The Saint Paul globe., 1899-12-12

charged now would make shortage for !
those accounts later on. We are in such |
financial condition that the amount lost |
need not be made up all at once. There !
fore, 1t is proposed to make it up in three |
years, charging a certain amount each
year.
ATTACKS THE SCHOOLS.
Following the reading of this statement,
which was typewriter, the comptroller,
with considerable showing of feeling,
said:
Some matters have been brought to
the attention of the people recently that
I want to resent. 1t has come from the
employees of the school department, and
1 think 1t unwise to make charges which
cannot be substantiated. The superin-
tendent of schools has stated that the
general fund had been used for purposes
wholly unauthorized by the charter This
statement is not true. The gentleman
is monkeying with one of the command
ments which says Thou shalt not bear
false witness against thy neighbor' An
other employe of the board, who has
been in the city about five months, and
If placed at the corner of Fourth and
Wabasha streets could probably not tell
which direction was north, says the
trouble with the finances is being made
by enemies of the public schools among
the city officials, and that it Is simply a
plan on the part of certain rich taxpayers
/
say there are no enemies of the public
schools among city officials and, so far
as l am aware, there is no attempt being
made by rich taxpayers to dodge taxes
Another employe places marked copies of
a morning paper before the teachers
Articles that have been published for po-
litfcal purposes only. These gentlemen
are dtverting the attention of the teachers
to matters that conflict with their duties
and they should not take the lead in so
advising and misleading their subordi-
nates and as a member Of this commit
tee and a city official desire to enter my
protests against such actions
OPPOSES A NEW CHARTER.
l am in doubt as to the successful out
come of q new charter l am not salts
ned we want to adopt a charter on the
nneS laid out for us. The only remedy is
by state constitutional convention.
Which can make the necessary changes
The fact is the new charter commission
was appointed for the purpose Of securing
money for the schools. We are getting
along very well at present. Our credit is
good and hundreds Of applications have
been made for the tax levy certificates
of indebtedness, which will be issued In
January. All outside applications are re-
Jected, as there have been sufficient an
plcat1ons from local people to take all
the certificates issued. If this charter
commission was appointed to secure
money for the schools, and this cannot be
done, owing to a defect in the enabling
act' What are we going to do? | will am
sWer this. [ propose the. city council shah
, oulld two new school houses next wear
Ihat the council take hold of and renair
the school buildings. The buildings are
not the property of the school board but
| OF the city, the same as the fire denart
! men 1nent engine houses and the city hall
Inc new buildings should be three stories
hgh. Inc one mistake made in the mast
| was in building two-story school hnild-
| ings. 80.
HERE IS HIS SECRET.
You ask how ts this to be acconpIfsh-
ed. will tell you. We have an insur-
! anee fund, started, some years ago when
the city went out of the business of fns,ir-
ing ltS Schooi buildings. That fund now
mas to its credit 100000 When the fund
was created 1T was authorized and under
| stood that when there was $25 0GO to the
credit OF the fund, the. council could take
| $4,000 and build & school building We
have now $4,000 in the fund We have
| 100000 In bonds coming due next wear.
They are Que Dec Is, t900 and the budget
! Wmcn submitted to you today provides
! tor their payment. If the conference
! committee and the council agrees with
me we will take $50,0Ql for the payment IF
| the bonds and places the amount to the
| credit of the bond account. Then take
the other $4,000 and put up new school
building for $4,000, and with the remain
ing $4,000 repair school buildings which
| need repairing. The bonds will not he
| due until Dec. Is, 1900, and probably will
not be presented for payment before Jan.
l, 1901. There are no bonds coming due in
1901, and the $5O000 due late in December.
1900, can be taken care of if presented
| for MOT
in the estimate for 1901.
CAN INCREASE THE PAY ROLL,
"If we cannot have a new charter whi n
will allow more funds for the schools.
we can erect TWO new school buildings
repair others and keep our hands off the
school fund. This will give the school
board chance to use the fund for the
maintenance of the schools, and keen
them open six or eight months or the
whole year. 1t might appear at first
thought as though my proposition was a
diyertrg of the school fund, but we can
take money from the general fund for
the repair of city buildings, and the
school houses are CERTAINLY the same as
other buildings OWNED by the city"
Aid. Sanborn interrupted the comptrol-
Ter with a query as to whether the linn
itations of the charter were not such as
to interfere with his scheme
|
said Aid Sanborn, that we could take
no money from the general fund for the
reason that the charter expressly says
the levy in any one year shall not exceed
212 mills for all school purposes. y
DoDGED THE QUESTION
Without directly replying to this ques-
ton, comptroller McCardy said:
Here is the point The taxpayer will
not object and neither, do I think. will
, the school board. It seems to ME we
have the ways and means to put up two
school buildings next year, and we should
avail ourselves of the chance 1t NAV
be interesting to know continued the
watchdog of the treasury, that only 7;
per cent of the money raised for the sal
aries of teachers is paid to teachers in the
graded schools. 1t wo!lld be right for thi:
board or the councilfto appoint a com
mittee to go through the various depart
ments and see if there are too many OF
too few employees. This was done five
years ago, and nothing could be lost by
having a committees do this work over
again"
At the conclusionzief the comptroller
;; remarks City Engineer Claussen brough
| before the committee the question of {
municipal electric lighting plant
l CITYss OWN PLANT.
Mr.. Claussen said lie had figured it on
that if the city would do its own stree
lighting a saving Of $6O,oGO per yeal
| could be made. This amount was baset
; on recel ing the same amount Of lIgh
) as in 1898, and on; the prices for stree
r lighting for next year. He had figured il
} his estimate on gas lamps of eighteen
| Il