The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-10-09
NO LICENSE FOR GERMAN.
Ryan's Engineer Turned Down by
Building Inspeetor.

IOHleT NJ. German, engineer dl the
Ryan hotel, who had made application
| to Building Inspector Kingsley for
plumbers license under the city char
| ter, was politely turned down yesterday
| by that official. Mr.. Kingsley took this
| action on the advice of Assistant Cor
! poration Attorney HAL, who gave an
| opinion to the effect that the law pass
| ed by the last legislature, providing
| that all plumbers who7desired to follow
| the trade in the state, must pass an
examination before the state board of
| plumbing examiners, would have to be
| complied with before othe building in
| spector could issue a license. In view
of this opinion Mr.. kingsley stated
| that in the future he would in no case
| issue a plumbers license unless the ap
! plicant brought with thin certificate
from the state plumbing commission.
Yesterday morning,I ]. P. Adamson,
John McQuillan, Al H. Gerber, P. w.
Hudner and A. E. lSchnaith, represent
| ing the master plumbers association,
| called on the building inspector. The
gentlemen showed the irsp ctor a copy
| of the plumbing law passed at the last
session of the legislature, which pro-
| vides that before any person can follow
the trade of plumb 7g they must under
go an examination before commission
appointed under the law. The question
at issue, according to the representa-
tiveS of the plumbers association, was
l. whether the building inspector under
| the charter, had the authority to issue
a license to German without his first
having secured a certificate from the
state board. Acting on the advice of
| Assistant Corporation Attorney Hall,
the building inspector decided n not to
| issue German license.
The plumbers claim that the state
board cannot grant a License to Ger
main even if he made application for
| the reason that he follows the business
OF an zen gineer. They Tcontend2 that to
| procure license the applicant must
follow the, business as an occupation
and not now and then, and that if they
were to allow license in a case of this
kind it would soon follow that the
engineer of every prominent building in
the city would have plumbers license,
and the same trouble would be ell
countered that caused the agitation for
the passage of the law, creating the
board and making licensing necessary.
The application of German for
| plumbers license will come up at the
meeting of the water board this morn
ing. 1t was expected that the plumb
ers' association would be on hand to
oppose the granting Of the license, but
Yesterday afternoon it was stated that
| the opinion of the corporation attorney
| had made their protest before the water
| commissioners unnecessary. 1t is very
| likely that the matter will be taken
into the courts and the conStitutionaIty
| of the plumbing law tested. One of the
plumbers stated yesterday afternoon,
| that German was a member OF the
| engir ers' ass citation and as me nber
| of that organization. was, and always
| had been, a strict union man. For TINS
reason he could not understand why
cl,A n
plumbers organization without it was
| that he was forced to the thing by his
| employers.
The action of the master plumbers
| in attacking Engineer German, of the
| RYAN hotel, is regarded as move
| ment directed at the owners of large
plants and buildings. where the engi-
| neer has charge of all the work,
changes and repairs of the buildings.
| Their action, the engineers think, is
| especially directed at the national as
! sociation of stationary engineers,
which has a lodge of some $50 mem
| bers. This organization is not union
! or labor organization, but is instead
! an educational one, and its members
| are taught by it to use their best eff
| forts for the benefit of their employers.
| A large number of these engineers are
| claimed to be competent plumbers, yet
| they cannot, if they desired, secure a
| license. for the reason that they are
| non-union men. Secretary Harrington,
of the state board of examiners, in
| formed Engineer German few days
ago that he would give him an ap-
| plication for a license, but it would do
him no good as he could not secure
| license The gentleman said that
| nine plumbers, who had worked in the
| city for fifteen to eighteen years, all
of whom were good men, were refused
license and when German asked if it
was not because they were not mem
bers of the union, he refused to say.
The result of the present action
| promises the organization Of the own
ers and agents of hotels and large Of
flee buildings, and a movement is al
ready started in that direction. The
chances are that the affair will finish
in the supreme court.