USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens > Part 25
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No aldermen shall be personally interested in any public contract or in the sale or furnish- ing of any labor, material, merchandise or sup- plies to the city, any ward or any official thereof. No alderman shall vote upon any question in which he has any direct personal in-
terest. An alderman violating any of these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor.
The Council shall control all finances, rights and interests, buildings and property belonging to the city.
The Council can control by ordinance the river so far as navigation, ferries, docks, etc., are concerned; can control and regulate erection of buildings; prescribe location of buildings; can appoint sealer of weights and measures; can prevent paupers being brought to the city ; can lay out and regulate management of market places; can preserve peace, restrain gambling, license hotels, saloons, plumbers; punish drunk- ards, vagrants, beggars, fortune tellers, disor- derly persons ; license circuses ; define what con- stitutes a nuisance; regulate slaughter houses and buildings for storage of explosives ; prevent obstructions on streets, alleys and sidewalks; control riding or driving on streets; prevent dogs running at large; designate routes of parades ; establish pounds ; prevent desecration of the Sabbath; protect cemeteries; erect City Hall and needful buildings; can acquire works by purchase or otherwise for the purpose of supplying the city with electric light, power or heat; regulate the setting of awnings, posts, etc. ; license pawnbrokers, auctioneers, butchers; regulate weights and measures ; assess and col- lect taxes ; employ all persons confined in jail for non-payment of fines; punish offenders of ordinances ; purchase land for cemetery outside of city; appoint fire wardens; light alleys and streets ; regulate construction of and clean cel- lars, slips, barns, drains, etc .; prescribe rules for undertakers; regulate soliciting of guests for hotels; fix jurors' fees; regulate construc- tion of partition fences, walls or buildings ; reg- ulate crowds at fires by police; inspect boilers ; regulate laying of gas pipes; regulate quality and weight of bread; regulate height of tele- phone and other poles; regulate stringing of
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wires, and conducting of telephone exchanges ; require building permits ; construct a city mar- ket ; prescribe conditions of licenses for tran- sient traders; own voting machines; own and operate system of water-works.
The Council shall control all streets, side- walks and alleys; authorize running of rail- roads and street railways, and designate ma- terial to be used; can change the route of any such railway ; can acquire private property for public purposes ; can issue bonds for any pur- pose if sanctioned by a majority vote of the electors.
THE COMPTROLLER shall at the end of the fiscal year, ending March Ist in each year, make out a detailed statement of all receipts and expenditures of the city for the past year. This statement must be signed by the mayor and recorder, and filed in the latter's office.
The comptroller shall keep the finance accounts of the city, and countersign all bonds, and orders on the treasury. He shall make a full statement of the financial accounts of the city and print the same. He shall sign all con- tracts and agreements on behalf of the city, and shall make all purchases for the city or its offi- cers. He shall keep a complete set of books showing the condition of the city's finances.
The comptroller shall have the power to appoint a deputy and such other assistants as he may require, to be approved by the Common Council. He may revoke such appointments. His salary is fixed at $3,000; he is to pay his assistants.
The comptroller is ex-officio a member of the Board of Supervisors.
THE RECORDER shall keep a record of all ordinances. He may appoint a deputy, to be paid by the Council. He shall be responsible for the acts and faults of such deputy and may remove him at pleasure. As clerk of the Com-
mon Council his salary is $1,000; as clerk of the Board of Education, his salary is $500.
THE TREASURER is the collector of taxes and assessments. He has the power to appoint one or more deputies, to be approved by the Council, and may make and revoke such appointment at his pleasure. The salary is $3,000 in full for himself and deputies.
THE CITY ATTORNEY shall be appointed by the Council and shall be the counselor and solicitor for the city. He is cr-officio a mem- ber of the Board of Supervisors. His term is two years. His annual salary, which cannot be less than $1,200, is to be fixed by the Council.
STREET COMMISSIONER .- The term of office of street commissioner shall be two years. He shall be responsible for the wagons, sprinklers, tools, etc., of the city and shall have care of the streets and alleys.
CITY ENGINEER .- The term of office of city engineer shall be two years. The salary is to be determined by the Council.
