Bay County, Michigan - Chapter 8: Greater Bay City.-1865-1905, 1905 (part 2 of 2)

The lumber industry under the new conditions was driven across the border to Canada, and the salt industry could not be continued with profit without this auxiliary. The saltblocks had used the exhaust steam from the sawmill engines, and the waste wood and sawdust provided a cheap fuel for the operation of the engines in the salt-wells. Only a few of these salt-wells continued to operate after the sawmills shut down, more especially since the price of salt steadily declined for some years. The idle sawmills were easy prey for the fire demon. In most of these mill fires the department could do no more than save surrounding property. One by one the old hives of industry were wiped out. The mammoth McGraw mill was one of the first to go up in smoke. The Sage mill on the West Side is one of the few that has stood idle during all these years, and whose empty framework yet remains, a silent reminder of the days when Pine was King in the valley.

\'erily a wonderful change has come over Bay City in the past lo years. The one fixed idea of all the valley lumbermen, in the days when the forests of pine extended to our very doors, was to cut them down, and exchange them in the markets of the world as quickly as possible for what they would bring. Fortunes were cjuickly made by those lucky enough to own vast tracts of this wealth of pine forest, bought from the government for a song. Not until these forests were denuded of pine, and pine barrens miles in extent marked the destructive trail of the axe and saw, did any one stop to think that there might be even larger profits in the finer manipulation of this timber, and that there might possibly be some use for the other and neglected timber, such as oak, maple, hemlock, cedar, tamarack, beech, birch, white and black ash, elm and bass, of which there were still untouched tracts in this vicinity and to the north. The cutting oft summarily of our pine log supply called attention to these remaining possibilities, and the sawmills that are still standing ecjuipped along our river front, are all kept busy cutting up logs, that in former years were entirely ignored by the old-time lumbermen.

This business in hardwood lumber has been gradually picking up, and the revival recalls the palmy days of long ago. This very year the Detroit mill, at the foot of Sherman street, has started cutting a log supply that will keep that modern mill running for 15 years. Frank Buell, formerly of Gaylord, and F. Wyllie of Saginaw, are the operators and owners of the mill and the log supply. The J. J. Flood mill is cutting mahogany timber from South Africa for piano manufacturing purposes, and has been kept busy with hardwood timber for some years. The Campbell-Brown Lumber Company, Kneeland-Bigelow Company, F. T. Woodworth & Company, !Mershon, Schutte, Parker & Company, Samuel G. ]\I. Gates (one of the oldest mill-owners still in the business), Kern Manufacturing Company, Edward C. Hargrave, Hitchcock Lumber Company, Eddy Brothers & Company, and E. B. Foss & Company are still operating logging camps, sawmills and huge lumber-yards, the last named on our river front.

That the lesson of other years has not been entirely lost on our lumber interests is proven by the large number of manufacturing institutions that work up the raw lumber, instead of shipping it to distant points for manufacture. The firm of W. D. Young & Company, on the West Side, has a world-wide reputation for the quality of its finished product, has a mammoth plant for tlie manufacture of maple flooring and is constantly expanding. It furnished the lumber for the decks of the last "American Cup" defender, the yacht "Reliance" which speaks volumes for the firm's position in that line of business. Its latest addition is a wood alcohol plant, which uses up the sawdust and other waste material of the plant. Courval & Company in Essexville, E. J. Vance Box Company, the Foss mill, [Matthew Lamont, W. H. Nickless, Sheldon, Kamm & Company, B. H. Briscoe & Company, Bindner Box Company, Fred G. Eddy, Bay City Box Company, Lewis Manufacturing Company on the East Side and Handy Brothers, Beutel Cooperage & Woodenware Company, Russell Brothers, and Bradley, Miller & Company, on the West Side, with Bousfield & Company's world-famous woodenware works on the site of the old McGraw mill in the South End, are all employing large crews, and producing a finished lumber product that gives the manufacturer the profit that formerly went to middlemen in other localities.

So in 1905 we find tliat the lumber industry is actually showing a marked revival. But for 10 years after the log supply was cut oft', things looked gloomy indeed for the cities. In those 10 years Bay City has made a complete change of front, and this united city is today a living example of the never-say-die spirit of American communities ! From being a mere lumber and salt producing center, it has become in six short years the hub of the beet sugar business east of the Rocky Mountains, and we have within our borders to-day as varied and stable industries as any city of its size in the country.

Instead of leaving the dismantled lumber town, the people looked about them for new avenues of trade and industry. C. B. Chatfield, Hon. Nathan B. Bradley, and others began some systematic experiments with sugar beets, while Alexander Zagelmeyer and others investigated the vein of bituminous coal long known to have existed in this neighborhood. Persistent boring showed that the vein underlies the entire county, at a depth of from 150 to 300 feet, varying in thickness from four to seven feet, and of excellent quality. This solved the fuel question, and the opening of many mines brought an influx of coal miners who took the place of the sawyers and lumber jacks who had gone to Canada with the sawmills.

