St. Paul daily globe., 1889-06-09
LOCAL TOPICS.

The gingerly manner in which the
Republican Tribune and Pioneer have
treated the suit in the district court
against T. T. Byrnes seems to indicate
that those aggressive and enterpriSing
Journals have been influenced by Mir.
ByrneS' political prominence, or rather
his being an earnest and consistent Re
publican, to suppress the news. A par
agraph in the Tribune announces that
T. L. Byrnes is defendantin a suit, etc.,
about five lines in all, and the Pioneers
Nrite-up is about as meager. The course
of these papers indicates that the lad
ministration" is to be protected and fos-
tered in the person of Tim; but the
plalntitf. Mr.. Rodgers. need not think
they have any animoSity against him
pe1sonally. If he had the money and
property he had before he met the Hon.
Tim they would bow low before him,
and his name would appear in their col
umns as 1.-The Hon. W. A. Rodgers. one of
Minnesota's most prominent and en-
terpriSing business men,"
~
Aid. Vogt, the brickmaking states
man of the Nirth ward, having dis
covered that there is no man from the
lonored East side on the list of health
inspectors appointed Friday evening,
gave notice of reconsideration OF the
vote, and will of course, now make
grand hustle to have an old soldier from
the East side elected to inspect alleys
and garbage barrels. The selections
have been made strictly in accordance
with that principle of civil service re-
form so much lauded by Republicans
everywhere before election, but that
won't make any difference with the
brickmaker. If he shall be able to
rattle the council into reconSidering the
appointments made, the health depart
ment will suffer. but that won't make
any difference either. The old soldier
must come to the front now that the
war is over.
The career of E. NJ. Johnson as presi-
dent of the council has not been as sue
cessful as his partisans hoped it would
be. He has lost good many friends in
the council by his erratic method of ad-
ministering the rules and the sharp
manner in which he sometimes pulls up
q delinquent. But the fault is not en-
tirely nor chiefly Mr.. Johnson's. He
knows the rules and how to use them, but
he is surrounded by a lot of farmers who
don't know parliamentary rule from the
side of barn. They make the most
1aughable bulls in trying to get business
before the council. and half the time de-
feat their own aim by some OutrageOusly
absurd notion. Now if the ignoramus
happens to be of the Johnson-Downs
wing of the council, the president is
pretty apt to help him out. but if he is
an offense in the nostrilS of the dynasty
above, he will be permitted to founder
on until he burieS himself irredeemably.
1t is hard to say what the president of
the council should do. but it is easy to
tell what he should not dC-he should
not show partiality, neither should he
be so hard of hearing when one of the
opposition attempts to get the floor.
The confusion and dissatisfaction last
Friday night was very great, and it was
helped Oh by City Clerk Haney, who
was sharply called down by Aid. Ingen-
hutt, for favoritism in giving preced-
ence to motions introduced by
certain members over those which
emanated from the First ward. MIR.
Haney, who seems to have rearranged
the council chamber to suit his own
Ideas of what a good Republican city
clerk should have, has stuck the press
table, at which his assistant sits also on
one side of the room behind the pres
tdent's throne in such a manner that
half of the members cannot be seen or
heard by the reporters. Then he spends
a good deal of valuable time repeating
to his assistant motions that the latter
could take off the bat of his chair. was
in sight of all the aldermen. Besides
he has habit when motions are intro
duced in writing of taking them Off the
top of the file. making the last come
first and first last. 1t will occur to any
fair mind that the motions earliest in
troduted should be read first. and that
no special requests TO advance motions a
step should be recognized.