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The Fitzgerald Leader
Vol. XV
Mid-Month" ffeetint* of City
Council Monday N ght
City Council met in regular 1
session Monday night. June 20,
with Mayor Drew Paulk presiding
and the following named aldermen
present, Ware, Seanor, Duck¬
worth, White, J. M. Adams.
Minutes of the last regular and
special meeting of June 11th were
read and approved.
The following communication
was received from F. X. Daly,
Inepector of Plumbing of the City
of Macon.
Hon. Drew W. Paulk, Mayor
Fitzgerald Ga.
In compliance with request from
yourself and Sanitary Committee
to submit price for revising the
plumbing rules of your city, I beg
to say that I will formulate a
plumbing code governing the con-
struction of plumbing and sewer
connections that will be sanitary
in every respect, clearly set out
and suit all conditions in your city
for the sum of $50.00
Said amount includes expenses
of visiting your city and instruct¬
ing your sanitary Officer in the
new code.
Alderman Ware stated that as
Alderman Seanor had gone over
the city with the Inspector of
Plumbing, that he would like for
Mr. Seanor to speak to the Council
on the subject, Alberman Seanor
statedthat as the Mayor was in the
party, that he would prefer that he
advise as to the findings.
The Mayor stated to the Council
that he had gon ewith the Inspect¬
or in his investigations and that
the Inspector found that the
plumbing as installed, in very near
all cases complied with the plumb¬
ing ordinance now in force, and
that the only trouble was that the
ordinance referred to did not cover
the matter as fully as it should,
and the ordinance should be cor¬
rected to cover these defects.
Health Officer Osborne spoke to
the council in reference to the mat¬
ter, stat that the trouble with the
ordinance now in force, was that it
was not clear enough in a number
ofplaces, leaving to much latitude
for the plumbers, stating further
that Mr. Daly had left a copy of
the Macon Code and that he had
gone over same very carefully and
thought that if Council would ap¬
point a committee to revise the
present ordinance, that it could be
so corrected that it would cover
the matter as well as the Macon
code covered the Macon situation
in Macon,
Alderman Seanor moved that
the sanitary Commitee be instruct-
ed to faeet with the Plumbing In-
spector and that they have all the
plumbers represented and that
committee go over the present or-
finance and make such corrections
as are necessary to make it effee-
,tive. Motion carried.
A communication was received
from Witman & Muntford, of
Macon, Ga., enclosing a bill for
$118.80 for installing electric clock
and telephone system in the grad¬
ed school building. -Alderman J.
M • Adams stated that the School
Board had received a similar bill
and that there were some errors
in it, and that he had gone over
the bill with Dr. Dorminy. Alder-
man Seanor moved that the matter
be referred to committee on Pub-
lie Buildings and Grounds, and
that committee have Dr. Dorminey
to confer with them with a veiw
to having same properly adjusted.
Motion carried.
A communication was received
from Mrs. L. O. Tisdel, President
of the W. C. T. ,U.j stating that
the ice box had been completed
. Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County , Georgia, Friday, June 24, 1910.
and tested, and that any time the
city saw fit to furnish ice, it would
be appreciated. Same was filed
on motion of Alderman Seanor.
A communication was received
from Mr. J. A. J. Henderson,
president of the Ocilla Southern
Kail road, stating that their plans
were about completed to extend
their line to Fitzgerald and north¬
ward, asking that the City furnish
right of way from Ben Hill county
line through to Wilcox County in¬
cluding the city, and asked that
the city give an immediate hearing
as to what would be done. The
matter was discussed by the
counsel and Mr. J. E. Mercer was
asked to give his views on the
matter. Mr. Mercei stated to
the council that he thought that
the citizens should take action
promptly and try to secure the
lioad for the City, stating further
that he felt sure that if they would
meet Mr. Henderson and discuss
the matter with him that it would
be the proper thing and that he
had no doubt but that all details
could be arranged to the satisfac¬
tion of all parties.
Alderman Ware moved that the
Mayor appoint the City Council
as a body, together with a repre¬
sentative committe of citizens to
meet Mr. Henderson and that a
date be arranged with Mr. Ilender-
son for the meeting. Motion
carried, and the following named
citizens from the city and county
were appointed to meet with the
council, date to be fixed later: W.