WATER WORKS COMMITTEE .- The mayor shall annually appoint at the second meeting of the Council in April, or as soon thereafter as convenient, four aldermen who, with the mayor, shall constitute this committee which shall have full charge of the Water Works Depart- ment. It shall submit a monthly report to the Council. It shall have all the powers of the present Board of Water Works. At its first meeting a president pro tem shall be appointed, to hold office for one year.
BOARD OF HEALTH .- On nomination of the mayor, the Council at the first meeting in April shall appoint four persons, electors and prac- ticing physicians, who, with the mayor, shall constitute the Board of Health. One of its members shall be secretary, who is the only one to receive a salary, this to be fixed by the Council.
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FIRE COMMITTEE .- The mayor and four aldermen shall form this committee, which shall have entire charge of the Fire Department. They shall serve without compensation and no member thereof shall hold any other politi- cal office. All officers and members of the present department shall be retained during good behavior. There shall be no appeal from the committee's decision when any member is dismissed.
POLICE COMMITTEE .- The mayor and four aldermen, appointed by himself, shall form this committee, which shall meet on the second Tuesday of each month and at any other time the mayor shall direct. The recorder is clerk of the committee. The Council shall by ordin- ance prescribe the powers and duties to be exercised by this committee and shall place under the direction of the committee, subject to the supervisory control of the Council, the care, control and management of the police force. No member of the department shall be removed without cause and all police officers now in office in Bay City and West Bay City shall remain in office until removed for cause.
ELECTRIC LIGHT COMMITTEE .- The mayor and four aldermen, appointed by himself, shall constitute this committee, which shall have entire control of the electric light works. Any person holding stock or in any way interested in an electric light company shall be disqualified for membership. The powers and duties of the committee shall be prescribed by ordinance of the Council.
BOARD OF ASSESSORS .- This board shall be composed of the comptroller and two elect- ors and the president shall be the comptroller, who himself receives no pay. The salary of the other members is to be fixed by the Council. The assessors shall be members of the Board of Supervisors. The duties of this board are
the same as that of the present Board of Assessors.
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS .- The mayor city comptroller, city engineer, with two elect- ors appointed by the Council, constitute this board. The city engineer and electors shall not hold any elective office under the charter. The members of this board shall receive $150 per year. The board shall have exclusive charge and management of all public buildings and without its recommendation no contracts for public work can be let by the Council.
LOCAL IMPROVEMENTS AND ASSESSMENTS. -The consolidated city charter on this subject is similar to the present charter of Bay City. The expense of paving, etc., is to be charged to the property specially benefited thereby, accord- ing to the benefits derived therefrom. The general fund of the city pays 30 per cent. of the cost, the street and alley crossings are paid out of the ward fund and the remainder by the property specially benefitted.
The Council shall not order a street paved excepting by a three-fourths vote of all alder- men elect. When any pavement is petitioned for by a majority vote of the property owners, a majority vote of the Council can pass the measure. All public work shall be estimated by the Board of Public Works and bids shall be asked.
Money collected on local tax rolls shall be placed to the credit of the fund for which the same is collected and used in paying off the bonds covering the special improvement. Be- fore July Ist each year the Board of Public Works shall report to the Council what amount is needed for special improvements in order that the amount may be raised by bonding.
GENERAL TAXATION .- The Council may raise annually by tax such sum of money as
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may be necessary, not exceeding two per cent., aside from the school tax on the real and per- sonal property of the city. The Council shall direct on July 20th the amount of money to be raised. The Board of Education by a major- ity vote shall determine the amount of money to be raised for school purposes. Every alder- man shall recommend the amount to be raised for ward purposes, not exceeding one per cent. The State law governing general taxation shall prevail. The Board of Review shall consist of the Board of Assessors, Board of Public Works ( except city engineer ) and city attorney: Five shall constitute a quorum.
LIGHTING .- It shall be lawful for the city to purchase or to construct, operate and main- tain either independent or in connection with water-works, within or without the city, works for the supplying of the city or vicinity with gas, electric or other lights. A two-thirds vote of the aldermen is necessary to authorize and operate the lighting systems now owned by the city of Bay City and West Bay City, as now used, operated and maintained for municipal and commercial lighting.
