New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1903-07-15
New Ulm Review
Wednesday, July is, 1908.
The Object Makes the Difference.


Some time since members of the
Library Board approached the city
council for the purpose Of getting them
to furnish the little light that is used
in the library free, and they were given
to understand that their request would
be granted and that the council would
be glad to assist in the library move
ment where there was no cash outlay.
The matter was referred to the light
committee, of which Mr.. Amann is the
head and at the last meeting hereported
that after investigation he had come
to the conclusion that the library was
a private enterprise and was unworthy
the aid of the CITY,. It is we'll known
that this is not the sentiment of the
majority of the council and it is just
as we'll known where theinfuence comes
from that directed the decision of the
committee. Had the library asked for
financial aid it would have been right
for the council to have turned the re-
quest down. There is no law which
permits the city council to donate one
cent to any cause, public or private,
for whichit does not get value received,
but precedent has been established
in the practice of giving donations to
conventions and celebrations that are
essentially private in their purpose and
character. In this the council has to
be guided by their idea of the benefits
the city is to derive from these affairs
and as long as none of the citizens Of.
fer a protest it is taken as the sense of
the people that the council is upheld in
the exercise of a power for which it
has no warrant.
Other councils have considered the
library sufficiently public to warrant
a donation of $3.50. But it seems that
the present light committee and it's ad-
visors have a superior sort of intelli-
gence-a sort of second sight-which
enables them to see wrong in an enter
prise of which most cities would take
pride. If it were not that it is a matter
of spite-the product of narrow mind
and a dwarfed soul, it might be looked
upon as mistake that could be recti-
fed. 1t is slap in the face of more
than 200 people in this city who have
contributed to the support of the library
and of as many more who patronize
it. It is a matter of less than S15 to
light the library and the additional
expense to the plant would not be
measurable in dollars and cents.
The library is as public as the public
schools; it is patronzed by people who
do not pay cent towards it's mainten-
ance; it is not operated for the purpose
of paying a revenue to anyone and the
man is stupid indeed whose only excuse
for not aiding it is that it is not public.
He has never visited it anditis certain
that if he did and took advantage Of
some of the reading that he can find
there he would be far better suited to
occupy the position he does, and to
ride with better dignity in public
parades as one of the city fathers; in
carriages for which the people of the
city pay and thereby contribute to the
support of private livery stables. A
man with a noble spirit would sooner
resign his position as a councilman
than have his name attached to a re-
port of the kind that that committee
brought in.
1t was the purpose of the Library
Board to get the support of the city
and to secure as soon as possible the
benefits offered by Carnegie in the
erection of public library building,
such as SO many of the cities of the
state have secured and which would
have been credit to the city. 1t can
not be done without the cooperation
of the council, and this is the first in
stance of the support the Board is to
get. 1t is enough to show that little
intelligence is dangerous thing.