REESE LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
Class
of American (Sobernmrnt
ILatornue 8. Ebans, ^ptj.iB.
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN TUFTS COLLEGE
The Government of Minnesota
HANDBOOKS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
The
Government of Minnesota
Its History and Administration
BY
FRANK L. McVEY, PH.D.
PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD.
1901
All rights reserved
COPYRIGHT, 1901,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
NortoooB
J. S. Cashing & Co. - Berwick & Smith
Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
A. H. M.
PREFACE
IT has been the purpose of the author to present in a
small volume a harmonious picture of the history and gov-
ernment of the commonwealth of Minnesota. There is a
pressing and crying need for good teaching in civil govern-
ment, a subject which has been and is largely neglected in
our public schools. To facilitate such teaching carefully
prepared books are necessary. This volume is an attempt
thoroughly to analyze the functions of a State government,
and in addition to open the way to teacher and pupil to the
sources of information. At the foot of many pages are
numerous references, while at the end of the book is an
appendix containing historical material for more extensive
work than the text affords. With such aid the teacher can
go back of text-book statement into the spirit of our com-
monwealth's institutions.
The effort in Chapters I and II is to place the history
of the State before the student ; following these chapters are
two others on the general machinery of the government.
The remainder of the book is devoted to the actual work-
ings of the machinery. It is to be remembered that legisla-
tion changes from time to time the details of government ;
particularly was this true at the meeting of the legislature
of 1899, which altered the school system and the national
viii Preface
guard, established the primary election law in one county,
and changed the city charter act. To keep in touch with
such legislation is a part of the work of the teacher. The
book as now constituted contains all modifications of the
statutes up to 1900. The changes in the future will not
alter the frame or general features of the government, but
may make many alterations in the details of the machinery.
In the preparation of the volume the author has been
materially aided by the suggestions of the editor of the
series, Professor Lawrence B. Evans of Tufts College, and
by Professor William W. Folwell of the University of
Minnesota.
F. L. M.
MINNEAPOLIS, December, 1900.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
MINNESOTA AS A TERRITORY
PACK
§ i. References. § 2. Physical Territory. § 3. Explorers.
§ 4. Settlements. § 5. The Organization of Minnesota Ter-
ritory I
CHAPTER II
MINNESOTA AS A STATE
§ 6. References. § 7. The Enabling Act. § 8. The Constitu-
tional Convention. § 9. Organization of the Government.
§ 10. Minnesota in the Civil War. § 1 1. The Sioux Massacre.
§ 12. The Building of Railroads. § 13. The Growth of the
State. § 14. Chronological Arrangement of the History of
Minnesota 16
CHAPTER III
ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE
§ 15. References. § 16. Restricted Powers of the State. § 17. The
Constitution, Preamble, and Bill of Rights. § 18. Amendment
and Revision of the Constitution. § 19. Administrative
Divisions 38
CHAPTER IV
THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
§ 20. References. § 21. The Executive. § 22. Other Elective
Officers. § 23. Appointive Officers. § 24. Commissions and
Boards. § 25. The Legislature. § 26. The Judiciary . . 48
x Contents
CHAPTER V
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
PAGE
§ 27. References. § 28. The County. § 29. The Township.
§ 30. The Village. § 31. Cities. § 32. Minneapolis. § 33. St.
Paul. § 34. Duluth 61
CHAPTER VI
NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
§35. References. § 36. Who are Voters? § 37. Nomination
of Candidates. § 38. The Corrupt Practices Act. § 39. Ma-
chinery of Elections. § 40. The Conduct of Elections.
§ 41. Canvassing Boards « 9°
CHAPTER VII
THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
§ 42. References. § 43. The Judicial Power. § 44. The Local
and District Courts. § 45. The Supreme Court. § 46. Civil
Procedure. § 47. Criminal Procedure 109
CHAPTER VIII
REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
§ 48. References. § 49. Receipts and Expenses. § 50. The
Kinds of Taxes. § 51. The Assessment of Property.
§ 52. The Levying and Collection of Taxes. § 53. The Ex-
penditure of Public Money 127
CHAPTER IX
EDUCATION
§ 54. References. § 55. The Growth of the School System.
§ 56. The Organization of the School System. § 57. The Sup-
Contents xi
port of the Schools. § 58. Administration of the School
System. § 59. Normal Schools. § 60. The University.
§ 61. Fanners' Institutes, Free Text-books, and Libraries . 139
CHAPTER X
THE PROTECTION OF THE STATB
62. References. § 63. The Problems. § 64. Charitable Insti-
tutions. § 65. Correctional Institutions. § 66. The Board of
Charities and Corrections. § 67. The Militia. § 68. The
Naval Reserves 158
APPENDIX
A. The Governors of Minnesota 173
B. Members of the First Legislature of Minnesota . . . 174
C. Population of Minnesota in 1849 175
D. Growth of Population in Minnesota 176
£. Nativity of the Population of Minnesota . . . .180
F. Growth of Cities in Minnesota from 1890 to 1895 • .184
G. An Act to establish the Territorial Government of Minnesota 186
H. The Enabling Act of Minnesota 196
I. An Act for the Admission of Minnesota into the Union . 200
J. Parts of the Constitution of Minnesota 202
K. Presidential Vote of Minnesota 223
L. State Officers of Minnesota 224
M. County Officers of Minnesota 226
N. Town Officers of Minnesota 227
O. Village Officers of Minnesota 228
P. City Officers of Minnesota 229
Q. References to Minnesota in Congressional Documents . . 230
INDEX 233
GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA
CHAPTER I
MINNESOTA AS A TERRITORY
i. REFERENCES
Stevens, Personal Recollections of Minnesota and its People, Minne-
apolis, 1890 ; Charlotte Ouisconsin Van Cleve, Three Score Years and
Ten, Minneapolis, 1888 ; West, Ancestry, Life, and Times of H. H.
Sibley, St. Paul, 1889 ; Neill, History of Minnesota, St. Paul, 1890 ; The
Publications of the Minnesota Historical Society ; some of the articles
are particularly important and will be referred to specifically ; Journals
of the Council and House of Representatives of the First Session of the
Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Minnesota, 1849; Williams,
History of St. Paul, St Paul, 1876 ; Keating, Narrative of an Expedi-
tion to the Source of St. Peter's River, London, 1825 ; articles on Minne-
sota in Johnson's Cyclopaedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica. A
description of the territory may be found in the introduction of Neill,
History of Minnesota, and in The Report of the Geological Survey of
Minnesota, I, a set of which is deposited in the office of each county
auditor.
There is the series of pamphlets on Minnesota History, written and
edited by Dr. E. D. Neill, under the title oiMacalcster College Contribu-
tions. Among these are many sketches and much valuable material
relating to the early history of the State. The following are useful :
The Beginning of Organized Society in the Saint Croix Valley, 1890,
No. 3; The Development of Trade on Lake Superior, No. 4; Sieur La
Ronde, the First Navigator of Lake Superior, No. 7 ; Pierre Paul, the
Commandant at Lake Pepin, 1750-1752, No. 9 ; A Memoir of the Sioux,
No. 10 ; Memoir of William T. Boutwell, S. S., No. I ; The Critical
Period of the French Traders on Lakes Michigan and Superior, 1684,
S. S., No. 7 ; A Memorial of the Brothers Pond, S. S., No. 8.
2 Minnesota as a Territory
2. THE PHYSICAL TERRITORY
In the exact centre of North America lies the won-
derful region known as Minnesota. The State by
that name extends four hundred miles from north to
south, while the traveller journeys the third of a
thousand miles in crossing it from east to west.1
Within this empire-like land are nearly eighty-five
thousand square miles of territory. This, translated
into acres, carries the figures into the fifty millions ;
but so numerous are the lakes, numbering about ten
thousand, that a seventeenth part of the territory is
water. The general character of the surface is that
of a high, rolling prairie, ranging, on the average,
twelve hundred feet above the sea level, but the
highest point is more than a thousand feet above
this.2 Streams and lakes found in all parts of the
State are heavily wooded with every species of timber
known on the upper Mississippi, except the beech and
sycamore. At one time the northern part of the
State was covered by a dense forest of pine, tama-
rack, spruce, birch, and cedar, but it is now rapidly
disappearing under the vigorous attacks of the lum-
ber companies. Fertile indeed is the soil and par-
ticularly adapted to the growing of wheat, corn, oats,
and barley ; the small fruits and vegetables flourish
in great abundance.
The last few years have brought to the attention
of the world the iron wealth of Minnesota, stored
in the Mesabi and Vermillion ranges.3 It is in an
1 354 miles wide. The State lies within the parallels 43° 30' and 49°
north latitude, and the meridians 89° 39' and 97° 5' west longitude.
2 Minnesota Historical Society's Publications, I. 37.
8 The output in 1899 was 7,000,000 tons.
The Physical Territory 3
ancient archaean axis traversing the centre of the
State from northeast to southwest, that the iron
mines are located.1 The ore is a soft hematite, very
rich and free from impurities, and so perfectly
adapted to the making of Bessemer steel that it is
sought eagerly by manufacturers. In addition to
this great mineral wealth are sands useful in glass
making, building stone of many varieties, clay for
the potter, and, in the Rainy Lake region, gold in
limited quantities. Minnesota, with its natural re-
sources and splendid territory, is a richly endowed
commonwealth. With the first historian of the State,
we can say : " Minnesota is the birthplace of many
rivers, flowing north, south, east, and west; with
varied scenery, the prairie, the forest, the lofty bluff,
the placid lake, and the laughing waterfall ; the sum-
mit of the central valley of North America ; with an 7^
atmosphere peculiarly dry and bracing, it must ever heritage of
be attractive to emigrants from all regions of the
world. If the aims of her citizens only correspond
with the elevated natural position and advantages,
the cattle upon a thousand hills will soon occupy the
old pasture grounds of the elk and bison, and school-
houses will crown the eminences but lately adorned
with burial scaffolds ; and the State will become the
birthplace of not only majestic rivers, but great men." 2
To the people of Minnesota has fallen this heri-
tage, which they have used wisely and well, as the
institutions, wealth, and power of her citizens testify.
Less than three-quarters of a century ago the main
portion of the present State was occupied by the
1 Johnson's Cyclopaedia, article " Minnesota."
2 Neill, History of Minnesota, xl.
4 Minnesota as a Territory
Sioux and Chippeway Indians ; only a few scattered
trading posts then existed, and nothing that could be
called a real settlement. In that brief time the orig-
inal holders of the soil have been dispossessed by
purchase, treaty, and warfare, until the whole area,
once a wilderness, is dotted by farms, houses, villages,
and towns. The Indians in their turn are confined
to small reservations, which in time will also be given
over to the agriculturist.
3. EXPLORERS
Three sets of early explorers travelled over the
territory called Minnesota. The French, ambitious
and restless, moved westward seeking treasure and
adventure; the English, in control only during the
short period between the French and Indian War and
the Revolution, were too busily engaged elsewhere to
pay much attention to what was then the far West.
When the Americans therefore acquired the country
early in the nineteenth century, the region was little
known, and expeditions were sent out under the aus-
pices of the government to explore it
Nearly seventy years before the English had built
Jamestown, the French had a rendezvous in Canada.
The explorations of the great lakes went on slowly
until the coming of Champlain. This great French-
man reached Georgian Bay in 1643. Twenty-eight
years later two Jesuit priests made their way to the
Sault Ste. Marie. Glowing accounts were sent to
France of the vast trading possibilities and the im-
mense copper deposits in this northwest region. Jean
Nicollet, an interpreter of the Canadian Fur Company,
Explorers 5
was the first white man to reach the Green Bay in the
north of Wisconsin ; * but the first white men to enter
Minnesota were Radisson and Grosseillier, in 1659.
Not properly encouraged, according to their notion,
by the French government, they transferred their
iance to the English and made other explorations
under their flag. Rene* Menard, a Jesuit, reached the
Black River, by way of the Mississippi, in 1661, but
lost his life in the woods. Allouez in 1665 established
a mission at La Pointe, Wisconsin. Thus far all of
the explorations had been around the edge <3f the
State.2 The governor of Canada, anxious to get more
definite information, sent the Sieur Du Lhut, Daniel
solon, to the Lake Superior region in 1679.*
This explorer went into the State as far as Mille Lac.
He was followed by Father Hennepin, a Franciscan
monk, who ascended the Mississippi from the Illinois
River, and finally reached St. Anthony Falls, the
present site of Minneapolis, in 1680. Le Sueur, at
the opening of the century, explored what is now
called the Minnesota River as far as the Blue Earth
River.4 At the junction of the two streams he estab-
lished a post. With Le Sueur French exploration
ses.
The French were confined in their movements to a Difficulties
strip of territory on the same parallel with Quebec, JJJethFerewnacyh.°f
extending west. This was in reality the line of least
resistance. Very few of their explorers were able to
get north or south of Minnesota and Lake Superior.