The farmers proved that both sugar beets and chicory roots could be raised here profitably, the moist climate, with its mild and late fall, being ideal for the maturing of these crops. A State bounty in 1898 assisted to bring the Michigan Sugar Company's plant to completion for operation that fall, with a three-months supply of beets, and excellent results followed. This pioneer sugar factory of Michigan was followed the very next year by the still larger Bay City Sugar factory, and the West Bay City and German-American sugar factories followed the next year. Other factories were erected in different parts of the State, and the State bounty was at once withdrawn as its further application would have bankrupted the State treasury. Since then, millions of pounds of the finest granulated sugar have been produced annually, giving the Michigan farmer another excellent crop for rotation, and making all his other farm crops more valuable, as the thousands of acres put into sugar beets remove just that many acres from the market competition in other staple farm products. The beet pulp, leaves and toppings make good cattle feed, and at the \ery time when green fodder cannot be secured in this latitude. All the mills in Michigan run to their capacity could only supply the home demand for sugar, hence these factories are assured a certain market for their output. Since the American Sugar Refin- ing Company, better known as the Havemeyer Sugar Trust, has acquired an interest in two of the local factories and also in others throughout the State, all competition, which for a time threatened to bring on a ruinous rate war, has been practically removed.

Nothing short of the same suicidal tariff tinkering, that killed the lumber industry, can now cripple this infant beet sugar industry in Michigan, which promises to expand, until it will supply our entire home consumption. The ill-advised Cuban reciprocity treaty proved well-nigh fatal to this new farm and factory industry. Not a single new sugar factory has been built in Michigan since Cuba's cane sugar producers have been favored at the expense of the American farmers, manufacturers and laborers ! The trust interests alone saved those factories already in operation, by keeping the price of sugar at a point where it can be produced by American labor and home-grown sugar beets, at a small profit to the costly sugar mills. Hardly had this crisis been passed, when the native farmer encountered a poor season, owing to adverse weather conditions, and in 1903 and 1904 none of the Michigan factories had as many beets as they needed for a normal campaign. The last year proved very favorable for growing beets, the percentage of sugar contents being high, and the weight satisfactory. This is expected to stimulate more extensi\e beet cultivation, and all the factories in March, 1905, reported more acreage than they had at the same period the year before.

Several factories were operated at a loss last fall, because they did not secure enough beets for a profitable campaign. In those localities the warning has gone forth, that if the farmers do not rally to the support of the factories and each one raise at least as many beets as he can handle successfully himself, thus giving the factories beets enough for at least a threemonths slicing campaign, some of these factories will be dismantled and the machinery removed to Colorado, where the farmers are anxious to have more factories. Michigan oft'ers some advantages over Colorado, in being nearer a ready market and in having plenty of water and cheap fuel close at hand. The farmer is learning how to handle the sugar beet crop, and many of the costly losses of the first years of experiment have been overcome. It will be a sorry day when the Michigan farmer loses this infant and promising industr)^ Farm lands have increased in value, mortgages have been wiped out, and new life and new vitality brought to the rural districts by the shower of ready cash paid out each fall for the beets by the sugar factories. The price was intended to stimulate extra efforts for high-grade beets, by paying $4.50 per ton of beets, averaging 12 per cent, in sugar contents, and 12^ cents for each additional per cent, of sugar in the beets. In 1905 the farmer is offered his choice of $5 per ton, flat rate, or the former sliding scale. This ought to bring an enormous increase in the beet supply, as one of the main objections of the farmers and beet growers has been on the assumption of incorrect sugar valuations by the factory taremen and chemists. No other crop raised by farmers the world over specifies from year to year exactly the price to be paid, long months in advance of the harvest. Sugar beets do. The Michigan farmer should not take any one year as a criterion of the crop, but should try the crop for a term of years and strike an average, the same as he would with wheat, potatoes, or any other farm crop, all of which have fat seasons and lean seasons.

The beet sugar industry in Bay County has furnished work for thousands of men, women and children in the beet fields in spring and summer, while many hundreds more have found work in the sugar factories during the late fall

The Michigan Chemical Company manufactures high-proof spirits from the refuse molasses of the beet sugar factories. For the first two years it was a hard problem for the factories to dispose of this refuse, for the State game and fish warden stopped its drainage into the river, claiming it killed the fish. Since this mammoth distillery has begun operations, with its train of about sixty tank railroad cars, each holding 7,000 gallons of molasses, which they gather directly from the sugar factories, the problem has been solved.

The beet sugar industry is a money-maker for railroads, for thousands of tons of beets are brought long distances, and more could be secured in that manner if railroad facilities would permit it. This very year a new railroad to the "Thumb"' is planned to carry sugar beets to local factories, and local coal to the lake ports for export.

The coal industry is constantly being augmented by the sinking of new shafts, providing cheap fuel to the railroads, and voluminous freight to the manufacturing centers of the East and West. Coal miners from Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Indiana are flocking here, where they find living and working conditions more favorable. Quaint little mining communities have sprung up around the coal mines, and new sources of supply created for our business interests.

With chief fuel and deep-water transportation and ample railroad facilities, new and varied manufacturing institutions are rapidly filling up the gaps along the desirable river front left by the removal of the sawmills and lumber piles. The lumber jacks have given way to sugar beet experts, coal miners, shipbuilders, iron workers, wood workers and skilled labor of every variety.