The city is authorized to borrow not exceed- ing one-half of one per cent. for the construc- tion of lighting works. The Council may raise money with which to make repairs and alterations in extending the city lighting works.
THE POLICE COURT of Bay City is re- tained. It has exclusive jurisdiction over all criminal cases arising within the city limits, trying offenders under the ordinances and State laws and holding the defendants in fel- onies for trial in the Circuit Court. The pres- ent police justice is to retain his position until the second Monday of April, 1907, at which time the Council shall designate one of the jus- tices of the peace of Bay City to handle Police Court business, paying the justice $500 a year
for the work. The court shall be open at all reasonable hours, excepting Sundays and holi- days. The Council can prescribe by ordinance for the holding of the sessions of the court. The police shall bring all persons charged with offenses promptly before the court for a hear- ing. Persons can be punished by the justice for contempt of court.
It is the duty of police officers to serve all processes issued out of the Police Court.
Upon the written request of the justice, the Council can designate one or more officers to attend the court. No policeman shall take any convicted prisoner away to prison. This is made the duty of the sheriff.
Witnesses refusing to appear in court and give testimony can be attached and held in the County Jail until needed, not to exceed thirty days. The city shall have the use of the County Jail for the imprisonment of all persons convicted under ordinances.
The present salary of the police justice is $1,800. Until the present justice goes out of office, the salary is fixed by the charter at $1,500. Neither the police justice nor the justice of the peace is to receive any fees for work done in the Police Court.
The police justice must keep a true record of his proceedings. Fines must be turned over to the county treasurer within 48 hours in State cases, and to the city treasurer for viola- tions of the city ordinances, to be used for charitable purposes.
MISCELLANEOUS .- All money except school funds shall be drawn from the city treasury in pursuance of an order from the Council by warrant signed by the recorder and comptroller. The treasurer shall exhibit to the Council at the end of the fiscal year an annual statement.
A record of all ordinances shall be kept by the recorder.
All ordinances, by-laws, regulations and
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rules of the Councils of the cities of Bay City and West Bay City now in force, and not incon- sistent with this act, shall remain in force until repealed or amended by the Council, under this act, within the respective territories for which they were originally adopted, provided that all rights, privileges or franchises, heretofore granted to any person, persons or corporations, shall be continued in force by this act, and they shall extend over the entire consolidated city.
Within one year after the first annual elec- tion, the Council shall cause all acts and parts of acts of incorporation to be revised and cor- rected so as to conform to the provisions of said acts, and print the same in book form.
All new plats of land within the city must be approved by the Council. It is a misde- meanor to sell lots from plats that have not been thus approved.
All deeds, conveyances, etc., shall be exe- cuted by the mayor and recorder as directed by the Council.
All official bonds shall be filed with the recorder for safe keeping.
The city need give no bond in any litigation. All city employes shall be witnesses in suits without charging fees.
All accounts against the city must be ac- companied by an affidavit.
Any officer who resigns shall turn over all books, papers and moneys to his successor. A violation of this is a misdemeanor.
No loan shall be made by the Common Council in any year exceeding the amounts pre- scribed in this act. Old bonds may be re- funded. Bonds shall bear a legal rate of in- terest. The comptroller shall keep a correct account of all bonds outstanding.
The mayor, city attorney, comptroller and city assessors shall be members of the Board of Supervisors, and get the same pay as other
members. Supervisors of wards shall exercise the same functions as those of townships.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS .- The territory embraced by the two cities shall constitute the Union School District of Bay City, which shall be subject to the general laws of the State.
All members of both Boards of Education elected in 1903 shall hold office until the first Saturday in October, 1905. All elected in 1904 shall hold their office until the first Sat- urday in October, 1906. On the first Saturday in October, 1906, and every two years there- after, one member shall be elected in each ward.
No person holding any other office or ap- pointment under the city government shall be eligible to membership on the Board of Edu- cation.
The recorder shall be ex-officio clerk of the Board of Education. If he fail to discharge his duties, he may be removed. The city treas- urer is cr-officio treasurer of the school district. He must give bond to the board. If he fail, the board may appoint another treasurer.
