St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-30
PAY DAY INCIDENTS.
Busy Scenes Presented Month
ly at the Municipal
Bank.
Dudes Who Disdain to nix
With Street La
borers.
What 1t Costs to Secure
Services for a City's
Necessities.
Firemen Who Handle Large
Sums Of Money for Their
Conn AIDES.

CITY Treasurer Refs, Comptroller
Roche and their corps OF assistants are
busy four or five days each month audit
ing the accounts and paying the sal
aries of munisipal officials and enl-
plOveS. On those days their Offices on
the main floor at the city hall are
the busiest rooms in the building. To
wards the last days of the month
the clerks of the different departments
are chrged with the making up OF the
department payroll, which then goes
to the city clerk and comptroller, where
it is scrutiniZed and approved, and If
found to be regular, warrants are drawn
and the city treasurer receives his no
tice to open the municipal Golfers. And
at the last of the month, when
the department clerks are thus
engaged, they become important indl-
viduals in their respective branches of
the city government. At this period
the health of Mr.. Clerk is matter of
general solcitude, for should he be
taken suddenly i'll. the preparation OF
TIE ROLL MIGHT BE DELAYED.
All work, however, gives way to this
important document.
On city pay day salaries are called for
promptly at the appointed h0urs, and
even some of the municipal barnacles
display haste to get to the cashiers
window that would shake the credit Of
the Bank of England. Pay day seems
to be the one day of the month to which
everybody looks forward lOngingly and
calculatingly.
In the payment of salaries no invidi-
Gus distinctions are made, and every
body must step up to the captains desk
to get his pay, titled or untitled. Even
the inactive city barnacle is not an ex-
ceptiOn to this rule, and the well-pald
dude in his lawn tennis coat must call at
the window as well as the street lab0rer,
who gladly availS himself of the chance
to get
IN OUT OF TIE COLD
for a few moments without losing
time" Years ago, when st. Paul was
small town. all city officials and en-
pioyes were paid off on the same day,
but when the town grew to city CON
sideraTe treasurer divided up the forces,
allotting different days for different
classes OF employees, thereby sparing
the fastidious clerk the modification of
having to take place in line with the
men who earned their money flushing
sewers or cleaning streets. This change
has been hOnored ever since. Two
days of each month are set apart for
paying the laborcrS employed on the
streets, and other days are allotted Tor
school teachers, police and fire depart
ments and city officials and clerks.
custom prevalent among the tremen IS
that one man presents the checks and
draws the salaries of all the men at his
engine house. Teachers of the public
schools are often paid off at the high
school building.
There are frequently other callers at
the treasurer's Office on payday besides
the municipal officials and employees.
Occasionally an imprOvident clerk draw
ing his pay is surprised to have the
strange clerk next in line suddenly turn
ont
TO BE A DEPUTY CONSTABLE
with a writ for his salary, which is
promptly seized as the unknown clerks
share. The money lender also IS often
an interested spectator at the paying
of scene. Occasionally there are also
representatives of different charitable
institutions, who witness the paying
OF 10 receive from the chartably IN
clined whatever unsolicited assistance
they are willing to give. They. ask
no one. nor do they Obtrude them
selves on any man who is unwilling to
give his mite to the charities which they
represent. a fact remarked by those
who often witness paying-oti city enl-
plOyeS is that the laboring men give
more to charity by far than the better
paid officials and clerks.
The city pay roll amounts to about
100000 per month, or Sl,200,O00 per
year. This amount is expended en-
tirely for the services secured, and does
not include dollar Of the expenditure
on ally other account.