Marl has been discovered a few miles north of here, and the "Million Dollar Plant" of the Hecla Cement Company now occupies one of the most desirable river front sites on the west bank, just south of the bay. This institution built its own railroad to the marl beds and coal mines, which it will operate jointly. Great docks are planned for vessels of the deepest draught to handle their cement and coal output. Litigation between the stockholders has tied up the plant for some time, but the legal tangles are gradually being straightened out, and the mammoth plant will resume operations on an even larger scale, acording to the plans of the large stockholders. Its present capacity is 4,000 barrels of high-grade cement daily. The equipment of the plant is excellent, electricity being made to do much of the manual labor.

The manufacturing plant known as the Industrial Works has for nearly 40 years been one of Bay City's mainstays. It has grown from a humble beginning, in 1868, to be one of the largest establishments of its kind in the world. The railroad wrecking cranes which the Industrial Works builds are its own specialties. That they are unsurpassed is proven by the fact that they are known and used wherever the iron horse or electrical spark serve the world's commerce and industries. Their display at the World's Fair at St. Louis in 1904 attracted international attention. Orders for these cranes have come only recently from faroff Japan, and from the Siberian Railway, where the e.xigencies of the Russo-Japanese War make their use very essential.

Bousfield & Company's woodenware works is the largest pail and tub factory in the world. The Hanson- Ward Veneer Company is one of the latest and largest manufacturing plants in the South End.

pany's shipyard is one of the roomiest and most modern plants on the Great Lakes. For 30 years this plant has launched some of the best boats on the inland seas. Year after year the plant has been improved, and in 1905 it is building three of the largest craft afloat on fresh water in tlie world. The steamer "Sylvania" of the Tomlinson-Davidson fleet, launched with appropriate ceremonies in March, 1905, and christened by Marion Davidson Young, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. P. Young, the youngest miss ever accorded that honor on the Great Lakes, is the largest freight steamer yet floated on fresh water, being 524 feet over all, 54 feet beam, with 30 vertical hopper hatches, and triple expansion engines. Two sister ships are now in construction, a force of about 1,000 men doing the work, with a pay-roll of $8,000 weekly.

The James Davidson shipyard has heretofore built wooden vessels exclusively, but with the new modern dry dock just completed, a new field is opened for this pioneer ship-builder. He began life as a deck-boy, and became in turn sailor, captain, owner and ship-builder, and is to-day the best known mariner on the Lakes. He still owns a large fleet of steamers and barges, and his colors are conspicuous at all lake ports.

Fine salt wells and cheap coal brought the North American Chemical Company's plant to Bay City, where the buildings cover 10 acres south of the city limits. The company produces chemicals of high quality and ships large quantities of fine table salt, as well as coal from its mines. ^Nlost of these products are now being shipped by water, and the river is again showing signs of returning commercial activity. A new device for loading salt, with a capacity of 100 tons per hour, is being installed by this company, and new additions are constantly being made to the plant itself. It is

The Smalley motor works is one of the latest and most substantial additions to the North End industries, and the number of skilled machine hands is being constantly increased. The Michigan Pipe Company and National Cycle Manufacturiiig Company have for years taken a foremost place in their lines of business, and have done much to advertise the city. The "National" bicycle is known and appreciated the world over. M. Garland's machine shops, Bay City iron works, Walworth & Nelville JManufacturing Company's cross-arm factor^', Excelsior foundry, Marine iron works, Bay City knitting mills, Mackinnon Manufacturing Company, Smalley Brothers Company, Bromfield & Colvin's grist-mill, Hine & Chatfield's immense flour and grist-mill and grain elevator, Beutel canning factory, Beutel Cooperage & Woodenware Works, the Stiver-Mather Company (brick, plaster and cement). National Boiler Works, shade roller plant, Belgian chicory mills, with plants both on the East and W^est Side, Bay City Plow Works, Bay City Yacht Works, Standard Hoop Company, Bay City Stone Company, West Side brickyard, Goldie hoop factory. Bay City Dredging Company, Saginaw Bay Towing Company, Wadworth & Nelville Manufacturing Company (wood turners), are leaders in their respective fields of endeavor, and suggest the number and extent of the diversified industries that followed the decline of the lumber industry. A score of box factories give employment to a large force of men and boys, and annually cut up large quantities of the local mills' output. In former years this lumber went East to be cut up for box shooks.

from the river and the bay. Farther north are tlie fishing grounds for lake trout, white fish, lake herring, sturgeon, and other choice denizens of the deep, while the Saginaw river teems with pickerel, bass and perch. The State game and fish laws are rigidly enforced, in order to preserve so vital an industry, and the State plants millions of these fish in the lakes each year. The fishing industry is growing annually, as new markets are opened in the far East. The rivers north of here afford rare sport in angling for brook trout, grayling and river bass. The shores of the river and bay are still the favorite breeding grounds of wild ducks and geese, and in the rural districts quail, partridge, snipe and grouse afford sport for the hunter. Rabbits and similar small game abound, but deer and larger game are now rarely found in Bay County, although but recently an Indian was arrested at Pinconning and fined for running down a deer with dogs, the antlered victim finally leaping into an inclosure where he fell an easy prey to the pot-hunter. In winter hundreds of idle workingmen and fishermen find profitable sport spearing fish through the ice in Saginaw Bay. Their collection of little shanties on sleds forms annually one of the most unique communities on the American continent. The fishermen have named its .shifting scenes "Iceburg, U. S. A." ; from January to March, 1905, it contained about 700 spearmen.

