The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-06
SENTIMENT SEEMS TO BE GENER-
ALLY IN FAVOR OF A COM
MISSION.
SOME CHANGES NECESSARY.
CAN ne ACCOMPLISHED EASIER
AND QUICKER THIS WAY
THAN ANY OTHER.
SOME OPINIONS ON THE SUBJECT
Mayor DOran Doubtful, hut Other
City OMcfaIs Favor hmm ed1s,te
Action Being Taken.

The sentiment in favor of the i'm
mediate appointment of charter COM
mission is strong in st. Paul just now
and it is expected that as soon as the
movement is started by the council 1t
will not be long before commission is
appointed by the district court judges
to begin the work of revising the laws
under which the city is now being
governed. If the work is begun within
month or two it is expected it can be
completed by the next spring election
and voted uponvat that time.
"There is considerable advantage to
be gained by beginning work on it at
once" said city official yesterday.
"There has been so much charter talk
during the last three months that the
features of our present laws which
need changing are already pretty well
known. 1. myself, do not think any
radical changes are desirable or wise
and I do not apprehend that any COM
mission appointed would make any
great changes. But conditions have
changed since our present charter was
adopted and l think that some changes
ought to be made to conform to those
conditions.
IF a commission is now appointed it
will also have the benefit of the work
of the commission which drafted the
tri-city charter that was introduced
into the legislature too late for pas
sage. 1t was practically based on the
Bell charter and for that reason con-
tains much that is desirable to use at
this time. With that to so on it will be
no trouble for a commission to work
leisurely and at the same time have it
drawn up in the specified six months.
Another city official who favors i'm
mediate action being taken added:
But I do not think that any COM
mission would be complete without G.
N. Bell himself, whom l regard one of
the ablest and most far-seeing men in
ST. Paul when it comes to charter build
ing
Mayor Doran says that it is a ques-
ton in his mind whether they had bet
ter have a commission appointed at
once or wait two years and trust to the
legislature doing something. The 1egis-
lature had refused to helm them out Of
the difficulty about the schools and for
that reason he was not sure but what
a commission would be preferable to
give to the city what the legislature
had denied.
]. G. Michael thinks a commission
should be named. ''The present city
charter works very well as 1t is, in my
opinion, save POSSIBLY as to the feature
of it which applies to the city schools
The limit on the expenditures Of tha
various departments is most valua bic
feature, but it has been proven thai,
under the reduced assessment of prop
erty, the amount realized for schoo,
purposes is wholly insufficient
under the provisions of the recent Shee-
han law is called for on this ground.
even if for no other. 1t would be little
short of a scandal to close or even i'm
pair the usefulness of our schools for
want Of necessary funds with which to
properly conduct them. There may be
other matters which can. be cured by
new or amended charter, but, as |
say, 1 believe our charter works fairly
we'll now
James E. Stryker also thinks that
such changes as are needed should be
secured through commission. II
have not studied the provisions of the
Sheehan act" he said, land conse-
quently cannot say much of it's merit.
but am of the opinion that the proper
way to secure amendments to our char
ter as they are needed, is by means of
a commission. The present charter is a
we'll knows who has had any expert
ence under its workings. This charter
matter opens up broad avenues of dis
cussion. Generally, ] should say we all
object to the city comptroller being
the autocrat that he is. l further be.
ieve that it may be possible to so con-
solidate some of the city Offices with
the corresponding county offices. 1 be-
lieve a bill to accomplish this was
killed in the legislature, but we might
arrange to hold our election when the
county elections are held. and thus
by paying an additional compensation
get the county officers in certain cases
to perform the work now done by the
city officials. This would mean a con-
siderable saving to the city.
There is one thing that I think Of
If possible these continual assessments
for local improvements ought at least
to be regula ted. People certainly have
the right to know when they are to be
assessed for sprinkling, grading and
other local improvements. There are 3
number of other matters which would
come up in study of the matter, but
these 1 lave mentioned are uppermost
in my mind
E. w. Peet says: 1.-The present char
ter seems to be good enough for the
present time. There are, Of course,
some changes which may be needed,
but the city has materially improved
in financial way since the present
charter was made operative. When the
time comes 1t appears that the best
way to incorporate any changes which
may be needed, will be by the plan pro-
posed by the Sheehan bill. I believe
the cities should regulate their own
affairs, and not be dependent upon the
legislature for minor details of city
administration. The tri-city charter,
which was framed but net adopted, was
fairly good instrument. 1t contained
many good features, and comparative
ly few Objectionable ones. I believe
st. Paul men would have been more
heartily in favor of it's adoption had
there been more time in which to have
certain amendments made to it as orig
inally drawn up."
John Copeland-I am of the opinion
that charter commission to prepare a
new charter embodying the good feat
ures of the Bell charter and several
improvements would be a good thing.
Robert n. Hare-It appears to me
that we have a good charter now and
it is questionable if the work of a
charter commission would leave the
city's interests in any better shape
than under the present law.
ASSEMBLY HAS PLENTY TO Do.
Large Amount of Business on Hand