St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-01
The Reform Council of Mime
apolis Is Trying to Make
a Record.
Co0peps Are Now on the Fence
About Letting One Shop
Go to Work.
Methodist Ministers Get To-
gether and Claw the Air
Just a Little.
Formation Of a Vermont AS
soeiation--Col. G. D. Rogers
Differs From Pillsbury.

the city council is OF character which
will no doubt make the average tax
payer jump for joy-provided he takes
everything for granted; but should he
take the trouble to make few inquiries
as to the method of disposing of the
money collected by taxation, few
things might be brought out which
would make the taxpayer open his eyes
wide with establishment and feel like
kicking himself around the block
for allowing such things to exist
right under his very nose
without ever thinking of calling
''mass meetings In six of the thirteen
wards" At the time of the Johnstown
disaster Minneapolis, like all of the
cities Of the Union, was called upon for
aid. A mass meeting of the citizens
was called and met in the council cham
Der. The cOuncilmen were present, of
course, and the credit of the city Was
pledged to give the aid which was so
badly needed. Philanthropic citizens
dubbed together and purchased 1000
barrels of flour, which was sent to the
sufferers. When the council met in
regular session it was discovered that
there was no fund in the city treasury
from which the money could be taken
to pay for the flour. There was
no hurry Just then for the money, be-
cause the citizens had gone down into
their pockets and the $4,000 was raised
in less than five minutes at a meeting
of the citizens relief committee. which
hnI1 l,oi,. 1fTs in
house block.
1t was something of surprise to the
citizens when the comptroller and the
city attorney both declared that there
was no fund in the city treasury from
which money could be taken to be used
in case of necessity to assist the people
of either the city or the surrounding
country in case of a sudden calamity.
and when the conncil created special
fund to cover just such cases.
and set aside $4,000 and called
it an ''emergency fund.-" the
action Of the council met with the
unanimous approval of the citizens at
large. 1t was expected, however, that
this fund of $4,000 was to be used only
in case of emergency and in assisting
those in distress. In fact, when the
money was set aside, one of the argu-
ments used Oh the floor of the council
in its favor was that Minneapolis
was just as liable to be Wis
tied by cyclone. a cOnf1agration or
something of that sort as any other city
and then money would be needed, and
needed quickly. It was the under
standing that the $4,000 in the emer-
of a sudden emergency.
AnnapantlU the councilman ara
like a small boy with dime
in his pocket standing IN front Of con-
fectionery store. The dime burns a
hole in the boys pocket So it has been
with the aldermen and the emergency
fund. When the money was first set
aside and the people applauded the aid
ermen for doing sensible thing the
people had no idea that the .emer-
gency" would arise SO soon. Now
there remains but $4,000 i'll the emer
gency fund in the city treasury. Min
neapolis has not been visited by cy-
clone, neither have the rayages of fire
played sad havoc with the homes OF the
taxpayers. There has been no famine,
and an epidemic of disease is so far I'M
known. Butthe emergency fund has been
diminished over one-half and greedy
hands are outStretched to grasp even
WlldJ ISIudluS' L Hc ulSb cluClS CHCH
arose when knowing it alp and in
spite of the comptrOller's warning that
there was no money in the treasury to
pay for the work, two aldermen ordered
q lot of street work done in the First
ward. After the work was completed
the men had to be paid, and in an ''em-
Urgency" like this $4,000 was drawn
from the fund which was supposed
to be in the city treasury ready to
assist the needy in case Of sudden
and unforeseen calamity. Then the
board of health found that it had eX-
pended more money than its appro-
priation warranted, and another slice
of $4,000 was Clipped off at the request
of the committee on health and h0spi-
tails. Some time ago the Twelfth ward
secured an extra appropriation OF $4,000,
but it was found that the only way the
ward could get the money was to follow
the example of the First, and take it
out of the. emergency fund. An at
tempt was made to do that, but the APP
preparation failed to pass simply be-
cause it lacked one vote OF majority OF
all the members of the council, but as
several members were absent when the
attempt was made it is given out cold
that the Twelfth ward will bring the
matter up again, and there is but little
doubt of it's passage. The United States
census bureau appropriated $1,000 for
taking the census IN Minneapolis. The
patriotic gentlemen who are connected
with the local bureau say that isn't
enough money, and they have asked
the council for $1,000 TO aid them in Sc
curing the names, ages, occupations,
ETC., of the inhabitants. Of course, the
council will help them out somehow,
but $1,000 is big pile of money to take
out of the emergency fund, when
there only remains $4,000. In a
few weeks 1t is safe to predict
that the so.called emergency
fund" which was created for specific
purpose, and that purpose to assist the
unfortunate victims OF the unforeseen
and unavoidable disaster, will exist
only in history as the reformed re-
trenchment as eXemplifed by godlike
Republican administration, has been
able to discover in street grading, scav-
enger work and the enumeration of the
census emergencies" of the most pro-