In 1905 we find the transition from a crude frontier lumber town to a modern business and manufacturing center quite complete. The community by dint of pluck, perseverance and industry has tided over the critical period in its municipal existence, and with the united energies of both sides of the great river will soon mount another tidal wave of prosperity and enterprise, which will carry us farther and higher than ever before. The scarcity of homes suitable for the mechanic and laborer describes, better than pages of facts and figures, the steady revival and progress of the Bay Cities, commercially and industrially.

The natural position of Bay City at the head of navigation on the Saginaw River is one of great advantage. A glance at the map of Michigan will show that Saginaw Bay cuts into Lower Michigan until it reaches a point far in toward its geographical center. Bay City is by many miles the farthest inland harbor from the general outline of the State, of any point reached by deep-water navigation. This favorable position gives us a large extent of tributary territory, east, nortli and west. As the pine barrens to the north are cleared and the settlements thicken, the importance of Bay City as a trading center will increase. In this very month of April, 1905, the Bay City Board of Trade is negotiating for a big passenger and freight steamer for the long neglected shore route between here and Detroit, with every prospect of success. The West Side will be made to realize the truth of the proverb, that "In Union There is Strength," for another large chemical company, the Faulkner Chemical Company, has accepted the site offered by the Board of Trade, with a conditional bonus, and the plant is to go to the West Side, where it will grace the river front. So the dawn of Greater Bay City will be ushered in by the advent of significant events in our business annals. The tide has turned ! Progress and enterprise will again come to their own, and permanent industrjes take the place of the lumber and salt industries, which created Bay City. The farming country all about is rapidly becoming productive, and ".\ll ro.\ds hurricanes or floods are unknown in our annals of the past 70 years! Our cHmate is salubrious, our winters crisp and long but equable, while the summers are cool and made de- Ughtful by the lake breezes, even during the most heated periods. Verily Nature has done much for this valley. Let us rise to a full realization of all these unbounded natural advantages and future opportunities !

Much of this new vitality, enterprise and faith in the future of these once divided and weak communities, is based on the culmination of long years of endeavor for the union of the sister cities. From 1877, when the three villages across the river from Bay City joined forces and became West Bay City, until the actual consolidation consummated in April, 1905, the progressive and far-seeing forces of both communities sought to bring about the luiited action which augured so well for both sides of the river. For nearly 30 years the benefits of such a union have been acknowledged on both sides of the river, but at every critical juncture little differences would arise, - municipal indebtedness, the vexed cjuestion of taxation and personal considerations, - to keep alive the imaginary dividing line in the river.

On June 21, 1887, the Legislature passed an act to unite Bay City, West Bay City and the village of Essexville, the union to take place in 1 89 1, and provisions were made for a charter committee, representing all three corporations, which was to draft the consolidation charter, and submit it to the Legislature of 1889 for action. The politicians managed to secure an election on the proposition, and to the disappointment of all public-spirited citizens the voters on the East Side defeated the proposition by a narrow margin, while the West Side voted largely against the union.

3'ears, and then the advocates of Greater Bay City again moved to follow the example of the up-river towns. Saginaw, which had long been below Bay City, East Side, in population, consummated a union with Saginaw City, three miles down the river, thus regaining over night the coveted position of being the third city of Michigan, and relegating Bay City to the rear! There, as here, consolidation brought out new activities, and any one can readily see that the older but less fortuntaely situated city above the Carrollton sand-bar has gained much in prestige and material progress by consolidation. With a population of more than 40,000, it took at once a place among the large cities of the country, while her peers to the north were hopelessly divided, and lost sight of among the multitude of mediocre country towns in the roster of our countr\-'s municipalities ! The success of the union o^ our old commercial and industrial rivals, though separated by several miles, gave new impetus to the movement in the Bay Cities, which from the first have had their business centers exactly on opposite sides of the inland harbor. They succeeded in securing another referendum vote on consolidation in April, 1903, and until the day of the election, all the forces, pro and con, threshed over again all the arguments of other years and less opportune occasions. But the successful merger of large municipalities like Brooklyn and New York, the absorption by Chicago of suburbs for miles around, on the presumption that population and rank in the world's great cities counted for much, and the undeniable success of consolidation for the much less favorably situated cities of Saginaw, proved more convincing arguments than any theretofore advanced by the progressists.

