The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-06-26
THE CHARTER REVISION
Commission Will Undertake it if Coun,
Gil Will Act FavorabIy.
Council to Be Asked to Call Special
Election for the Charter.
From Wednesdays Daily.

rIOIu VcuAcoudy D"Ays
The charter commission held MEETING
last night and decided to prepare a re.
vision of the present charter for submits
sion to the people in case the council will
agree to call special election for the
purpose of submitting it. The commits
sion feels that no charter stands any
show of passing at general election
where it must receive four seventies of
all the votes cast. Various features of
the charter were discussed, and it is evil
dent from the discussion that the com
mission has discovered it's mistake in
preparing complete new charter last
year instead of taking the present char
ter and correcting its weak points. 1t
will remain to be seen whether the COM
mission will hold itself down to a few
needed amendments of the present char
ter, or whether it will give in to the
temptation to enlarge its work and PRE-
pare new charter.
The members present last night were
Chairman F. M. Currier, Secretary H.
L. Schmitt, Mic Petersen, Jay Henry
Long, DR.. J. W. Andrews, w. E. Young,
Judge Severance, s. B. Martin and Geo.
M. Phillips.
Mr.. Currier opened the meeting by
stating that the question to be consider
ed at this meeting was whether to draft
a new charter, and if so, how to pro-
coed to do it.
Judge Severance expressed himself to
the effect that the commission should do
this, as there were several mistakes in
the charter prepared last year. One
chapter had been left out of the portion
relating to condemnation, and some of
the provisions relating to punishment
were too indefinite and some were too
rigorous, as for instance for malfeas-
ance in office
sense of the commission that it proceed
to draft new charter.
Mr.. Schmitt favored the motion, but
thought the commission should ascertain
first whether the council will call a
special election to submit the charter.
I DR.. Andrews conceded with this.
Mr. Schmitt said that it would be a
good idea to appoint committee to
wait on the council and ascertain what it
will do.
Mr.. Long said that he had understood
that the reason that the old council
refused to call a special election was be-
cause it had heard so many criticisms
OF the new charter that it did not think
that it would carry, and it did not want
to go to the expense of holding a special
election under those circumstances. He
asked Mr.. Petersen if this was the case,
and the latter replied that it was.
Mr.. Young said that the commission
should not take the time that it did be-
fore in drafting a charter and then have
it turned down at the election, or at least
iG should be submitted at special cleo
ton.
Judge Severance said that in the twin
cities they have come to the conclusion
that the only way to have a new char
ter carried out is to submit it at spec
ial election.
Mr.. Petersen was asked whether he
thought that new charter was needed
and he replied that he thought that it
was. When the old council read the new
charter last fall it found so many flaws
that it did not think that it would carry
at special or general election. Two
new charters have been voted down, but
it was his opinion that if the commits
sion should take the present charter and
revise it it would carry.
Mr.. Young said that the state laws
had made a good many changes neces-
|sary in preparing new charter.
DR.. Andrews asked whether it was not
possible to provide for having payment
for public improvements extend over a
series of years in installments.
Mr.. Schmitt said that the state law
provides for this whenever new charter
il prepared. He moved to amend DR.
Andrews motion, so as to make the
preparation of new charter depent upon
the council giving assurances to the com
mission that it will submit the proposed
charter to a vote of the people at a
! special election to be called within a
reasonable time after the charter is
presented. The amendment was accept.
ed by DIR. Andrews and the amended
motion was carried unanimously.
Mr.. Currier said that assuming that
,, the council grants the request, the com
mission could discuss proftably how to
60 to work to prepare the charter. He
was free to say that much time was
lost in making the last one.
DR.. Andrews asked whether the coun
ell could appropriate small amount tc
pay committee to prepare the char
; ter