The Minneapolis journal., 1902-06-12

| 500 600. Such money so jointly raised to be
invested in the purchase of grounds and the
| erection of building thereon FOR THE
PURPOSES HEREIN INDICATED, the title
! to the same to be vested in the board of
trustees to be created as above suggested
i This report was adopted and the COMMITTEES
on legislation of the city council was directed
4 to- secure an amendment to the city charter
lin general conformity with the plan outlined
i in 1t.
/ (see volume 10, council proceedings, page
| 4a9)
Pursuant to this action of the city council,
| it's committee on legislation, OF which the
l writer was chairman, drafted an amendment
to the city charter, which was passed. AMI
| is now chapter II of the city charter. and is
spoken of as the library act" 1t is chapter
| 3, s. Il. for 1885.
1t is instructive, in this connection, to note
what the library board was created to do
! In the first section Of the act in question
occurs the following:
There is hereby created and established in
shall be styled .The Library Board. Of the
4 City. of Minneapolis. This board shall have
l full power to establish and maintain in the
ing-roems,. GALLERIES OF. ART AND MU-
SEUMs for the use and benefit Of the nhab
| jltants Of said city.
And section of said act reads: -
Said library board may enter into association
j with any independent society or other or
ganization owning libraries OR MUSEUMS,
Or EXISTING FOR PURPOSES KINDRED
TO THOSE CONTEMPLATED = IN THIS
ACT, upon sucn terms and conditions as shall
best promote the object for which said board
Is, created. ,s~.,, .-
u At the same session Of the legislature the
committee on legislation of the city council
submitted an act authorizing the city of Min
neapolis to issue bonds, the avails Of which
should he turned over to the library board of
the city of Minneapolis. This act was passed
4 and is chapter 145 OF the special laws for 1885.
/ A portion of said act reads as follows:
\ That no part Of the sum realized from the
sale of such bonds shall be applied to any
other purpose than to the purchase of grounds
Rd the ereftSn Of 5pildR thersGp FOB
| CHAPTER IL (Chapter S. L. for 1850 of
the charter of the city of Minneapolis.
| Said act further provided:
! Whenever the library board of the city of
Minneapolis shall receive subscriptions for the
buildings FOR THE PURPOSE CONTEM-
PLATED IN CHAPTER u of the charter of
it may by resolution notify the city council Of
the city of Minneapolis Of the amounts Of
such subscriptions and thereupon said city
council shall by resolution direct the issue
The emphasis laid on certain passages in
the above quotations is mine. - .a- r
UPON THE STRENGTH OF THE: FORE
GOING LEGISLATION the friends of pub
lie library, of the Minneapolis. Athenaeum, of
the Society of Fine Arts and of the Academy
of Sciences procured subscriptions for the
purchase of site and the erection of a build
ing thereon for the purposes above specified,
and by such subscriptions raised over $50, 900,
which, by the terms Of the act authorizing
the issuance of bonds permitted the city of
Minneapolis to sell its bonds for the purposes
stated to the amount Of 100000. This was
| done. ~.~ e.. s. ...~..
i From the foregoing it conclusvely appears
i that; from the outset, the called library
:, building was intended to be used, not for a
=, library alone, but as the center of the art
and scientific interests of the city. That it
was to be used for education in broader
sense than if it had been intended for
library purposes alone. :. - '.'
1t also appears conclusively from the above
that the library board is performing but one
of the functions for which it. was expressly
created, when it confines it's activity to a
library. = -... i.-'-
Plans for the library building, as originally
adopted, fully contemplated it's use for all
the above purposes. The portions so far
erected are scarcely more than half of the
structure it was expected would be built from
time to time as the5seyeral needs above indi-
Gated should demand. : s.: ..s-I.> .>>s,.
i THERE CAN BE NO QUESTION but
4 WHAT "A VERY, LARGE PROPORTION OF
THE SUBSCRIPTIONS MADE FOR, THE
1 ERECTION OF THE LIBRARY BUILDING
WE'RE FROM CITIZENS WHO WE'RE
MORE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN
THE SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS AND IN
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES THAN In
| THE LIBRARY. IL .. -, 49,. . -
AS member of the library board at that
time, and as its then secretary, who had the
matter of subscriptions in his special charge,
, I speak from personal knowledge in making
this statement r-.. -. -2,-- ..-- F.. .-@
: Had it not been fully understood that such
societies were to remain in: the said building
permanently many such subscriptions would
not have been secured.
t From what has been said, it would seem
as though the library board, in its action
| taken the other day, had for the moment,
) overlooked some Of the well-expressed pur-
poses Of it's creation, and that carrying out
the specific purposes for which it was or
: ganized, carrying out the understanding of
subscribers to the fund which made the
; erection OF the present building possible, the
lib ary board should permit the Academy
, of Sciences and the Society of Fine Arts to
, remain in said building and should, as 1t
needs further space for books as either
of such societies needs further room, complete
, the building substantially according to- the
> plans originally adopted for it,
) Edward M. johnson.
MINNEAPOLIS Mimi. June IL, 1902