendent did' not know tho position of other mains in the samo streets. ,"Ho says," continued Councillor. Fletcher, ''that in many of the " streets' there are threwnch mains.only. Why, sir, it is a.scaudalons thins!" Tho' Mayor said tho engineer informfd him that every street. mentioned in the report, with the exception of Waring Taylor Street, contained other than three-inch mains in addition to tho three-inch; Waring Taylor Street was crossed at either end by a large main. Councillor Fletcher: "Tho most important part of the business is that our superintendent of Firo Bricado is not awnro of the existence of these mains." Councillor ShirtclifTe moved that the superintendent bo asked for an explanation .of his report. ... The motion was carried on the voices.