"I. Consolidation will give iis at once a population of 45,000, and therefore accord us a prestige as a city we do not now possess. II. It w'ill give us a municipal credit that all growing cities need, and enable our bonds to be negotiated upon a market now denied to us. III. It will lessen the expenses of administering public affairs and reduce taxation, on the principle, that larger cities can be run proportionately cheaper and more efficiently than smaller ones. IV. The united city will be the county seat, and united will have less taxation and more influence in the affairs of our county. V. It will enhance the value of real estate. VI. It will lessen the cost of running the city government, inasmuch as it will reduce the number of heads of departments. VII. It will tend to draw to us manufacturing industries and give better wages and more constant employment to labor. It is well known that parties seeking location for investments in industrial pursuits always inquire first of all about the tax rate, which in Bay City in 1902 was as follows: Valuation: $11,447,534.00, rate of taxation for city, school, and highway purposes, $17.13 per $r.ooo valuation; in West Bay City, the valuation was $3,321,540.00, tax rate $29.51 per $1,000 valuation! These figures are an argument for themselves! VIII. The river frontage on the East Side is quite generally occupied, but the West Side still offers many advantageous sites, which cannot be availed of because of the high rate of taxation. IX. Industries and factories that employ labor are the foundation of municipal prosperity, and without them our cities cannot grow. Therefore every effort should be made by citizens on both sides of the river to bring industries employing labor to us. At present all new industries locate outside our city limits. X. The location of the cities on either side of the river, their present corporate limits, their fixed position in the business centers, the ownership and location of the bridges across the river, the direct interests of a great number of citizens in both cities, and the indirect but mutual interests of all, the existing conditions relative to quasi public corporations, public buildings and public utilities, the dependence of both cities upon the same service for its future erowth, fit them for consolidation upon the fair and equitable plan provided for by the act of the Legislature. Consolidation is assured, the only question being when it shall take place, and the sooner that question is finally settled the beter! Every interest of each city can be cared for without any detriment to the other, and the present properties of each can be used for the mutual advantage of both. The public schools can be increased in efficiency at a decrease in cost of maintenance. The fixed charges in both cities can and should be decreased, and we may add must be decreased. No city can hope to grow or l^ecome the fixed abode of a prosperous and contented people until the question of whether it is cheaper to own an ordinary home or pay rent is settled in favor of the ownership of the home."

This address was signed by A. McDonell (deceased February, 1905). Charles W. Handy, A. E. Bousfield, G. H. Schindehette, Alexander Zagelmeyer and Frank H. ^lohr, - three from each side of the river. This was adopted and approved by the joint committee of business men held March 23, 1903, and the following attached their signatures: Hon. Spencer O. Fisher, H. S. Lewis, Lee E. Joslyn. S. R. Birchard, S. P. Flynn, H. H. Norrington, Mayor John Walsh, Dr. Isaac E. Randall, Robert Beutel, Henry Benson. C. S. Ruttle, J. W. Coles, John McGonigle and John J.

Flood, all of the West Side ; and John C. Hewitt, F. J. Trombley, James E. Davidson, Charles A. Eddy, Ed. Kroencke, Walter D. Young, George D. Jackson, J. M. Miller, Thomas W. Moore, Charles R. Wells, A. E. Bousfield, Mayor William Cunningham, H. G. Wendtland, H. M. Gillett, Gen. C. R. Hawley, George W. Ames and Judge Hamilton iM. Wright, all of the East Side.

"We, the undersigned property owners and taxpayers of West Bay City, desire hereby to inform the public that we are heartily in favor of the consolidation of the Bay Cities. We think our prestige will be very much increased by having one large and united city, greater numbers and added influence. We believe that the rate of taxation will be reduced and in every way the interests of this city, as well as of our neighbor city, will be benefited by the union. AVe think a large city will attract more business enterprise to it, and more population and that our prosperity will improve, and our property will be rendered more valuable and business will be better."

This was signed by Thomas Walsh, George L. Mosher, Sage Land & Improvement Company, Henry W. Weber, IT. H. Norrington, August J. Bothe, George Behmlander, Charles A. Babo, Kolb Brothers, Bradley, Miller & Co., James Davidson, Spencer O. Fisher, Goldie Manufacturing Company, Handy Brothers, Handy Coal Mining Company, John M. Kelton, Fisher Land Company, Lumberman's State Bank, W. D. Young & Company, Frank H. ^lohr and Beutel & Company, altogether the largest employers of labor and capital on the West Side.

Yet no concerted effort was made by those favoring the union at the polls, while those opposed had workers at all the voting places. The result was awaited with intense interest. The arguments contained in the public appeal contained matters of vital interest to all the people. Great was the enthusiasm on the East Side when it was found that the vote was practically unanimous in favor of consolidation, the majority exceeding 2,000 out of a total of less than 5,000 votes cast! On the West Side the first returns again showed an adverse vote of 255, but later an error was discovered in the Fourth Ward of West Bay City, where the election board had simply transposed the figures, giving the majc/rity of 126 in favor of the union to the "nayes," and this was corrected in the official canvass of the votes by the Council. Similar errors were claimed to exist in other wards, and the consolidationists insisted that they had actually received a majority of the votes. So close was the vote, and so disappointing was the showing made by the "antis," that by mutual consent the joint charter committee, provided for in Representative John Washer's consolidation bill, was duly appointed from each side of the river, including the respective mayors and comptrollers, several aldermen and three business men, both sides being equally represented. After many sessions they approved and submitted the consolidated city's charter ; it was duly passed by the Legislature without any further protest, and the citizens breathed easier. They now felt certain that the long sought for union of mutual interests would be completed along those lines in April, 1905, and a stone of obstruction removed from the path of both cities.

