The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-06
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK
A Courthouse Auditorium.

A Courthouse Auditorium.
To the Editor of The Journal
There is a chance to do some good
work for an auditorium the next few days
in connection with. the 100000 bond issue.
for completing the courthouse and city
hall, if we all pull together. The plans
suggested by c. N. Chadbourn Of the Phil
ha armonic club some months since for
using the open area In the center of the
building for an auditorium are perfectly
feasible and can be worked out, giving a
hall. with a seating capacity of $500 to-
5000 at an expense of from $50,QO0 to
SIS, 900. There isn't New England viii
Flage but what has town hall and gen
eral meeting place for its citizens; Min
neapolis has nothing of the kind, and
there Is In my judgment no use to which
public money can be more legitinately,
put than the providing of such a hall
for the use of our musical societies and
existing organizations Of various kinds
not. a convention hail.. in the sense Of a
hall for the big gatherings OF 10000 or
Is, 600 people, but a hall that would ac-
commodate nineteen out of twenty as
semblies-a, general utility hall for the use
of our citizens.
/ I wish T. h e,@J UT n a might lend. its
Influence : in suggesting to our delegates
In the, legislature that they either amend
the present bill by requiring the commits
sfoners to use such portion of the $500, 900,
as Is necessary to install this hall, or, if
not too late, introduce new bill provid-7
ing for, say SIS, 900 bonds to build the hall.
1t seems to me that it is infinitely: desir-,
liable that the things we really need should
be attended to first, and, in apportioning
the money realized from this sale of bonds
would think the relative interests were
something. in this order:
First-1nstallation of a. sanitary lookup.
either In connection with the county Jail
~ 1ooox hast
Second-Finishing the sidewalks and ap-
proaches to the courthouse. ~.
Third-Finishing the entrance.
/ Feurth-1nstalling the assembly hall or
auditorium.
Last, the finishing Of the upper stories.
BY following this procedure we shall
have attended to the essentials first. I
think 1t is infinitely more important that
the matters mentioned should take pre-
cedence, rather than that the funds real
| lied from the sale of the bonds should be
used in finishing rooms in the courthouse
(which there will be no earthly demand
for. for purposes of actual utility, for
Years to come. With the approaches and
entrance finished, the advertising benefit
to the city Is taken care Of; with the in
stallatton of the lookup, a crying need is
provided for; and when the assembly hall
or auditorium is included, no~one can crit
icize the expenditures, for they are all
progressive spirit which is now in the air.
The time is short; the bill has already
passed the senate and will be before the
house in a few days. This, to my mind
is golden opportunity; and the chance
to give us a hall Of generous size in q
beautiful location, in. fireproof building
with a magnificent entrance. and at the
expenditure OF. a very small amount o1
money, is too good to be lost. The walls
are there, the heating plant Is there; II
is supreme pity that provision was moi
made for an auditorium when the origina
plans were made, but it is not too late.
The only possible objection to this
II scheme is that it shuts out light from
the inside row of rooms on the GROUND
floor; but they are undesirable anyway
and as long as there is an ocean Of room
available on the upper floors, this objec
ton should have but little weight as re
lated to the all-around advantages of thu
hall proposition.
I wish you might refer to this favorabl,
fin your next ISSUE; w. L. Harris.
l. Minneapolis April g.: