St. Paul daily globe., 1889-01-08
MAYOR AMEs' ADDRESS.
Remarks and Recommendations
Pungently Characteristic Of His
Retiring Honor.

appear before you at THIS time TOT
the purpose of retiring from the posi-
ton of chief executive of this city.
With this meeting l conclude three
terms as mayor-five years and nine
months the longest term of service ever
before given you by citizen in this po-
sition. Notwithstanding l go from the
place a wiser but poorer man. l still
do not regret the time | have given to
the service of the city. [ point with
pride to the record of the last admins
tration and view with alarm" the
change which has taken place
from a rule of the Democracy-the
friends, the well-known enemy. During
the last two years and nine months adj
ministration l feel that the retiring
council have done much.which will, in
the future, rebound to their credit.
While they have been the friends of
labor and acceded to all it's reasonable
demands, still they have been just in
all their dealings with capital. They
passed the ordinance making eight
hours legal days work on the public
works of this city. and thereby gave
employment to at least one-third more
workmen. They also abolished the
contract system, as far as was practical
BILE, and saved to the treasury the enor-
nous profits which had heretofore been
reaped by contractors. Out of these
savings the extra laborers required by
the eight-hOur system have been paid
without detriment to the city.
THE GREATEST CALAMITY
which has been inflicted upon the city
for several years has been the meetings
of the legislature. Through this agency
our charter has been tinkered up to suit
the private whims of obscure citizens,
and we are to-day cursed with conflict
ing laws, unintelligible to citizens and
inexplicable to the courts. respect
fully recommend to the incoming coun-
Gil the appointment of an intelligent
committee on legislation, whose duty it
shall be to see if harmony cannot be
made out of the present chaos. What
Minneapolis now needs is home rule.
The state should accord us the privi-
lege of managing our own local affairs.
You should petition the bucolic men,
bers of that august body to ac.
cord to the citizens of this great
metropolis, with its quarter of million
inhabitants. the knowledge of knowing
what is for its best interests in its gov
ernment. One of the most important
dangers which threaten our future are
legislative provisions for the appoint
ment of boards and commissions to con-
troll our affairs. the members of which
are not elected by the people whose
millions of dollars they are authorized
by legislative enactment to eXpend. In
this connection desire to recommend
to you an important and radical change
in local affairs. believe that the mayor,
coming, as he does, fresh from the peo-
pie, should be clothed
WITH ABSOLUTE POWER
as far as their governments is concerned.
He is directly answerable to them for
all his public acts and if the people
make mistake it is easily remedied at
the ballot box. If the president of the
United States is competent to choose
men as his chiefs of the various depart
ments under him and the governors of
the various states are considered COM
petent to choose the heads of depart
ments, why should the mayor of the
city Of Minneapolis not be considered
competent to select and be responsible
directly to the people the officers who
have charge of the various departments
of our city government? The plan
which | suggest has been thoroughly
tried in Philadelphia, and has been
found to bring officials more closely in
connection with the peoples interests
than any other. In this city we
have too many officials who
are only accountable for their acts
to some intervening power be-
tween the taxpayers and their public
servants. l therefore recommend the
abolishment of every board and COM
mission created by legislative act, and
to place the responsibility OF our local
fl,n nh r0o
sentatives of the people. In this con-
the inroads which fanaticism and re-
ligious intolerance have recently been
making upon the rights of the people.
Every new member of this city council
should remember that all nationalities
who have sworn allegiance to this
country, and who are good citizens, are
entitled to all the rights ascribed to the
most favored. The poor here should be
the peers of the rich. But. alas, they
are not. We already see that the Of
fenseS Of poor man are ten times more
grievouS than the same otfense commit
ted by man of mOneyed station. Ii
this principle be followed it will event
ually lead to revolution.
MMayor AmeS here devOtes considerable
space to review Of every department.
of the city government, neatly compil-
menting each head, but severely criti-
ciZing the police commission act, and
recommending it's immediate repeal.
Bethany home gets
IT'S USUAL ROAST
in the following language: MY eX-
perence as a physician has shown that
a very considerable number of the in
mates of Bethany home, coming as they
have. under my professional and political
eyes, are residents of other localities.
Many have demonstrated to me that
their Seducers or wealthy keepers were
willing to pay all their expenses, and
with this in view | have sent them to
Bethany home. 1t is not only a char
liable institution. but private and re
formatory institution as well. While [
believe it should receive reasonable
support from those charitably disposed,
sucker; nor should the private reforma-
tory ideas of any sect be carried out at
the public expense. If we had to, we
could care for the unfortunate inmates
of Bethany home at our city hospital at
One-hundredth part of the present eX-
pense, when coupled with the reforma-
tory detention of six months now eX-
acted of Bethany home inmates. / hope
that this great charity may continue to
prosper, but not at the expense of the
public treasury"
FOR THE SOLDIERS HOME.
In dealing with the park system, he
says: 81 desire to recommend the
opening of boulevard from or in the
vicinity of Lake Harriet down the To-
mantle banks of Minnehaha creek to
point just below Minnehaha Falls: also
the purchase by the city of about four
acres of land now occupied. temper
arily, by the Minnesota Soldiers home,
and the presentation Of the latter to the
state for soldiers home purposes: also
L. ,as4