State Senator Heine and Representative J. E. Brockway were both placed on record before the election of 1904, and both claimed unequivocally to favor the consummation of the union. In January the first mutterings of a storm were heard, and rumors began drifting about the two cities that the tax figures submitted by the West Side two years before, bad as they were, did not represent tlie actual state of affairs. Taxpayers on the East Side \\ere frightened by the danger, real or imaginary, of having to share the tax burden of the West Side, and some of the most ardent consolidationists were by these representations driven to oppose the union at the last moment.

Choosing the psychological time when Senator Heine was at home ill with the smallpox, Representative Brockway on January 24th introduced a bill REPEALING the consolidation act, and at once rushed it through the Legislature ! It was not referred to committee, in onler that the people might be heard on its merits, but he had it given immediate effect.

The people at home were stunned by the suddenness of the blow ; but when they realized that all the work of 15 years was again to be undone, and the dial of progress turned back for another 10 or 15 years, and solely at the behest of personal interests, the public-spirited citizens at once rallied in defense of the long cherished union.

Indignation meetings were held. Straw votes and long petitions asking for the repeal, secured under miapprehension of facts, were spurned. The business men almost without exception signed petitions to Governor Warner asking him to veto the "railroaded" repeal act, and Senator Heine promised to give the people a chance to be heard in the Upper House. But the very next day Senator Doherty, claiming instructions to that effect from Heine, also rushed the repeal act through the Senate, and nothing but the Governor's veto could then save consolidation !

To the end of having the act vetoed, the Board of Trade, led by President Walter D. Young, Homer E. Buck and others, and the West Side business men, led by Hon. Spencer

The "antis" insisted that he sign it, basing their claims on a snap election called by the City Councils, whose members on both sides were almost a unit against consolidation, held January 10, 1905. The electors were not asked to vote again on the question of consolidation, yes or no, but rather on the union on the basis of the charter as passed 1)y the Legislature of 1903. The opposition figured that the West Side would want that agreement kept, and they were right, for the election, if such it could be called, was reported to have resulted in 1,264 votes for the charter as it stood, to only 6 against it! On the East Side some hard work was done to secure an exactly opposite vote on the grounds of the West Side's poor financial condition, and this too worked, although not as well as the "antis" had anticipated, the vote being 397 in favor of keeping the agreement and charter, to 1,006 in favor of amending the charter, and creating separate Not one single vote was

Meetings were held in the Fraser House and in the Opera House protesting against the repeal act, and Governor Warner set February 1 6th for the day of hearing both sides to the controversy. The business men's committee favoring the union went down the night before, while the "antis" chartered a train, to which admission was by card, and wearing badges asking for the veto, they marched up to the Capitol at 10 next morning. The consolidationists had Hon. John C. Weadock and James E. Duffy present their case, together with a vast array of facts and figures, while the "antis" were represented by Hon. Nathan B. Bradley, who favored separate taxing districts, but wanted consolidation. Mayor C. J. Barnett of the West Side, and City Attorney S. G. Houghton of the West Side, and H. M. Gillett, attorney for several large manufacturing institutions, who also wanted separate taxing districts. The Representative Hall was well filled by Bay Cityans, and the hour was one ripe with possibilities to Bay City. East and West Side.

Governor Warner took the matter under advisement, and that same afternoon vetoed the repeal act ! His message was as follows : "The act which is sought to be repealed by this bill was passed at the session of the Legislature of 1903, and provided for the consolidation of the cities of Bay City and West Bay City into one mimicipality. It is this act of the Legislature which the bill, which I am now returning without my approval, seeks to repeal. After giving every opportunity for a hearing of both sides, those who are advocating, and those who are opposing this bill, I am

Of Consolidation Stand, And Remedy Any

CONVINCED TH.\T A VERY L.\RGE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE OF EACH OF THE CITIES FAVOR .\ CONSOLIDATION, THE ONLY DIFFERENCE SEEMS TO BE WHETHER THE ACT PASSED SHOULD STAND AS IT IS, OR THE WORK OF CONSOLIDATION BEGIN ANEW. Such being the case, I believe THAT THE BEST INTERESTS OF ALL WILL BE CONSERVED BY LETTING THE PRESENT ACT OF CONSOLIDATION STAND, AND REMEDY ANY DEFECTS IN ITS OPERATION BY FUTURE LEGISLATION. Such minor details of practical operation might better be left to this or a succeeding Legislature, rather than that the great business interests of the two cities should suffer from any future contention as to the main point at issue - the consolidation of the two