School moneys may be deposited in a bank paying the largest interest. School funds shall not be loaned to any member of the board. The recorder and comptroller must sign all orders on the school fund.
The Board of Education shall have full power to purchase school sites, build and fur- nish school houses, maintain schools, hire su- perintendent and teachers, etc. It shall also have authority to establish one or more high schools.
Before June 20th each year, the board shall determine the amount of money necessary to be raised by taxes for the support of the schools. The same shall be reported to the comptroller, who shall spread the amount upon the assess- ment rolls. One per cent. per year can be raised for school purposes, not including the
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payment of bonded indebtedness. The board is authorized to borrow money by bonding, but it must be authorized by a majority vote of all taxpayers. Interest higher than 5 per cent. shall not be paid. The board may refund bonds.
At the first regular meeting of the board held after each election the board shall elect a president and vice-president. It may adopt rules and ordinances.
No member of the Board of Education shall be personally interested in any contract with the board, nor interested in the sale of property to the district. No member shall vote on any question, in which he is personally interested.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES .- At the first meeting of the Board of Education herein provided for (third Tuesday in April, 1905, or as soon there- after as convenient), the board shall appoint six persons, who, with the president of the board, shall be trustees of the Public Library or Libraries. Their terms of office shall be
one, two, three, four, five and six years respec- tively. One member shall be appointed an- nually thereafter to serve six years. They will be known as the Board of Trustees of the Public Libraries of Bay City. The president of the Board of Education shall be ex-officio chairman of the library trustees.
An annual tax of $2,000 shall be ordered raised by the Council for library purposes. The city treasurer shall be the custodian of the board's funds.
The ministers of the Presbyterian, Meth- odist, Baptist, Congregational, Catholic, Ger- man Lutheran, Episcopal and Swedish churches, the president of the Board of Educa- tion, superintendent of schools, mayor and five citizens of the West Side shall be trustees for the Sage Library.
Six hundred dollars a year shall be raised by the Council for the annual addition of books. Enough money to pay the librarian and janitor shall also be raised.
CHAPTER IX.
BAY COUNTY'S LUMBER, SALT AND COAL INDUSTRIES AND TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES.
Pleasant it was, when woods were green And winds were soft and low, To lie amid some sylvan scene, Where, the long drooping boughs between, Shadows dark and sunlight sheen Alternate come and go;
Or where the denser grove receives No sunlight from above, But the dark foliage interweaves In one unbroken roof of leaves, Underneath whose sloping eaves, The shadows hardly move.
Before me rose an avenue Of tall and sombrous pines ; Abroad their fan-like branches grew, And, where the sunlight darted through, Spread a vapor soft and blue, In long and sloping lines.
LUMBER.
The Pine Tree's Lament! I am the mon- arch of the forest. My proud head far over- steps my smaller, and yet ambitious, compan- ions. In vain do they wish to become my equal. With dismay do they realize their inability to do so, for I am the giant, and they the pigmies. Beneath my branches may they take refuge from the impending storm but never to become as great and as majestic as I. Fortunate is it that they are small. Little do they realize the terrible fate which awaits such
-Longfellow.
