The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-05-29

The board of trade Monday,
on motion of M. g. Willard, adopted
a resolution protesting against the
repeal of a portion of the penalty
| clause of the Interstate Commerce
Act. 1t is in line with action taken
by the board of managers of the
trades league of Philadelphia, and the
board of directors of the board of
trade of Chicago. The protest will
be sent to the Minnesota represen-
tativeS.
Secretary Chapman and Geo. M.
Palmer were appointed a committee
to meet with the county commission
ers this afternoon on the proposed
new road in South Bend.
J. A. Willard, from the special
lighting committee, reported that it
had carried out it's instructions, but
that the council would not accept the
proposition which had been sprocured
from the lighting company. Mr.. Will
lard said that he did not think that
the council as at present constituted
would accept any proposition. He
was forced to believe that it would
vote against proposition to furnish
arc lights at S25 a year, and gas at Is
cents thousand feet, to judge from
| the way the aldermen talk and act.
The majority of the aldermen are de-
termined to put in city plant,
claiming to be elected on that issue
and that they cannot do otherwise
until another election. Re asked that
the committee be discharged.
The report was adopted, and the
| committee was discharged.
Secretary Chapman stated that he
had ascertained that M. O. Sundt
would be reasonable in proposition
to the piano and organ factory people,
as his building and part of his ma
chinery could be used, and that he had
written the company to this effect
but had not yet received reply.
DR.. Andrews was called on to state
how the lighting question stands, and
said that until the injunction is set
tied the council could not vote on the
question. He did not think that it
would be of any use for the local COM
| pany to try to secure contract from
the council, no matter what it might
offer or what benefit it might be to
the city.
| John Klein said that the council
is as good one as the city ever had,
and the aldermen do well in their
own private business. Let them put
in city plant, they cannot run the
city into the ground. Every council
has been abused, and it is getting so
that business men will not run for al
dermen, but men have to be picked
up off the street. The injunction
looks like boys play. 1t will make
the matter ten times worse. The
! speaker did not like the fact that Mr..
Fletcher had commenced the pro-
ceedings
NJ. G. Willard thought that Mr.
! Klein's eulogy of the present council
was worth printing in 1000 copies fol-
electioneering purposes. If there is a
question of the legality of the bonds,
it was certain that when the interest
came due fight would be made, and
if the bonds were found to be void
the city would be discredited. We,
as citizens, do not want to let such
bonds go out. 1t would be no dis
credit to stop them from going out
now.
Mr.. Klein put himself on record as
favOring bonds, and said that it was
better to borrow from the east at five
per cent than to pay % or 35 per cent,
as we are now doing.
President Shoemaker called the at
tention of the board to the fact that
the last census shows the commission
er districts of the county to be very
unevenly divided. The city district
has one-third the population of the
county and pays one-third the taxes
yet has only one commissioner to four
outside of the city. He cited the law
requiring that che commissioners
shall redistrict the county after each
census, and said that the commission.
ers are not doing anything.
Thos. Hughes stated that the law
reads that the county shall be divid.
ed according to population and that
the commissioners may after each
census make the redistricting.
On vote of the board, Thos. Hughes,
o. O. Pitcher and NJ. B. Haynes were
appointed a committee to ask the
commissioners to take such action as
the law directs.
Dr. Andrews brought up the matter
of improving our streets, and said the
| board ought to take action.
Jno. n. Hall said that nothing
ought to be done until some plan for
i having for the jmnrOyementS is de-