See account in Neill, History of Minnesota, 100. See
also whole of ch. iv. in the above history. Minn. Hist. Soc. Pub.,
I. 183.
-Minn. Hist. Soc. Pub., I. 17. • Ibid., 314. 4 Ibid., 319.
6 Minnesota as a Territory
Charles II. of England had given a charter to the
Hudson Bay Company in 1679, granting to it the
territory about Hudson Bay, which had been discov-
ered by Radisson and Grosseillier when serving under
the English flag. The Treaty of Ryswick in 1697
acknowledged this claim, and from that date the
English captured or killed the French traders appear-
ing in the Hudson Bay district. At the south the
hostile Iroquois made war upon all Frenchmen.
Between these two enemies the French carried on
their trade explorations, and this situation accounts
for the early entrance of the French into the Minne-
sota territory.
In the French and Indian War, ending in 1763,
the French lost Canada, and England became the
ruler of all the territory in North America east of
the Mississippi, with the exception of Louisiana and
Florida. Twenty years later the United States won
its independence and came into possession of the ter-
ritory east of the Mississippi and south of Canada.
During the period of English possession Jonathan
Carver left Boston under the semi-authority of the
British government to make explorations in the North-
west. His journey included voyages on the Missis-
sippi from the Wisconsin River to the Elk, and, re-
turning to the mouth of the Minnesota, he ascended
that stream as far as the Cotton wood River. An
account of the exploration was published in Dublin
in 1779.!
By the Treaty of 1783 with Great Britain and the
Louisiana purchase in 1803 the United States ac-
1Neill, History of Minnesota, 202-221, also Minn. Hist. Soc. Pub.,
I. 349-
Explorers 7
quired a great unknown region. The government
sent successive expeditions into this territory to gather
information and make treaties with the Indian tribes.
The first of these was that of Lieutenant Zebulon
Pike, who was sent in 1805 to enforce the federal
laws, which were disregarded by the English traders
after the transfer of the region to the United States.
He was also to make treaties with the Indians, and
through his efforts the cession of the Fort Snelling
military reservation was obtained.1 The British and
Canadian traders were subdued for a time, but the
War of 1812 gave them further opportunity to
encourage the hostility of the Indians, and for
several years the new territory received but little
attention from the government of the United States.
The governor of Michigan, Lewis Cass, was anxious
to visit all parts of the land under his jurisdiction.
On the 1 8th of November, 1819, he proposed to the
Secretary of War, Mr. Calhoun, the exploration of the
recently annexed portion of Michigan, and received
permission to undertake it. Governor Cass and his Expeditions,
followers entered the State at the head of Lake
Superior and proceeded as far south and west as
St. Anthony Falls ; the expedition was not produc-
tive of results.2 The government still seeking more
definite knowledge, sent, in 1823, Major Stephen F.
Long, an officer who had already made one journey
years before from St. Louis to St. Anthony Falls,
1 This cession included a tract of land at the mouth of the St. Croix,
and also a tract beginning below the conflux of the Mississippi and St.
Peter's, and extending up the Mississippi to include the Falls of St.
Anthony and nine miles on each side of the river.
2 See account in NeilFs History of Minnesota, 321.
8 Minnesota as a Territory
to explore Minnesota. The expedition went three-
quarters around the State by the way of the Minnesota
River, Big Stone Lake, Red River, Lake of the
Woods, and Rainy Lake to Lake Superior.1 Much
valuable information was secured through the efforts
of Major Long.
Possibly the most famous of the expeditions was
the one under the leadership of Schoolcraft. A
number of distinguished men accompanied the ex-
ploring party, among whom were Dr. Douglass
Houghton, botanist and geologist, and the Rev. W.
T. Boutwell, a missionary of the American Board of
Foreign Missions.2 Pipes of peace were smoked
with the Indians, councils held, and speeches made
to some purpose. The chief result of the expedition
in Mr. Schoolcraft's view was the discovery of the
source of the Mississippi in a lake to which he gave
the name Itasca. A number of minor explorations
were made by George Catlin and Featherstonehaugh
in 1835, by Jean Nicollet in 1836, and by David D.
Owen in 1847. This last expedition was sent by the
government to locate the boundary between Canada
and Minnesota. An extensive literature was the out-
come of the last expeditions. In 1872 the legislature
of Minnesota authorized a geological and natural
history survey of the State. The geological portion
was finished in 1899; other branches are still in
progress.
4. SETTLEMENTS
The settlement of a new region is a long and
hazardous undertaking. The explorer is soon fol-
" Keating, Expedition to St. Peter's River, II. ch. v.
2 Journal of W.T. Boutwell, Minn. Hist. Soc. Pub., I. 153.
Settlements 9
lowed by the trader and the missionary, who in turn Traders,
are followed by men seeking new homes. Thus Missionar
settlements come to be made, and a permanent popu- andpione
lation grows up. Nicolas Perrot established possibly
the first trading post in the West at the mouth of
the Black River. This was in 1685. Then came Le
Sueur, who in 1695 built a house on Isle Pelee not
far above Lake Pepin. The hostility of the Indians
prevented trading, and nothing was done by the TheFrem
French to establish trade relations until 1728, when traders-
a fort was erected on Lake Pepin. The builder of
it, Pierre Paul, was forced to give up his post, and
in 1752 another attempt was made at the same place
with a similar result. Louis Denis, the Sieur La
Ronde, in 1726 was given a concession for a trading
post at Chagoumigan on Lake Superior. The French
carried on considerable traffic with the Indians, but
their trade was extremely hazardous. North of the
French the English had seized the land about Hud-
son Bay on the strength of the discoveries of Hen-
rick Hudson and the two French explorers, Radisson
and Grosseillier.1 The Hudson Bay Company was
formed under a charter from Charles II., and stead-
ily resisted any attempt of the French to build posts
or to trade in the Northwest so long as Canada re-
mained under the control of the French.2 This hos-
tility was transferred to the American companies
established after 1783, and as a result a long and
bitter warfare was carried on between the Hudson
Bay Company and the Northwestern Fur Company,
and its successor the American Fur Company which
1 See page 5.
2 See article on " Hudson Bay," Minn. Hist. Soc. Pub., I. 207.
io Minnesota as a Territory
was organized in 1808 under a charter from the New
York legislature.1 The War of 1812 retarded the
business of the latter organization so that it did not
really get into the field until after its close. By 1830
the company had erected posts at Madeline Island and
La Pointe, Wisconsin, and Mendota in Minnesota.
Various settlements now made their appearance.
The erection of Fort Snelling had been ordered by
Congress as early as 1819, but the fort was not built
laments, until 1 82 2. Ten years before this Lord Selkirk had
established a colony on the Red River, where a grant
of land had been given him by the Hudson Bay Com-
pany. The colony suffered so severely from locusts
that a large number of its members left their new
homes in 1827, and came to Fort Snelling, which was
then a flourishing post. In 1837 tne Indians ceded
all of their land east of the Mississippi to the United
States. This was a memorable year for Minnesota, for
it opened up some of the great resources of the State
to the exploitation of actual settlers.2 Lumber com-
panies were organized ; towns appeared at St. Croix
Falls and Marine Mills in the following year. The first
house upon the present site of St. Paul was also built
in this year, 1838. Stillwater was founded in 1843,
and St. Anthony in 1847. In 1849 Minnesota was
organized as a territory and had a population of 494O.3
From the time when the white men first came into
sionaries. Minnesota efforts were made to establish missions.
1The two companies were united in 1822.
2 Williams, History of St. Paul, 57. The payment was $300,000
invested in five per cent stocks, #110,000 for mixed bloods, and $90,000
to pay the debts of the tribe.
8 See Appendix C.
The Organization of Minnesota Territory 1 1
Some of the early explorers like Menard, Allouez, and
Father Hennepin were missionaries, but they were
not successful in establishing permanent missions.
The first successful efforts to establish Christianity in
Minnesota were made by the Roman Catholic Church,
but representatives of other denominations appeared
in the field early in the present century. The work
of the trader and pioneer was softened and directed
toward better things by these earnest men, among
whom will always be remembered Boutelle, Stearns,
and the Pond Brothers. The first Indian mission in
the territory was at Sandy Lake in 1832. Other
missions were established at Leech Lake in 1834,
Lakes Harriet and Calhoun in 1837, an(* ^ater at
Fond du Lac, Pokegoma, La Pointe, Yellow Lake,
Lac qui Parle, Mendota, and St. Paul.1
5. THE ORGANIZATION OF MINNESOTA TERRITORY
Minnesota is of dual origin. Part of the territory Origin of
of which the present State is formed was a portion of l
the Northwest Territory, the remainder was the north-
eastern portion of the Louisiana purchase. The
Mississippi divides the two great regions. There was
a marked difference in the heritage of the two parts.
The Northwest Territory was presented with a terri-
torial government, religious liberty, personal rights,
and educational endowments. The other region re-
tained some of its Spanish and French laws, but the
merging of the two sections largely obliterated them,
and substituted therefor those of the Northwest Terri-
tory. It is interesting to note that Minnesota east
1 Minn. Hist. Soc. Pub., I. 84, 437.
12 Minnesota as a Territory
Various of the Mississippi passed under seven jurisdictions,
jurisdictions. viz^ the Northwest Territory 1787, Indiana 1800,
Michigan 1805, Illinois 1809, Michigan a second time
in 1819, Wisconsin 1836, and Minnesota 1848. The
part west of the Mississippi also had a varied experi-
ence. The province of Louisiana came into the
possession of the United States in 1803. Out of this
Louisiana Territory was formed in 1805, Missouri in
1812, Michigan in 1818, Wisconsin in 1836, and Iowa
in 1838. Each included Minnesota, and finally, in
1848, the territory by the present name was organized.
Wisconsin was admitted into the Union on the
29th day of May, 1848; but the new State did not
include that part of the territory of Wisconsin which
lay west of the St. Croix River, and Congress made no
provision for the government of this area. Accord-
ingly, in the following August, a public meeting was
held at Stillwater to consider whether the laws of the
old territory of Wisconsin were still in force in this
region. A letter from John Catlin, former secretary
of the Territory of Wisconsin, was read, in which he
endeavored to show that those parts of the Territory
which had not been included in the State still consti-
tuted the Territory of Wisconsin. Hence he said that
it was only necessary for the people to elect a delegate
to Congress, and that he, as acting governor of the
Territory, would issue a proclamation for an election
to fill the vacancy if the people would act under it.
Minnesota was in a peculiar position. The portion
west of the Mississippi had been left without govern-
ment by the admission of Iowa in 1846, and now
the admission of Wisconsin into the Union left a
still wider territory without government.
The Organization of Minnesota Territory 1 3
The former secretary of Wisconsin, Mr. Catlin,
moved his residence from Madison to Stillwater,
and as acting governor of the surviving Wisconsin
Territory issued a proclamation, October 9, ordering
a special election to fill the vacancy in the office of Election of
delegate. The election was held on October so;1 delesate-
the Hon. H. H. Sibley, being chosen delegate, pro-
ceeded at once to Washington. He was permitted
by courtesy to occupy a seat on the floor of the
House of Representatives, but progress in the or-
ganization of a new territorial government was ex-
ceedingly slow. A bill for this purpose was prepared
by Senator Douglas with the advice of Mr. Sibley.2
Efforts were made to bring Minnesota into the great
slave controversy, and many amendments were added
to the bill to delay its passage, but it was finally
passed because the Senate refused to recede from its
position.3 The Territory was thus created March 3,
1849, with the Missouri River as the western boundary.
The territorial act provided for the appointment of
the usual executive officers, consisting of governor Provisions of
and secretary. The judicial officers were a chief e°vernment-
justice, two associates, a district attorney, and a mar- officers,
shal. All of these officers were appointed by Presi-
dent Taylor. The first appointment by the President
was that of Hon. Edward C. McGaughey of Indiana
as governor, which the Senate refused to confirm.4
Pennington of New Jersey was asked to accept the
position, but he declined; a third selection was made,
1 See account of organization in Minn. Hist. Soc. Pub., I. 53-68.
2 Congressional Globe, 3<Dth Congress, 2tl session, I, 581.
3 West, Life and Times of Sibley, ch. iv.
4 Neill, History of Minnesota, ch. xxii.
Minnesota as a Territory
Other
provisions.
and, happily for the State, Alexander Ramsey con-
sented to serve.
The duties incumbent upon the governor were
those usually devolving upon such an officer. He
was commander-in-chief of the militia, he had power
to grant pardons, to enforce the laws, and to appoint
officers with the consent of the Council. In addition
to these duties he was to act as Indian agent of the
Federal Government. The term of office was four
years. The secretary of the Territory was appointed
for a similar term of office. His duties were largely
those of a recording officer. In case of a vacancy
in the office of governor the secretary was authorized
to act until the appointment of another governor by
the President of the United States. The legislature
consisted of an assembly of eighteen members and a
council of nine members, elected by the people. The
time of service for the first was one year, for the
second two years.1
A regular system of courts was soon established.
The territory was divided into three judicial districts,
which made it possible to hold district courts, for
the supreme court judges also acted as district judges.