R. Bowen J. E. Mercer, E. N.
Davis, E. K. Farmer, J. E. Tur¬
ner, A. B. Cook, J. I). Dorminev,
O. H. Elkins, Jas. Fletcher, R.
V. Handley, H. M. Warren, J.
C. Rogers, A. J. Swords, S. M.
Whitchard, Sydney Clare, C. A.
Newcomer, L. L. Griner, C. M.
Wise and W. R. Walker. The
Clerk was instructed to communi¬
cate with Mr. Henderson and ask
for a date for the meeting.
A communication was received
from the Enterprise Grocety Co ,
stating that during the first of the
year they had taken out a general
merchandise license and had operat-
ed under it with a very small stock
of groceries, and they now wanted
to open a meat market in connec-
tion with the grocery business,
and asked to be allowed to pay the
difference between the general
merchandise license and the meat
market license and grant them a
meat market license, stating that
most of the meat markets of the
city were carrying a stock of gro-
ceries. Alderman Ware request-
ed to be advised if a meat market
license permitted the holder to
handle groceries and vegetables,
On being advisedthat it did not,
he moved the ordinance covering
license been forced and that all
meat markets handling groceries
under a meat market license be
called upon to pay a license for
groceries, and moved further, that
as the year was half gone, that the
Enterprise Grocery be granted
a meat market license for the
remainder of the year for $12.50.
Motion carried.
a communication was received
an d read from Mr. C. M. Wise in
behalf of Mrs. Kirke, requesting
that a fine that had been imposed
on her in the Mayor’s court, for
maintaining a nuisance by keeping
Jogs on her premises, stating that
s he had now disposed of all the
dogs, excepting two, and that she
would dispose of these as soon as
she could do so, stating further
that at the time fine was imposed
she was not able to meet same
only by using the money she bad
saved to pay her City Taxes, and
that she had received a letter from
her husband who is in Tallahassee,
Fla., sick and unable to assist her
in any way, and that under the
circumstances he thought Council
could be doing no wrong by remit¬
ting the fine. Alderman Adams
moved that the fine be remitted
and that the matter be brought up
for final settlement and the refund
of fine at the first meeting in July.
Motion carried.
A communication was received
and read from Dr. C. D. Seely,
in which he stated that he was the
present owner of City lots 11 and
12 in square 2 Block 3 of the city
of Fitzgerald, and that said lots
were sold in 1909 for the city
taxes of 1908, and requested that
he be allowred to redeem said lots,
which were at time of sale purchas¬
ed bv the City of Fitzgerald, that
he was prepared to pay to the City
the taxes due on said lots up to
and including the present date,
together with the expenses of tax
sales, etc., stating further that he
held deeds up to the present trans¬
action. Alderman Seanor moved
that in view of the fact that Dr.
Seely held deeds as mentioned,
that he be allowed to redeem the
lots as requested. Motion carried.
A communication was received
and read from Dr. C. 1). Seely,
asking Council to reduce the assess¬
ment on lots 11 and 12 square 2
block 3, stating that said lots
were assessed $850.00, while lots
were assessed $850.00, while lots
had been offered for sale at $600.00
and that he had now purchased
the lots for $500.00. The matter
was discussed and it was found
that the lots referred to were not
assessed any higher than the ad¬
joining property, and on motion
of Alderman Ware to file the
communication, Dr. Seely asked
permission to withdraw same.
Permission being granted, same
was withdrawn.
Ordinance No. 313, 314, and
315 were given their second read¬
ings and passed.
Alderman Ware, chairman of
the Street and Alley Committee,
reported that his committee was
ready to make final report on
Ordinance 312, and recommended
that ordinance be passed, and
called for reading of said ordinance
312, same being an ordinance grant-
ing the Atlanta, Birmingham and
Atlantic Railroad Company the
right of way through and across
certain streets and alleys in the
City of Fitzgerald, Ga., and on
roll call same was passed.
Alderman Seanor introduced
the following resolution:
Be it resolved by the Mayor
and Council of the City of Fitz¬
gerald, that in view of the fact
that the sewerage system for said
city is now complete, that the
seavanger service now being con-
ducted under the direction of the
Mayor and Council, be discontinu-
ed withing the fire limits upon
the first day of July, 1910 and in
the residence portion of the city
or outside of the fire limits upon
the first day of September, 1910.
