The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-04-11
LET'S RESCUE MINNEAPOLIS!
{ Minneapolis JournaD


The biennial City election draws
on apsce. Within d fortnight all
the candidates for place will have
filed. Next month the primary
takes place, and in June the, cleo
ton Will DE held.
Minneapolis is thus setting about
the task OF selecting a Mayor, d
City Treasurer, Controller and
Municipal Judges. But far more
important than this, it is setting
about the task of choosing one AL
derman in each Of the thirteen
wards.
This IS council governed
City The Mayor is largely a fig
urehead, save for his control Of the
Police Department He serves as
a member Of various boards and
represents the City in various
ways, chiefly as welcoming ora
tor. 1t is the Council that really
has the say here, despite the fact
that its tax-raising powers are SD
peryised by the Board of Estimate
and Taxation.
Thus the selection Of thirteen
Aldermen next June becomes q
matter of paramount Importance to
the welfare of Minneapolis. For
the thirteen elected, joined with
the thirteen hold-overs, will give
this City whatever sort of govern
ment it is to have, whether good,
bad or Indifferent.
Thanks partly to the great and
growing disparity in the popula-
tons OF the various wards, and
partly to the indifference of the
conservative voters, Minneapolis
has for several years had radi-
cal Counc!. This has hurt the
City in many ways. For one thing
it has led to public extra vagance
with its inevitable corollary OF
higher taxes; for another it has
given Minneapolis bad name the
Country over as a rec governed
city where the tax trend is up
wards.
The present Auditorium situa
ton is a striking illustration OF
how our radical Council majority
operates. Giving no heed to the
extra burden heaped up for the
taxpayers to carry, it loads the
project with wage scales above
what any private concern would
have to pay. At first it sought per
sistently to have the building erect
ed on the day labor Ian, despite
the certainty that this would add
from rs to so per cent to the tota
cost. Baked in this scheme by the
stout resistance OF Mayor Leach,
it now seeks to bring about the
same result by cunningly restrict
ing the bidders in various ways.
High taxes are Il serious damper
on city growth. Certain mAnufac
turers who have recently fnyestt
gated Minneapolis as n location tor
new plants, have gone elsewhere
when the tax situation was report
cd to them.
Minneapolis can greatly improve
its reputation and its desirabillty
| by selecting the right men for AL
dermen next June. The radical
majority must be turned out. But
that alone will not be enough. The
right kind Of conservatives must
be elected. In the present Council
| there are II radicals and IL So
called conservatives If the latter
had all been sound, able men. they
could have spoiled many a radical
taX-s spending scheme. But some OF
them preferred to make terms
with their radical colleagues They
sold out the City's welfare for their
own petty projects. That's the
kind Of conservatives" to keep out
OF the Council.
1t is none too early for conserva-
tive voters to begin scrutinizing
the lists Of nominees for the pri-
maries.. 1t is none too early to set
about rescuing our City Govern
ment from radical domination.
| Think it over.