Justices of the peace were appointed, so the Territory
had a complete court system.
Liberal provisions were made in the organic act for
the erection of public buildings and the establishment
of an educational system. Every sixteenth and thir-
tieth section in each township in the territory was
granted for the partial maintenance of public schools.2
1 See Appendix G.
2 N.B. The instructor should here refer to the Territorial Act con-
tained in Appendix G. Students should become thoroughly acquainted
with its provisions.
The Organization of Minnesota Territory 15
To the inhabitants of the Territory were extended
all the rights, privileges, and immunities which they
possessed as inhabitants of the Territory of Wisconsin,
and some further privileges which were specified in
the act organizing the Territory. It was under this
provisional government that Minnesota prepared for
statehood.
CHAPTER II
MINNESOTA AS A STATE
6. REFERENCES
West, Life and Times of H. H. Sibley, St. Paul, 1889; Minnesota
Historical Society Publications, VIII ; Legislative Manual, 1897 and
1899; Minnesota Convention Debates, 2 vols.; early volumes of The
Pioneer Press ; Congressional Globe, 34th and 35th Congresses; Heard,
History of the Sioux Rebellion, New York, 1863; Bryant, Indian
Massacres in Minnesota, St. Paul, 1872; Minnesota in the Civil and
Indian Wars, St. Paul, 1890 (prepared by Board of Commissioners
appointed by the legislature, Act of April 16, 1889); Farrar, Five
Years in Minnesota, London, 1880 ; McClurg, Minnesota as it is in
1870, St. Paul, 1870; Carleton, The Seat of Empire, Boston, 1870;
bound volume of pamphlets under the title of Five Million Dollar
Loan, in the Minnesota Historical Society library; article on " Minne-
sota," in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
7. THE ENABLING ACT
Minnesota applied for statehood when the slavery
strife was at its height. From the time of the adop-
tion of the Federal Constitution up to 1850 thirty
States had been admitted to the Union. Half of
these were slave, half free States. The North, grow-
ing more rapidly from 1850 than the South, threat-
ened the balance thus far maintained ; California was
admitted in 1850 as a free State, and the equilibrium
was destroyed. The Kansas-Nebraska strife had
begun when Minnesota knocked for admission to the
16
The Enabling Act 17
Federal Union ; 1 her admission was looked upon with
disfavor by a large number of Southern representa-
tives and senators in Congress, for it would add to the
already increasing ascendency of the North.
A bill was introduced into the House on December The bin
24, 1856, by Henry M. Rice, the territorial delegate, and !ts
authorizing the people of the Territory of Minnesota
to frame a constitution and State government. This
bill was at once referred to the Committee on Ter-
ritories. On the last day of January, 1857, Hon.
Galusha A. Grow, the chairman of the committee,
reported a substitute for the original bill which con-
tained three additional provisions: first, a few changes
in the western boundary ; second, concurrent juris-
diction of rivers forming a common boundary ; and
third, free navigation of such rivers by citizens of the
United States. In other respects the two bills were
identical. Delegates, to be chosen by the people,
were to meet at the territorial capital on the second
Monday of July. These delegates were to determine
by vote whether a State government should be
formed, and if so to draft a constitution. It was also
provided that the constitution should include the
following provisions : every sixteenth and thirty-sixth
section in each township was to be reserved as a
nucleus for a public school fund ; the proceeds of the
sale of seventy-two sections were to be reserved as an
endowment for a State university ; and the salt springs
and six sections of contiguous land for each spring
were to remain in the control of the State, while five
per cent of the sales from public lands within the
1 For the Kansas-Nebraska controversy see Wilson, Division and
Reunion, 1829-1889, ch. vii.
1 8 Minnesota as a State
State were to be expended for public improvements.1
With these provisions the bill went to the House.
In the passage of the bill through the House there
was some opposition from Southern representatives,
although a number of the Northern members of the
House voted against the bill. On February 2, 1857,
the bill reached the Senate, and was again referred
to the Committee on Territories. The bill was re-
ported back February 18 by the chairman, Stephen
A. Douglas, without amendment. Three days later
the bill came up for consideration.2 An amendment
was immediately offered, providing that only citizens
of the United States should vote for delegates to the
constitutional convention. The discussion continued
until nearly the end of the session.3 The amendment
was finally carried by a vote of 27 to 24, and the bill,
then put on its final passage, was passed by a vote
of 47 to i. But upon the announcement of the result
John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, gave notice that
he would move to reconsider the vote. On Febru-
ary 24 he did so, and the following day the Senate
rejected the amendment, and passed the bill as it came
from the House.4
8. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
The people of Minnesota began the making of a
constitution by electing delegates on the first Monday
in June, 1857. A great deal of uncertainty prevailed
1 See Appendix H for Enabling Act.
2 Congressional Globe, 34th Congress, 3d session, Appendix, 402.
8 For opposition speeches, see article by Professor F. F. Moran,
Minn. Hist. Soc. Pub., VII.
4 Congressional Globe, 34th Congress, 3d session, 849-865, 872-877.
The Constitutional Convention 19
in the Territory as to the boundaries of the counties The dispute
and districts, so that there was some doubt as to who °, ^eme
were legally elected delegates. This uncertainty was convention,
heightened, as the time of the convention drew near,
by charges of the two parties against each other.1
Rumors were current that underhanded work was
going on ; everything was ripe for serious disagree-
ment. The Enabling Act named the day of the con-
vention, but said nothing in relation to the hour of
meeting. The Republicans feared that the Demo-
crats might anticipate them, and effect an organiza-
tion of the convention before they could get together.
In order to prevent this possibility they assembled
in the chamber of the House of Representatives at
midnight preceding the day designated in the bill.
At noon on the second Monday of July, the Demo-
crats marched to the capital, but found the Republi-
cans in possession. The secretary of the Territory,
Charles L. Chase, proceeded to call the convention to
order for the Democrats. Simultaneously Mr. J. W.
North did the same for the Republicans ; the Demo-
crats moved to adjourn, and did so, leaving the Re-
publicans in the hall. On the next day the Democrats
organized in the council chamber. Each body
claimed to be the constitutional convention, and pro-
ceeded to frame a constitution.2
The Democrats on August 8 offered conciliation, but The
in their peace offering stated that the legal character of tahde°ption of
their convention was not to be called into question. For Constitution.
ten days the Republicans made no reply, but at the
1 See files of The Pioneer Press for 1857 in the Minnesota Historical
Society's Library, St. Paul.
2 Minnesota Constitutional Debates, first papers of I. and II.
20 Minnesota as a State
end of that time appointed a conference committee to
meet a committee of the Democrats. After consider-
able discussion an agreement was reached, and the
two divisions of the convention accepted the same
constitution on August 29. On the thirteenth day
of October, 1857, the people adopted the constitu-
tion by the vote of 30,055 yeas to 571 nays.
President Buchanan notified Congress, January 11,
1858, that he had received a certified copy of the
constitution from the governor of Minnesota Ter-
ritory, Samuel Medary. Upon receipt of the same
the Senate referred the matter to the Committee
on Territories, and a bill for the admission of the
Admission to 111-
the Union. State to the Union was reported by that committee
on January 28. A very serious opposition to the ad-
mission of Minnesota was at once manifested ; it was
alleged by the Southern leaders that the census had
not been taken as provided in the Enabling Act, and
that it was not possible to know whether the Terri-
tory was entitled to statehood. The bill for admission
was finally passed by the Senate, April 7, 1858. In
the House the opposition was much the same. The
personnel of the body had changed since the passage
of the Enabling Act, but the debate on representa-
tion still remained the prominent part of the opposi-
tion. The bill was passed May n, 1858, by a vote
of 157 to 38. Although the opposition was prolonged,
there was no good reason for not admitting Minnesota
to the Union.
9. ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
At the same election at which the people of Min-
nesota adopted the constitution by such a large
Organization of the Government 21
majority, State officers and three congressional repre-
sentatives were chosen. In the following December,
at the meeting of the legislature, two senators were
elected, Henry M. Rice and James Shields. The Admission
senators and representatives proceeded to Wash- of Represe
. . , tatives to
mgton early in the year and applied for admission, congress.
In the Senate the credentials of the senators were
presented May 12, but unexpected opposition was
developed on the ground that States alone could
elect senators, and as the credentials of the Minne-
sota representatives were signed by the governor of
the Territory they were not entitled to seats in the
Senate. Two days later, however, both senators were
admitted.
Similar opposition appeared in the House. It,
however, was stronger, the contention being that a
Territory could not elect representatives to Con-
gress.1 The matter was referred to the Committee
on Elections, and in a few days majority and minority
reports were presented. A long discussion followed,
but the House finally adopted the majority report,
and Messrs. Cavanaugh and Phelps were sworn in
May 22, 1 858.2 Minnesota was now a member of the
Union in full standing, represented in both houses
of Congress.
1 Congressional Globe, 35th Congress, 1st session, 2275, 23ia See
also Minn. Hist. Soc. Pub.t VIII. part 2.
2 Minnesota was allowed two representatives instead of the three
elected until the census should be completed. The apportionment
was one representative to 93,420 persons. It was feared that the
enumeration would not reach 280,260. The three representatives
cast lots to determine which two should have seats in the House,
Mr. Becker was unsuccessful.
22 Minnesota as a State
10. MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR
But three years of statehood had passed when the
Civil War began. The history of Minnesota during
those years had been peaceful. Her people were
busily engaged in taking up and improving farms,
building towns, and in establishing industry. In
1860 the population of the State reached 172,123.
Out of this number 24,020 enlisted in the various
arms for service in the Federal forces. If this num-
ber were reduced to a three-year basis the proportion
Troops from would still be large, 19,693. l The patriotism of the
State can still further be attested by the prompt
answer to the call of the President on that fateful
day of April, 1861. Governor Ramsey was in
Washington at the time, and tendered personally a
full regiment of one thousand men for the use of the
government. These were the first troops accepted
by the President. Regiment after regiment was
organized under the various calls for troops, until
eleven regiments of infantry, one regiment of heavy
artillery, two companies of sharpshooters, four regi-
ments of cavalry, and three batteries of light artillery
went to the front from Minnesota. These troops
took part in the battles of Bull Run, Fair Oaks,
Harrison's Landing, Antietam, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Petersburg, Chicka-
mauga, Mission Ridge, the Atlanta Campaign, Sher-
man's March to the Sea, and the movement against
Vicksburg.2
1 World's Almanac, 1899, 95-
2 See Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars.
The Sioux Massacre 23
»
ii. THE Sioux MASSACRE
While Minnesota was so nobly aiding the cause of
the Union, the Sioux Indians, under the excitement
bred by a bitter hostility to the whites, began the
ravaging of towns and villages on the borders of the
settlement. The government of the United States
as early as 1815 had negotiated a treaty of friendship
and amity with the Sioux. At another time, 1830,
the treaty was confirmed, and an annuity of $3000
with goods and presents was promised to them.
Again in 1837 a further treaty was made by which treaties,
the United States came into the control of a large
tract of territory within the present State of Wis-
consin.1 This treaty also provided for the payment
of annuities. When the Territory of Minnesota was
organized the population grew very rapidly, necessi-
tating new treaties to preserve the friendly relations
between Indian and white man. These treaties
were arranged in 1851 and 1858, and the United
States came into the control of all the land in the
State with the exception of two Indian reservations
in the western and northwestern parts. In return for
these large tracts of land the government agreed to
pay the Indians through their chiefs large annuities
for a period of fifty years from 1855. Here is where
the trouble arose.
The payment of the annuities was delayed by the
failure of Congress to make the appropriations. The
Indians became greatly dissatisfied. When, finally,
an appropriation was passed, the traders and half-
breeds living on the reservations asked that payment
1 Bryant, Indian Massacres in Minnesota, 22.
Minnesota as a State
Massacre at
Spirit Lake,
1857-
Attempts to
civilize the
Sioux.
first be made to them of the debts contracted by the
Indians. There seems to be no doubt that a very
large part of the money intended for the Indians
went into the hands of these men. Undoubtedly the
Indians were robbed through the connivance of the
agents of the Government.1 Just at this juncture an
outlaw chief, Inkpaduta by name, had, with the aid
of a band of Indians, massacred the settlers of Spirit
Lake, a small hamlet in Iowa.2 The annuity pay-
ments which were being made by the government at
the time were ordered stopped. As a condition of
continued payment the delivery of Inkpaduta was
required of the Sioux. The Indians immediately
attempted to capture the outlaw and his band, but
without success. Advised by the Indian agents that
the Sioux should not be held responsible for the
deeds of a few outlaws, the annuities were paid. No
further attempts were made to punish the crime.
The Indians regarded this as a sign of weakness,
and, impressed by the panic created by a small band
of warriors, they began to think that the whole Sioux
nation might avenge their wrongs and gain posses-
sion of the lands formerly owned by them.
