St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-04
The MERCURY ROSE.
Yesterdays Session Of the
Board Of Education Was
Torrid.
Norton's Charges Against
Capt. Duncan Come to
Naught.
Bergman Has Been Finally
Arraigned on the Charge
of Murder.
Female Suffragists Hold a
Meeting--NeWs From the
Courts.

i lie blHuedpOllS DOdru OF GQucdUlOn
had a session yesterday that was a ses-
sion. No one ever suspected that the
Staid old board of education could stir
up so much interesting matter. 1t was
quite like council meeting when Aid.
Rand is feeling we'll and Aid. Bradish
has grievance to be heard. The
charges made by John Norton were up
for hearing. They were heard and they
were commented upon by the other
members. Mr.. Norton rather had the
worst of the encounter.
The meeting opened with the reading
OF the formal charges preferred against
Capt. Duncan, the foreman of buildings
AID supplies, by Mr.. Norton. The
charges were: That Duncan had a key
to the room where the supplies are kept;
that Duncan's son kept the time of the
employees of the board of education and
a record of supplies taken; that he car
chased tools for the board of ed
ucatioG. to wit: One automatic
brace and one drill. Ali these things
were said to be contrary to the rules of
the board, it never having authorized
Capt. Duncan to appoint an assistant.
1t was further characterized as a repre-
hensible piece of work, inasmuch as it
was his own son that Capt. Duncan had
hired. A letter was read from Capt.
Duncan. in which he demanded a hear
ing, and called Mr.. Norton's attack as a
cOwardly piece of business, inasmuch
as the charge was brought before the
board as an act of wrong doing without
having ever been investigated. Then
the hearing began.
Mr.. Norton was the accuser. He
charged that Capt. Duncan had been
guilty of the offenSe charged and of
fered to prove it. His witness was his
ton said that the charge made by his
father was true. He had seen young
Duncan give this order on A. r. Mil
ler'S hardware store. There could be
no doubt about it. Mr.. Norton was con-
fident that the September bill from
Miller's store would show that
these articles had been purchased on
his order. The bills were hunted up,
not alone for September, but for Au-
gust as we'll. They showed no charge
for brace. The order books for both
September and August were carefully
examined by j. II. Rolfe, and there was
nothing in them to show that this order
had been given out. That seemed to
settle it. 1t took the board over an
hour to come to that decision.
They made careful examination
of the charges and of the one witness
for the prosecution and could find moth
ing that would warrant them in finding
a verdict of guilty. Capt. Duncan then
explained that this brace and drill
which had stirred up an official investi-
CATION had been purchased by his son
with his own money and for his own
personal use. The board of education
never buys any carpenters tools any
the following resolutions:
'That the board of education finds no
cause of action against Capt. Duncan
on the charges brought against him by
John Norton.
THAT whenever member of the
board of education thinks that a cause
for investigation exists he should bring
the matter before the board of educa-
ton and let properly-constituted COM
mittee decide whether the matter de-
mands formal investigations
Mr.. Gjertsen explained that he intro
duced the second resolution for the
purpose of preventing a recurrence of
the scene that has just been enacted.
If adopted, the rule would be the vast
ing of a good deal of the boards valu-
able time, and would prevent the nois-
Ing about of a matter that amounted to
very little, but which might do harm to
an innocent party.
81 don't want any instructions from
you" broke in Norton.
Mr.. Norton then explained why he
had brought up this matter. Through
Duncan the board had ordered $50 paid
to Prof. Greer tor taking an inventory
that was never taken. The money went
to pay girl who had been employed in
the Office without the sanction of the
board. Such things were not regular
and straight, and he intended to stop
them or do what he could to do so.
II will say" began Mr.. Giertsen,
''and | will give Mr.. Norton these in
structions. and he may take them or
not as he pleases-"
Norton-I won't take them. am old
enough to know my business. l am
here to do the right thing and will put
in these things when | please. If | am
to be corrected l will be corrected by
the president.
Gjertsen-When you bring these mat
tiers before the board you will be cor
rected by the board. When you are in
the wrong it would be gentlemanly to
acknowledge it.
Quiet, deliberate, small-voiced Mr..
Pratt then arose and proceeded to deal
out to Mr.. Norton a most artistic roast
in gentlemanly manner. Mr. Norton
had been member of the board of edu-
cation but short time. but his brother
ln-law was already janitor in the en-
ploy of the board. He had noticed on
the pay roll that Mr.. Norton's team had
been paid $3.50 day, when the regular
wages for teams was only So.
When Mr.. Pardee's services were
dispensed with Mr.. Norton had tried to
get his son into the place. Then Nor
ton had tried to get his son appointed
as assistant to Capt. Duncan. Once il
was said that man should be appointed
to look after the weighing of the coal
and to take care of the coal. Again Mr..
Norton had tried to get place for his
son in the employ of the board Then
he noticed on the pay roll that Mr.. Nor
toms son had been doing some work for
the board, he did not know by whose
authority, and drawing $3.50 a day
for it. A second time Norton tried
TO have his son appointed as Duncan's
assistant and had failed, The next thing
that came from Norton was the charge
against Duncan, 1t seemed chat Nor
toms sou had been acting as spy on
Duncan while doing some work for the
board. On the whole he thought that
these charges came with poor grace
from Norton.
Nortop-I maintain that have proved
my point; that that brace was brought.