That upon the discontinuance of
such service, the Mayor rigidly
enforce section one of Ordinance
No. 315.
That the Clerk of the Council
run in both newspapers of the
City for four weeks a notice to
the public of the discontinuance of
the scavanger service and of the
provision of ordinance 315.
Signed, J. B. Seanor.
Alderman Ware moved that the
resolution be adopted and on roll
call, was adopted by the following
vote: “Ayes” Ware, Seanor, J.
M. Adams, White, Duckworth.
Will Stark Arrested
For Car Breaking
Deputies Charley Dixon and
Ben Barton did a nice bit of de¬
tective work last week in round¬
ing up Will Stark, whom they ar-
rested on Saturday, on the charge
of car breaking.
Car breaking seems to be
Stark’s long suit, as he has been
out of the gang only two weeks,
where he served two sentences for
offences of this nature. His late
acheivement along this line was
Wednesday of last week, when he
entered a car near the Seaboard
Depot and stole quite a supply of
kitchen provisions. The officers
arresting Stark found part of the
goods in his house and the other
part was distributed among his
several neighbors, to whom he
evidently sold the different arti¬
cles. These parties who were
also arrested by Officers Barton
and Dixon are, Hattie Devine,
Malinda Allen, Will Tolliver, Ma-
ry Roberson, and Albert Mat-
thews.
First M CKurch
At the First M. E. Church next
Sabbath morning the theme of the
sermon will be '‘The New Crea-
tion, in the evening, “Impulsive¬
ness.” The general public,
ally strangers, will find a cordial
welcome at every service.
E. J. Hammond, Pastor.
Presbyterian Church
Sunday June 26, 1910.
Regular services as follows:
9:45 11 a. m. and Sunday School.
by the a. pastor. m. 8 p. m. Preaching
Subject for morning: “Sabbath
Desecration.”
Know.” Evening: “How Little We
A congregational meet¬
ing will be held at the morning
service to consider the pastor’s
resignation, to which every
ber is expected to be present.
Notice To The Public.
By order of the City Council
the continued Scavenger service will be dis¬
in the Fire Limits up¬
on the First day of July 1910, and
without the Fire Limits upon the
First day of September 1910.
Your attention is directed to
Ordinance 315, Section one,
which provides a penalty not to
exceed Two Hundred Dollars to
be assessed anyone who uses a
Water Closetor Crinal not proper¬
ly connected with the Sewers, or
anyone who owns, rents, occupies,
or has charge of any property up-
on which is located a Water
Closet or Urinal not properly con¬
nected with the Sewers and who
fads to remove same at once.
This June 22nd, 1910.
E. L. Hanger, Clerk.
40 4t. City of Fitzgerald.
Alderman Seanor moved that as
resolution had been passed effect¬
ing scavenger service, that the
sanitary committee be instructed to
see the present scavenger in view
to making another contract with
him, for sixty days, at reduced
figures. Motion carried.
Health Officer Osborne called
the attention of Council to the
matter of dry disinfectant, stating
that there was none on hand. No
action taken.
Alderman J. M. Adams stated
to Council that he had received
bids for papering of the halls and
council chamber and treasurer’s
room, and that the work could be
done for $42.00. Alderman Ware
moved that Alderman Adams be
instructed to let the countract and
have the work done. Motion
carried.
No further business appearing,
Council adjourned on motion of
Alderman Ware.
Should Present City Court and
Chain Gang Be Abolished?
Fitzgerald, Ga., June 20,
An Open Letter to the Voters
Tax Payers, of Ben Hill County:
When a candidate for
announces to the people that he
a candidate , for that oihce , he
nounces a platform, and
should be done by the
for the General Assembly in
county in this state. The
ought to insist on each
for the important office,
through the press of the
the platform and principles
which he asks their suffrage.
There are several matters
vital importance to the people
Ben Hill County that should
brought before the people of
county, and if the people
with me and a large number
other tax payers thist the
of the legislature should
themselves through the
each candidate will declare
measures for which he stands
pledge himself to make an
effort to pass them in the
ture of Georgia if he is elected.