as I. Were I of the pigmy family, I would be passed over in silence, to remain in the enjoyment of the rest of my days. But great beings like myself are never allowed to die from natural causes. Nay! We are plucked like the budding rose in the bloom of youth. The winds of a hundred winters have whistled through my branches. On and on might I live, but for the relentless, unceasing ravages of the woodsmen's army. My time will soon come. The progress of the so-called civilization de- mands my downfall. And then my present envious fellows may have the satisfaction of
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seeing my life ebb. I can foresee my fate. In the autumn the army of woodsmen will invade the quiet of the forest, and with their glisten- ing axes will begin chopping at my very base. My thick coating of bark, that has protected me through the chilly blasts of winter, cannot withstand their sharp blades. My body is penetrated after a succession of powerful blows, and a few strokes of the cross-cut saw complete the mischief. I totter, tremble, and then fall with a creaking, crashing noise, ending in a heavy thud that thunderingly echoes through the forest. I am down, and at the mercy of those who so ruthlessly ended my existence. They pounce upon me like wild beasts upon a fawn. At their mercy as I am, they stand upon me and gloat over their superiority. In my fall my branches bring neighboring trees to the ground as well, and with these in my grasp I had hoped to strike my destroyers, but their agility and foresight kept them out of reach. Standing on either side of my prostrate form, these knights of the axe and saw measure my body into various lengths, and to make my destruction more com- plete, they saw through my side until my limbs are severed and my body cut into as many lengths as they deem fit. The top that once tow- ered above the forest is left to an ignominous end. Each of the several portions of my body are inspected and then the bark from a portion of one side is stripped off, and trampled under foot. Then a sleigh with a team of oxen or horses comes along. Onto this sleigh am I bolted with a ponderous chain, and in an instant, at the crack of the blacksnake whip, I am hauled out into the skidway. This I find is two logs laid parallel and about II feet apart. On these am I lifted to remain until the com- ing of snow and ice of another winter. Were I near a winding river, I should be piled upon its banks, to remain until the rush of waters in
spring would carry me on their bosom to its mouth, there to be imprisoned in a boom, until such times as my captors decide to haul me over the blue waters of the bay to the great metrop- olis on the mightier river. Were there no river I should find the skidway on a cut by the rail- way. With hundreds of my species I would be piled on a flat car and whirled at great speed up grades, around dizzy curves, through vil- lages and towns, until here too I reach this self-same city, where from a high trestle I am dumped unceremoniously into the dark waters. of some mill boom. As I bob about some man comes along with a long pole, in which is a sharp brad and hook, with which he catches and drags me alongside a row of other unfor- tunates. Then I am hauled a prisoner to a place which buzzes like a beehive. Some rude jerks land me alongside of an inclined plane, going up to and into a huge building whence come all this noise and confusion. Without warning a sharp hook of the continuous chain catches my head and I am forcibly dragged up the sluiceway into the noisy beehive. Then two spiteful, ugly-looking, heavy sticks of wood, rounded on top, and having several sharp pieces of iron on the side, suddenly spring out of their hiding places in the floor and strike me a terrific blow on the side, sending me upon an iron carriage. Two men on board clinch me with iron teeth, and hold me so that I cannot get away. A signal is given. the car- riage begins to move, and in an instant a saw is burying itself into my body. This operation is repeated a few times, I am turned occas- ionally so that my sides may be inspected and soon I have lost my identity. I am no longer a proud tree, but merely a squared piece of tim- ber known as a "cant."
Such in truth was the course of all the majestic pines that once made a "black forest" of all this valley and the country for hundreds.
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of miles to the northward. True, this lone tree must have escaped the earlier visitations, for the sawmills and logging camps underwent great changes in the course of years. The lumbermen sought to save the waste, reduce the loss and diminish the cost of production. Wonderful labor-saving machinery replaced the original primitive methods. The capacity of the mills was doubled and trebled by sim- ple devices suggested by the ingenuity of indi- viduals and the experience of years.
The fine logs first go to the band-saw, where the operator cuts each board to the best advantage as the face of the log may indicate after a few cuts. At this point we have the wide, thick sidings, known as "uppers." The central portion, probably 12 inches through, is passed over on rollers to the gang feed-rolls, which carry it into the series of gang-saws, that saw it into the ordinary stock boards of modern lumberyards. The wide, thick uppers or sidings, varying in size, are passed aver live rollers to a parallel edger, where two trans- fer chains take it. The skidway operator will set the saws so that the best possible quantity of clear lumber will be obtained. Usually only the wane, sap and bark is taken off the two edges. The pieces taken off are of var- ious widths-in butt logs from one to eight inches thick. These are cut into various lengths for staves, lath, sashstuff and shorts. The loss incurred here by the old mills would today more than pay for the running of the whole plant. Expert sawyers get the good boards squared at the correct length with the first cut. Next the boards are rapidly sorted, the square-edge stock boards go to the trimmer, while the others go to the edger. Expert trimmers next remove all shaky ends, rotten butts, and waney ends, so as to be fit for mar- keting, as first, second, or third grades. Ex- pert sorters next pile the boards on separate
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