St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-11
ON ITS LITTLE WARPAT TIL.
The st. Paul Taxpayers Association Is
Busily at Work.
IT KEEPS ONE MAN BUSY.
A Preliminary Vote for City Officials to
Be Taken Next Week if
Possible.

The st. Paul Taxpayers association
and Citizens union, which cuts a much
larger figure before election than when
the votes are being polled, is now send
ing circulars to the several candidates
for city offices. 1t would be hard mat
ter to determine the strength OF the as
ISOLATION. AS is probably well known,
several thousands of voters. and others,
have been elected to membership, and
whenever it appears necessary to re-
cruit the ranks, it is done by drawing
unrestrainedly upon the city directory.
Thus the associations membership roll
is always well filled; but to make those
who have been honored with election to
membership. in the off-hand way re-
ferred to, vote as the association die
tates, is horse of another color. Many
of the avowed members admit that, i'll
exercising the franchise, in so far as 1t
relates to local affairs, they are con-
trolled by the attitude of the association
toward the several candidates. This
may be the case or not, but it is fact
that the oldest inhab-the general pub
lie has never yet been able to discern
etoOONAseeANAA
result of civic elections.
The constitution of the association re-
quires each member to pledge himself
not to vote for any candidate for the
city council, OF for any city or county
office, who will not pledge himself, UNI
reSeryedly. to an enforcement OF all the
city ordinances: to an honest and thor
oughly economical administration of the
public affairs; to require the perform
ance of his official duty by every city
and county officer or employee; to oppose
any tax levy of over Is mills on the as
sessed valuation Of real and personal
property; to oppose any resolution TO
appropriate money or issue certificates
of indebtedness, unless there are sutfl-
cient funds in the treasury from the
tax levy, OF from the sale of bonds that
have been authorized by
DIRECT VOTE OF THE PEOPLE;
and to oppose any proposed expendl-
the association On a vote thereon by its
members.
The pledge, the substance of which is
given above, is included in the circular
of inquiry which is being mailed to the
several candidates who have been NOM
mated by the Democrats and Republic
cans. Each candidate is requested to
answer whether Or not he will subscribe
to the pledge. AS soon as the
answers are all in, which will probably
be near the close of the week, Secretary
Mason says, the association will, as is
customary, take preliminary election
on all candidates of the regular politi-
cal parties through the medium of the
mails The candidate for each position
receiving the majority vote Of the asso-
citation as returned will make the selec-
ton, and the association will stand
pledged to support him at the polls, eX-
cept if any successful candidates decline
to subscribe to the pledge, then substi-
tutes shall be chosen, and tickets bear
ing the names of those favored by the
association will be distributed to all
members.
If the tenor of the replies of candi-
dates already in the hands of the secre-
tary is any criterion of what the re-
mainder will be, the ticket of the asso-
citation for the approaching election
will be half-and-half affair, the favOrs
being about equally distributed between
! Republicans and Democrats. Promi-
nent members of the association, eSpe-
cially Secretary Mason, who is dictator
| of its affairs, say they do not want any
thing better than the present admins
tration. They are satisfied that it is the
best the city ever had, and while wish
| ing a reduction in the rate of taxation,
are willing to credit the administration
with a desire to conduct the various
| departments of the city government as
economically as possible without lower
| ing the general standard OF efficiency.
| The vote on candidates will be taken
next week, and the ticket of the associa-
ton prepared as soon thereafter as is
possible and put into the hands of mem
berS.