By the treaty of 1858 the government expected to
break up the tribal and community system existing
among the Sioux, with the hope of getting the Ind-
ians to engage in farming. Thus there came to be
what Major Galbraith, the Sioux agent, called two
distinct parties among these Indians, the " Scalp
Locks and Blankets " and the " Cut Hair and
1 See Judge Young's report, published in Bryant, Indian Massacres
in Minnesota, 36.
39.
The Sioux Massacre 25
Breeches." The farming Indians were in the minor-
ity, and needed the constant protection of the gov-
ernment. Their prosperity irritated and exasperated
the others, and the natural spirit of hostility to the
whites was fed by grievances, prejudice, and fear.
These led to the organization of a plot and the
massacre. Little Crow was the instigator, encour-
ager, and director of the conspiracy.
In August, 1862, the entire effective force for the The attack
defence of the frontier from Pembina to the Iowa and ( efence*
line did not exceed two hundred men.1 The Civil
War was known to the Indians, and the time was
regarded as favorable for their attempt. The first
blow fell on the little town of Acton. Barely
twenty-four hours later the upper and lower Sioux
agencies were attacked. Several white persons were
killed, and the buildings of the agencies totally de-
stroyed. The refugees from all parts of the country
made their way as rapidly as possible to Fort Ridgely
and the town of New Ulm. On the iQth of August
the town was attacked, and again on the 25th; after
the severest fighting and heavy loss the Indians were
driven back, but the people evacuated the town. A
city of two hundred houses was left a mass of charred
timbers. Foiled in their attempt on New Ulm, the
Indians turned to the siege of Fort Ridgely. There
were in the fort about 1 50 soldiers, besides refugees.
Two attacks were made, both unsuccessful, the in-
mates holding out until reinforcements arrived.
While these Indian depredations were going on,
volunteers were raised in Glencoe, Hastings, St.
Peter, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the older parts of
1 Judge Young's report, in Bryant, Indian Massacres in Minne-
sota, 54.
26 Minnesota as a State
Checking the the State. An army of nearly 1 500 men was gath-
lon' ered under the leadership of General Sibley. The
government of the United States did all in its power
to aid the citizens in putting down the insurrection.
Such concerted action checked the Indians, and
after a number of engagements 2000 were cap-
tured. Of this number 303 were condemned to
death by a court-martial. President Lincoln re-
prieved 265 of the number, so that only 38 were exe-
cuted at Mankato, December 26, 1862. Two other
expeditions, under the command of Generals Sibley
and Sully, were sent out by the Federal Government
in 1863 and 1864. These resulted in the complete
subjugation of the Indians after the fights at Big
Mound, Dead Buffalo Lake, Stony Lake, and the
Results of battle near the Missouri. The results of the Indian
the Massacre. massacres are difficult to ascertain. In less than a
week, it is estimated by some writers, 2000 persons
were killed, and it is said that the population of eigh-
teen counties, numbering about 30,000, fled from
their homes.1 Major Galbraith, in speaking of the
property destroyed or abandoned, says, " I believe I
very nearly approximate the truth when I set it down
at two millions of dollars." 2 The number of claims
filed for examination before the Sioux Commission
was 2940, amounting to $2,500,000. Contributions
came in from all parts of the West for the support of
the refugees. Despite the efforts of the State and
National governments, many years were required to
allay the distrust of the people after this, the great-
est of Indian massacres.
1 Bryant, Indian Massacres in Minnesota, 415, 416.
421.
The Building of Railroads 27
12. THE BUILDING OF RAILROADS
Minnesota was just on the threshold of statehood Need of
when the agitation for railway construction began. rallways-
The highway from the central west to the Pacific
passed through Minnesota, and if immigration and
the wealth of the Northwest were not to be diverted
to the north or the south of the Territory, something
must be done to encourage the building of railways.
It was pointed out by many writers and speakers at
the time that Canada, by judicious aid to private com-
panies, had increased her population sixty to seventy
per cent.1 The experiences of Massachusetts, New
York, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, and other
States were referred to as examples for a similar
policy in Minnesota.
Congress and the territorial legislature had already L*nd grants
and loans to
made large grants to railway companies, and as a raiiroads.
result a marked extension of railroad construction
was expected in the spring of 1858. But the panic
of 1857 was too much for these enterprises, and their
promoters came before the legislature, asking the aid
of the State. Several bills were presented in the
legislature, but finally the two houses, agreed to
submit the matter of railroad grants to the people,
which was done on April 15, 1858. A favorable vote
was cast for the proposition, and the grant to the
railways was made a part of the constitution and
could not be tampered with by future legislatures.
By this amendment the State agreed to issue $100,000
1 There is in the library of the Minnesota Historical Library at St.
Paul a bound volume of pamphlets on the railroad experiences of Min-
nesota. An examination of it will be richly rewarded.
28 Minnesota as a State
in bonds when ten miles of road were ready for the
rails, and $100,000 more when fully equipped and
running. Furthermore, the sum of $1,250,000 was
voted to each of four roads, which, however, were not
to receive it until sixty-two miles of road were fully
equipped and in operation. The State was secured in
these loans by holding a first mortgage on the roads,
lands, and franchises of the respective companies ; an
additional security, consisting of 240 sections of land
for each road, regarded as worth $6,224,000,! was
provided for the redemption of the principal. Still
further, in the case of non-payment of interest the
roads were to pass into the hands of the State.
Bonds to the amount of $2,275,000 were issued
to the companies, which also had secured possession of
the land, amounting to the vast acreage of 5,000,000.
The State did not profit by these transactions and
Repudiation '
of the bonds, was no better off than before. There was not a
mile of road in operation, and only 250 miles of
graded roadbed. The State, under the pressure of
public opinion, began foreclosure proceedings. The
first batch of bonds, during this time, became due,
and the State took possession of the properties of
the roads, but, although the State held the lands,
franchises, and roadbeds of the companies, still the
people demanded that the question of the payment
of the bonds by the State be submitted to a popular
vote. The amendment adopted in 1858 was, in 1869,
expunged from the constitution and another substi-
tuted, forbidding the loaning of the credit of the
State for internal improvements.2
1 See articles in The Pioneer and Democrat, March, 1858.
3 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. IX., Sec. 10.
The Building of Railroads 29
In 1877 it was proposed to set aside the proceeds Attempts at
of 500,000 acres of land for the payment of the Payment-
bonds. The people refused to do this. During
these years public opinion had gradually shifted from
repudiation to redemption. Another attempt was
made, in 1881, to pay the obligations. An extra
session of the legislature was called by Governor
Pillsbury. The legislature finally authorized the
payment of the outstanding bonds at fifty cents on
the dollar. The people ratified the proposition of
four years before, to set aside the proceeds from the
sale of 500,000 acres to provide for redemption of
the bonds issued to pay the debt. The long-stand-
ing obligation was thus wiped out.
The old companies having defaulted, the legislature
in 1862 transferred the franchise to new companies.
These began energetically to construct roads. The
war retarded their progress, but with the close of
hostilities labor was easier to obtain. By 1870 a Growth of
thousand miles of track were equipped and operated railroads-
in the State. There are now fourteen railway com-
panies in Minnesota, operating 6198 miles of road and
owning property valued at $1,093, 879,267.* Toward
the building of these roads the Federal Government
made the enormous grant of 17,621,952 acres of land,
and in addition to this the State has given to the
companies 3,062,141 acres, making a grand total of
20,689,093 acres.
Without railroads Minnesota could only have been
a State of sparse population and small producing
power. Railroads made it possible for her lumber,
minerals, and agricultural products to reach all parts
1 See ch. viii. 139, on the taxation of railways.
Population.
Wealth.
30 Minnesota as a State
of the world. Although the cost of construction was
heavy, nevertheless the attempts on the part of the
people to encourage the building of roads were possi-
bly justifiable. The State thereby early secured
communication with other parts of the country.
13. THE GROWTH OF THE STATE
The opening of the new century will see Minnesota
with about one million eight hundred thousand people.
By the federal census of 1900 the population was re-
ported as 1,751,395. The increase from 1890 to 1900
was 34.5 per cent. Divided with respect to nativity,
the population is one-third foreign and two-thirds
native.1 Germany, Sweden, and Norway have con-
tributed most largely to the foreign-born population
of the State. The occupation of 39 per cent of the
legal voters is farming, which shows the supremacy
of agriculture in Minnesota. The principal cities and
their populations as given by the State census of 1900
are : Minneapolis, 202,718 ; St. Paul, 163,632 ; Duluth,
52,969; Winona, 19,714; Stillwater, 12,318; Man-
kato, 10,599; and St. Cloud, 8663. Besides these are
twenty-five other towns varying in population from
2000 to 8000.
The wealth of the State has steadily grown in the
last twenty years. By the census of 1880 the per
capita wealth in the State was $1014. This had
risen to $1300 in 1890. The same census gives
$1,691,851,927 as the total wealth of the State. A
large part of Minnesota's wealth comes from agri-
culture. The estimated value of farm products in
1 See Appendix E for an analysis of population.
The Growth of the Stale 31
the State in 1890 was $71,238,230. The number of
farms at the time was 116,861, embracing 18,663,645
acres. The value of these farms was reported at
$340,059,470, of which farms valued at $119,290,539
are mortgaged for $37,709,574. Homes to the value
of $81,556,693 are encumbered to the amount of
$27,953,413.!
Manufacturing and mining are extensively carried
on in the State. Lumber, sash, doors, shingles,
flour, furniture, iron, and steel are the chief products
in manufactured articles. The value of these reached
in 1890 $192,033,478. The mining industry has de-
veloped to wonderful proportions. In 1899 some
7,000,000 tons of iron ore were taken out. Stone of
good quality of many varieties is found in different
parts of the State.
14. CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT OF
THE HISTORY OF MINNESOTA
(Adapted from a similar table in The Legislative Manual, 1899.)
1634. Jean Nicollet, an explorer from France, who had wintered
in the neighborhood of Green Bay, brought to Mon-
treal the first mention of the aborigines of Minnesota.
1658-59. Groseilliers and Radisson wintered among the Sioux of
Mille Lacs region, Minnesota.
1661. Father Rene* Menard left Keweenaw, on Lake Superior, to
visit the Hurons, then in northern Wisconsin, and
was lost near the sources of the Black and Chippewa
rivers.
1 Census of 1890, mortgage statistics.
32 Chronological Arrangement
1679. Daniel Greysolon Du Lhut (Duluth) ascended St. Louis
River to Fond du Lac, and held a council with the
Sioux. Du Lhut, in June, 1680, by way of the St.
Croix river, reached the Mississippi, and met Hen-
nepin.
1680. Louis Hennepin, after captivity in the village of the Mille
Lacs Sioux, first saw the Falls of St. Anthony.
1685. Nicholas Perrot first planted the cross and arms of France
on the soil of Minnesota, and first laid formal claim
to the country for France. He built a fort on Lake
Pepin, near Lake City.
1695. Le Sueur built a fort on Isle Pelee, in the Mississippi,
below Prescott.
1697. Treaty of Ryswick. France acknowledges England's claim
to Hudson Bay.
1700. Le Sueur established Fort L. Huillier, on the Blue Earth
River (near the mouth of the Le Sueur), and first
supplied the Sioux with firearms.
1726. Sieur La Ronde was given concession at Chogoumagin.
1728. The French established a third fort on Lake Pepin, with
Sieur de Lapperriere as commander.
1763. By the Treaty of Versailles, France ceded Minnesota, east
of the Mississippi, to England, and west of it to Spain.
1766. Captain Jonathan Carver visited St. Anthony Falls and
Minnesota River.
1783. The Treaty of Paris and the cession of all lands claimed
by England east of the Mississippi to the United
States. Northwestern Fur Company organized.
1796. Provisions of the Ordinance of 1787 extended over the
Northwest Territory, including the northeastern
third of Minnesota, east of the Mississippi River.
1798-99. The Northwestern Fur Company established itself in
Minnesota.
1800. May 7, that part of Minnesota east of the Mississippi
became a part of Indiana by the division of the
Northwest Territory.
1803. December 20, that part of Minnesota west of the Missis-
sippi, for forty years in the possession of Spain as a
part of Louisiana, was ceded to the United States by
of the History of Minnesota 33
Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, who
had just obtained it from Spain.
1803-04. William Morrison, the first known white man to dis-
cover the source of the Mississippi River, visits Elk
Lake and explores the streams entering into the lake
forming the head of the river.
1805. Upper Louisiana was organized as Missouri Territory.
Captain Z. M. Pike visited Minnesota as the agent
of the government for the purpose of establishing
relations with the Indians, and to obtain the Fort
Snelling reservation from the Dakotas.
1812. The Dakotas, Ojibways, and Winnebagoes, under the lead
of hostile traders, joined the British during the war.
Red River colony established by Lord Selkirk.
1815. First treaty with the Sioux Indians.
1819. Minnesota, east of the Mississippi River, became a part of
Crawford County, Michigan. Fort Snelling estab-
lished and a post at Mendota occupied by troops,
under command of Colonel Leavenworth.
