St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-26

MINNIE TOO GREEDY
Claim Made That Annexation
Of 1888 Was Without
Justification.
WERE NOT LEGALLY JOINED
Attorney Asks That the Third
and Tenth Wards Be
Cut Off.
WERE NOT LEGALLY JOINED
SCHEME FORNEW DAM FAILS
Hitch in the Project Report
ed--General Mill City
News.

Judge Pond yesterday morning
signed an order opening up the 1893
tax judgment entered against r. L.
Pratt, a dairyman residing in the
Third ward, North Minneapolis. The
property was assessed at $30,S00 by
the assessor. Affidavits of E. c. Toll
ley, Francis Crepeau, c. c. Schultz
and ]. l.. Neal, all real estate dealers,
were presented, and they each swore
that the property was not worth
more that $7,700. The tax judgment
entered for the year is $745.60.
In his answer to the county attor-
ney's complaint on which the tax
judgment was secured, R. r. Odell,
for Pratt, raises point which is i'm
portant, if all the facts prove true.
The annexation of outlying territory
provided for in the act of the legis-
lature passed in 1883, it is claimed,
can be set aside, and the portion of the
Third ward, most of the Ninth and
Tenth, all of the Eighth beyond
Twenty-siXth street, the Twelfth,
Fourteenth and a portion of the
will be proved, 80 it is asserted, that
there is a technicality in the act
which annulS it completely. III this
is true, the city will consist in reality
only of those wards in existence pre-
vious to the passage of the act of 1883
Odell sets up the claim for his eli
ent that the act is known as chap
ter 8, Laws of 1888, entitled An act
to amend the charter Of M1nneapo-
lis" 1t was introduced early in the
session, and provided for the taking
in of additional territory included in
the wards named above. 1t was
passed by both houses and went to
the governor for his signature. Be
fore it was signed, however, an ext
gency arose which required tech
nical amendment, and the bill was
returned to- the legislature to per-
nit the passage of this amendment,
which was in turn accepted by both
houses. According to Odell the amend
ment was returned to the governor,
who, in the hurry of the moment,
did not look it over, but simply at
" IT, ne liOW
claims that the original bill lies in
the vault in st. Paul without the
governors signature, and only the
amendment has the autograph of the
governor which is necessary to make
it a law. For this reason he will
claim that the assessment should be
set aside, and that the outlying ter
ritory is not subject to any levy
that the city may make, and is only
subject to the levy of the county
and state and for school purposes.
Mr.. Odell was seen last night and
he stated to the GLOBE that there
was no question whatever about the
matter. why, I have looked into
the subject, and 1 know those are
the facts" he declared, emphatic
ally Il have searched through the
records in st. Paul, and 1 can find
no bill signed. There is one purport-
ing to be signed and approved Feb.
q, 1888, but it is only the amendment,
and not the original bill. What will
the court do? 1t is pretty hard to
tell, but they cannot go back of the
facts in the case
The case is to be tried as a court
case, and among the lawyers of the
city there will be great deal Of in
terest in the outcome, providing the
facts are proved by Mr.. Odell.