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Page: of 283
200 SEPTEMBER 18, 1857 NEVADA JOURNAL
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1857 .
CITY ORDINANCES—THEIR EFFECT.—The only relief to the general dullness of the times is
the excitement an enforcement of a city ordinance or two has produced during the last few days. More
than usual spirit has been awakened in consequence and the wisdom of said ordinances has been seriously
discussed by parties interested. The ordinances were designed to provide protection in time of fire, but by
carelessness or incompetency on the part of the city dads they amount to nothing but oppression and
monuments of official folly. One ordinance compels each owner or occupant of a building to provide a
ladder long enough to teach the roof of said building and keep it constantly on hand. The occupants of
brick buildings are not exempt from this provision.
Doubtless the idea of having an easy access to the roofs of houses is a good one and should be
carried out by law if the object is not to be gained otherwise. But the ordinance is so framed as, if literally
enforced, to compel each occupant of a house, room in a hotel, prisoner in his cell, man woman and child,
to have a ladder.
Another ordinance makes it obligatory upon the owner or occupant of any building where stoves
may be used to build a brick chimney of certain dimensions. The intent of this law is good, but as drawn it
is one of the most bungling pieces of legislation in existence. Under it some contend that one stove need
not be supplied with a chimney, but two stoves or more must be accommodated with a chimney each!
The ordinance requiring a barrel of water to be kept constantly on hand at each tenement, in design,
is one of the best. It is liable to be made oppressive however from the manner in which it is drawn. Under
it the Recorder, we are told, insists that a tank, tubs, hogshead or any thing but a barrel will not answer the
purpose. Thus a sale is created for old barrels which otherwise might have rotted. In an instance or two
persons occupying a part of a building as tenants have been fined for not having ladders independent of
the one supplied by the owner of the building, which is all sufficient. Men have also been brought up by
the police because their water barrel was missing of a morning, the negligence, perhaps, of the same
police being the cause of its removal during the night.
The operations of the city officials during the week past have created no little discussion and various
reports are in vogue not much to the credit of the powers that be. The city council are openly charged with
the grossest incompetency, the city Recorder with caring little to carry out the reasonable intent of the
ordinances, and conniving with the police to fleece the people and make money for themselves, taking
advantage of the stupidity of the council so to do. In corroboration of this charge against the Recorder, he
is reported as having boastingly declared he would give the people “the best he had” and would’nt take
less than eighteen hundred dollars for his chances at the spoils during the next two months. In
consequence of these reports, true or not we cannot say, changes of venue are frequently taken to justices’
courts.
We learn from authority that the trustees have never obtained satisfactory reports from the officers
who impose and collect fines, and also another fact, if it be a fact, of importance to the people, namely,
that where a fine of ten dollars is imposed the whole of it is swallowed up and the city brought forty cents
in debt. These statements need investigation for the benefit of all concerned.
From the data that can be obtained we learn that but four counties in the State gave a constitutional
majority in favor of a convention. Of these Shasta is the banner county, polling about 2250, 1839 of
which were cast for a convention. Nevada comes next, giving a clear majority of upwards of 1200 votes.
Napa and Santa Cruz complete the list.
The State Debt would have met with the same fate had it depended upon a majority of all the votes