Our county is the
county in the State, and,
j g one 0 f ^ ie smallest counties
area and in population. Being
new county, our tax rate is .
voidably high, and will
be increased the present year
in the future, lest we have
laws passed to reduce
We are now maintaining a
chain gang and a city court at
large expense to the
The taxation for the county
gang has not been so much
the past year because we had
000 raised from the sale of
to meet these expenses, but
present year, and in the
we will not have this money
it will be necessary to
taxation to maintain the
gang. Our tax rate last year
$13.00 a thousand. While a
gang to work the roads of
county is all right if we
afford it, and it is a well
ed fact that we need good
and we especially need roads
automobiles: the question is
we able , to bear the taxation,
can't we keep up just as
roads under our old system as
can by taxing ourselves poor
maintain the present system.
cost of maintaining the chain
is approximately between
and $15,000 per annum.
City Court costs the tax
between $5,000 and $6,000
annum , and the great benefit
this Court is to the lawyers
and officers of the Court.
the City Court Act of this
it requires the county to pay
officers all of their costs if a
son is convicted and sent to
Superior Court and sent to
chain gang, the county does
pay a dollar of costs. Again
City Court has jurisdiction
the amount is $50.00 and up,
the justice courts have
up to $100, and a great many
ty transactions are brought
the Court that ought to be
to the justice courts and
often they are without
Under the city court charter
warrant is sworn out • some
without probable cause, and
of the peace binds him
The defendant does not have
benefit of an investigation by
grand jury, and while a
many cases have been nol
the officers have been paid
costs. I have been satisfied
if the grand jury had
these cases a great many of
would have been found
Number 40
merit and the grand jury would
have returned a no bill. The
justice of the peace would be
more reluctant to bind them over
and put the defendant in jail
when the grand jury would not
indict.
A bill should be introduced and
passed to abolish this court. A
bill should also be introduced
holding four terms a year of the
Superior Court, two of them with
a grand jury, and two without.
The cost of holding the superior
court with a clerk and sheriff,
two bailiffs and 24 to 36 jurors
would be approximately $550,
and it would hold four weeks
during the year at a cost of ap¬
proximately $2500. We are now
paying the Judge and Solicitor of
this Court $2700, besides jury
fees and the court costs that the
county is compelled to pay when
a person is convicted and sent to
the County chain gang. The
salary of the Judge and Solicitor
then would pay the expense of
holding the extra terms of the
Superior Court, and there would
be a saving to the county of 4 or
5 thousand dollars.
We pay the county treasurer
tor commissions . . approximately .
between two and three thousand
dollars. He is one of the best
paid officers in the conntv and has
but very little work to do. The
county treasurer should be put
upon a salary. We learn, that a
large number of counties in the
state have their treasurers on a
salary, and pay from $250 to $400
a year to the treasurer, and many
good men would be glad to take
it.
The jail is on the fee system
and it costs forty cents per day
each to feed the prisoners.
At an average of twenty inmates
per day the cost is $8.00 per day,
or $240 per month, with keys fees
that the sheriff'or jailer is entitled
to, to wit: the $1.20 he is entitled
to each time a prisoner is put in
jail or turned out. A bill should
introduced putting this jail in
the hands of the county commis-
sioMra and hold thera , iab|e and
chargeable with feeding the
prisoners. This would be a saving
of from twenty five to thirty per
cent.
Our county taxes for the past
year were $13.00 a thousand and
the city taxes $14, making the
citizens of Fitzgerald pay the sum
of $27.00 per thousand for taxes.
This is burdensome, and the only
way we can reduce these taxes
and to keep it from growing is
by abolishing the county chain
gang and the city Court, put the
jail in the hands of the county
commissioners and pay the treas-
urer a salary.
A great deal has been said and
published about working the
roads for automobiles, but the
farmers and we men in the medium
walks of life will have to pay all
of this great expense to maintain
the public roads and we don’t get
the benefit of the automobiles.
I am no enemy to the automobile,
but I don’t want to pay the fiddler
for some other man to dance.
You can work a road and before
it becomes firmly packed, one of
these automobiles weiging from
three to four thousand pounds
will come along going anywhere
from thirty to forty miles an
hour, tear it all to peices, so after
all we people who travel with a
little bob tail horse and a hard-tail
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