St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-19
CITY HALL GOSSIP.

One of the most arduous trials through
| which Mayor Smith is C ompeled to go is to
| listen to the applicants for peddiers licenses,
| who claim that they are too poor to p ay for
| the permits. Most of the men are Russian
Jews who have fed from the iron rule of
the ear to seek liberty in the United tates.
| The poor fellows insist on seeing his honor,
and in their broken dialect shower blessings
| al ibltum upon his honor's head if he will
! grant their request. Some of the men are de-
serving. but others again are shrewd and
! crafty. and endeavor to save the amount of
me license by pleading poverty.
II
If a vote should be taken amo ne the city
| hail officials as to the working of the Bell
charter, it would not receive favorable vote.
The work i'll nearly every office has been
! more than doubled; and, while the expenses
OF the offices have been cut down, the double
work is entailing gigantic effort on the
part of the officials 10 keep it up to date
The dual council scheme doe not work har-
mously inaSmuch as the Lords and Commons
each clatm TO be the superior body An as
semD1yman last week strongly opposed a
certain resolution from the aldermen provid-
ing for special conference committee upon
certain topic, because the aldermen had
In this way matters which should be passed
upon at once are delayed, and Ill on account
of The new charter. I'VE are supposed to be
q check on the other body is a favorte ex
preston OF many of the assembly, but the
aldermen refuse to recognize the right of the
upper house TO so regulate their proceedings.
II
A prominent city official in speaking of the
charter yesterday said that he did not see
where its utility was shown. He deplored
the waste of time and the delay caused by
the law i'll requiring every trivial matter to
be passed by the two bodies. He then sug
gested that the double council would work
most satisfactorily il it had been decided i'll
the charter that the board of aldermen should
thave the power to pass upon all routine mat
sers, and allowing them to authorize eXpendi-
lures up to 500 Amy expense above that
I'm should receive the assent OF the assem-
bly,. In this way it would save vast amount
of time and labor The aldermen would
meet twice Il month and the assembly once,
pay rolls would be passed on time and there
would be no grumbling. The clauses of the
charter relating to the restrictions of ex-
pendtures in all departments, while perhaps
too close, are satisfactory.
II
The law department of the city is greatly
elated at its victory in the case of II. S. Fair
child against The City of st. Paul, which set
tied forever the question of the legality Of
possession by the city of all lands condemned
for public purposes from 1878 to 1887. A full
report of the supreme court decision handed
down was published in the GLOBE yesterday.
Assistant City Attorney Phillips has con-
Quoted the case for the city three years, and
he is to be congratulated upon the result of
the litigation.
il
The board of park commissioners moves
slowly i'll the question of locating public
parks. At the meetings of the board attor
neys for owners Of property and the owners
themselves who want to sell their land to the
city for park purposes make their appear
ance and consume valuable time in making
long-winded orations as to the many excel
lie Mt qualities of their land for park pur
poses How many of these property owners
would appear before the board and diate
upon their p roperty if the board should ask
for land to be donated for the benefit of
the public? In the language of the poet,
there would be IAN ach ing void
=f=
Those who are fond of good municipal
squabble should be present tomorrow even
ing at the NEE ting of the committee on
streets or the board OF aldermen. The res
idents of the Second ward who are opposed
10 the cable line on East Seventh street being
changed into au electric system will swoop
down upon the committee in numbers, led
by their doughty champion, Aid Bott. The
city railroad committee will have a number
of distinguished legal lights present to sub
nit lis case, which is. that the Ordinanc e
passed in its favor include the right to
charge cable systems to electric, and that the
kickers cannot help themselves, because the
city has no power 10 curtail the ordinances
already granted. City Attorney Lawler re
fused Yesterday to be interviewed, but stated
he would be on hand tomorrow evening pre-
pared to give his opinion.
Doughty John Geliah. chairman of the
committee yesterday exhibited in the court
house a huge carpenters mallet which he
Will use as a gavel 10 preserve order in the
thick of the fray. Alderman Bott, leader of
the opposition to the electric system, has
borrowed Coke, Littl etOn and Blackstone and
studied up law points. The fight promises
to be an interesting one, and may the best
man win.
The records of the healt Office for the past
six weeks show that the majority of deaths
reported are infants under twelve months.
On the other hand. the birth records more
than make up the loss in juvenile population.