St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-15
A REDUCTION ASSURED.

The agreement reached yesterday by
branches Of the city council assures
a substantial reduction in the amount
appropriated for city expenses next
year. The total sum to be raised by
taxation, according to the plan deter
mined upon, is, in round numbers,
100000. This is substantially SIG, 900
less than the aggregate Of the con-
ference committees report, and $751;
800 less than the controllers estimates.
If adopted, it means a saving Of about
S600,000 upon the amount levied IN
taxes last year. The result reached
was due largely to concessions made
by the board of aldermen. All worked
together to cut down expenditures
wherever possible, and the members Of
both the board and the assembly
showed themselves anxious to serve the
interest of the taxpayer. 1t is due
largely to the position taken by the
board of aldermen that the result was
accomplished with so little hardship to
the less literally salaried employees of
the city.
1t is to be expected that this report
will be accepted by both houses Of
the city council They have wrestled
laboriously with the problem of re-
trenchment, they turned it over to
committee that was fair and repre-
sentative, and probably neither branch
will care to disturb again results
reached with such difficulty and after
GREETED, however, that SO large a por-
ton of the economy that appears in
the totals Of the printed figures prom
ises to be found impra cticable in actual
GERS salary fund represents in part
reductions which have not been ac-
cepted and which there is no power
to enforce. Some saving can be accom-
law recently passed. The reduction of
the printing and stationery fund may
or may not prove possible as expert
ence shall determine. A large share
of it is fixed charge that must be met
in any event. The immense cut in the
school funds we have already treated
at length. To make this still less pos
sible, the committee decided to take
$4,000 more from the maintenance fund,
for the construction Of a new build
ing. There is no doubt that if the
board of inspectors chooses to take
action, it can require the assignment
to it of the full two-mill tax made man
datory by the charter The reduction Of
its resources below living margin
is likely to compel that course.
The whole investiga ton of the pos
sibility of retrerchment has had a
good effect in turning the attention of
the people to the manner in which their
business is transacted, and awakening
a public sentiment in favor of the
strictest economy. 1t has been discov-
cred that our municipal affairs are. in
the main, most carefully conducted. IT
has been demonstrated that, in order to
realize the economies that are RIGHT
and possible, we must have recourse
to legislation 1t is behind state laws
that the principal sinecures are en-
trenched. When a consolidation of the
city and county governments shall
have been accomplished, and the large
sums now paid to county officers are
reduced to reasonable figure, taxa
ton may be much farther reduced
While the G o b e is far from satisfied
with the work that has been done as
a whole, it is not insensible to the diff
culties that had to be contended with
We have made fair beginning. We
have ensured a sensible reduction in
the tax rate. Such mistakes as have
been made must be remedied before
they work disaster; and, with the light
which this experience has thrown upon
the problem of income and expendi-
ture, we hope that the process of re-
trenchment may go forward to still,
better and surer results in the future
AN INSULT TO sREALv SOLDIERS.
So Mr.. Heatwole is going to have
pensions declared to be vested rights
upon which neither subsequent events
nor after legislation nor commissioners
of pensions, nor courts of justice may
lay desecrating hands. He is going to
have thrown around them the aegis