The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-23

the disbursement Of this tax OF per cent
for fire patrol purposes"
They did nothing in the way of equipp.ng
savage corps in Minneapolis for several
months. although there was money due and
owing IRON foreign fire insurance companies
lot mat purpose. Finally in the month Of
august, the merchants of the city of Mime
apo!ls TOOK mold of the matter and organized
at their own expense the Merchants Board of
FIRE Underwriters. for the purpose of equip
Ping ping and maintaining a salvage corps in
minneapolis; they Immediately proceeded
with the equipment of their service and then
the representatives of the insurance. combine
got lively move on themselves and they
proceeded to equip the service: the result
being that the merchants board and Mime
apolis Board of Fire Underwriters got their
service TO work for the first time on the
1895.
The action of the Merchants then. fairly
causing the service under the law, to be given
70 tne people in Minneapolis. The Merchants
6oaro on the first of January, 1885, made
demand on the insurance companies for the
tax due them for equipping and maintaining
the service. The companies refused to pay,
put did pay to the Minneapolis board After
running about four months, the Merchants
Doard commenced an action which was a test
case, and which was referred to in the
e. Pending the determination of that
Htlgatlon, they suspended operation of their
salvage corps. 1t was tried in the district
court, and the district court gave the Mer-
chants board judgment for one-haIf of the
money due for this purpose from the Fire
mems Insurance company. An appeal was
taken to the supreme court, and the supreme
court held that neither of these boards were
technlcally properly organized. The Mer-
chants board having given the service to the
people for several months, and never having
received a cent from the fund provided for
this purpose, and they having saved tens or
thousands of dollars worth of property in
Minneapolis, and having acted in all things in
good faith.
The bill that is sought to be condemned nv
the article in the Globe was introduced
In the senate, and it provides by the methods
taereln laid down., for doing the plain act
Vi Justlce Oh re1mbursing the citizens who
went IN on good faith and gave the people of
Mlhheapols the salvage corps service that
tney had received for the past two years.
Not only that, but the other company in Min
neapolis, and the companies in St. Paul and
Duluth have collected many thousands of dol
lars CT this fund, and expended the same in
soou IalLn; ana the supreme court in its decis-
Ion, held in effect that they, because Of their
technlcally defective articles of incorporation.
mad collected and expended a vast amount OF
money IN equlpp1ng and maintaining this SER
wee, that they had no right to collect or ex
pend The bill of Mr.. Potter will make it
possible to make valid their acts and the
history Of the litigation between the Ner-
chants board and the MINNEAPOLIS board will
make permanent the salvage corps service i'm
me cities of this state, and will give the in
Su1ance companies that are in the trust and
thelr representatives, to understand that this
service to the people cannot be monkeyed
Wlth but, as the people in paying their in
surance premiums, pay this tax. and not the
insurance companies, as is stated in the arti-
Gle in the G 0 b e.
AS to Senator Potter he is the father OF
the salvage corps movement in MinneanoIis
having long ago, when a member of the CITY
council Of Minneapolis. introduced an ordi-
nance for the city to equip this service He
has always been an advocate of salvage CORPS
ever since, and it was he who introduced the
law IN the senate two years ago, which pro-
VIdeo LOT the funds to equip salvage corps
sFtpIce IN the cities of this state; and finding
after the legislature adjourned, that the rep
Tesentat1ves in Minneapolis of Commission
no. 8, or the insurance trust, were so con-
Quoting themselves as to defeat the onera TO-,
OF the law, when it was called to his atten-
u0n by the merchants of Minneapolis and
WRen not1hed to act with them to put into
enecI the salvage corps legislation, he at
once proceeded to do so.