History of Saginaw County, Michigan; historical, commercial, biographical, Volume II, Part 28

Author: Mills, James Cooke
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Saginaw, Mich., Seemann & Peters
Number of Pages: 838

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The first Board of Water Commissioners of East Saginaw thus organ- ized was required "to examine and consider all matters relative to supplying the city with a sufficient quantity of pure and wholesome water for the use and convenience of all the inhabitants thereof, to be obtained from the Tittabawassee River, or such other source of supply as may be deemed expe- dient, and to so plan, manage and construct such water works as to provide for an ample supply to protect the city against fire and for other public and sanitary purposes, as the best interests of the city and its inhabitants may seem to require."

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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY

For this purpose the board was empowered to borrow from time to time, as they might deem expedient, a sum of money not exceeding three hundred thousand dollars, and to issue bonds pledging the faith and credit of the city for the payment of the principal and interest, said bonds to bear interest not exceeding the rate of eight per cent. per annum, and payable at a period not exceeding thirty years from date of issue.

Upon assuming control the commissioners found in their possession a tract of ten acres of land lying along the Saginaw River, near the mouth of the Tittabawassee, which the common council had purchased for the site of the pumping station, for one thousand dollars. On this land there had been constructed a pile and plank dock, upon which had been piled a large quantity of brick, for the construction of the water works building. There was also a contract made by the council with the Holly Manufacturing Company, of Lockport, New York, dated December 13, 1871, for all the ma- chinery and pumps necessary to supply the city with two million gallons of water every twenty-four hours, including boilers, connections, auxiliary rotary pumps, shafting, gearing and couplings. In consideration for the specified machinery, the city agreed to pay the sum of thirty-two thousand dollars, in five monthly payments from May to September, 1872.

There had been many difficulties and delays in prosecuting the con- struction work on the piping and buildings, and on assuming control of affairs, six months after the time specified for the completion of the work, the machinery was still lying at the works in Lockport, upon which only two payments had been made. The first duty of the board was to advertise for proposals for furnishing and laying the necessary iron water pipes and for building the water works structures according to plans and specifications which had been adopted. W. R. Coats was soon after awarded the contract for the pipe work, and William Grant the contract for the buildings, brick chimney, cisterns and all mason work. The carpenter work, including put- ting on the iron roof, was done by P. V. Westfall. The total cost of the completed water works ready for efficient service, was two hundred and seventy-three thousand three hundred and fifty-four dollars.

The pumping machinery was completely installed and connections made to the mains about the middle of November, 1873, and during the month of December the works were put in effective condition for all ordinary purposes of fire protection. Their efficiency was practically tested at the fire in the Moores Building, on the morning of the twenty-fourth, a large amount of property being saved by their use. The official tests were held January 10. 1874, with the following results :

Vertical

First - On Potter Street, six one-inch streams 80 feet

Horizontal 120 feet

Second - On Sixth Street, six one-inch streams 90 feet 170 feet

Third - On Hovt Street, six one-inch streams. 100 feet 192 feet

Fourth - At Baptist Church, one one-and-one-half- inch stream 160 feet 200 feet

Fifth - At Bancroft House, three one-inch, two one- and-one-eighth-inch, one one-and-seven-eight-inch streams 125 feet

Sixth and Seventh - Bancroft House, same pipes as above with four additional

120 feet

During the construction of the water works, including the filter beds, Mr. Burt was one of the most active members of the board, and in their first annual report to the common council, dated January 1. 1874, the other mem- bers expressed their appreciation of his services, in these words :

.. +4

EAST SAGINAW SAGINAW

---

SAĞINA

THE CITIES OF SAGINAW AT HEIGHT OF THE LUMBER INDUSTRY Showing Burned Area of the Great Fire of May 20, 1893

LOADING AT HOLLAND'S DOCK, 1879

THE SAGINAW RIVER, LOOKING NORTH FROM M. C. BRIDGE

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SOME MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATIONS

"The condition of the money market the past season, and more espe- cially since the financial panic in October, has made the negotiation of our bonds a matter of extreme difficulty, as that class of securities felt most this financial stringency. And the board feel that they have been especially fortunate in being able to dispose of the large amount they have at so favorable a rate. The magnitude of the work to be done made constant demands for large sums of money to keep the work progressing steadily, and the balance of the board feel under great obligations to their treasurer, Commissioner Burt, for his untiring efforts to provide the necessary funds. and also for a large amount of time given to a personal supervision of the entire work."

