The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-27
BUILDING 4 CHARTER
THE COMMISSION DIsPOsEs OF
THREE ADDITIONAL CHAP
TIERS OF 1T
THEY MADE FEW CHANGES

That Relating to the Municipal
Court Was Adopted Intact, aEd
That Governing Justice Courts
Practically sO-The Old Chapter
Relating to Water Works Was
Modified In a Number of Ways.
The charter commission disposed OF
evening and adjourned to meet Tuesday
evening. I'm the future two meetings will
be held each week and the commission
expects to have the entire charter In the
hands Of the revision committee by
March 1. 1t will take a month to revise
the proposed charter at least, so the COM
mittee say, and one month before election
it will be printed and given to the pub
lie.
Present at the meeting last night were
Messrs. Dorau. Albrecht, Fetter, Zim-
norman, Nelson, Taylor, Smith. Clifford
and Tighe. The absentees were Elan
drau, McNair, May, Bridgman, Childs
and OBrien. The chapters adopted Were
these on municipal court, justices of the
peace and water works.
The subcommittee on municipal court
submitted a chapter which was u YER
batim copy of the existing chapter. 1t
was suggested that a saving in the cost
of the court might be effected by abolish
ing it's civil jurisdiction and reducing the
salaries and number Of the judges and
clerical force. In reply to this the CON-
mittee reported: '-The legal powers of this
commission to effect any changes are
extremely doubtful if not clearly INSULT
Gent, so that it would be unwise to at
tempt any such departure The court as
now constituted was created by special
acts of the legislature under section l,
article of the State Constitution, which
declares the judicial power of the state
shall be vested in supreme, district, ard
probate courts. justices of the peace
and such other courts inferior to the
supreme court as the legislature may
from time to time establish by two
thirds vote.
The chapter on justices Of the peace
and constables was reported by the sub
committee and adopted. No changes were
made from the existing law, except to
strike out obsolete and unconstitutional
provisions in the existing charter. The
subcommittee took the same view of this
chapter as in that of the municipal court.
The subcommittee on water works re-
ported chapter making several changes
in the present law The term of the mem
bers Of the water board Is increased from
four to five years, and provision Is made
so that the term of one member shall ex-
pire each year. The salary of the COM
missioners is not fixed in the chapter,
this point being left to the committee
on salaries of public officers. The Sec
ton providing for the payment of water
used by the several departments of the
city, and in the fire MIGRANTS, was re-
ferred back to the subcommittee for a
statement of facts as to the amount now
paid by the several departments. The
frontage tax clause was changed so as
to provide that a frontage tax of 10 cents
per front foot should be levied for five
years. instead of ten, as at present.
The statement was made that the de-
ficiency In receipts by the reduction OF
the payment of the tax from ten to five
years could be made up by slight In
crease In the water rates. Commissioner
Smith said the change from ten to five
years would be Of much benefit to Eastern
holders of unimproved property in FROM