St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-28
A POOR MODEL.

Tinkering at the city charter seems to
possess wonderful attraction for sew
eral members of the Ramsey county
delegation to the coming session of the
Legislature; but as there are so many
diverse ideas as to how much doctoring
shall be done, it seems more than likely
that, with the addition of few much
needed amendments. it will be left nearly
as it is. One member would Substi-
tute an entirely new scheme of govern
ment for the city, modelled after the
BUILT bill, under which the govern
ment of Philadelphia has been conduct
ed for number of years.
This law has never been satisfactory
to the citizens of Philadelphia, and it
would be more than distasteful to the
people of st. Paul. Under the baleful
influences of corrupt government, fos-
tered i'll measure by the BUILT bill,
Philadelphia has not kept pace with her
rivals, and is today, by confession of
the leading papers of both parties in
that city, the worst-governed munich
pality in the United States. The main
features of this scheme of municipal
government are the formation of a
host of departments, whose heads
are appointed by the mayor, judges of
the district court, or even the governor
OF the state. In this way offices of all
kinds, save, perhaps, those of comp
troller and treasurer, would be appoint
i've, and removed as far as possible from
the people. The board of education
would be supplanted by director Of
the department of education; the board
of public works by director of public
works; the fire board 10y director of
the department of public safety.
In Philadelphia these heads of the de-
partments have invariably, with the
single exception of the administration
of Mayor SAMUEL KING, been powerful
ward CT division politicians, whose in
fiuence has nearly always been able to
control primaries and elections. The
present director of public works, WAC
NER, has been so VIGOROUSLY corrupt
that he has not single defender in the
long list of party papers in Philadel-
phia. Even now papers of the Quaker
city, regardless of politics, are vigor-
Ously calling for new Philadelphia,
d
the coming February election. mayor
who will change the heads of many of
these departments. In commenting on
the situation of affairs short time ago,
leading paper of the city said:
Philadelphia has the poorest gas, the poor
est water, the poorest streets, the poores
sewerage and the poorest street car facilities
of any city of importance in the country.
And yet. in spite of the tact that this
city, to which some of the Ramsey dele
cation would go for its rules of munich
pal law, has few public improvements,
its debt mounts up to the colossal figure
of $50, 777,S70, and is only outclassed in
this respect by New York. At the time
of the passage of the BUILT bill a Wig
Orous fight was made against it by the
leading men of the city, who feared that
the politicians would elect mayor after
their own mind, and in this
way pave the way to plumber the
city, and this is exactly what
has been done number of times
since this new charter became law. It
has only been short time since 1.-THE
dandy mayor" resigned to escape i'm
parchment. This scandal was eclipsed
by the gas trust robberies, and now the
present administration, through it's de-
partments. is trying to unload the ex-
pensive and worthless Schuylkill water
works on the city,in spite of the protests
of every prominent and we'll informed
taxpayer.
If the Ramsey county delegation
must doctor the city charter, it should
select a better model than the corrupt
city of Philadelphia.
The citizens of st. Paul want their
city government brought nearer to them
instead of being further removed. The
notorious BUILT bill will not be salts
factory