For the purpose of extending the piping system, the legislature in March, 1874. authorized the issue of fifty thousand dollars additional water bonds, and at a special election held April 6 a large majority of the electors voted in favor of such additional issue. The bonds were sold in sums of five hundred dollars each, payable twelve years from date. During 1874 and subsequent years to and including 1881, eighteen thousand nine hun- dred feet of three, four and five-inch mains were laid, making a total of eighteen and a half miles then in use. At that time there was a great acces- sion to the population, and in 1882 the city issued bonds in the sum of fifty thousand dollars for the purpose of making needed additions to the pump- ing machinery. A new Holly quadruplex compound condensing engine. capacity six million gallons daily, was installed and put in operation April 14, 1883. Three years later a further bond issue of seventy thousand dollars provided for extensions of the mains, which in 1890 were thirty-eight miles in length.

In 1890 the Gaskill horizontal compound condensing engine, capacity twelve million gallons daily, was added to the pumping machinery, and has been in almost constant use since February 13, of that year. Pipe extension continued and in 1900 there were fifty-two and a half miles of mains in use. In 1910 the pipeage system had reached a total of sixty-three and a half miles, and 1915 it was more than seventy-four miles, mostly of six, eight and ten-inch pipe, the feed mains being sixteen, twenty and twenty-four inches in diameter. In 1913 a Meyer cross compound pump of six million gallons capacity was installed to provide additional fire protection. Two Wickes vertical water tube boilers, of three hundred horse power each, have been in use since 1911. Charles A. Scherping is chief engineer, and Charles W. ()'Brien and Charles Pardridge are assistant engineers of the East Side station. The bonded indebtedness on the East Side pumping system has now been reduced to two hundred and thirty-eight thousand five hundred dollars.

The West Side Water System

The project for water works at Saginaw City, to afford ample fire pro- tection and to provide a sufficient quantity of pure water for the use of its inhabitants, was launched and promoted in 1872. Early in May of that year the city issued bonds in the sum of sixty thousand dollars, bearing eight per cent. interest, and payable in fifteen to seventeen years. The pipeage system was planned and laid out by George L. Burrows, who for several years was very active in promoting better fire protection, and was then chief of the fire department. The pumping station was located on Water Street at the foot of Franklin ( Hancock), and the machinery consisted of one Holly quadruplex compound condensing engine, of two million gallons daily capac- ity, auxiliary pumps and boilers. There was some discussion at the time

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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY

over the location of the pumping station, a number of citizens advocating a place up the river nearer the Tittabawassee, where the water was clear and free from sewage, but fire protection was the main issue, and the station was erected in the present location to afford a better direct pressure at the fire hydrants. It was planned to eventually take water from the Tittabawassee through a conduit put down from near its mouth to the pumping station, but in all the intervening years this much needed improvement has not been made, and is not likely to be made.

In August, 1873, a further bond issue of fifty thousand dollars was made to provide for extensions of the mains, which were much needed. and were chiefly of four and six-inch pipe, with feeders of eight and ten-inch pipe. This work progressed as the city expanded so that by 1885 there were twelve miles of high-pressure water mains, some of which were twelve and sixteen inches in diameter. In that year bonds in the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars were floated to provide for a new Gaskill horizontal compound con- densing engine, capacity four million gallons daily, which has been in almost constant service since. No further extensions were made until 1890, when about one-half mile of six-inch mains was laid, and one Rogers Brothers duplex horizontal compound condensing engine, capacity two million gal- lons daily, was installed.

From 1800 to 1900 slightly more than thirteen miles of pipes were laid. making the total about twenty-six miles. During the next ten-year period the pipeage system was increased to forty-two miles, and in 1915 it reached a total of fifty-one miles, and some of the smaller mains were replaced with larger pipe. To provide for this needed improvement bonds were issued in November, 1893, to the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars; in July. 1894, for ten thousand, and in September, 1906. for five thousand. The total bonded indebtedness of the West Side water works is now one hundred and twenty-seven thousand four hundred dollars, all of which matures before March 10, 1924.