Cities Under One Municipal Government

I believe that by the uniting of the energies of the two cities into one municipality, a better and more economical government will result, and I have no doubt that the future will prove sturdy farmer and business man, now at the head of the great state of IMichigan. It was his first veto, and is pregnant with possibilities. The veto settled the matter, once and for all. The two Bay City delegations came home on the same train and fraternized as though nothing had happened to divide them but a few short hours before. At home they were met by the citizens with the 33rd Regiment Band, and escorted to the Fraser House, where a great crowd of happy townspeople had assembled to honor the occasion. Hon. Spencer O. Fisher, President Walter D. Young of the Board of Trade, Homer E. Buck, Frank Handy, A. H. Gansser, Dr. William Bishop, Alexander Zagelmeyer, F. C. Merrill, and W. H. Gustin of the several committees who went to Lansing to intercede with Governor Warner to allow consolidation to be consummated, were lifted on the shoulders of the enthusiastic throng and in brief addresses voiced their conviction, that it was all for the best future interests of both sides of the river and that it presaged new life and progress for Greater Bay City, and its 45,000 people! This was the song the consolidationists sang on that memorable evening :

Since that day the citizens of both sides of the river have aimed to make good the fondest hopes and brightest predictions of the unionists. The new hotel project has been given new life by the subscription of $50,000, with more in sight. The Detroit boat line is assured. The new railway to the east will be built this year, and the Faulkner Chemical Company's plant will add another huge industry to the growing list in Greater Bay City.

Both political parties named excellent tickets for the official positions under the new charter and on April 3, 1905, the first joint election was held in the united city. Great interest was taken in the city ticket, and overshadowed the election of Circuit Judge Chester L. Collins, and Road Commissioners George L. Frank and William Houser. The first election in Greater Bay City resulted as follows : The City Council will contain 21 Republicans and 13 Democrats. The Democrats elect Mayor Gustav Hine and Recorder John Boston, the Republicans elect Treasurer Edw'ard E. Corliss, and Comptroller C. J. Barnett. The vote was :

The result was somewhat surprising, as the united cities are normally Republican by 500 or more, but the citizens evidently wished to divide the honors, giving each side of the river two of the main offices, as well as breaking even between the parties.

The united City Council met on Alonday evening, April 10, 1905, listened to the brief and business-like message of Mayor Hine, named S. G. Houghton of the West Side, city attorney, Capt. George Turner, East Side, city engineer, and John H. Northrup, East Side, street commissioner. All the West Side books, moneys and records were formally turned over and all of the city's business is now centered in the City Hall, built 10 years ago with the expectation of this very union of the two cities.

In April, 1895, the East Side voted in favor of bonding for $100,000 for this new City Hall, by 2,542 ayes to only 820 nayes. Many citizens felt the building as planned too extravagant for the immediate needs of the city, but the city fathers felt that while they w-ere building, they wanted to provide for a century to come, and so more money was voted, and as now completed the fine Gothic structure, the pride of the cities, has cost over $200,000. Most of the offices were occupied November 27, 1897, and the fire-proof vaults, airy offices, fine Council chamber and modern city jail, will answer all purposes of the united city for future generations. The Public Library has large and airy quarters on the south side of the building.

The Ch.Vrter

the same as those now emljraced by Bay City and West Bay City. The city is divided into 17 wards. The first 11 are on the East Side of the river, and are the same as those of the present East Side city, with boundary hnes the same as at present constituted. There are six wards on the West Side, the present First Ward being the 12th Ward of the consohdated city, the Second being the 13th, and so on to the Sixth, which is the 17th.

Officers and Elections. - The terms of the first officers elected are to be as foUows : Mayor, two years; recorder, two years; treasurer, two years ; comptroller, four years ; aldermen (two from each ward), one for one year and one for two years; supervisor (one from each ward), two years; constable (one from each ward), one year; justice of the peace, four years. The present justices of the peace of Bay City and West Bay City shall hold their offices until their terms expire. In succeeding elections the term of recorder is to be four years. No person shall be eligible to hold the office of mayor, if he hold any judicial office or any city or county salaried office. The treasiu"er cannot be elected for more than two successive terms. No person can be elected to a city or ward office unless he be an elector.

City elections are to be held on the first Mondays in April of each year. The aldermen and supervisors are inspectors of city. State and county elections. If any one is disqualified by reason of being a candidate, the Council shall appoint an inspector in his stead. In case of a vacancy in the board of inspectors, the electors present may fill it. On the Thursday following the election, the Common Council shall meet as a board of canvassers. All persons elected must qualify within 20 days thereafter. Failure to qualify leaves the office vacant. In case of a tie. the winner shall be elected by lot. An

The tenure of the several elective officers of both cities, who are not by this act expressly declared to hold over, shall be at an end. They s'nall forthwith turn over their books, records, etc., to the proper officers of the consolidated city.

After the organization of the consolidated city, the charters of Bay City and West Bay City shall thereupon be superseded and repealed. All property of both cities becomes the property of the consolidated city, when the organization of the new city is completed.

A general registration shall be held on the first Monday of October, 1908. Until then the present registry of electors shall prevail. The inspectors of election of each ward shall constitute a board of registration. On the Saturday next preceeding any general city or special election and on such other days as shall be appointed by the Council, not exceeding tliree in all, an opportunity shall be afforded for registration.

