The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-12

found during certain hours every day
By any of his constituents who de sired
to see him. This was decidedly an limo
walton. Not only would he represent the
people Of his ward in The council but he
would also repre- sent them In the wa-d
Apparently he held that the ward was
an entity in itself and not merely a part
of the city, and il was his business TO
look after its welfare in all ways and
at all times. In a mi.el way he with
his colleagues, constituted its head and
the duty of assisting in general legisl
ton for the entire city (which previous
ly had been considered of paramount inn
portance) was really a secondary con-
Sideration.
OF course this was highly tiverting 20
the old-timers
How absurdly tteore teal ard i'm
practical these young men are" com
mented one. Of them with an amused
smile but I like thei zeal. They go
at things with an earne tness that is
commendable, and 1t takes some pretty
hard knocks to Skater their idea3s but
in time they are shattered all rlgnt
enough. They have really Celightfu
theories and almost revolutionary ideas
but existing conditions not 50 easily
changed. We men of experience know
how 1t is. We've seen these enc g tic
young reformers start in to tear things
loose before"
Now mark what happened
Alderman Palmer opened his Office and
installed a secretary to receive callers
and listen to complaints in his absence
AS before stated it was iOke-such a
good joke. The Chicago papers sent spe-
cial writers to the office, and they de-
scrbed the furnishings and treated the
opening very much as a social function
The fact that a first caller was a sub
scrlption solicitor was deemed especially
amusing. But the people Of the ward
liked the idea. 1t was gratifying TO know
where the alderman could be found; 1t
was a satisfaction to know that there
was a place where al legitimate COM
plants would receive immediate atten-
ton; it was easier to go to the ward
officer than to the city nall to see about
matters that directly concerned the ward.
Here was place where needed improve
ments could be discussed and the neces-
sary action planned. 1t made the ward
more of a unit than it ever had been be-
fore
Oh. yes, it was a joke but-another
ward Office has been opened since then.
| and several aldermen are looking for
suitable locations. At present there 8
every indication that the ward office has
! come to stay In the majority of instan-
ces they will not be as large as Alderman
! Palmers office, nor as handsomely furn-
ished. but there is every likelihood
that most of the wards will soon have
places where such business as can be
transacted outside Of the city hall will
receive attention. And why not? Why
should not every ward in a great city
have its own Headquarters, to which the
people can repair when anything is
seriously wrong? When necessary. mat
ters can be referred to the proper depart
ment of the city government with every
assurance of receiving a prompt consider
alton that probably would be denied them
in other circumstances 1t is a good
thing for the ward and for the city hall.
1t simpli1es everything and it keeps the
alderman in touch with the people he IA
| serving.
That was the beginning first j Ike.
| The second came when Aid Palmer UNI
dertook to exercise a certain amount of
personal supervision over his ward. He
with his colleague investigated every
! thing. especially the condition Of the
streets and alleys. They undertook to
| see that the contractors and city de-
| partments were doing their work proper
| ~ and that hoIrseholders were doing their
share toward keeping the ward ln>prop-
or and presentable condition. Other al
dermen had given this matter desultory
attention. but Palmer went at it in
business-like way Young men are so
enterlalIHHBly dnuDiJ1OuB you KNOW. But
somehow the results Of this were so
pleasing to the people that half a dozen
aldermen are now giving personal at
tention to the streets and alleys Of their
! respective wards. and Aid Scully, OF
the Thirteenth ward. has proved his abil-
ity to rise to an emergency by using an
automobile for his inspection trips. Such
| Is the effect Of example. There Is today
a real rivalry between aldermen to see
who can give the closest attention to
and accomplish the most for his ward.
| 1t should not be understood that they
were totally neglected before, but they
received no such supervision as they do
now-largely because of young Palmer's
amusing enthusiasm = 81
Next the youthful ALDERMAN took up
the playground question. This has been
| receiving attention for SOME time, and a
movement already is on foot to have the
city establish Fairgrounds for children
In the more congested districts.
"But why wait for the city," asked
Palmer What's the matter with the
vacant lots?"
The old method was to rely on the city
for everything: the Palmer method is to
do little work for ones self. The city
plan is good, but it will take time. In