The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-20
4 L0BE'S MINNEAPOLIS OFFICE,
" 20 WASHINGTON Az. SOUTH,
Advertising Subscriptions
Tel oT0O IA

Tonight there will be a public meeting
at the Minneapolis Lumber exchange, and
the matter of applying TO the district
court for the appointment Of new char
ter commission will be considered This
meeting is supposed to be open to all
citizens, but many of the semi-public
bodies will be represented by commit
tees.
primarily the meeting is called to con-
slider the school question, in view Of the
fact that the county auditor, acting upon
the decision in the ST. Paul case, has de-
cided not to spread the supplementary
nine-tenths of a mill school tax levy on
the tax rolls. This extra levy would have
melted the Minneapolis school board about
$4,000, about the sum IL will have drawn
from next years allotment If the present
establishment is kept up until the end of
the school year. AS the teachers are IN
der contract for forty weeks it will be
necessary to pay them their salaries
whether they earn them or not Econo-
mics in other directions will not net the
necessary amount, and the question re-
solves itself into this: There will have to
be some way Of raising additional money
for the schools in the year 1900-19O1. Va
roius plans have been suggested, but this
Is the only one the school board will
adopt The members, or most Of them,
say the graded schools should be cared
for before the high schools especially
when the attendance at the four high
schools is only 61z per cent of the total en-
rollment, and the expenses of maintain
ing them are close on to 20 per cent Of the
total appropriation.
Notwithstanding that the idea first ad-
vanced was that the charter commission
Should resign and the court should ap-
point another which would recommend
the adoption of the present charter, with
the single exception of an amendment al
lowing a higher rate of taxation for
school purposes, 1t seems to be the deter
mination of many people to add riders.
They want the various city departments
overhauled and different system of adj
ministering affairs adopted Therefore,
instead Of combining itself to school mat
tiers, there is every likelihood that the
whole charter question will be brought up
Inc stated purpose Of the meeting to-
night is to make arrangements for the
circulation of petition asking the Judges
or the district court to appoint a new
charter commission to succeed the one
oN44N4S AS94SHSN OAueT the law the
Judges can do this Of their own motion
and il is incumbent upon them to do so
When they are presented with a petition
bearing the names of 10 per cent of the
voters who cast their ballots at the last
general election. This would mean that
the petition must have at least 5000
names, but if a petition is circulated it
will not be presented to the court before
1t bears 10000 names. 1t is considered
unlikely that the judges will act upon
their own motion.
As to the personnel Of the commission
there is diversity of sentiment. One
element wants the old commission reap
pointed and another desires a new deal
all around. 1t is quite likely there will
be compromise and some, of the former
members will be reappointed.