St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-06
An Increase of Nearly $780,
600 in the Expenses of
Three Departments.
The Money Spent Was for
Current Expenses, Not
improvements.
Figures Which Indicate Very
Clearly How Promises Can
Be Broken.


Promises of retrenchment and reform
made by the Republicans Of Minneapo-
lis during the campaign of 1888 than
was done last Sunday in the GLOBE. In
an article published last Sunday, the
utter disregard for, OF failure to COM
ply with, through ignorance and lnabil"
ity, the ante-election pledges of the party
shown by the record of the r. and r..
administration, especially on the reform
side of the house, was fully calculated.
The time has now come when the re-
trenchment policy, as outlined by the
local Republican leaders, can be COM
pared with the actual results. During
the campaign the air was full of charges
of wastefulneSs and misappropriation OF
public funds sufficient, if proved, to send
almost every member of the Democratic
municipal administration to jail. OF
course those charges could not be
proved. They were untrue. But that
is no reason why every promise made
pledge Solemnly given to the people,
with many an affirmation of honesty
and good faith, should be broken
and trampled in the mire of political
dishonesty, before the air had become
fully quiet after the agitation produced
upon it by the mad mouthings of men
who cloaked their selfish purposes of
going into politics for what there was in
it under well cOUnterfeited desire to
benefit the public, reform the city, build
up the municipal finances. put dollars
into the pockets of the taxpayers by a
careful and conscientious manipulation
of the public funds, and make Mime
apoliS model for the world. And
these promises they have broken. And
why have they done it?
John CalderwOod, of whom so much
was expected, has been playing the role
OF old Dog Tray guarding the infant
child of his master all the time, and has
frequently emitted such growlS and
barks at the city council that the public
has been persuaded into the belief that
he was in earnest. He may have been.
1t is not intended here to discuss MIR.
Calderwood, but the K. and r. admins
tratiOn as whole, of which the city
comptroller is part.
AS one example of what the present
administration has done in the way of
retrencbing, take the police department
and compare the cost of 1T with that of
the police department under the Dem
ocratic regime. The last report made
by Comptroller Holbrook was for ten
months, in order to even up the fiscal
year with the calendar year. The report
of Comptroller CalderWOod, from which
these figures are taken, has been split
into reports for two and ten months, in
order to facilitate comparison with
HObrook'S report. The two reports
fIyyf I'm Of
and the result of the comparison is
administration. Here are the fignres
taken from the two reports OH the cost
Of maintaining the police department:
Expense.
March /, 1889. to Jan. L, 1890,
March /, 1858, to Jan. i, 1859,
(Dem) ............... lac, 69o.IS
Republican increase. ....... SIS, 764.32
Here is an increase in the expenses of
the police department of SIS, 7S4.32 over
the expenses under Democracy. This
is for current running expenses. No
extensive permanent Improvements
have been made at all. True, a lot in
North Minneapolis has been purchased
for the erection of new sub-Station,
but that alone should not account for
the excess. There is another point, too.
The police force could not be increased
because the appropriation would not
admit of it. More than this, the salaries
of the officers were reduced SIS per month
all around. Men who are compelled to
to be out in all sorts of weather, who
are expected to know something of
everything, who are expected to act as
detectives, who are depended upon to
protect the peace and dignity OF the
city and its people, who work long
hours, and half the time at night, are
forced to serve for $50 per month, less
than most of them could earn at almost
anything else. The administration
went into this misery, dely-
ing penny-squeezing business Ito
save money to the taxpayers"
and wind up the year with an increased
expenditure of SIS, 1882. And this,
too, when Mayors Babb, Guile and
Bracket failed to saddle the city with
an expensive police signal system.
Then there is fire department, the
efficiency of which has not been ma
terially increased. Here is the compar-
alive showing of expenses for that de-
partment:
March l, 1889, to Jan. 1, 1890,
March /, 1858, to Jan. i, 1889,
Dem.) .....,,..... ............ 1S3,O73 62
Total increase. .......". 49,. S19.767 SO
Where has all this money gone to?
Like the police department showing,
this is merely for current running eX-
penses, not for permanent improve
ments. Nearly $4,000 more gone for the
expenses of the fire department under a
admin than
under an ''eXtravagant and dishonest"
government, and nothing to show for it.
Comment is unnecessary.
Then there is the item for street
lighting. The following is the showing
made by the comparison of the eX-
penses under an economical adminiStra-
ton and one said to have been other
wise:
March 1, 1889, to Jan. 1. 1890
March 1, 1883, to Jan. 1, 1889
(Dem.) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 103, sos 40
Nearly $4,000 more was spent for
than by the "Wasters" and no reason
able explanation for it other than that
the pure and holy and thrifty admins
tration has broken even its own record
and gone further back ON its promises
than ever any one had an idea that il
would.
A simple mathematical calculation
shows that despite their expense0pho
bia, the lawmakers and law en-
forcers of Minneapolis have spent $685.
472.56 more money than their predeces-
sors did, in merely supporting, not ex'
tending and improving, three of the de-
partments of the city government, fol
which increase there is no warrant un-
der the sun nor under .Babb. This is a
practical illustration of 'retrench-
ment."
More figures could be produced te
prove the same thing if time and space
did not forbid. The report of the city
comptroller was not accessible unit
last night. Other comparisons will be
made later.
BURRELL AND THE'IRISR.