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| "Grip's" presentation of former village president and board members. |
Cortland Semi-Weekly Standard, Tuesday, March 27, 1900.
ABSOLUTE UNANIMITY.
COMMON COUNCIL HOLDS ITS FIRST BUSINESS SESSION.
George J. Maycumber Appointed City Chamberlain, James R. Schermerhorn Commissioner of Charities, Eugene W. Bates Assessor—Bonds of Appointees Fixed—The National Bank of Cortland the Official Bank—C. F. Thompson Named for Temporary Chairman—Other Business.
The common council of the city of Cortland held its first full meeting Thursday night. The common council consists of the mayor and board of aldermen—one alderman from each of the six wards of the city. At the meeting Thursday night every member of the common council was present as follows: Mayor S. N. Holden, Alderman E. M. Yager from the First, Alderman C. F. Thompson from the Second, Alderman A. E. Buck from the Third, Alderman E. D. Wood from the Fourth, Alderman W. G. McKinney from the Fifth, and Alderman V. M. Skeele from the Sixth.
The city clerk’s office was pretty nearly full when the council got together, but the clerk had arranged a new scheme by placing his long table across the opening of the folding doors between the two offices, reserving the office proper for the council, the clerk and reporters and the outer room was open to the public at large. This room was crowded till after the appointments were made, and then all interest seemed to cease and nearly every one departed.
This was the first time the newly appointed aldermen from the Third and Fifth wards had been present and cordial greetings were exchanged on all sides. If the session of Thursday night is any indication of what is to follow during the year the common council is to be congratulated upon its business like and harmonious workings, and the city of Cortland is to be congratulated upon the excellence of its governing officers. The session was absolutely harmonious. There was not a divided vote upon anything and when a motion was made two or three often spoke out together to second it. The utmost good feeling prevailed.
It was 7:45 o’clock when Mayor Holden called the council to order with the remark, “Well, Mr. Clerk, are we all here?” Clerk Hatch called the roll and all the members were found to be present.
The first business brought before the council was the appointment of a city chamberlain. The provision of the charter was read in reference to this appointment by the mayor, and then Mayor Holden presented for the consideration of the council the name of George J . Maycumber for this office. Alderman Thompson moved to accept the nomination and ratify the appointment. This was seconded by Alderman Wood. Alderman Skeele called for the ayes and nays. All voted aye, and Mr. Maycumber was declared appointed.
The next matter was the appointment of a commissioner of charities. The mayor named as his appointee James R. Schermerhorn, Alderman Buck moved the acceptance and ratification of the appointment. Seconded by Alderman Thompson. Alderman Yager called for the ayes and nays. All voted aye, and Mr. Schermerhorn was declared appointed.
The mayor then named as his appointee for assessor to perform the duties of the elective assessor Eugene W. Bates, the recently elected assessor under the village charter. Alderman Skeele moved the acceptance and ratification of the appointment. Seconded by both Alderman Yager and McKinney. Ayes and nays were called for by Alderman Thompson, and all voted aye.
Clerk Hatch then brought up the matter of the resolution passed by the village board of trustees upon Dec. 12, 1899, for the sale of the Series A bonds for paving Lincoln-ave., Tompkins-st. and Port Watson-st., and the resolution passed by the village board upon Feb. 12, 1900, for the sale of Series B bonds for paving the same streets. The Series A bonds aggregate $23,800 sub-divided as follows: for Lincoln-ave. $2,900; for Port Watson-st., $9,900; for Tompkins-st., $11,000. The Series B bonds aggregate $15,056 26, subdivided as follows: for Lincoln-ave., $2,112.55; for Port Watson-st., $4,825.77; for Tompkins-st., $8,117.94. All bonds draw 4 per cent, payable semi-annually. The Series A bonds are due in twenty years from date, Jan. 1, 1900, and sold for $1.09876. The Series B bonds are due in ten equal annual payments from their date, Jan. 1, 1900, and sold for $1.02851. The clerk stated that the city attorney recommended that for legal reasons the common council adopt and ratify the two resolutions of the village trustees authorizing the sale of the bonds. Alderman Thompson made a motion to this effect; it was seconded by Alderman Buck and unanimously carried.
