The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-01-11
How the Council Dropp-
ed the Humane Petition.
Att Orney Plymat Flakes a Brilliant
Fight For Hopeless Cause,i and
Alderman Bashaw Assists Him.
In the Hands of the phiIiStineS.

side of the rail when the meeting
was called to order Saturday night,
and they were all attention when Re
corder Brown read the petition of the
Humane society asking that the
council pay the salary of Officer Shell
don. The paper was signed by 315
fee-holders. A remonstrance with an
equal number of signatures was also
read.
Attorney Plymat championed the
petition. He said that Humane
Officer had been temporarily employ
ed by the society. and that he had ac-
complished much good in the blanket
ing hundreds of horses; he had saved
helpless wives from abuse at the
hands of brutal husbands and had
placed needy children in the schools.
He said the membership of the HUI
name society was composed entirely
of taxpayers of the city.
He said the petition had been OBJ
jected to on the ground that it would
be illegal. The police force as it
stands has all it can attend to. May
not the council go little out of the
line under the general laws and en-
ploy Mr.. Sheldon? A janitor has been
appointed at the city hall. That is
not legal. The statutes say the day
police shall do such janitOr work.
Street Commissioner Halstead has
been employed under the general law.
The park policeman is not a police
man. He merely has police authority.
This appointment also was made un-
der the general law.
He said that he understood that the
city had offered a $4,000 bonus as an
inducement to manufacturers to
locate here. The statutes do not
allow this, but the council found a
way to proceed under the general
laws and the taxpayer is yet to be
heard who objected to it.
The propagation of the Humane.
laws will not drive away trade. We
do not need trade so badly that dumb
animals must suffer to bring it. He
referred to the argument that it
would increase the taxes. Each man
who pays tax on $1,000 would have
to pay but ten cents additional, and
the men who signed the remonstrance
certainly cannot complain that it
makes the burden of taxes too heavy.
He concluded by saying that had the
men who signed the remOnstrance in
vestigated the good that had already
been accomplished they would not
have gone upon the paper.
Mayor Weaver stated that no jani-
tor had ever been employed at the
city hall, that the man doing the
work was none other than the pound
master who received $40 per month
additional for such service, and as to
the bonus, that was given under the
old charter by special request of the
board of trade.
Alderman Bashaw moved that the
petition be accepted, and Alderman
Widell moved that it be tabled. The
latter was put to vote and nobody
answered
Alderman Higgs said that the coun-
Gil had no appointing power and it
could not consider the question at
all. He was then excused to attend
meeting of the library board.
Attorney Rutan. a member of the
committee from the Humane society,
said he could add nothing to what
Mr.. Plymat had said. The reasons
for granting the petitions are many.
For five minutes there was a dead
silence broken only by the voice of
the mayor asking what should be
done with the petition.
"Don't see what we can do with it,"
said Alderman Pitcher, 1--WE have no
authority to make this appointment"
Alderman Bashaw favored the
granting of the petition, and said he
knew from personal observation that
Mr.. Sheldon had done great deal of
good.
81 have always favored the increase
in the number of police" said Alder
man Peterson, and if we had au-
thority to do so l would vote for the
petition. But we have not, and I
will second Mr.. Widell's motion. A
private subscription guaranteeing
fifty cents per month would, he
thought, be good plan to keep Off
Ger Sheldon going.
The mayor again put the question
and it was tabled, Aldermen Peterson
and Widell voting aye and Bashaw
nay.
City Engineer Haynes made report
of Effer's contract for grading Second
street. The report showed that the
street was completed as far as Lime,
where Fowler & Pay have been quar-
rying stone and have cut a lOO-foot
channel across the street. This they
have lately refilled for the major part