The Saint Paul globe., 1896-12-06
MOVE FOR A NEW CHARTER

MOVE FOR NEW CHARTER.
The first and most important duty
of the Ramsey county representatives
In the legislature this winter should be
to take such steps as are necessary to
secure for ST. Paul new charter under
the terms of the home rule amendment
adopted at the last election. The terms
and meaning of that amendment, as far
as they can be construed now have
been set forth exhaustively in the
Clio b e. Under it's wording it would
be necessary for the legislature to take
action this winter specifying the gen
eral limitations under which local char
ters may be formed by the people
themselves, stating how the people are
to move to secure the appointment, by
district judges, of the commission Of
fifteen freeholders which is to prepare
and submit a draft Of the new charter
to them. These preliminaries must be
disposed of before the home rule pro-
vision can be made practically apph-
cable. If this is not done at the coming
session it will have to lie over for two
years more, and within that time moth
ing in the way Of change or amendment
could be wrought in our local charter
It is important for great many cities
of the state, whose changed circum-
stances make desirable a corresponding
IL.
ernment, that the way to do this under
the home rule amendment be blazed
out. 1t is more important, probably, to
st. Paul than any of the rest of them;
for we are tied down to the terms of
an ironbound document which has ex-
hausted such virtues as it had origin
ally, and which would be found intol-
cradle if there were no relief to be had
The decision of the supreme court in
the case of the board of public works
illustrates the rigidity of local charters
and the complete prohibition which the
constitutional amendment against spe-
cial legislation places upon a free ex-
preston of the will of the people
That which is true in the case of the
board Of public works is true of every
other board or department and of ev-
cry detail of the conduct of city affairs.
The people can make no change, how
ever much they may desire it, or how
ever necessary it may be to their we'll
being; thus, for instance it is now GER
tain that, although they might desire
by common consent to abolish the
board Of public works, they could never
do so until they secured new charter
Take another Illustration. The Bell
charter provides that the maximum tax
levy for school purposes shall be 21b
mills on the dollar. This has never
been levied because the council be-
ieved that our educational system
could be conducted for a smaller
amount than this produced when levied
upon our former assessed valuation
That valuation has been reduced by
the recent reassessment by about $780,
100000. This means a decrease of $50.
600 in revenue for each mill of the tax
levy. Since the revenue of the school
system is drawn from a local tax. 2
- state tax and a county tax the basis
for each levy being the assessed valua-
tion of this city and county, it will ap,
pear that the reduction ensuing from
the new assessment will be so great
that it would be impossible to conduct
our schools under it on the present
foundation. Either more money must
be had than tax Of 21a mills, the max.
tmum allowed by the charter, or the
public schools of ST. Paul must be
practically revolutionized. There is moi
the slightest doubt about what the
people would prefer in the premises
They desire the strictest economy but
they do not desire the practical destruc
tion of their public schools.
Now this>is only another Of those
dilemn1as from which there is no escape
save in the formation of new charter
The tax provision which we have
quoted, like the law establishing 6
board of public works, cannot be
amended, modified or repealed. AS Ions
as the Bell charter stands, it stands
Interchangeable. The power of the peo.
pie to control their own affairs has
been taken completely out Of their pos
session. 1t was bad enough before
when they had to go to the Legislature
for consent to perform some little loca
act necessary to the public well-being
and when jobs were lobbied through
and reforms defeated in the leg
islative delegation. It is wors.
now, when they are tied hand
and foot and @ cannot remed,
the most obvious and absurd provision
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