The Saint Paul globe., 1897-06-07
LET SLIP THE DOGS
FRIENDS OF THE MECHANIC ARTS
ARE IN A WARLIKE
SPIRIT.
CHARTER ISSUE PERFoRCE
IN THE PRESENT TROUBLE OF
THE SCHOOLS.
To Make Known The Sentiment on
the Most Important Problem
Before Them Now.


Of charter commission to revamp the
charter under which the city is now op-
Grating hasn't been making much
headway during the last few weeks
although the necessity for such action
has been discussed freely and frequent
iy in the G O b ever since the passage
of Senator Sheehan's act making the
amendment voted upon last fall eff
fective. The advisability of this has
been urged by the G l o b editorially,
and prominent Democrats, and Repub-
lcanS, too, for that matter have been
quoted on the subject locally as favor
ing immediate action by the council
in the matter. The G / o e, soon after
the session closed, asked a number of
members of the council, both branches,
as to their opinion of the necessity for
| immediate action, but not a single man
approached at that time knew anything
about it. They didn't even seem to
remember that they had voted on the
! subject last fall. Later the Clio e
published the amendment and the bill
making it effective and again sent to
the members Of the council to find
out What they thought about it. Some
Of them even then didn't know what
they thought about it, if they thought
! at all. Assemblyman Daily, however,
decided it would be a good idea to move
in the matter, and introduced an ordi-
nance asking the district court judges
to name the commission Of fifteen. AS
semblyman Daily figured that if the
council did want to take advantage of
this opening to secure a new charter,
there was no use in delaying the mat
ter. If it did not want to do So it was
better to have that known, so that the
electors, if they so desired, could take
the other method to bring the move
ment about This, as already told in
the G / b e many times, provides for
a petition to the district court judges
signed by 8 per cent Of the electors.
From that on, the process is the same
as if the movement or request came
from the council. So Mr.. Da1ys reso-
luton appeared, but was at once shunt-
ed off into the committee on streets,
where, the indications are. it will re-
main unless awakened public sentiment
has the effect of bringing it out for
passage.
Two months ago the majority of both
branches of the council were opposed
to doing anything in the matter. One
OF the aldermen said he would oppose
it. ''The people will vote for anything
that is put before them We had bet
ter keep, the charter we have got than
to take chances on another one" An
other alderman talked the same way.
The fact that this would furnish a
1tN clio Nv
the limitation placed on the proportion
of taxes to be used for school purposes
didn't make any difference. Mayor
DCran himself pooh-poohed the idea of
new charter the first time a reporter
for the G o b e asked him about it.
Some Of the friends of the measure,
however. considered that his opposition
was entirely due to fear lest the pres
entation of new charter to be voted
upon next spring at the same time as
the city ticket was voted upon might
have an effect on the outcome of the
election that would be injurious to the
Republican ticket. Whether or not
that is the case, the mayor was pro-
nounced in his opposition to a new
charter movement. But sentiment, as
reflected in the interviews in the
G b e, and as shown in other ways,
has LED the mayor to change his
mind, and at the last meeting of the
assembly he wrote a note to that body
urging the passage of the Daily reso-
luton. He may have Joined with
great many other Republicans in think
ing that he will not be called upon to
head the ticket next spring or he may
have come to the conclusion that, in
case lightning strikes twice in the same
place, he doesn't want to stand in the
position of having refused to join in a
movement to help the schools out of the
difficulty in which they have been
placed.
AS opposed to the position taken by
Mayor Doran and a number of the as
semblymen and aldermen, Comptroller
McCardy has from the first been with
the Democrats in favoring an immedi-
ate revision Of the charter, or a re-
vision of it at as early date as possi-
bic. Had the request been sent to the
district court judges, without all the
delay that has taken place, for no
reason, it is claimed, that is apparent,
the commission might already have
been selected, organized and at work.
But the councils only move, so far
made, was at once checked, and may
remain so for some little time longer,
although the impression prevails that
sooner or later it will respond to the
demand of the public to proceed in the
matter.
The meeting which will be held at
the Commercial club Tuesday night
will, it is said, show the members of
the council that SO far as they seem
to be holding back in the matter, the
public is not with them. 1t is con-
sidered matter of too much impor-
tance to permit the customary dilly-
dallying to which every measure
brought before the present council, it
is noticed, has been subjected.
The meeting Tuesday night is free
to everybody, and every taxpayer who
is interested in the new charter move
ment, so far as it relates to the life of
the Mechanics Arts high school, is eX-
pected to attend. Primarily that is
what the meeting has been called for,
but as a means to the end of preserving
the Mechanic Arts high school, in per
petuity, comes the need of a new char
ter.