The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-04-08


The charter commission has practically
completed it's labors and the draft of the
new charter will be submitted to Mayor
kiefer not later than Wednesday. Sscre-
tary Carl Taylor and Assistant Secretary
w ID. Mitchell have made synopsis OF
the changes and features in the new char
ter, and this synopsis will be published
in pamphlet form and distributed to the
voters next week. The following Is the
address to the voters and synopsis. as
prepared by the commissions:
In the month of November, 1889. acting
under the authority of recent amend
ment to the constitution of the State of
Minnesota and an act of the legislature
passed in pursuance thereof the district
judges of the county of Ramsey APP
pointed board of fifteen citizens Of st.
Paul as a charter commission to frame
and propose to the people of st. Paul
a new charter for the government OF the
city.
1t was the duty of the commission to
proceed to frame a charter complete In
every respect for the uses of the city
and TO submit the same to the mayor
NAAA-C - NA-O
appointment OF tho commission.
This work has now been completed,
and at the city election on the LIST of
May following. the proposed charter Will
be submitted to the voters OF st. Paul
for their adoption or rejection. If adopt
ed it will on June /. 1900, supersede the
existing charter of the city.
The proposed charter when printed Will
make a book of between $50 and $50
pages. and on account of it's length it is
impracticable to give it general circula-
ton except in some abbreviated form
1t consists for the most part of the pro-
visions of the charter now in force with
such changes and additions as to- the
commission has seemed wise and in the
interest of good municipal government.
It is these changes which should be par
ticularly called to the attention OF the
voters, and for this purpose the follow
ing statement has been made, showing,
first, what is home rule charter, and,
second, what changes have been made
in the proposed charter from the one now
in force.
The attention of the voters Is directed
to the fact that the charter must receive
in its favor four-sevenths of all votes
cast at the city election. The same
ballot which contains the names of the
candidates fer city offices will present the
, QuCSllOh ilSIhSl VI iAoN NAAN SAASNA - 1900
be adopted.
ANY voter who casts a ballot for any
city Office and neglects to vote upon the
charter in effect votes against it, for
the reason that he thus adds to the total
number of votes cast and thereby makes
lit more difficult for the charter to secure
: the required four-sevenths of all votes
cast at the election.
WHAT is HOME RULE?
Previous to the year 1891 the charters
of the larger cities in Minnesota, In
Guiding that Of st. Paul. were COM
posed of special acts Of the legislature
passed from time to time, as necessity
or the whim Of the legislature might
suggest, with the result that there was
no sort OF uniformity of city govern
ment among the various cities of the
state. This power of the legislature to
interfere by special acts with the gov
eminent Of a city, without reference to
the needs or desires of the municipality,
was so abused that in 1891 the const.tu-
ton of the state was amended so as to
prohibit the legislature from thereafter
passing any local or special law regu-
j lating the affairs of any city.
This constitutional amendment in eff
feet perpetuated as the charters of the
various cities the body of special laws
, which had been heretofore passed re-
lating to each city. many OF which were
unwise and ill-adapted to the future
growth of the cities by prohibiting the
modification OF any existing special law,
as we'll as the passage of new ones.
While the amendment checked to a
certain extent the evils of special legisla-
ton, 1t on the other hand has prevented
the securing of such legislation as to
the rapidly changing conditions in the
principal cities of the state became a
matter of necessity.
The utmost limit to which the legisla-
ture has been able to go since 1851 in
legislating for cities has been to pass d
general law for all cities Of a specified
class; as. for instance, general law
| may be passed applicable to the cites OF
Duluth, Minneapolis and st. Paul The
j needs of these three cities, however, and
the charters under which they have beer
operating are SO different that 1t has
been practically impossible to secure the
necessary legislation in the form of G
general law which will be appropriate