1820. Corner-stone of Fort Snelling laid September 10. Governor
Cass visits Minnesota and makes a treaty of peace
between the Sioux and the Ojibways, at Fort Snell-
ing. Colonel Josiah Snelling appointed to the com-
mand of the latter post.
1823. First steamboat arrived at Mendota, June. Major Stephen
H. Long explores Minnesota River and the northern
frontier. Beltrami explores sources of the M ississippi.
1825. Great flood on the Red River; a part of the colony driven
to Minnesota and settle near Fort Snelling.
1832. Schoolcraft explored the sources of Mississippi River ; first
mission established at Leech Lake, by Rev. W. T.
Boutwell, late of Stillwater.
1834. The portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi attached to
Michigan. General H. H. Sibley settles at Mendota.
1835. Catlin and Featherstonehaugh visit Minnesota.
1836. The Territory of Wisconsin organized, embracing all of
Minnesota east of the Mississippi, the rest being at-
tached to Iowa. Nicollet visits Minnesota. David
D. Owen visits Minnesota.
34 Chronological Arrangement
1837. Governor Dodge of Wisconsin made a treaty, at Fort Snell-
ing, with the Ojibways, by which the latter ceded all
their pine lands on the St. Croix and its tributaries ; a
treaty was also effected at Washington with a deputa-
tion of Dakotas for their lands east of the Missis-
sippi. These treaties led the way to the first actual
settlements in the State.
1838. The Dodge treaty ratified by Congress. Franklin Steele
makes a claim at St. Anthony Falls. Pierre Parrant
makes a claim and builds a shanty on the present
site of St. Paul.
1839. St. Croix County established.
1840. The chapel of " St. Paul " built and consecrated, giving the
name to the capital of the State.
1843. Stillwater settled.
1846. August 6, the Wisconsin Enabling Act passed.
1847. The Wisconsin constitutional convention meets.
1848. May 29, Wisconsin admitted, leaving Minnesota (with
its present boundaries) without a government. Au-
gust 26, the " Stillwater convention " held, to take
measures for a separate territorial organization, and
asking that the new territory be named Minnesota.
October 30, H. H. Sibley elected delegate to Con-
gress.
1849. January 15, H. H. Sibley admitted to a seat in Congress.
March 3, the bill organizing the Territory of Minne-
sota passed. March 19, its territorial officers ap-
pointed. June i, Governor Ramsey declared, by
proclamation, the Territory organized. September 3,
the first territorial legislature assembled.
1850. Great flood ; highest water ever known. Minnesota River
first navigated by steamboats. Census shows 6,077
inhabitants.
1851. Permanent location of capital, university, and penitentiary ;
another flood. July 23, treaty of Traverse des Sioux
completed.
1852. July 26, the treaty ratified by the United States Senate.
1853. W. A. Gorman appointed governor. The capitol building
completed.
of the History of Minnesota 35
1854. Celebration of the opening of the Rock Island Railroad
the first road to the Mississippi River. Large immi-
gration begins.
1857. Enabling Act passes Congress, February 26. Governor Sam
Medary (appointed by Buchanan) arrives on April
22. Legislature passes a bill to remove the capital to
St. Peter, but it fails to accomplish the object. Ink-
paduta massacre, April. Land Grant Act passes
Congress. April 27, extra session of the legisla-
ture to apportion land grant. June I, constitutional
convention assembles. Real estate speculation
reaches its height, and is checked by the financial
panic, August 27. Great reverses and hard times.
Census shows 150,037 population. October 13, Con-
stitution adopted and State officers elected.
1858. State loan of $250,000 negotiated. Five million loan bill
passed; is voted on April 15, and passes. Great
stringency in money market. State admitted May
I r. State officers sworn in May 24.
1859. Hard times continue to intensify. "Wright County War."
" Glencoe " and " Owatonna " money issued. Work
on the land grant roads ceases. Collapse of the five
million scheme. First export of grain this fall.
Hard political struggle ; the Republicans triumph.
1860. Federal census, 172,123.
1861. April 13. President's proclamation for troops received ; the
first regiment recruits at once ; June 22, it embarks
at Fort Snelling for the seat of war.
1862. Call for 600,000 men. August 17, massacre at Acton;
August 1 8, outbreak at lower Sioux agency; igth,
New Ulm attacked; 2oth, Fort Ridgely attacked;
25th, second attack on New Ulm; 3Oth, Fort Aber-
crombie besieged ; September I, the bloody affair
at Birch Coolie. September 19, first railroad in
Minnesota in operation, between St. Paul and Min-
neapolis. September 22, battle of Wood Lake ; 26th,
captives surrendered at Camp Release ; military com-
mission tries 321 Indians for murder, rape, etc. ; 303
condemned to die ; December 26, 38 hung at Mankato.
36 Chronological Arrangement
1863. General Sibley's expedition to the Missouri River; July 3,
Little Crow killed ; July 24, battle of Big Mound ;
July 26, battle of Dead Buffalo Lake ; July 28, battle
of Stony Lake.
1864. Large levies for troops. Expedition to Missouri River
under Sully. Inflation of money market. Occa-
sional Indian raids.
1865. Minnesota regiments return from the Civil War and are
disbanded. In all 25,052 men were furnished by the
State. Census shows 250,000 inhabitants.
1 866-72. Rapid railroad building everywhere ; immigration heavy ;
" good times " prevail, and real estate inflated.
1869. College work begins in the State University.
1873. January 7, 8, and 9, polar wave sweeps over the State ;
seventy persons perish. Grasshopper raids begin
and continue five seasons.
1877. Biennial session amendment adopted. Proposal to pay
railroad bonds.
1878. May 2, three flouring mills at Minneapolis explode ; eigh-
teen lives lost.
1880. November 15, portion of the hospital for the insane at St.
Peter destroyed by fire.
1 88 1. March i, the State capitol destroyed by fire. Railroad
bonds redeemed.
1884. January 25, State prison partially burned.
1886. April 14, a cyclone strikes the cities of St. Cloud and Sauk
Rapids, demolishing scores of buildings and killing
about seventy people.
1887. Important legislation regarding the liquor traffic, common
carriers, and elections.
1889. The legislature enacts the Australian system of voting in
cities of 10,000 and over. The first electric street
railway started in the State, at Stillwater.
1890. United States census shows a population of 1,301,826.
July, accident at Lake Pepin, one hundred people
drowned ; cyclone at Lake Gervais.
1891. June 15, a destructive cyclone started in Jackson County,
near the town of Jackson, traversing Martin, Fari-
bault, Freeborn, Mower, and Fillmore counties.
of the History of Minnesota 37
1892. June 7, Republican national convention held at Minne-
apolis. The Australian system of voting used at the
November general election.
1893. The legislature authorizes the appointment of a capitol
commission to select a site for a new capitol, and
provides a tax of two-tenths of a mill for ten years
to pay for the site and the erection of a building. A
great financial crisis causes the failure of several
banks and many mercantile and manufacturing es-
tablishments in the larger cities of the State.
1894. September i, destructive forest fires start in the neigh-
borhood of Hinckley, in Pine County.
1895. Population by State census 1,574,619.
1896. The Red Lake Indian reservation partly opened to settle-
ment.
1897. July 2, the monument at Gettysburg to the First Minne-
sota Regiment was dedicated.
1898. July 27, the corner-stone of the new capitol was laid.
Minnesota supplied four regiments for service in the
Spanish war, being the first State, May 7, to respond
to the President's call. October 5, the Pillager
Indians attacked United States troops near Sugar
Point, Leech Lake.
1900. United States census shows a population of 1,751,394.
CHAPTER III
ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE
15. REFERENCES
Bryce, The American Commonwealth, chs. xxxvi., xxxvii., xxxix. ; Wil-
son, The State, sees. 1088-1105 (revised edition); Fiske, Civil Gov-
ernment in the United States, chs. vi., vii.; Hitchcock, American State
Constitutions (a good book to show the nature of commonwealth
constitutions, and the necessity of amendment). The constitution of
Minnesota may be found in the Legislative Manual, published every
two years by the Secretary of State, and in Poore, Charters and Consti-
tutions. The chief parts are printed in Appendix J.
1 6. RESTRICTED POWERS OF THE STATE
In the preceding chapters we were told how the
people of Minnesota framed a written constitution
under the limitations of the Constitution of the United
States. Thus restricted, they were not able to do all
the things that belong to a sovereign people, but in
the conduct of their immediate affairs and matters per-
taining to local government they were supreme. The
coining of money, keeping an army or navy, declar-
Powersofa ing war, or making treaties was forbidden to them;
nor could they abridge the rights of citizens of other
States, or pay the debts that might be incurred in the
aid of any rebellion ; but the Federal power granted
them the right of representation in Congress, of tak-
ing part in the election of President and Vice-Presi-
dent, and self-protection from invasion.1 With this
1 Constitution of the United States, Art. I., Sees. 8, 9.
38
Restricted Powers of the State 39
agreement the State constitution was framed, ratified
by the people as the instrument under which they
were to be governed, and accepted by Congress as in
accord with the Constitution of the United States.
When we speak of the word constitution we mean
a written instrument which sets forth the method of
government, the division of powers, and the rights
and privileges of the people. Such an instrument
contains a preamble, a bill of rights, the provisions for constitution
a government, and various restrictions on the power defined,
of government, and provisions treating of finance,
amendment, and franchise. The object of a writ-
ten constitution is to give definite form and author-
ity to government, to protect individuals against that
government, and to establish justice.
17. THE CONSTITUTION, PREAMBLE, AND BILL OF
RIGHTS
The constitution of Minnesota became the organic
law on May 11, 1858. When ratified by the people
it contained, in addition to the preamble, fifteen arti- contents of
cles. The first of these is the Bill of Rights ; then the
. _. Constitution.
follow in succession the articles on Boundaries ; Dis-
tribution of the Powers of Government into the Leg-
islative, Executive, and Judiciary departments; the
Elective Franchise ; School Funds, Education, and
Science ; Finance and Banking ; Corporations ; Coun-
ties and Townships; Militia; Impeachment; Amend-
ments ; and the Schedule.1
The preamble is the enacting clause of the con-
stitution, and sets forth the motive and design of the Preamble-
1 See Appendix J, containing parts of the constitution.
40 Organization of the State
instrument, and who are the enactors.1 In order
that there may be no dispute in regard to the rights
the people possess and the powers with which the
government has been endowed, a bill of rights,
enumerating the privileges of the people, is inserted
in the constitution. The bill of rights is in one sense
the epitome of the precious privileges won by the
Anglo-Saxon race. In it are to be found assertions
of the right to reform or modify the government,
of freedom of speech, of the press, and of religious
liberty. A number of legal rights are contained
therein, such as trial by jury, freedom from exces-
sive bail, from unreasonable search, from imprison-
Biii of ment for debt, and the prohibition of ex post facto laws
Rights. an(j kius Oj attainder. The basis of criminal proced-
ure is also provided for, in that every person charged
with committing a crime must be indicted by the
grand jury before he is put upon trial.2
" Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in
the law for all injuries to his person, property, or
Legal character ; he ought to obtain justice freely and with-
Rights. out purchase ; completely and without denial ; promptly
and without delay, conformable to the laws."3 In
order to secure such an end the rights spoken of
above and along with them the privilege of the writ
of habeas corpus can be denied to none.4
The other articles of the constitution are construc-
1 The instructor should make clear the reason for the preamble and
the bill of rights.
2 See ch. vii. on Administration of Justice.
8 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. I., Sec. 8.
4 The instructor will find it profitable to have the students make a
comparison of the bill of rights in the State constitution with that of
the United States.
Amendment and Revision of the Coiistifiition 41
tive in that the frame of the government is outlined
in them. With these we shall have more to do in
other parts of the book, and therefore postpone for
the time their discussion.
1 8. AMENDMENT AND REVISION OF THE CONSTITU-
TION
The people retain the important power to amend
and revise their constitution from time to time. All
amendments and revisions must be finally submitted revise,
to them or to their representatives. Amendments are
made through the legislature, revisions by a conven-
tion called by the legislature.1
Any member of the legislature may offer an
amendment to the constitution, which, if it receives
a majority vote of both houses, is published with the
laws passed at the same session, and then submitted
to the people (at the next election) for acceptance or
rejection. If a majority of all the electors, voting at
the election, favor the amendment, it becomes a part
of the constitution. In case two or more amendments
are submitted at the same time, the law provides that
each shall be voted upon separately. In this manner
of amendment there is a danger. The legislature
may submit matters that are not in any sense con-
stitutional. Thus questions which the legislature
wishes to avoid may be put in the form of an amend-
ment to the constitution, and the responsibility of
further action evaded. Amendments becoming part
of the constitution in this manner may make that
1 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. XIV., Amendments.
42 Organization of the State
instrument a body of laws instead of a set of
principles.
The legislature does not possess the power of
revising the constitution, but it may take the first
steps toward that end. Whenever two-thirds of the
members of each house deem it necessary to revise
the constitution a convention may be called, but not
^.j ^ question> « ^^\\ a convention be called?" is
submitted to the people at the general election of
members to the legislature. If a majority of the
electors declare for a convention, the legislature at
its next session must provide for one. The constitu-
tion is explicit about the time and membership of the
convention. The meeting of delegates must take
place within three months after the election, and the
delegates are chosen in the same manner and the
same number as the members of the House of Repre-
sentatives. The method of amendment and revision
are shown in detail in the order of procedure given
below.1
1l. AMENDMENT
(#) Proposal by members of the legislature.
(£) Acceptance by a majority vote of the legislature.
(<r) Submission to electors.
(cT) Ratified or rejected by electors.
II. REVISION
(a) Proposed by member or committee of the legislature.
(£) Acceptance by two-thirds of the legislature,
(f) The question of a convention submitted to the electors.
(#) If accepted the legislature provides for the holding of
the convention.
(i) Election of delegates.
(_/") Meeting of the convention.
(£•) Work of the convention referred to the people.
Administrative Divisions 43
19. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
Each State is permitted under its constitution
and that of the United States to regulate its own
affairs. It can make towns and counties, provide
for their organization, train militia, establish courts Administra-
and police, levy taxes, arrange for the education 'ive .
* functions.
of the youth, construct buildings for the care of
insane, paupers, and the confinement of criminals,
and build bridges and roads. In carrying out these
duties and powers the State of Minnesota exercises
its authority through these sets of officials, executive,
legislative, and judicial. It is, however, to be noted
that in practice government is administered by what
we may call the Central Government and the Local
Government. To each is intrusted a distinct part
of the work of the State, both sharing the executive,
legislative, and judicial duties spoken of above. The
work of the central government is general, reaching
all parts of the State, while that of the local govern-
ment is confined to particular districts.
In order to conduct the business of the central
government, the governor is given power to enforce
C^cntrfll
the laws in any part of the Commonwealth, but to do government,
this he relies in no small degree upon the local offi- Executive-
cers. On this account his executive work does not
require the districting of the State, but in the crea-
tion of a legislature some organization of districts is
necessary, for each part of Minnesota has the right
and privilege of representation m the making of the
laws. As a result we have legislative districts. The
assembly constituted by the gathering of the men
elected from the various localities is called a legis-
44
Organization of the State
Legislature.
Judiciary.
Local
government.
lature, and to it belong the powers of lawmaking,
not only for the central, but also the local govern-
ments. Towns and villages may enact ordinances
which are necessarily subordinate to the laws enacted
by the legislature.
The judicial part of the central government is
largely provided for by the constitution. Each com-
munity has its State court under the name of district
courts, in which the cases arising in the neighbor-
hood are tried. In the schedule (a part of the con-
stitution) six districts were first mentioned in which
courts were established. From time to time the
growth of the State and the increase of legal busi-
ness demanded changes in the number of courts. As
these changes became necessary the legislature
altered the boundaries of former districts until there
are now eighteen. Sometimes the judicial business
within the limits of a single county is so large that a
county constitutes a court district. Such is the case
with Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
The superior court of the central government is
called the supreme court and is composed of five
judges who sit at the capital of the State and hear
appeals from the decisions of the district courts.
When once rendered the decision of this court is
final.
In a very brief and summary way we have the
work of the central government before us ; the local
government, occupying a very large part in the prob-
lems of law and order, now demands our attention.
The divisions of local government are more numer-
ous than those of the central organization. They
consist of the county, township, city, and village.
Administrative Divisions 45
There is no special provision in the constitution for
the existence of individual counties, towns, cities, or
villages, but authority is given to the legislature to
create them. In fact, it can be said that the State
is the creator and initiator of local government. The
people are permitted to provide their own govern-
ment for local affairs, but it must be in the form and
manner indicated by the constitution and statutes.
Thus, when the establishment of a county is spoken
of, it is meant that a part of the territory of the Com- The county>
monwealth has been set apart by the legislature to
be in the future organized as a political community,
or a quasi-corporation for political purposes. The
organization of the county is a step further in advance.
It is vesting in the people the corporate rights
and powers to carry on the business of the division
called a county. The right of the people to act in
this capacity is denied until the county is fully or-
ganized as provided by the constitution and laws.1
But the formation of such a local government is a
voluntary act, and may be undertaken by the people
under the forms provided by the legislature.
Just what is the relation of a county to the State ?
The county is not a legislative district, nor a judicial
one, although forming a part of these. The relation in its relation
is rather fiscal and executive than otherwise. The
State depends upon the county for the levying and
collection of taxes, — that is, the county treasurers
collect the taxes for all the political divisions in the
State. Thus the people of a city, town, or village
pay their taxes at the office of the county treasurer.
He in his turn divides the money so collected among
1 See pp. 62, 71.
46 Organization of the State
the different political divisions, giving part to the
State, part to the town, city, or village, and retaining
part for the uses and expenses of the county. The
executive relation is through the office of sheriff.
This officer enforces the laws of the State in the
county, and is responsible to the governor for their
enforcement. In turn the sheriff can call upon the
governor for aid in suppressing riot and disorder.
The legislative powers of the county are reposed,
very largely, in the county commissioners, who are
chosen by a vote of the people, as are - all other
county officers.
The relations just spoken of in the case of the
county are not so apparent when we come to the
city, village, and town. These are all local divisions,
and have no direct connection with the State govern-
ment, other than in the right of the legislature to
make laws for their organization1 and government.
These local governments may possess judicial, execu-
tive, and, to a minor degree, legislative functions.
The city has a municipal court, where matters arising
under the ordinances of the city are considered, and
in some cases possesses a wider jurisdiction than that
judicial of a justice of the peace. The same may be said of
functions. a viuage> although when the village is small a justice
of the peace is the judicial officer. The township is
the smallest local organization, and exercises its
judicial functions through a justice of the peace.
These courts are original in their jurisdiction, that is,
the cases which they hear originate in these courts
and do not come to them from some lower court.
If disagreement arises as to the decisions of the
1 25 Minn. Reports 215.
Administrative Divisions 47
judge or justice, an appeal may be usually taken to
the district court, and finally, in some cases, to the
highest tribunal in the State, the supreme court.
The executive functions of the local divisions are
numerous, but not closely connected with the central
government. The constables of the townships and
villages, and the police of the cities, are guardians of Actions
State property, and they also enforce State laws, but of local
their particular business is local. The township is g™
an election district when State elections occur ; again,
this same division is also a taxing district. In the
case of a city the entire city is an assessment district,
divided into small sections for the convenience of the
assessors. Outside the maintenance of order, the
assessment of property, and the conduct of elections,
the city, township, and village have little or no
general functions of government to perform. In the
paving of streets, furnishing of water and light,
building sewers, and guarding public health, the
functions of city and town government are very im-
portant, and to this end has executive, legislative, and
judicial departments.
All of these bodies have certain powers which are
the same in every local division throughout the State.
Within the limits of these they are free to act; but the %*£$£
legislature may, whenever it sees fit, alter the powers ture over
, ... r i i i i T
and privileges of the local bodies.
In the foregoing paragraphs the relations existing
between the central and local governments have been
pictured in a general way. In the next two chapters
more detailed discussions of both governments will
be taken up, — first the central, and second the local
government.
Elective and
appointive
officers.
CHAPTER IV
THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
20. REFERENCES
Bryce, The American Commonwealth, chs. xl., xli., xlii.; Wilson,
The State, sees. 1126-1208; Fiske, Civil Government in the United
States, ch. vi.; Nordhoff, Politics for Young Americans; Dole, The
American Citizen, ch. xi. ; Wright, Practical Sociology, ch. vi. ; The
Legislative Manual of Minnesota, 1899; The General Statutes of
Minnesota (the index contains references to all officers and is an in-
valuable aid to the study of civil government). See also Appendices
J, L, and M.
21. THE EXECUTIVE
The usual triple division of functions exists in the
central government of Minnesota. The executive
department consists of those officers who administer
the affairs of the State; the legislative power rests
with a Senate and House of Representatives; and
the judicial power is vested in a supreme court and
other minor courts.
The officers who administer State affairs may be
divided into elective and appointive officers. Of the
first group there are the governor, lieutenant gov-
ernor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and attor-
ney general, who are elected for terms of two years,
with the exception of the auditor. The other offi-
cials are appointed by the governor for two-year
terms.1
1 See Appendix L.
48
The Executive 49
The governor is the highest executive officer of the
State. To hold this office he must be a citizen of The
the United States, twenty-five years of age when
elected, and a resident of the State one year before tions and
election. His duties are somewhat similar to those
of the President. When the legislature meets,
which is every two years, he is to inform them by
message of the condition of the State. He also acts
as the commander-in-chief of the militia. In fact,
the comprehensive duty of this officer is to see that
the laws are faithfully executed.1
As the head of the Commonwealth, the governor
possesses a number of important powers, which are
put down here under four heads : (i) The Veto Power. Powers of
In order that hasty legislation may be prevented, the (i)0^*6'
governor, who is required to sign all bills before they veto power,
become law, may withhold his signature from any
bill sent to him by the lawmaking body; but the
legislature may pass the bill over the governor's
veto by a two-thirds vote of each house. In appro-
priation bills the executive may object to single items
without affecting the other provisions. (2) Remov- (2) Remov-
als. A power of removal rests with the governor, als-
which he may exercise in the case of appointive
officers and those of local administrative districts
who have to do with public money, and have been,
in the words of the statutes, guilty of malfeasance or
non-feasance in the performance of their official
duties.2 (3) Vacancies. When vacancies occur, the (3) Vacan-
governor may fill them by appointment until the next Cles>
annual election. Perhaps the appointing power of
1 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. V., Sec. 4.
a General Statutes of Minnesota^ 1894, § 893.
The Central Government
(4) Pardon-
ing power.
Lieutenant
governor.
the governor is the largest function he possesses.
With the consent of the Senate he selects the insur-
ance commissioner, superintendent of public instruc-
tion, railroad commissioner, public examiner, adjutant
general, and many other minor officers. In addition
to these, the governor appoints the members of the
governing bodies of State institutions and various
boards.1 (4) The Pardoning Power. The usual
pardoning power of the executive since 1897 does
not rest with the governor alone, but is vested in a
board of pardons consisting of the governor, attorney
general, and the chief justice of the supreme court.2
The lieutenant governor is what might be called an
emergency officer. His qualifications for the office
are the same as those for governor. The duties,
however, are almost nominal. The lieutenant gov-
ernor is by virtue of his office the presiding officer
of the Senate. In case of a vacancy in the guberna-
torial office he becomes governor.
The
secretary
of state.
22. OTHER ELECTIVE OFFICERS
The executive power is supplemented by a number
of elective officers. The secretary of state in order
of succession stands next to the lieutenant governor.
His duties are of a miscellaneous nature. He keeps
the seal and papers of the State, records the papers
and bonds of corporations, companies, and county
officials, publishes the laws, prepares the election
blanks, takes the State census every ten years, and
superintends in a general way the State printing.
1 See Appendix L.
2 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. V., Sec. 4.
Appointive Officers 51
An important position is that of auditor. His
term of office, because more skill is required for the Auditor,
duties, is four years. Two kinds of work are done
by him, the regular auditing of State accounts and
the superintendence of State lands. With the first
group of duties go the matters of State taxes and the
issuance of tax blanks and printed instructions to
county officers; with the second the sale and over-
sight of State lands belonging to the public school
fund and the university.
The funds of the State are received and distributed
by the State treasurer. His duty is simple but Treasurer,
arduous. An accurate account must be kept of all
moneys received and paid out.
With so many interests the State needs a legal
adviser. Such an officer is the attorney general, who
is adviser to the State officials and the counsel of the
State in suits at law. He prepares the contracts Attorney
made by the State, and receives reports of the crimi- general,
nal cases prosecuted by the county attorneys in
different counties, and attends to appeals in cases
where the State is interested in the result
23. APPOINTIVE OFFICERS
A large number of officers appointed by the gov-
ernor assist in the executive work of the State.1
These vary from insurance commissioner to custo- Reasonfor
dian of the capitol. All appointive officers, with a appoint-
few exceptions, hold their positions during the term of
the governor. The impossibility of the mass of voters
knowing anything about the qualifications necessary
1 See Appendix L for Appointive Officers.
The Central Government
Insurance
Commis-
sioner.
Superinten-
dent of
Public
Instruction.
Public
Examiner.
Other
Officers.
for these minor offices makes it wise to place the
appointing power in the hands of the governor.
The office of insurance commissioner was created
in 1872. His particular duty is to prevent the
organization of irresponsible companies and to regu-
late the action of foreign companies in the State.
The superintendent of public instruction fills a posi-
tion of great importance. He has general supervision
of the educational interests of the State. The appoint-
ment and general management of teachers' insti-
tutes rest with him, and he also acts as an adviser to
the county and city superintendents. " Ex officio "
he is a member of the Board of Regents of the State
University, secretary of the High School Board, and
a member of the Normal School Board. To each
legislature the superintendent makes an elaborate
report of the condition of the schools. The public
examiner is the expert accountant of the State. He
has almost unlimited power to examine the accounts
of banks and public institutions. So important is the
office regarded that the examiner is held in a bond of
fifty thousand dollars. This office is an exception to
the usual appointive office in that the term is three
instead of two years. Besides these officers are the
labor commissioner, the adjutant general, dairy com-
missioner, inspector of illuminating oils, State libra-
rian, State printing expert, fire wardens, and custodian
of public buildings and property.
24. COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS
A number of executive functions have been placed
in the control of commissions and boards. The mem-
The Legislature 53
bership of these boards is determined by law, the
governor appointing new members from time to time Boards,
as vacancies occur. The public institutions are under
the charge of boards ; and besides these are adminis-
trative bodies like the railroad commissioners, boards
of health, equalization, charities and corrections, fish-
eries, and examiners appointed to examine candidates
for admission to the practice of medicine, pharmacy,
dentistry, law, and barbering. To the Railroad Com-
missioners are intrusted the regulation of charges on
transportation and grain storage. The board is em-
powered to establish maximum rates for carrying pas-
sengers and freight, and to inspect grain at various
shipping points.1 The Board of Health has to do with
the public health, and, if necessary, the enforcement
of the State sanitary laws, while the Board of Equal-
ization deals with the equalization of taxes in the
different parts of the State. Each board has a sec-
retary who receives a salary, but the members of the
boards themselves, except in the case of the Board of
Equalization, receive no pay beyond their expenses.
Thus far the board system has worked very satisfac-
torily in Minnesota.
25. THE LEGISLATURE
The lawmaking body of the State consists of a
Senate and House of Representatives, which meets
at the capital in St. Paul every odd-numbered year.
The day of meeting is the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in January. The session of the legislature
is limited by the constitution to ninety days, during ^tein°f
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 379 ; Legislative Manual, 1899, p. 325.
54 The Central Government
the last twenty of which no new bills may be intro-
duced by members of either house except by the
written request of the governor. This is done to
prevent the hasty passage of bills in the last days of
the session.
The membership of the two houses is quite differ-
Membership. ent. The State is divided into sixty-three legislative
districts; from each district one senator is elected.
Each senatorial district elects one or more repre-
sentatives, the number depending upon the popula-
tion in the district. The Senate is thus composed of
sixty-three members, and the House of Representa-
tives of one hundred and nineteen.1 The terms of
service also differ. Senators serve four years,
representatives two. The members of the House
are newly elected for each regular session of the
legislature, but only one-half the senators are chosen
for each regular session. The compensation of mem-
bers has been fixed at five dollars per day, and fifteen
cents per mile for travel to and from their places of
residence.
The qualifications for membership in the legisla-
ture are about the same as those of an elector.2 Any
male citizen of the United States, who has reached
Qualifica-
tions, the age of twenty-one, and has been a resident of the
State one year, and of the district from which he is
elected six months, may be chosen a member of the
legislature. An additional restriction, however, has
been placed upon senators and representatives, and
that is that they may not hold, during their term, any
office under the authority of the United States or the
1 Apportionment of 1899. Legislative Manual, 1899, P- I24f
2 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. IV., Sec. 9.
The Legislature 55
State of Minnesota except that of postmaster. As
to the fulfilment of these conditions, the constitution
provides "that each house shall be the judge of the
election returns and eligibility of its own members."
Legislation may originate in either house with the
exception of bills for raising revenue, which must
originate in the House of Representatives. In
regard to the character of bills the constitution
particularly says, "In all cases when a general
law can be made applicable, no special law shall be
enacted." x
The constitution further forbids the legislature to
pass any special laws relating to the affairs of local
r . .... Legislation
governing bodies, the property of individuals, county and
seats, corporations, or taxation. In addition to the constitu-
prohibitions of special laws the legislature cannot prohibitions,
grant divorces or authorize lotteries. The inhibi-
tions of local or special laws are not to be construed
to prevent the passage of general laws on any of the
subjects enumerated above.
A bill in the legislative sense is a draft of a pro-
posed law written in legal phraseology, and intro-
duced in the legislature for its action. The method passing bills.
of passing upon such an act is quite complicated,
(i) First of all the bill is introduced by a member or
a committee at the time in the day's session set apart
for this purpose. (2) Then follows its reading,
which may be the reading of the whole bill or of its
title only. (3) If no objections are made at this
point, the bill is ordinarily referred to one of the
standing committees.2 (4) When ready the commit-
1 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. IV., Sec. 33.
2 For list of committees see Legislative Manual, 1899, pp. 140-143.
56 The Central Government
tee makes its report on the bill. (5) The bill is then
read a second time and referred to the committee of
the whole. If the committee of the whole is favor-
ably impressed, it is recommended that the bill " do
pass." (6) It now takes a place on the " calendar "
of the house for final consideration. (7) When it
is reached the bill is read section by section, and
put upon its passage. (8) The bill having passed
the house in which it is introduced, it is sent to the
other house, where the same process is repeated. (9) If
the bill passes both houses, it is engrossed, signed
by the presiding officer of each house, and is then sent
to the governor for his signature. The governor how-
ever may veto the bill; that is, he may refuse to
sign it. In such a case, he returns it with his objec-
tions to the house in which it originated. The bill is
then reconsidered, and if two-thirds of the members
of each house concur in passing it again, it becomes
a law in spite of the governor's disapproval. If the
governor desires to veto a bill he must do so within
three days from the time it is sent to him. If he
does not act upon it within that time, the bill becomes
a law without his signature.1 In this lawmaking
machinery are many checks for the purpose of pre-
venting hasty legislation and possible corruption.
Every bill is read three times, (although the first read-
ing is likely to be by title only,) scrutinized by a corn-
mittee, carefully engrossed, debated, signed by both
presiding officers and by the governor. If each
officer acts conscientiously, but few objectionable bills
can become laws, but the pressure of time often pre-
1 Rules of House and Senate, Legislative Manual, 1899, pp. 143-
The Legislature 57
vents careful consideration by the legislature or
executive.
There is one class of bills that differs somewhat
in method of treatment from the others. These are .
Appropna-
the appropriation bills, which may originate in either tion bills.
house. The governor, when he comes to sign such a
bill, may object to any one item without vetoing the
whole. If the legislature cannot pass the single item
over the objection of the governor by a two-thirds
vote, the remaining parts of the bill may become law;
but the item vetoed remains invalid. This very wise
provision was added to the constitution in 1876
in order to prevent extravagant and unnecessary
appropriations.1
The legislature possesses one judicial power. This
is the impeachment and trial of State officers, — a
power which has thus far been exercised only three
times in Minnesota.2 The House of Representatives
has the sole power of impeachment. By a majority
vote this body passes upon the charges and presents
them as a sort of indictment to the Senate. The
Senate acts as a court and may convict by con-
currence of two-thirds of the senators present.
The Senate, however, may only remove from office
the persons impeached; further punishment is left
to the regular judicial authorities. The members
of the legislature are not regarded as officers within
the meaning of the constitution, and cannot be
impeached.
1 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. IV., Sec. II.
2 In the cases of Wm. Seager, State Treasurer, 1873, found guilty;
Judge Sherman Page of the Tenth Judicial District, 1878, acquitted;
and E. St. Julian Cox, District Judge, 1882, found guilty.
The Central Government
The system
of courts.
Officers.
26. THE JUDICIARY
The framers of the constitution made definite
provision for a system of courts. They thought it
necessary to establish a power that should render
justice and interpret the laws as they were made and
executed. The system in this State consists of a
supreme court, district courts, courts of probate, jus-
tices of the peace, and such other courts as the leg-
islature may from time to time establish.1 Any
addition to the courts provided in the constitution
must be made by a two-thirds vote of the legis-
lature.
The supreme court is the highest court in the
State. It is composed of one chief justice and
four associates, who are elected for terms of six
years. They receive salaries of $5000 dollars each.
In addition to the judges are the clerk and reporter.
The clerk is elected for four years. His duties are
numerous; he files the documents and records of
cases tried in the court, arranges for the publication of
the judges' decisions in the newspapers, notifies attor-
neys and parties to causes, and performs other duties
prescribed by law. The reporter's duties are very
different from those of the clerk. His one work is
to prepare the decisions of the court for publication
in volumes of not less than six hundred pages. These
volumes of reports, when printed and bound, are dis-
tributed to the judges of the district and probate
courts, the university, and the State officers. Others
are placed on sale for the use of attorneys and the
public.
1 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. VI., Sec. I.
The Judiciary 59
The supreme court meets twice a year at St. Paul, Terms,
beginning in April and October. If it is deemed
necessary special terms may be held, but only after
twenty days' notice in the newspapers of the State.
Next below the supreme court are the district
courts. The courts under this head are not county
courts, although the districts sometimes coincide with
county lines. These courts, like the others, are
authorized by the constitution and established by the
legislature. The State is now divided into eighteen
districts, each district having one or more judges,
according to the amount of judicial business arising
within the limits of the district. The judges of
these courts receive $3500 per annum from the treas-
ury of the State, and in some of the districts an addi-
tional amount is paid by the county commissioners.
The judges are elected for six years. These courts
have general jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases.
There are two justices of the peace for each town-
ship, town, and city in the State. These officers have Justices of
the power of holding court and of trying cases when
not more than one hundred dollars is involved. The
justice of the peace is elected for two years and
receives fees as his compensation.
The court system thus described is supplemented
by the municipal and probate courts. The municipal
courts are a creation of the legislature. Incorpo- Municipal
. . courts.
rated cities may have municipal courts, but the power
of these judicial organizations depends somewhat
upon the charter of the city in which they are situ-
ated. These courts possess a seal and are authorized
to keep a record. The judges are elected for a term
of four years and receive a salary varying with the
60 The Central Government
size of the city. When a vacancy occurs in the
judgeship it is filled by the city council.
The constitution provides that there shall be a pro-
Probate bate court in each county. This court has jurisdiction
courts. in the settlement of estates and the probate of wills,
the appointment of guardians, and the examination
of insane persons. The judge is elected by the
electors of the county for a term of two years.
A great deal of the legal business done in cities
and towns must be certified to by an officer -of the
law. For this purpose the legislature has provided
for the appointment of notaries public, who may ad-
Notaries minister oaths, take and certify depositions, acknowl-
pubiic. edge deeds, mortgages, liens, and other papers.
These officers are appointed by the governor for
seven years, and in receiving the appointment must
pay a fee of $3 and give a bond of $2000. The
consideration of the jurisdiction and the procedure
of these courts is reserved for the chapter on the
"Administration of Justice."
CHAPTER V
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
27. REFERENCES
Fiske, Civil Government in the United States, chs. ii., iii., iv., v.;
Bryce, The American Commonwealth, chs. xlviii., xlix. ; Legislative
Manual, 1899; General Statutes of Minnesota, 1894; Booth, Township
Manual; Booth, Justices' Manual, 1898; Bemis, Local Government in
Michigan and the Northwest, Johns Hopkins Studies, I. v.; Wilson, The
State (revised edition), sees. 1209-1259. General laws for 1895, !^97»
1899, as published in the newspapers of the State during May of these
years. These laws will usually be found in the newspaper offices in
the different counties. The General Statutes, 1894, give all that is
necessary previous to 1895.
On the general question of city government such books as Wilcox,
The Study of City Government, Goodnow, Municipal Problems, and
Municipal Home Rule, and the last three chapters in Bryce's American
Commonwealth, I., will be found valuable as supplementary to the work
in the last sections of this chapter.
There has been no attempt in this chapter to set forth the details
of the charters of the three larger cities. The outlines alone are given,
but, whatever the charter changes, these will remain the same.
28. THE COUNTY
The legislature of the State is the link that unites
the central and local governments. The constitution
vests in it the power to provide for the organization
and government of counties, townships, villages, and Local
cities. For the establishment of a county a special act government
of the legislature is usually required in each instance, tions>
but in the case of townships, villages, and cities, the
61
organiza-
62 Local Government
people of the communities concerned take the initiative
and form a township, village, or city whenever they
can comply with the provisions of the general statute
which governs their action. A closer examination
will bring out the particular features of each.
The county is an administrative division standing
between the central government and the minor local
divisions. In this capacity it serves three principal
purposes. The first of these is to help in the organiza-
tion of the minor local divisions. The county officers
are given the power to entertain petitions and to hold
elections for the establishment of towns and villages.
Second> the county officers act as the agents of the
State in the assessment and collection of taxes, and
in the apportionment of the school fund. Third, the
county carries on local improvements not provided for
by the smaller political divisions, such as the building
of bridges, construction and repairing of roads, and
erection of county buildings. The care of paupers,
and sometimes of the insane, is also intrusted to the
county.
As already stated in a previous paragraph, a
county is organized under an act of the legislature.