In 1895 three Wood water tube boilers in separate arches, rated capacity one hundred and twenty-five horse power each, were installed, and Aube smoke consumers were added to the furnaces in 1911. In that year the pumping machinery was augmented by two Fairbanks, Morse & Company's compound duplex direct-acting pumps, of three million gallons daily capac- ity each, replacing the old Holly two million gallons capacity pump and the Rogers pump. This pumping station is capable of furnishing direct pressure for the ordinary needs of fire protection, excepting in the outlying sections of the city.

A Consolidation of the Water Systems

Since 1890 the question of consolidating the water works has been before the people, but in the Summer of 1915 the numerous problems connected with the project remain unsolved. The first definite plan to provide for one adequate and complete pumping station, together with a filtration plant to supply clear water, was put forth in 1905, but the bond issue necessary to carry out the project was voted down by the people. The question of loca- tion of the pumping station and the method of purifying the water were not thoroughly settled in the minds of the people: and besides, a large number of citizens were not satisfied that the source of supply (the Tittabawassee River) was the best, holding that Saginaw Bay furnished an inexhaustible supply of pure, soft water for all domestic purposes. Others, too, contended that the Ogemaw Springs water was by far the best for all purposes of the city and individuals.

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The Police Department

In the early fifties all that was needed to keep the peace in Buena Vista Township, in which the village of East Saginaw was situated, was the ser- vices of one constable ; and even after the city was chartered, in 1859, there was no regular police, the ordinances and by-laws of the city being enforced by a marshal and constables. At times, as occasion required, night watch- men were employed, and not until May, 1868, was the first police force organized and uniformed. The first chief was James A. Wisner and he had seven patrolmen under his control. In 1869 the city charter was so amended as to merge the two offices of marshal and chief of police and Mr. Wisner was appointed marshal. The force then consisted of one marshal, one cap- tain and eight patrolmen. In the following year Peter McEachron was appointed marshal, and the force was increased to ten patrolmen, and it remained at this strength for three years.

The act of 1873, amending the charter of the city, created a Board of Police Commissioners to consist of three members, comprising the Mayor, and two other persons to be appointed by the common council, who were given entire control of the police department. The first commissioners appointed were Frederick W. Carlisle, for a term of four years, and Charles F. Shaw, for two years; and the other member of the board was the mayor. William L. Webber. Bradley M. Thompson was attorney and clerk, and Benjamin B. Ross was surgeon.

In the reorganization of the police force which followed, T. Dailey Mower was appointed chief of police. Under his command were James Connon, captain, James Nevins, George Major and Thomas P. Oliver, sergeants, sixteen patrolmen and one jailor. The force was divided into two divisions, one for day and one for night duty, the hours of duty being from eight o'clock in the morning until eight o'clock in the even- ing, and from eight o'clock in the evening until the same hour in the morning. The day force consisted of the chief, one ser- geant and six patrolmen, while the night force was made up of captain, one sergeant and ten patrolmen, so stationed that at night nearly the entire city was patrolled. The oldest member, in point of service, then on the force was Captain Connon, who was appointed May 21, 1868; and the next oldest was Patrolman Henry H. Pries, who joined the force August 1, 1870. Sergeant Thomas P. Oliver was appointed June 16, 1871, and Patrolman James P. Walsh, who served so many years as captain of the First Precinct, and as Chief of the depart- T. DAILEY MOWER ment in 1914, was appointed July 22, 1872. Patrick Kain entered the ser- vice October 18, 1873, and in 1915 completed his forty-second year of continuous and faithful duty.

The police headquarters in those days was located at the corner of Gen- esee and Cass ( Baum) Streets, the office being kept open at all hours, with an officer always on duty to hear complaints and attend to them. In his first annual report to the Board of Police Commissioners, Chief Mower stated: "The present building erected at a cost of something over one thousand dollars, is amply large for the present wants of the city ; it is well ventilated and very comfortable."

