St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-10

100000 expended in completing the high
bridge from the proceeds of bonds issued for
that purpose. The large amount charged
to st. Paul for water works. $780,
1S5, is due to the large amount Of con-
struetion done by the water board during
the season of 1889; and, Furthermore, the cit
liens had not one dollar to pay by direct
taxation towards this amount, as the water
department is more than self-suStaining. St.
Paul also heads the list in this item. The
Item of interest is a gross error. ST. Paul Is
charged with S492,206 while the Eactual
amount expended under this item was S34S,
600, which, as in every item detailed here, IN
cludes the board of education expenditures.
The miscellaneous item is approximately cor
rect. as it includes the health, SIT, 697; police,
Sl7S, 7S3; park expenditures, S26663, and sal
aries, S2s991. The cash balance on hand is
given for St Paul as ST., 59j, while that bal
ance was actually S04. lob. 1t would appear
that the figures
Were Arbitrarily Altered
in order to make the carefully prepared sta
tistics properly balance.
There are gross errors in the figures gwen
for st. Paul and Minneapolis relating to ex-
penditures for schools. In this item for both
cities are Jumped together both the ordinary
expenditures for the maintenance of schools
and the special and extraordinary expendi-
lures for building new school houses. The
total amount for both purposes should be
for st. Paul SSS0599 instead of S7S4, 432, but
nary expenditures, the remainder being for
new buildings. Minneapolis in this item is
placed at S637, 544 instead of S959069 the act
ual figures according to the comptroller sre-
port of that year.
Now, this item is entirely omitted in st.
Louis. Kansas City, Omaha and Duluth, and
consequently does not enter into their per
capita rate. Under the item of streets,
bridges and sewers, Kansas Citys per capita
is decreased by entire omission, while st.
orl-C nor COZ iro ic vol nv
with 81, So. 694, which consisted wholly OF ex-
traordinary expenditures.
The total expenditures of the city of st.
Paul as given III this statement, are about
$1,000 more than they should be. while the
Minneapolis total is l,170503 less than the
expenditures of that city, as reported by its
treasurer for that year. They are charged
with total expenditure of S3,962, 900, while
the report of the treasurer places 1t at
s.. 1873 $50.
Now. as the figures given for the ordinary
expenditures of st. Paul for 1889 very nearly
correspond to its total expenditures for all
purposes, the question arises why is ST. Paul
rate per capita (S41. Isl so much in excess OF
that of other cities of its class? The answer
is that while st. Paul is charged with every
available item all the other cities of this
class. whether by their own fault or Porter 5,
are not charged with their actual exDendi-
lures under corresponding items. The most
palpable of
htSt OtRtASSAOh9
are the expenditures for schools in Omaha,
Kansas City and st. Louis; for streets. sew
ers and bridges in Kansas City; for parks in
Chicago and for water works in Detroit
while there is a general reduction IN Minne-
apolis items. and presumably in the other
cities.
The per capita rate of approximate admin
istratiVe expenses is determined by deduct
ing from the ordinary expenses the amount
expended for shcools, libraries, public build
ings. charitable objects and water works
Again is st. Paul the injured one, as her
item of streets and bridges and sewers re-
main to enlarge her rate 1t is clearly i'm
proper to include these items under the head
of administrative expenses when the same
are local improvements, and the amount
raised by special assessment on the property
directly benefited, and not by general taxa
ton. This item also includes about $500, 900
for the so-called high bridge" The follow
ing table will show what were the actual
administrative expenses of the city of ST.
Paul for the year ending Dec. 81, 1889, which,
it will be seen, is about $4,000 less than the
tax levy for those purposes: