The Saint Paul globe., 1900-04-22

umns Of one of the daily papers an ala
Turing array of fig
ures, claimed to rep Foolish and
in public expenses
during the past eight years, and have
coolly and impudently appropriated to the
Republican party whatever credit there
may be for such retrenchment. do not
know if the figures are true, and for the
purpose of this argument l do not care.
The trick is shallow and foolish and Will
recoil upon the heads of those who are
attempting to play 1t upon an intelligent
and fair-minded constituency The Pio-
neer Press knows that the Republican
party of this city has had no more to do
with reduction of municipal expenses than
has the Democratic party. 1t knows, and
the machine politicians who seek inspi-
ration in its columns know, that the re-
-trenchment Of the last ten years is the
result Of a movement contributed to by
both political parties and inaugurated by /;
Democrats as well as Republicans. CA !
voice: No; McCardy did it ALL Laugh-
ter) J
ANY man in this audience who can re-
member back ten years knows that at
that time commenced movement to limit
the powers of the common council and
other municipal boards In the matter of /
appropriating the public funds, which cul- I
Bell charter was a statute of the state
of Minnesota, passed in 1881, which con-
solidated and amended the laws previous
II the pesIea expenditure ifursi,y by Charter Was
the city Of money the Check
for public purposes.
1t restricted the power of the common
council and the other city boards by rig
idly fixing the limits of the several funds
and prescribing severe penalty for any
official who should attempt to go beyond
the amount allowed by law. 1t became
Illegal, and consequently impossible, for
any administration, Republican or DEM
ocratic, to exceed that amount. The
Bell charter was straitjacket, put upon
the limbs of this municipality to prevent I
1t doing mischief to itself. 1t has worn
that Jacket since 1891. and the law was
as efficient during the Democratic admin
istrationof Mayor Smith, from June, 1894,
to June, 1885, aas 1t was during any other
administration. During the time which
has elapsed since its enactment into q
law, Republicans as well as Democrats
have simply enforced its provisions, and
they could not do anything else without
taking the chances of going to the penis
tentiary.
II am willing to leave 1t to the fairness
and intelligence Of any Republican press
ent If 1t is not matter of common knoWI-
edge, admitted by all well informed men
and repeated and emphasized time and
of Of l the e. Re Peeublican % Whence the
papers of this city Reu charte,
that whatever i'm DC" Shai leA
provement has been wrought in the fnan-
cial condition Of the city has been due to
the Bell charter The Bell charter is
entitled to the credit. Now, who is en-
titled to the credit of the Bell charter?
II
have the people believe that they and
they alone are entitled to that credit, but
it IS easy to demonstrate the contrary.
For the benefit Of the younger voters and
of those who have forgotten the history
of that law 1 propose to devote a few
moments to the history of the movement
which brought it into being. That rez
cital alone will demonstrate the absurd
ity of the claims which our Republican
friends are making that the Republican
party Is the father of retrenchment and
economy, the taxpayers best and only
friend. (Applause and cries of Let them
have it!O
I'm 1880 the opinion was current in this
minds of many Of our wisest and most
patriotic citizens that the charter powers
of the city needed revision and restrio-
ton. 1t is not improbable that this truth
was borne in upon their minds by the
grotesque spectacle
which had been pre- Cnarter was
sented by the so Ioiuf Product
called reform" Re-
publican council which nismanaged the
affairs Of the city from June, 8S to June.
80. Be this as 1t may. a citizens move
ment was inaugurated and citizens'
convention was held In market hall in
advance of the conventions, of the two
parties for the purpose of securing the
election to the state legislature Of desir-
able and efficient men. In the citizens
convention each ward was represented by
five Democrats and five Republicans. The
result of the work Of the citizens con-
vention was an agreement that the sena7
torial delegation should be equally divided
and that so far as practicable only the
best men should be elected to the lower
house of the state legislature. The MEM
bers of the citizens convention pledged
one another to use their best efforts to
induce the regular conventions of their re-
spective parties to carry out this agree
ment. The Democratic convention was
held next and the agreement was kept
John B. Sanborn and w. b. Dean being
named as the two Republican senator's
by that convention, and Charles H. Lie
nau and c. II. Benedict as the Democratic
Continued ON Twelfth Page.