Alderman Buck inquired if the present street commissioner was working under the charge of the board of public works. Mayor Holden replied that he supposed the commissioner was still under the charge of the common council, and would continue there till the board of public works had organized and had notified the common council that it was organized and ready for business.
The charter provides that at one of the first meetings in each year the common council shall choose one of the aldermen to be temporary chairman who shall during that official year be the presiding officer of the common council in the absence of the mayor and while the mayor is absent from the city or unable to perform his duties, and that [the] presiding officer shall be acting mayor and have all the powers and duties and be subject to all the obligations and liabilities of the mayor.
Alderman McKinney was made teller and a vote by ballot was taken for presiding officer. The result was five votes for C. F. Thompson and one for E. D. Wood.
On motion of Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Buck, the election was made unanimous. Mr. Thompson briefly expressed his appreciation of the honor conferred.
Clerk Hatch called attention to the fact that the city needed an official seal, and on motion of Alderman Buck, the clerk was authorized to procure a corporate, official, engraved seal of the city of Cortland.
On motion of Alderman Yager, seconded by Alderman Thompson and unanimously carried the official bond of the city judge was fixed at $5,000.
On motion of Alderman McKinney, seconded by Alderman Wood, and unanimously carried, the bond of the commissioner of charities was fixed at $2,000.
On motion of Alderman Buck, seconded by Alderman Skeele, and unanimously carried, the salary of the commissioner of charities for the balance of this official year was fixed at its pro rata share of the annual salary of $400.
On motion of Alderman Yager, seconded by Alderman Skeele, and unanimously carried, the salary of the city chamberlain for the balance of this official year was fixed at its pro rata share of the annual salary of $900.
On motion of Alderman McKinney, seconded by Alderman Buck, and unanimously carried, the salary of the city assessor for the balance of this official year was fixed at its pro rata share of the annual salary of $300.
On motion of Alderman Skeele, seconded by Alderman Buck, and unanimously carried, the bond of the city chamberlain was fixed at $100,000.
The charter provides that the common council shall name an official bank in which all city funds shall be deposited. On motion of Alderman Thompson, seconded by Alderman McKinney, and unanimously carried, The National bank of Cortland was decided upon as the official bank for the remainder of this year.
The matter of the judgment of the paving company against the village for the Traction company’s share of the paving was brought up. That judgment on March 15, 1899, amounted to $14,520, and with accrued interest is now about $15,000. It was stated that the Cortland Savings bank was willing to take the city’s bonds for this amount at four per cent, payable in eight years with an option to pay all before if it desired to do so. The Traction company is paying the interest on this judgment, and it is now running at six per cent, but the council thought it would be best to get the reduced rate of interest as soon as possible. The matter was, however, held open till the next meeting to give a little further opportunity for consideration and consultation.
A number of matters in relation to the provisions of the charter was brought up and discussed with the idea of becoming better acquainted with its provisions.
At 10:13 after a session of just two hours and a half the common council adjourned to go to the St. Patrick’s [A. O. H.] banquet at Empire hall, where they had been invited. It was a subject of much felicitation on the part of all that the meeting had been one of such harmony. But it is a business organization, composed of business men, and it purposes to and undoubtedly will conduct all its affairs in a purely business manner.
The next meeting will be held on Monday evening, March 26, at 7:30 o’clock.
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| Ferdinand E. Smith. |
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
Committees Appointed by President F. D. Smith for the Coming Year.
President F. D. Smith of the board of education announces the following committees for the coming year:
Teachers—C. F. Brown, A. W. Edgcomb, G. J. Mager.
Buildings and Grounds—G. J. Mager, W. J. Greenman, N. J. Peck.
Text Books, Library and Printing—N. J. Peck, E, Keator, F. P. Hakes.
Supplies—E. Keator, A. W. Edgcomb, W. J. Greenman.
Insurance—M. H. Yale, N. J. Peck, E. Keator.
Fuel—F. P. Hakes, M. H. Yale, G. J. Mager.
