The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1903-01-01
MORE CHARTER TALK
Village improvements and Charter
Taik-.An Interesting Theme
= :#z for Princeton People.
A Golden Opportunity for Princeton
30 Turn Over a New Leaf
and Try Another Tack. !

uoS.,aS: cdllu1Iy oClI. clllu etC C1ldU Glue
the voters of Princeton will also deter
mine whether they want to adopt the
city charter as proposed by the village
council. It only requires majority of
all>votes cast on the charter proposition
to adopt the charter. If only twenty
five votes are cast on the charter pro-
position and thirteen of these are for
the charter, the charter proposition
will carry. The sentiment is against
adopting the charter, because it will
mean a loss of part of the Princeton
school district and impose on Prince
ton a system of municipal government
entirely too cumbersome and broad for
place no larger than Princeton. The
only thing to do is to vote down the
charter proposition, and thus place a
quietus on the whole matter for the
present at least.
The main thing to do now is to elect
council that will pledge itself to go to
work. and act under the present charter
which in many respects is broad enough
in its scope to warrant the council in
adopting some practical system.
While under the old charter the pro-
visions for grading, paving or macad-
amizing streets, building sidewalks or
cutters, is subject to the whims and
personal feelings and considerations of
property owners, the council does have
ample powers to improve streets and
sidewalks ''at the expense of the own
ersof the lots, or parts of lots, respect
ively opposite and adjoining to such
streets, crossings or sidewalks, OR OUT
OF THE COMMON FUND OF SAID VII.
LACE" This is one of the first powers
granted the council under the old char
ter it can very readily be seen thai
the Charter gives the council plenty O.
authority to improve its streets, by
on..ning up and grading new streets
t''i<ting new sidewalks, etc. The
council has the authority to make
these improvements either by assess
me t of the AUDITING property, or out
of the common fund.
The village constitutes one road dis.
trict, land the street commissioner
thereof to be appointed by the coun.
Gil. reads the charter. In fact the
charter so reads that not bit of per-
manent improvements on street work
can be made without a street commits.
sioner. Under the charter ''all taxes
within the limits of said village for
road purposes and collected by the
treasurer of Mile Laos county shall be
paid by him to the treasurer of said
village upon the warrant of the county
auditor.'' One would very naturally
infer that this meant road money
levied by the village and not by the
county.
But the village has not been making
any very liberal appropriations for
road or street work of late, nor has
anyone even heard of fifty per cent OF
| the property owners on any given
street petitioning the council for fixing
the streets, in the way of surfacing
them, or building cutters or sidewalks,
etc. Thus it will be seen that neither
has the village levied any tax for street
improvements nor have the business
men been moved by a spirit of public
pride or generosity and signifed that
they are willing to pay for share of
the cost of street improvements.
Until we can get new charter
adapted to the needs of Princeton, the
proper thing for the council to do is to
exercise what powers and authority it
has and take a few steps toward the
betterment of the village. The one
weak point of the old charter is that it
makes no provisions for sewerage
system, which Princeton needs to es-
tablish, and this does not mean sewers
for surface drainage, for they are not
needed. The streets when properly
surfaced and with cutters, can be
drained easily enough. What are
needed are sanitary sewers to carry off
the sewage of public buildings and pri-
vate residences. This system of sew
erage is what is known as the "Separ-
ate System' and was originated by
Col. Warning, who instituted sanitary
reforms in New York City, and who
was sent to Havana to cleanse that
city. Col. Warning considered six
inch sewer adequate. The main sewer
Of course would be much larger, say
twelve inches which would carry four
times as much water as six-inch pipe.
So that it would not be necessary in
order to construct sewer from the
depot to Rum river to make a three or
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