St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-08
City Fathers Will Investigate
the Charges Made by the
Times.
A Committee Is Appointed
With Power to Send for
Persons aud Papers.
Comptroller Calderwood Must
Struggle Along Without
a Typewriter.
The First Ward Gets SO.
Out Of the Contingent
Fund.


ell which was held yesterday. after
transacting the regular routine bust
ness, organized itself into an indigna-
ton meeting such as the Peoples Re-
form CLUB might well be proud Of, and
besides taking a ego" at the city comp
tr0ller for what the aldermen apparently
thought was his talking too much to the
newspapers, they turned their atten-
ton to the publication made in the Min
neapois Times of March 8. In that
issue the Times, not TO be Outdone by
the GLOBES expose Of an attempt to
GUST Chief Engineer Frank l.. Stet-
son FROM the fire department, sprung
the statement that there was an
organized attempt on the part of the
council to make rules for the govern
ment of the cOmptrOlleT's office which
would prove so obnoxious to that Otficial
that he would be forced, out Of self-re-
spect, to resign. 1t also referred to the
action Of the aldermen as peculiar, and
stalled that the Times was in possession
of further information, and that some
very startling developments might be
expected.
Aid. Smith, of the Second ward,
started the ball rolling by Introducing
the following resolution, which was
read by City Clerk Haney:
Resolved, That q special committee OF i've
be appointed to investigate the inSnuatiOns
or charges contained in an article published
IN the Minneapolis Times OF date March 8:
1890, entitled, "A Game Of EreeZe-Out,
with SPECIAL reference to the following para
graph: 1.-THE publication OF the names OF
the aldermen against whom the Times has
positive evidence OF peculiar performances
would be the sensation Of II year. and would
undoubtedly result in the calling of mass
meetings in at least SIX of the citys thirteen
wards" And that such committee have
full p )wer TO send for persons ana papers III
making such investigation, ana that they
make full report to the council OF The result
of their labOrs.
Aid. Loye took the floor and declared
that if the charges and insinuatlOnS
were true the council should know it.
If the Times has any facts in its posses
sion it should come forward and prove
them, and he said that he for one court
ed the most searching investigation
that could he made.
Aid. Sterling ridiculed the comments
made by the Times, and challenged the
Times to show any peculiar perform
ances." He said that statements like
those printed in the Times were UNI
worthy of belief by any man of sense.
There never was any attempt on the
part of the council to freeze out the
comptroller or any other city official.
Aid Smith said he had not intro
duced his resolution In favor of the city
comptroller or any one else. The Times
had made specific charges, and since
the resolution had been read, he had
been told by one of the reporters that
his resolution was going to get some of
the aldermen into trouble. There was
talk of doodle" and he himself had
been called "boOdler" He had
treated the matter as joke, but it was
not a Joke when a newspaper printed
charges as. grave as the ones contained
in the Times. If the paper could prove
its charges he wanted them to have a
fair chance, and he hoped the commit
tee would give the matter thorough
investigation.
Aid. VandeWaker declared that the
charges referred to amounted to moth
ing. and that it would be waste of
time to attempt to investigate them.
He said the charges that there had been
peculiar performances was broad one
and could mean dozen things. Ii was
like the gossip of old women. He con-
tended that the article had been care
fully written so as to avoid making
specific charges, and instead OF making
direct charges it lodged all around
them. and the time taken in an investi-
CATION would only be wasted and moth
ing would come of an investigation.
President Johnson thought different.
He said that the resolution introduced
by Aid. Smith was very proper one,
and it was time that the council took
some notice of the stories which were
in circulation. For himself, he was sat
isfied that the charges that the R'der
men accepted brides were false, but the
charges made by the Times went fur
ther than those ordinarily made and
they should be thoroughly investigated.
Ii any alderman. or any city official,
was guilty of official misconduct he
should he brought before the bar of the
council and tried, and if found guilty be
dismissed from his office.
Aid. Warren thought the newspapers
had overlooked the fact that the council
had done its utmost to protect the tax
payers from having to pay a commission
to any one to collect the amount of re-
bates due them, and he explained that
over 5000 postal cards had been sent
out last year notifying taxpayers that
they were entitled to rebates. He had
a copy of the blank with him, which he
offered to the reporters for publication.
THAT fact has already been pub
lished,' remarked President Johnson.
"The gentleman should read the GLOBE
and get all the news"
Engineer Rinker was allowed to ex-
plain the system in use in his office for
notifying property owners that TREY
were entitled to rebates, and said that
fully so per cent of the notices sent out
were returned to his office because the
people to whom they were sent could
not be found. This was no fanIt of his,
because he sent them To the addresses
furnished by the county auditor. Aid.
Grimes went to the rescue of the city
engineer and said that the rebate trouble
was caused by the taxpayers themselves
in signing a CaSt-irOn contract with an
agency which charged % per cent for
collections.
President Johnson announced the fol-
lowing committee to investigate the
charges made by the Times; Aid. LOye,
Warren, lngenhutt and Gilman.
Aid. Loye gave notice that his COM
mittee would commence their inVestiga-
ton on Tuesday morning next. The
meetings OF the committee will be in
the council chamber, and they will be
open to the public.
Aid. Warren created considerable
merriment by introducing resolution
requiring the city comptroller to dis
charge the typewriter now employed in
his office, but it is understood that in
removing her from the building he is
not to use any more force than is neces-
sary." The motion was lost by vote
of IA ayes to 10 nays. Before the
vote was announced several of
the aldermen changed their votes from
ave to no and like number
changed from no to aye. Later in
the meeting Aid. Warren moved that
after March IA the comptroller
should not be allowed the services of a
typewriter. In support of his motion
Mr.. Warren made humorous speech
in which he said that the council had
forced the typewriter up0n the comp
trOller. He didn't want such an en-
plOye. but the council had said that he
must have one. and it was an injustice
to the comptroller to make him use
what he didn't want. Some one moved
to refer the matter to the committee
on claims, but Aid. Parry, as an amend
ment, moved to refer it to the commit
tee on roads and bridges. Aid. Gray
said that the COMPTROLLER had presented