The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-12-29

street between State and Front
streets was then considered. Mr..
Humiston said that this question
had been discussed in open meeting.
and that he thought it was Mr..
Hance of the street car company
who appeared before the council and
requested that the surplus dirt be
used to make this fill. Attorney
Schaub thought that if the city had
paid for this dirt it would have
cost at least 5000, and that it was
worth as much to the city as to
any private parties.
Improvement Long Considered.
The first figures in the tenth
charge, about the work on the st.
! Peter road, were fixed at $1,000, but
later Mr. Waters decided to change
the cost to $500. Mr.. Humiston
said that this Improvement had been
! talked over and considered for years,
that the Automobile and CONNER
cial clubs had asked the council
to repair this road as soon as it
! had sufficient funds. Just before
Mr. Humiston went to Wisconsin on
business trip recently, he told
! Nh Thompson to make these re-
pairs. When he came back, he found
/ that four days of work had been
spent on the job, Mr.. Thompson ex-
! planning that he wanted to rush it
through before the ground frOze, to
save the extra expense.
! Judge Cray said he had driven
past this road when they were
making these repairs and that he
saw a long line of teams waiting
! for one to load, that the schedule
was made SO that all teams seemed
! to come for loading at once. Mr..
Humiston explained this, but some
We're dubious. He said that $22
worth of cinders, not ashes had been
hauled there, So worth of stone dust
and with the gravel, the cost was
| $a66.16.
II should think you would have
assessed all the property from the
Front street hill to the Northwest
ern tracks, though" said Judge
Gray
IF we did that there would not
| be as many complaints about the
road replied Mr.. 'Humston, with a
|
as his meaning was discerned.
Discussed the BouIevards.
The next charge was that OF the
boulevards on Lincoln street, which
received but slight mention. How
ever, in the charge following, which
had regard to the rounding of the
corner Of Lincoln and Second
streets, some question arose. 1t was
agreed by two of the councilmen
to cancel the assessment on the
property ut this place, if the owner
would give this property to the city,
as it was needed in rounding the
street, This was done, and no as
sessment was made against this
property. 1t was merely a trade.
Upon the accusation thatthe mat
! ter was not done in IA legal way
Mr. Humiston said that it was, be-
cause the matter had been referred
to City Attorney Daley with power
to act. This was done by motion
in open meeting. t .a
/ All the other charges except
charge No. Is which read that the
| city commissioners violated the spir.
it of Section 81 OF the charter, in
asmuch as the business Of the cOun-
tcil was not all done at open meet
| ings, where the public could be pres
emit had been submitted to the COM
mittee.
To this charge Mr.. HumiSton
said that everything except such
business as was for the good of TIE
public such as the typhoid cases,
had always been discussed in public
meetings. He said that at first, all
matters that came up for discussion
were not taken up in public meet
ings, because they We're new at the
job and wanted to make respect
able showing before the public and
SO some of these questions were
talked over in the ante-room A
large part of the work was assigned
to the different commissioners of the
respective departments who had most
of the control of this work.
Did Not Know of Deer-KiIling.
AS a specific instance, showing
that the work was. done in secret,
Attorney Schaub brought up the
matter of the recent deer staying
episode, in which he claimed nothing
about this was brought UP in open
meeting. This Mr.. Humiston admit
ted, saying that he did not know
about it until the next day after
the deer had been killed.
Charge No. II claimed that the
salaries paid by the city officials for
help were too high and were more
than the finances of the city could
afford Comparison was invited with
the salaries paid in 1908. 1t was
believed by some that if more con-
tract work had been let, it would
have been a means of reducing the
force of men. Also it would have
relieved the council of a lot Of work,
though necessitating more work Oh