New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1916-06-07
ENGINEER DECIDES
TO THROW UP JOB
STREET COMMITTEE ASSUMES
CHARGE OF ALL GRADING
AND OILING.
CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY HAS
CAUSED TROUBLE WITH
STREET FORCE.


city council and the city engineer, which
had been somewhat strained since the
first session of the new council when the
engineer asked for and was refused an
increase in salary from $11O to $3.50 per
month, came to the breaking point dur
ing the past week and resulted in the
resignation Of F. D. Minium, the resig-
nation being filed at the Office of the city
clerk Friday morning.
While Mr.. Minium gives as reason for
resigning the fact that he has too great
an amount of private work to give the
affairs of the city the attention required
by the council, there probably would not
have been a break had not the street COM
mittee practically assumed charge of the
work supposed to have been done by the
city engineer. Mr.. Minium left for a trip
to Watertown, S. D., last Sunday morn
ing and notified the street commissioner by
mail Monday not to do any street work
until his return Wednesday. Street
Commissioner Scheman showed the let
ter to Alderman Filzen and the latter
took it upon himself to issue orders to the
street commissioner, ordered out the
teams, roller and oiler and has practical
ly been in charge of the street work since
that time.
Mr.. Filzen states that he simply was
doing his duty as a member of the city
council. II saw there was no one to give
orders to the commissioner and the teams
were idle and simply put them to work.
Mr.. Minium states that the reason for
his resignation is the continual "butting
i'm of the street committee into work
he had been undertaking. Whether this
was accident or design he was unwilling to
state, but it often happened that he had
ordered the commissioner to do certain
work and waited for the arrival of the
men and crew only to be informed later
on that some member of the street
committee had given other orders.
1t is also possible that a further reason
for the resignation is the fact that Mr..
Minium's salary was not raised to $125
a month after working for full month
exclusively for the city as tentatively
was the understanding when the new
council fixed the salaries of the city Off
Gals at the first meeting. II worked the
whole month for the city and would have
accomplished a whole lot more than l
did were it not for the countermanding
of orders, but the size of the check was the
same the first of the month-so what's
the use," said Mr.. Minium. II have
enough private work to keep me busy
in New Ulm and am going to give that
my attention from now on. If the city
needs my services at any time, I am glad
to take care Of that too"
Talking of the instance on Monday of
last week Mr.. Minium claims he had in
structed the street commissioner to grade
Washington street preparatory to oiling,
fill up the holes in the street with gravel
and put on the roller. When he returned
to the city Wednesday morning, he found
the teams and oiler at work on the road
to the Loretto hospital, which stretch
of street, Mr.. Minium claims, is not ready
for grading and oiling at the present
time and the work done is money wasted.
The resignation was to come up at the
meeting of the city council last evening
and no doubt was accepted.