Rules and Regulations—N. J. Peck, G. J. Mager, C. F. Brown.
Compulsory Education and Janitors—W. J. Greenman, M. H. Yale, G. J. Mager.
School Visitation—A. W. Edgcomb, C. F. Brow n, F. P. Hakes.
For the New City Directory.
Mr. Samuel Parsons wishes to announce to the people of the city of Cortland that he will be in the city to make the general canvass for his directory of Cortland city and county for 1900, as soon as the general moving is over or about April 13.
An Aged Postmaster.
Roswell Beardsley of North Lansing, who will be 91 years old the 5th of next July is confined to his room and unable to attend to his duties. He was appointed postmaster on June 28, 1828.—Ithaca Journal.
SAVINGS BANK CHANGE.
The New Location to be Fitted with Every Convenience.
The officials of the Cortland Savings bank were at the Keator building Saturday afternoon with Mr. Edward Keator, the owner, and Contractor D. G. Corwin deciding upon the changes to be made in preparation for the removal of the bank to its new quarters May 1. The store is 20 feet wide and 47 feet deep. The large entrance door is to be moved from the center to the north side, leading in to the lobby which is for the use of patrons of the bank. The whole front of the present store except where the door is will be of plate glass. The working place for the officers and employees of the bank will be upon the south side, and new windows on Port Watson-st. will be cut through to give additional light. About two-thirds of the way back from the front will be the new vault which is to be of large size. In its rear will be the bank parlor and consulting room. A door from the lobby leads into this on the north side of the vault. There is another door from the parlor on the south side leading into the office proper, while the only way of entrance for the officials to their desks will be through the parlor. Plenty of desk room will be arranged, and the office space and the lobby space in front for the public will both be fully twice as great as in the present bank. A furnace is to be put in to furnish heat and everything will be made very convenient and comfortable for work.
Mail-Order Success.
Twelve years ago Sears, Roebuck & Co., started in Minneapolis, Minn., in a small way to do a mail-order business in general merchandise, supplying the farmers and people in small towns with such goods as they needed. To-day this same firm occupy an entire block in Chicago, employ 900 people, have 700,000 customers on their books. Their postage account amounts to over $400 a day. They issue a catalogue of 1,100 pages, containing over 75,000 different articles. It took forty carloads of white paper to print it, and the postage to send it to their different customers amounted to $100,000. Furthermore, this mammoth business requires 250 auxiliary catalogues covering different lines of goods. During the last year they used 40,000 yards of cloth for samples, each measuring 1 by 1 1/2 inches. They sold over 1,000 separate pieces of men’s clothes daily, and more than 700 men’s suits; 25,000 to 30,000 wheels were disposed of this summer, while 100,000 vehicles were sold in ninety days. These figures, while stupendous, are facts which were recently verified from the books of Sears, Roebuck & Co., by the advertising manager of the Weekly Inter-Ocean. This is what judicious advertising has done, and to-day the greatest item of this gigantic enterprise is advertising.—Mail-Order Journal.
SAME OLD TRUCK.
He Eats and Sleeps and Talks and Looks at Pictures.
The Auburn correspondent of the Syracuse Sunday Herald says: “John Truck, the Cortland county murderer who is sentenced to be electrocuted during the week of April 29 has been given the cell nearest the door opening into the death chamber in “murderers’ row,” Auburn prison. He will probably remain there until he is led out for execution, although the other condemned men will be shifted around from time to time.
It has been customary until lately to keep the condemned men in the cell they first occupy upon entering the prison, but a new rule has been established in order to further safeguard against the possibility of suicide. Now the condemned men are frequently shifted from one cell to another and the one formerly occupied is carefully searched whenever the shift is made.
Truck still keeps up his iron nerve and believes as firmly as ever that he will secure a new trial. He has an excellent appetite and appears to relish the food served out to him. The bill of fare is a varied one and any particular delicacy which he may desire will be given him, providing it is easily obtainable. He has not yet manifested any desire for spiritual consolation and acts like a man who has a long lease of life in front of him. He spends the time mostly in talking with his fellow prisoners and in reading the illustrated periodicals.
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