The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1898-06-17
NEW JANITORS.
School Board Makes Several
Changes.
A Warm Fight Over the Fixing OF
Salaries Precipitated by Mr..
Fletcher.

The committee on property and ex-
pense, consisting Of Messrs. Cough
Ian, Keysor q Williams, recommend
ed that the contract for putting a
steam heating plant into the Union
building be awarded to E, G. Wicker
sham, at $1,000. Accompanying the
recommendation was a report from
Architect Gerlach on the relative
merits of the different plans submit
ted. Mr.. Gerlach recommended an
overhead system on account of its &C.
feasibility and economy, and thought
Mr.. understands proposals were the
best. The report Of the committee
was accepted.
Mr.. Coughlan said that Pond u
Hasey, of Minneapolis, presented the
best specifications, but the price was
sl,S65, and the difference in quality
did not equal the difference in price.
MT Wilson held that the board
would not be justified in letting the
contract 60 outside of the city, when
our home plumbers are paying taxes
here.
Mr., Williams said that Mr.. Wicker
sham's plan was almost Identical with
Pond & Hasey's plan. The latter
takes more coal.
On Mr.. Cray's motion, the matter
was referred back to the committee
to prepare complete specifications and
a contract, to be submitted to the
school board.
Mr.. Keysor, for the committee on
property and expense, presented an
inventory of the contracts OF the
gymnasium.
Mr.. Fletcher presented resolutions
commendatory of Miss Ida Crawford,
and in advocating their adoption said
that she was as strong teacher as
there has been in the schools. She is
now going elsewhere, she has to earn
her living, and these resolutions
would help her elsewhere.
Mrs. Smith said that the school
board of Odell, ILL.,, had called a
special meeting and elected her to a
similar position to the one which she
held in Mankato-English literature
and history. On her motion, the
resolutions were unanimously adopted.
The election of janitors for the va
rious buildings was then taken up.
Joseph Huettl was reelected janitor
of the Franklin building at salary
of S4OO. A. Ingvolson was also an ap-
plicant.
Applications for the janitorship OF
the Union building were received
from A. Ingvolson, J. h. Williams, 81.
A. Fuller, of Eagle Lake, Frank
Reichel, Chas. Vogel, John Rising,
John Pasch, Fred Showers, Anthony
Murphy, L. Viking and Anton Magin.
Several ballots were taken, the last
one resulting in Vogel getting five
votes and Rising three.
A lengthy discussion arose on fixing
the salary, Mr.. Fletcher desiring to
reduce it to S35 month for nine
months.
Mr.. Wilson. who was opposed to
this reduction, proposed as a compro
mise to reduce the salaries of the
of the janitors of the Union and
Franklin buildings to $3.50 year each.
Mr.. Fletcher did not want the sal
airy of the janitor in his precinct re-
duced, but was willing to vote to cut
down the salary of the Union school
janitor.
Mr.. Coughlan said that this is a
poor time to cut down wages, when
the city is talking of raising the wages
of it's employees, and the cost Of living
is advancing.
1t was suggested that the janitors
were receiving more than farm hands
do.
Mr.. Williams said that the janitors
do twice the work that farm hands
do, but Mr.. Fletcher did not agree to
this.
Mr.. Wilson's motion was lost on
tie vote, and the salary was then
fixed at s4OO, only Mr.. Fletcher vot-
ing no.
Christ Christensen, w. E. McCullum
and E. R. Brown applied for the
janitorship of the high school, and a
number of votes stood Christensen,
one; McCullum, four; Brown, three.
McCullum finally got the necessary
five votes, and his salary was fixed at
S4O5, according to his own PROPOSE
tion. Mr.. Brown, who has been JAM.
tor for over four years, received $3.50.
There were but two applicants for
the janitorship of the Pleasant Grove
building, James Gardner and o. G..
Olson, who is the old janitor, was re-
elected at his former salary of $3.50,
receiving every vote.
Mr.. Williams said that it was his
opinion that the salaries of the jani-
tors of the high and Union buildings
would be raised before the year is out.
For janitor of the West Mankato