POLICE

ZACH BASKINS

JAMES P. WALSH

PATRICK KAIN

·DOLIOK

ELMER E. BISHOP

TIMOTHY McCOY

OUR GUARDIANS OF PUBLIC SAFETY

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SOME MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATIONS

Controlling the "Red Sash Brigade"

These were the prime days of the "red sash brigade," recruited from the ranks of hardy lumber-jacks of the north woods, when a person could walk but a few blocks on the main streets without seeing a fight of some sort. And how these rough, ignorant woodsmen could fight. When the camps broke up in the Spring they would come to town in droves, and trail along from one saloon to another in Indian file, just as they tramped through the woods. In this fashion they would often meet with other files or gangs of reckless dare-devils, and then nine times out of ten a pitch battle would ensue. They fought as regularly as they ate, and if it was not with another gang they went at each other. Drunkenness, licentiousness and boisterous revels were the order of the day, and of the night for that matter, and the police were kept very busy in maintaining a semblance of order. That they succeeded in this was due to prompt and fearless execution of their duty on all occasions.

Enter a New Element - Patrick Kain

Potter Street and the vicinity of the Flint & Pere Marquette depot was then a hot-bed of turmoil and fistic encounters, and night was rendered indescribably fantastic, and sometimes tragic, by the numerous woodsmen who infested this section. Sanford Keeler was then master mechanic of the road and alderman of the first ward, and in 1873 he recommended for appoint- ment to the police force a young Canadian, who was employed as blacksmith in the shops. The recommendation was favorably acted upon, and in due course Patrick Kain became a patrolman and was assigned to Potter Street, working the beat in turns with John Wiggins. A new element and a new policy in handling the "red sash brigade" was thus injected into the service. It worked so well that the policy was soon adopted by the department offi- cials, and has been pursued ever since in handling criminals.

Patrolman Kain sized up the situation on Potter Street, and came to the conclusion that the first duty of an officer was to keep the peace. He trailed the rough, half-drunken woodsmen, and when they started a fight he jumped right into the thick of it and stopped them. But this was no picnic, as the jacks never hesitated to strike out, and, quite naturally, he got in the way of a good many hard blows. The scheme seemed to work though, and the number of arrests on the beat fell off one-half. Instead of having the record for the greatest number of arrests made in the city, or anywhere else for that matter, Potter Street became as orderly as any business street. This condition of affairs soon came to the notice of the commissioners, and they looked for the cause.

One day Commissioners Carlisle and Shaw drove down to Potter Street. found the new patrolman with the advanced ideas. and questioned him as to how the number of arrests from his beat had fallen off. The officer thought he was to be reprimanded, and spent some very uncomfortable minutes explaining his mode of handling street fights, and the lumber-jacks in general. The commissioners said nothing until he had finished, and then they told him, much to his relief, that he was right and to continue that line of action. Shortly after this incident the police force was called together and Bradley M. Thompson, then city attorney, gave the men a talk, instructing them to always remember that a police officer is first in all qualifications a peace officer, that he should be alert, intelligent, well read, and a master of self. He should be a better student of mankind than the mere "husky," capable of overpowering the other fellow by brute force, and possess un- doubted courage to act fearlessly on all occasions.

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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY

When Changes Were Rapid

Mr. Mower continued as chief of police for nine years, or until 1882, when he resigned and James Adams was made head of the department. He was chief for about six weeks and then relinquished the office to James Connon, who had served as captain for several years. After filling the posi- tion of chief for eight months, Mr. Connon resigned and Mr. Mower was recalled and persuaded to remain as head of the police force. On January 6, 1883. Patrick Kain was made sergeant, his commission being signed by L. Simoneau, president of the board, and Ferd A. Ashley, clerk; and on November 6, 1883, he was promoted to first sergeant. Upon the retirement of Mr. Mower, on January 11, 1890, Sergeant Kain was made chief of police of East Saginaw, and on April 22 of the same year, was appointed chief for the consolidated Saginaws.

After faithful and continuous service of twenty-four years, during which the force under his command made many important captures, not only for themselves but for the departments of other cities, Mr. Kain was retired on January 1. 1914. Captain James P. Walsh was then appointed chief by the new council, composed of Mayor Ard E. Richardson and four councilmen, and he remained at the head of the department until his death on March 11, 1915. During this period Elmer E. Bishop held the position of captain at the First Precinct station, detailed on day duty: and Lieutenant Timothy McCoy had charge of this station at the night detail. On March 30, 1915. Captain Zach Baskins, of the Second Precinct station, was appointed chief of police, and Lieutenant McCoy was made captain, in charge of that station. These appointments were in force, however, for only two weeks, for upon the organization of the new council, April 13, with Mayor Hilem F. Pad- dock in the chair, Patrick Kain was reinstated to the position of chief, Chief Baskins being reduced to the rank of captain, in charge of the Second Pre- cinct. Captain Bishop was also reduced to first sergeant ; and Captain Mc- Coy was transferred to the First Precinct on day duty.