The M.wor shall receive not less than $1,000 per annum. He shall preside at all meetings of the Council. The acting mayor shall preside in his absence. He has the power of veto of any ordinance, resolution or motion of the Council. It will take a two-thirds vote of the Council to pass a measure over his veto ; at the following meeting, the mayor shall communicate with the Council, giving his reasons for the veto. He shall sign all licenses and permits. He is the conservator of the peace of Bay City and in an emergency, of which he alone shall be judge, he may take command of the Police Department. For cause he may remove a member of any board or commission or any appointed officer, who shall have a right to make a defense. He is ex-officio member of the Board of Supervisors and of all boards created under the provisions of the act, excepting the Board of Education and the Board of Assessors.

Common Council. - A majority of aldermen can do business and a minority can meet and adjourn. A meeting of the Council may be called at any time by the mayor or acting mayor. On a request from six aldermen, the mayor shall call a meeting within 24 hours. All aldermen shall be given a personal notice of the same. All aldermen can be forced to attend Council meetings. Non-attendance makes each subject to a fine of not more than $5. An alderman remaining away four weeks in succession, unless sick or excused, vacates his position. Vacancies may be filled by the Council until the next charter election. Aldermen are to receive $2 per session of the Council. At the first annual meeting of the council it shall elect a president, who may vote on all occasions. In case of a tie vote, the mayor shall break it. The Council shall be the judge of the election and qualification of its own members and shall have the power to make its own rules and by-laws. It shall have the power to appoint a city attorney, a street commissioner and a city engineer by a majority vote. Any officer appointed may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Council, but the mayor, recorder, police justice and justices of the peace cannot be thus removed. Ordinances may be passed bj' a majority vote. The Council has supervisory control over all officers, agents and employees of the city, and over all boards and commissions.

No aldermen shall be personally interested in any public contract or in the sale or furnishing of any labor, material, merchandise or supplies to the city, any ward or any official thereof. No alderman shall vote upon any question in which he has any direct personal interest. An alderman violating any of these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor.

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 drunkards, vagrants, beggars, fortune tellers, disorderly persons ; license circuses ; define what constitutes a nuisance ; regulate slaughter houses and buildings for storage of explosives; prevent obstructions on streets, alle3rs 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 collect 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 cellars, slips, barns, drains, etc. ; prescrilje rules for undertakers; regulate soliciting of guests for hotels; fix jurors' fees; regulate construction of partition fences, walls or buildings ; regulate crowds at fires by police ; inspect boilers ; regulate laying of gas pipes ; regulate quality and weight of bread ; regulate height of telephone and other poles; regulate stringing of wires, and conducting of telephone exchanges ; require building permits ; construct a city market ; prescribe conditions of hcenses for transient traders; own voting machines; own and operate system of water-works.

The Council shall control all streets, sidewalks and alleys ; authorize running of railroads and street railways, and designate material to be used ; can change the route of any such railway ; can acquire private property for public purposes ; can issue bonds for any purpose 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 contracts and agreements on behalf of the city, and shall make all purchases for the city or its officers. 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 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 Common 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 cx-ofRcio a member 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.

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 Department. 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 tern 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 practicing 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.

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 political 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 ordinance 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.

Bo.\RD OF Assessors. - This board shall be composed of the comptroller and two electors 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

Bo.vrd of Public Works. - The mayor city comptroller, city engineer, with two electors 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, according 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 aldermen 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. Before July 1st 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.

may be necessary, not exceeding two per cent., aside from the school tax on the real and personal property of the city. The Council shall direct on July 20th the amount of money to be raised. The Board of Education by a majority vote shall determine the amount of money to be raised for school purposes. Every alderman 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 maintain either independent or in connection with water-w orks, 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 exceeding one-half of one per cent, for the construction 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 retained. 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 felonies for trial in the Circuit Court. The present police justice is to retain his position until the second Monday of April, 1907, at which time the Council shall designate one of the justices 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 holidays. 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 hearing. Persons can be punished by the justice for contempt of 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 violations 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.

rules of the Councils of the cities of Bay City and West Bay City now in force, and not inconsistent 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 election, the Council shall cause all acts and parts of acts of incorporation to be revised and corrected 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 misdemeanor to sell lots from plats that have not been thus approved.

No loan shall be made by the Common Council in any year exceeding the amounts prescribed in this act. Old bonds may be refunded. Bonds shall bear a legal rate of interest. The comptroller shall keep a correct account of all bonds outstanding.

Public Schools. - The territory embraced bv 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 Saturday in October, 1906. On the first Saturday in October, 1906, and every two years thereafter, one member shall be elected in each ward.

The recorder shall be cx-ofRcio clerk of the Board of Education. If he fail to discharge his duties, he may be removed. The city treasurer is cx-ofHcio 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 furnish school houses, maintain schools, hire superintendent 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 assessment rolls. One per cent, per year can be raised for school purposes, not including the 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 thereafter 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 respectively. One member shall be appointed annually 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 cx-ofHcio 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, Methodist, Baptist, Congregational, Catholic, German Lutheran, Episcopal and Swedish churches, the president of the Board of Education, 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.