St. Paul daily globe., 1889-02-19
One Thousand Dollars Is the
Extent of Vaunted Econ
omy in Salaries.
And Actually They Had Hard
Work to Keep From an
Advance.
Agonizing Distress OF Our
Municipal Reformers on
the Cruel Rack.


special order of business was the con-
sideration of the report of the standing
committee on salaries. and motion to
consider each item separately was car
ried, and the first Office to be called was
that of city engineer. They recommend
ed that the salary be reduced from S4,-
500 to $4,000. Aid. Downs moved to put
it back to 81 500; his motion was second
ed and carried, but on call for the
yeas and nays Aid. E. nj. Johnson made
a strong plea for Aid. Downs motion.
Aid. Sterling made a reply to Mr..
johnson which seemed to meet with ap-
proval. He said he proposed to stand
by the "ante-organization' caucus in
all things, and he knew that, owing to
| the general depression in business, the
payment of $4,000 to Mr.. Rinker during
| the coming year was as much as the
payment of $4,000 last year.
THE THROES OF RETRENCHMENT.
Aid. Downs believed that good man
should be kept, and that Mr.. Rinker
was worth every cent Of 1850, and
| should favor his getting it.
| Aid. VandeWarker thought the work
| of the Office would be less in the en-
| gineering department during the COM
| ing two years than it had been before.
| He thought that no one man should
have his salary cut while another's was
| left at the old figure. He believed in
acting on the whole report at once, as
| that would not give chance to reduce
| the salary of one and raise that OF an
other.
Aid. MCGOWAN thought the commit
| tee had acted in poor judgment in re-
ducing the salary of man in whom all
members of the old council seemed to
have such confidence.
| Aid. johnson stated, for the lnforma
tion of certain suburban aldermen who
| had made remarks about the probability
of the work in the department being
less this year than before. that the work
| grew, and must grow, every year. He
| said the city was by no means in bad
state financially; that its bonded debt
and tax rates were as low as those in
other cities of the same size. and much
lower. if the rapid growth of Minneapo-
| lis was taken into consideration. he
showed that the
COST OF IMPROVEMENTS
| to be built during the coming year was
as great as it had been in any year in
the history of the city; and that, there
fore, the work of the engineering de-
partment would be as great.
Aid. Phillips said he was in favor of
| applying the pruning shears of retrench-
| ment to some more important branch OF
| city expenditure than the salary list of
competent and responsible officials.
REMAINS AS 1T WAS.
On yea and nay vote there were
| thirty-one votes to make Mr.. Rinker's
salary $500 and six to uphold the re-
| port of the committee,
nbo npyt fnaftar falyHO nm was fhafinf
| first assistant engineer, who now gets
$500, which the committee reduced to
81, 500. Aid. johnson moved that the
salaries of all employees of the engineers
department be fixed by the engineer,
subject to the approval of the council.
The motion was carried, as was also a
motion to make City Attorney Russell's
salary $4,000 instead of $4,000. as was
recommended by the committee. His
assistants salary was fixed at $1,000,
and that of his stenOgrapher at S7S0.
The salary of Mr. Calderwood,
CITY COMPTROLLER,
was discussed somewhat. and was
finally fixed at 50, 100, the comptroller to
| pay his own clerk hire.
THE CITY CLERKS SALARY
was the cause of a lively discussion.
The committee recommended that it be
placed at 50, 800. with $1,000 for assist
ant and $1,000 for clerk hire. Aid.
Downs moved to amend by making it
$500, with the same provisions as in
the report of the committee. and
with the understanding that the clerk
retain no fees. The matter was finally
fixed by resolution offered by Aid.
Johnson embodying the spirit of Aid.
Downs suggestion, and providing that
all fees paid the clerk by virtue of his
,l,<, 1t no INV IN oif
This was passed.
THE CITY ASSESSORS
salary was reported at$2, 900, whichis $3.50
less than it was before, and Aid. Vogt
moved to fix it at that before an assessor
was elected. The motion was carried.
The matter of
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT
came up, and the committee recon-
mended a raise of $500 in Chief Stetson'S
case, making his salary $1,000, and Gray
and Sterling objected. stating that they
wished to stand by party pledges and
| the figures fixed in caucus.
Aid. Phillips said he had learned that
other cities paid poorer men more
money; that Mr.. Stetson was very
| poorly paid man, and that ne hoped the
council would grant the increase.
Aid. Vandewarker thought the same.
| nearly all the fire departments of other
| cities, and thought this was one of the
best. The amendment making Chief
! Stetson's salary $1,000 was carried. The
| pay of the first assistant was S1,S00 in
| the committees report, and AID. Bar
| rows moved to amend by making it
| $4,000. The amendment was lost by a
| vote of 81 to 16, and the recommends
tion of the committee was adopted.
The recommendation of the commit
| tee making the second assistants salary
| $500 was adopted, and the same in the
| case of superintendent of police and fire
alarm telegraph. Several minor changes
| in the way of salaries in the fire depart
| ment were made. There was some dis
cussion as to the difference in the sala-
ries of the engineer and captain, Chief
| Stetson thinking that the men should
| be graded according to years of service
| and ability, and on motion of Aid. Ster-
| ling the whole matter of salaries of the
| engineers. etc., was referred back to
| the council without action. The salary
| of the
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE POOR
| came in for little retrenchment then.
| The salaries committee reported in
| favor of reducing it from 81, COO to 81 800,
and Aid. Sterling said he favored that,
| because Superintende mt Snyder had
said before his election that $1,000 was
good pay for the work of the office. A
motion making it 81, 500 was adopted.
The salary of
THE BUILDING INSPECTOR
was made $4,000, as of old. and those Of
his assistants $1,000 each, in spite of
Aid. Potter's plea for $500 raise for the
first assistant.
An alderman from the Eighth ward,
| who is member of the committee on
salaries, moved for a vote of thanks for
the snnerintendent of the WOrkhOuse