Saginaw an Orderly City

Despite its early reputation as a rough border town, wide open and given over to the lumber-jacks and river men, which has ching to it for years, statistics and facts show that Saginaw now compares very favorably with other cities of its class for orderliness. It has had a full quota of crimes, some brutal and revolting, as must be expected, but the records show an improvement from year to year. "Compared with other departments," Chief Kain said, "I think the men of the Saginaw force size up well for intelligence and efficiency, and they are faithful and conscientious, even if not yet perfect. I have always refrained from talking about arrests of the early days, because I can recall a number of instances where men who have served terms of imprisonment have started anew, and are now leading use- ful and reputable lives, and I do not propose to put any stone in their paths.

"Thieves and criminals of the present day have, so to speak, kept pace with the general advancement. Their schemes are more ingenious in the larger crimes; they frequently show a remarkable degree of misdirected skill and cleverness, to say nothing of intelligence, and the needs of police departments of the present day correspond. The police must meet the changed conditions; each officer must be keenly alert, exercise careful judg- ment, and be a close student of human nature."

During his long and active career Chief Kain has met nearly every police officer of prominence in the United States and Canada : and has come into contact with crooks of high and low degree and made many important

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SOME MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATIONS

captures. A few years ago he was instrumental in bringing about the arrest of two dangerous New York crooks, who had perpetrated a great diamond robbery, and was warmly thanked by Chief Inspector Byrnes, of the New York department. Having a natural aptitude for the business of running down criminals, an unusually accurate memory and a reader of the workings of the human mind, his record as a sharp tracer of thugs and confidence men is well known to all police departments. His name is such a terror to a long list of crooks that they give Saginaw a wide berth.

But the demands upon this efficient and capable chief of police are varied, by no means being confined to the ordinary routine duties of his office. The demands of the help-seeking public require that he shall be something of an attorney; something of a lecturer: a mind reader and several other things, as well as a friend to all in trouble. They all come to him with their troubles, and many matters are straightened out by the police that are far from the regular line of duty, but which is helpful to the indi- vidual and the community.

In recent years the old horse-drawn patrol wagons, which served the de- partment in making quick hauls, have given place to new motor propelled wagons having a wider range of service and far greater speed, which have added to the efficiency of the force. The department now has two motor patrol wagons of approved type, one stationed at each police station, and one motor car used by the chief. The First Precinct station, which has been in use for about forty years, is on Germania Avenue, adjoining Valley City Company, No. 3; and the Second Precinct Station, a more modern structure on the West Side, is located on the north side of Adams Street, between Michigan Avenue and Hamilton Street. The force on the East Side now (1915) numbers forty men, and on the West Side twenty-four men, a total of sixty-five, including the chief, in the department.

علميـ

HAMILTON STREET NORTH FROM COURT

IALECARY.]

POLICE STATION

Errrrrrrrrrrr.

SECOND PRECINCT POLICE STATION, ADAMS STREET With the Officers and Some Patrolmen of the West Side

CHAPTER XIII THE CONSOLIDATED SAGINAWS

Intense Rivalry Between the Two Cities - East Saginaw Starts Public Improve- ments - Veto of the Electric Lighting Project - Consolidation the Only Remedy - Provision for a New City Hall - Court Street Bridge - Other City Bridges - City Sewer Systems - Street Improvements - Cement Sidewalks - City Deep Wells - The Idea of Civic Beauty - Beginning of Our Park System - Bliss Park, the Ideal Playground - Board of Park and Cemetery Commissioners - Ezra Rust Park Im- provements - Fordney Park - Jeffers Park - Federal Park - Small Parks - Mershon- Whittier Natatorium - Brady Hill Cemetery - Oakwood Cemetery - Forest Lawn - The Auditorium - City Government by Commission - The Present Council - City Officers in 1915.

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History of Saginaw County, Michigan; historical, commercial, biographical, Volume II, Part 28

Author: Mills, James Cooke Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Saginaw, Mich., Seemann & Peters Number of Pages: 838

Author: Mills, James Cooke
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Saginaw, Mich., Seemann & Peters
Number of Pages: 838