St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-25
rENDER-HEARTED SENATOR.

Our senator, WILLIAM b. DEAN,
voted against the MCMILLAN bill, re-
curing in the future that public fran
chiseS should be sold by municipalities
instead of being given away. This was
not because Senator DEAN is not an
honest, able, learned, handsome and in
tereSting man, for he is ali OF these. 1t
was simply because he has such SYM
pathetic soul. He knows that our pub
lie corporations are suffering, and he
hasn't the heart to add TO their sad lot.
The public ought to understand THIS,
and not do our handsome senator injuS-
ticc. There is only one man in history
who had Il more sympathetic soul than
MI DEAN. That was BAINES CAREW,
in the "Bab Ballads" who dissipated a
large legal practice because he could
not keep from weeping at his clients
tales of woe.
1t is enough to make anybody weep
who has the heart OF a man to look at
our public corporations. There is the
Western Union Telegraph company, for
example. See how it has beautified our
city with tall poles and network of
wires on every street, protecting US
from the sun. 1t has had, until lately.
a practical monopoly on all the tele-
graph business of this state. and has
done the work efficiently and at prices
which people who have to send tele-
grams pay without protest, because they
have TO. And yet, in spite of all the
good this company does US, it has to pay
the enormous sum of $4,000 a year into
the state treasury i'll the form of tax
ON its gross earnings for the privilege of
doing its entire business i'll this COM
monwealth Isn't this shame? The
GLOBE is not surprised that Senator
DEANS moral Indignation is reused at
the thought of adding to It's burden.
Why should it pay the city anything for
the privilege of placing poles along the
public streets That is what the pub.
lie streets are for.
Then there are the St. Paul Gaslight
company and the st. Paul Street Rail-
way company. These two are the most
worthy OBJECTS of charity in the world,
They have exclusive franchises dating
FROM the time of the flood and running
until the New Zealander shall appear
on London bridge. They did not pay
anything for these, and in the view of
any man Of, sympathetic temperament
they ought not to be expected to. They
have always operated at tremendous
loss. One would think that their own
ers would abandon such disastrous en-
terpriSeS. But this is taking a low view
Of human nature. Their owners stick
to their franchises as close as very
wet kitten to very hot fire, not because
it is profitable, but for the good they
can do. All glory to such men. 1t is
looking a gitt-horSe in the mouth to
criticlse them or expect them to pay
something for the clty's support.
And, by the way, is it not very fort
innate thing that no corporation is sub
jected to the awful af1iiction of owning
our local system of waterworks? In
such case the cup of our benefactors
would be filled to overlooking. They
never could stand up under such a load
To be sure, our waterWOrks alone CT
our public improvements pay, but there
really must be some mistake in the
nature Of things, that they should.
They are owned and operated by the
city, and there must be some dreadful
robbery going On in connection with
them rhe Evening Slanderer and the
wax figures in the chamber of horrors
are certain that ROBERT A. SMITH,
JOIN ROCHE, l.. w. RUNDLETT, the
whole board of public works, and every
other city official are hopelessly dis
honest and corrupt. They do not dare
say SO in so many words, but they are as
valiant as SANcHo PANZA in inuendo