The constitution declares on this point that no new
county shall contain less than four hundred square
miles nor shall any existing county be reduced below
this amount. Some of the older counties do contain
less than four hundred square miles and a number of
the newer organizations have as many as five and six
thousand square miles. The latter, as their popula-
tion increases, will probably be divided. Each new
county must contain at least two thousand inhabitants.1
1 General Laws, 1893, ch, 143, § I.
The County 63
The organization of a new county may also be
brought about by the petition of fifteen per cent of the
resident voters. When such a petition is secured it is
sent to the secretary of state at least ninety days
before the general election. If the governor and
auditor acquiesce in the petition, the governor, by Method of
proclamation, directs the people to vote upon the organization,
question. The people having indicated their desire
to form a county, the governor authorizes the county
commissioners, who were provisionally elected at the
same time, to proceed with the organization. This
they do, providing offices and stationery and electing
an auditor and other officers authorized by law.
When we come to look at the county a little more
closely we find that it is a "body politic and corporate,"
which means that the county has both political and busi-
ness functions to perform. For this purpose certain
powers have been granted, such as ( i ) to sue and be powers,
sued, (2) to purchase and hold real estate for the use
of the county and such lands as are acquired through
delinquencies for non-payment of taxes, (3) to sell
and convey any real and personal property when for
the best interests of the people, and (4) to make
contracts and to do other acts necessary to the
exercise of its corporate powers.1
A county thus created under the authority of the
State is governed, if such a word can be applied here,
in a very large measure by a body called the county
commissioners. The number of these officers depends Count
upon the electors in the county. Where the number commis-
of voters is eight hundred or more, five commissioners s ers*
are elected. Where the number of voters is less than
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 638.
64 Local Government
eight hundred, three commissioners are elected. The
commissioners are chosen from districts for a period of
three years. The pay of these officers is three dollars
for each day of their sessions and ten cents per mile
going and coming from their homes to the county
seat. The law which formerly limited the length
of their sessions has been materially changed, and in
Hennepin County the compensation in 1899 was fixed
by statute at ^^oo.1 The duties are numerous and
varied. Among these are the choosing of grand and
petit jurors, organizing new towns, townships, and
counties, superintending county buildings, providing
for the poor, opening roads, caring for bridges, audit-
ing claims, publishing an annual statement of receipts
and expenditures, and fixing the rate of county taxes.
The other county officers consist of an auditor,
treasurer, register of deeds, sheriff, coroner, county
superintendent, attorney, judge of probate, court com-
missioner and clerk of the district court, surveyor,
officers. physician, and overseer of the poor. To this long
list of officers are intrusted the interests of the politi-
cal body called a county. With the exception of the
last two, who are appointed by the commissioners,
these officers are elected.
The auditor is in a broad sense the bookkeeper of
the county. He is an elective officer holding his
position, like the other county officers, for two years.
The State requires a bond from him of at least
$2000. In effect the auditor acts as a check
1 General Laws, 1899, ch. 177. The commissioners of counties
of less than 28,000 inhabitants may not receive pay for more than
thirty-five days ; in counties of greater population they may receive
pay for forty days, except in counties having property assessed between
#10,000,000 and $20,000,000, where the pay may be for sixty days.
The County 65
upon the treasurer, for every warrant must receive
his signature before it is paid. He is also the
clerk of the board of county commissioners. The
salary of the auditor depends upon the valuation of
the property in the county in which he holds his
office.1 The county treasurer as the custodian of the
funds is one of the most important officers. In order
to protect the people from any misappropriation of
funds, the treasurer is obliged to give duplicate receipts
for all moneys received, one of which must be deposited
with the auditor. All of the taxes are collected by
him, and in turn he apportions them to the different
political divisions. Three times a year an auditing
board, consisting of the county auditor, chairman of
the county commissioners and the county clerk, ex-
amines his accounts. His salary is the same as that
of the auditor ; 1 the amount of his bond is fixed by
the county commissioners.
The recording of land purchases, mortgages, bonds,
trade marks and brands has been provided for by the
establishment of the register of deeds. Real estate
transfers may now be rated in the books of the county ^ds!"
register of deeds by filing the papers with the date,
names of owner and purchaser, and a description of
the property. For the observance of his duties the
register of deeds is held in a bond of $5000 to the
State of Minnesota. His salary consists of fees, except
in Hennepin County.
1 No auditor shall receive more than $1200 in counties where the
property valuation does not exceed $4,000,000, nor more than $1500
where the valuation does not exceed $6,000,000, nor more than $2000
where the valuation does not exceed $10,000,000, nor more than
$2500 where the valuation exceeds $10,000,000. See § 720, General
Statutes, 1894.
F
66
Local Government
The sheriff
and his
duties.
Salary.
Coroner.
The sheriff is the peace preserver of the county
organization. His office has probably the longest
history of any of his colleagues in county govern-
ment. Early in English history, as the represen-
tative of the king he collected the taxes and rendered
justice. The office, as the years have gone, has
changed in its form and duties. Now the sheriff does
not collect taxes. To-day he is the representative
of the sovereignty of the people and not of a king.
His duties are to keep and preserve peace in the
county. In order to do this he is empowered to
call upon such persons as he may think necessary
to aid him. His further duties are to pursue and
apprehend criminals ; execute all warrants, writs,
and other processes issued from a justice of the
peace, district court, or other competent tribunal ; to
keep prisoners safely ; to transport them, when neces-
sary, to the reformatory and State prison ; and con-
duct insane persons committed by the probate court to
the hospitals and asylums. His salary is fixed by the
board of county commissioners, but is paid in fees.1
In Hennepin, Ramsey, and Dakota counties special
fees are allowed. The sheriff is assisted in his work
by a number of deputies appointed by the board of
county commissioners at three dollars per day. So
important is this office regarded by the State that the
sheriff is held in a bond of $5000.
In years gone by another county officer exercised
important functions, but now his duty is but a vestige
of what it once was. The coroner of to-day holds
inquests over the bodies of persons who have come
1 General Statutes, 1894, §§ 5551-5553- Special Laws, 1891, ch.
373, § 3 J ch. 426, § 23.
The County 67
to death by known or suspected violence. He is
aided by a jury of six persons. The coroner receives
fees for his compensation. Unimportant as his duties
seemingly are, the board of commissioners is author-
ized to require of him a bond varying from $5000 to
$ 1 0,000. J He is the only officer that can fill a vacancy in relation to
in the office of sheriff. If the sheriff is charged with thesheriff-
crime or misdemeanor, the coroner may serve a writ
upon him or arrest him, if necessary.
The public school interests of the county, outside
of the special and independent districts, are looked
after by an officer called the county superintendent
of schools. He is expected to visit the schools in
the county, to examine and license teachers, and to
advise and consult with the various local boards of County
education. Under his supervision at least one insti- ^en
tute for the instruction of teachers must be held in
the county each year. The State superintendent of
public instruction receives from the various county
superintendents reports and statistical matter relating
to the schools. The remuneration of this officer de-
pends upon the number of common school districts
in the county. He receives at least ten dollars for
each district, but in no case more than $1800 for his
services during the year.
Besides the judges and justices of the peace there
are two judicial officers in each county, the attorney
and the court commissioner. The first of these officers
serves as a legal adviser to the commissioners and Attorney.
other county officers. When the county is a defend-
ant in a case he acts as counsel ; he also appears as
prosecutor when the State brings a criminal action in
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 5554.
68
Local Government
Court
commis-
sioner.
Other
officers.
Removal of
county
officers.
that county. He draws all bills of indictment and
presentment found by the grand jury. During each
year the county attorney sends to the attorney
general a report of the criminal cases tried in the
county. The office held by the county attorney is
very important in that the protection and defence of the
rights of the community rest in no small degree in
his hands. The remuneration he receives is fixed
within the provisions of a general law by the commis-
sioners of each county.
The fact that the district courts do not remain con-
stantly in session demanded, in the opinion of the
makers of the constitution, a court commissioner who
should exercise the powers of a district judge at cham-
bers.1 He is empowered to grant writs of habeas cor-
pus, and attachments, and to issue warrants. In the
judicial districts in which there is more than one
county, this office becomes important in keeping up
the machinery of justice in those counties where no
district judge resides. The term of office is four years,
the remuneration is by fees, and a bond of two thou-
sand dollars is required.
In addition to the county officers already enumer-
ated, there are several others, including the county
physician, the overseer of the poor, and the surveyor.
The last officer is elected for two years, the others
are appointed by the commissioners.
Experience has taught the makers of constitutions
and laws that provision must be made for the removal
of those officers who violate their trusts. In Minne-
sota this power has been placed in the hands of the
governor, who may remove from office any clerk of
1 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. VI., Sec. 15.
The Township 69
the supreme or district court, judge of probate, court
commissioner, sheriff, coroner, auditor, register of
deeds, county attorney, superintendent of schools,
commissioner, treasurer, or any collector or receiver
or custodian of public moneys, when evidence is
sufficient to show that such officers have neglected
their duty or have been guilty of malfeasance.1
29. THE TOWNSHIP
The township in Minnesota, geographically, is an
area of land six miles square. Upon this survey has
been built the political body we call a town. It is
interesting to note how the geographical form of the
organization came into existence. At the suggestion
of Thomas Jefferson, in 1785, Congress passed a land
ordinance, one of the provisions of which included
the present system of government surveys. A line
running north and south is marked out, called the
principal meridian. Twenty-four of these have been
established, beginning with the line between Ohio
and Indiana, and extending to the last one near Port-
land, Oregon. On each side of the principal merid-
ians range lines six miles apart are laid off and
numbered east and west from the meridian. At right
angles to these are drawn others parallel to a true
line of latitude. These also serve as east and west
base lines. North and south of the parallel are
drawn township lines six miles apart. Thus by this
simple system the western township has come to be
as nearly as possible an area six miles square.2 Each
1 General Statutes, 1878, ch. 9, § 3; 1 88 1, ch. 21, §1.
2 Fiske, Civil Government, 81-83.
70 Local Government
township, in its turn, is divided into thirty-six sections,
containing six hundred and forty acres each ; a
further division is made by dividing each section into
halves and quarters, so that it is a very easy matter
to describe and register land.1
Political
organiza-
tion of the
township.
AB, principal meridian.
CD, principal parallel or base line.
As a political organization the town is one of the
oldest forms of government. In almost prehis-
toric times the scattered peoples in the forests of
Germany and England met in assemblies to discuss
the affairs of their tribes. To-day, in the township,
Legislative Manual, 1897, P« 644.
The Township 71
the electors assemble annually to consider various
matters of business. In relation to the county the
township is a mere administrative division ; but as a
part of the larger idea of democratic government it is
really the basis of the system, for it is certainly in the
annual town meeting that the people have learned to
govern themselves. The duties of this organization,
although not numerous, are important. The town
has to do with roads, restraining of cattle, the care
of the poor, and the condition of fences. Necessarily,
with these duties go the levying of local taxes and
the election of town officers, such as supervisors,
clerk, treasurer, overseers of highways, assessor, con-
stables, and two justices of the peace.1 By law, the
meeting where all these matters are considered is held
on the second Tuesday in March. The township is
the unit for elections — and is sometimes divided into
voting precincts.
Before the duties spoken of above can be carried
out, an organization must be effected, by which the
congressional township becomes a political body with
an authorized government. The legislature has pro-
vided the machinery for the transformation.2 When-
ever a majority of the legal voters of any congres-
sional township containing twenty-five legal voters commis
petition the board of county commissioners to be
organized as a town, the commissioners shall pro-
ceed to fix the boundaries, and give a name to the
same. Any report made by the commissioners on
the proceedings is to be filed with the county audi-
tor, who shall within thirty days send this report
1 Booth, Township Mamial.
2 General Statutes, 1894, § 914.
Local Government
to the State auditor. A number of other provisions
are made in the same law to change the name or
boundaries when deemed necessary. Thus, when a
meandering stream divides a township, making it
inconvenient to do township business, one portion
may be attached to the adjoining township whenever
two-thirds of the voters in the fractional parts petition
for it.1 The electors, in these instances, must possess
all the qualifications of voters in county or State
affairs.
The powers of a town are similar to those of the
county. Each town may sue or be sued, purchase
and hold lands subject to the control of the legisla-
ture, make such contracts as may be necessary,
Powers of the and dispose of and regulate the use of the corporate
township. property of the town. The business of the town is
placed in the hands of three supervisors. These men
have general control over the town affairs, but are
subject at all times to the action of the town meeting.
The supervisors constitute a board of health, and
have the power necessary to preserve the public
health.2 The accounts which are payable by the
town are subject to the auditing of the supervisors.
Occasionally vacancies occur in the list of the town
officers; these may be filled by persons selected
by a majority of a board consisting of the three
supervisors and two justices of the peace.
The township officers hold their positions for one
year, with the exception of the justices of the peace
and the constables, who are elected for two years.
The compensation is moderate. The town assessors
Terms and
compensa-
tion of
officers.
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 1 68.
2 Booth, Township Manual, 1889, p. 46.
The Village 73
receive $2 per day, the town clerk and supervisors
$1.50 while attending to business in the town, and
$2 when outside of the town, but no supervisor shall
receive more than $40 in a year for his services.
The town clerk may be paid fees for his services.1
30. THE VILLAGE
Previous to the constitutional amendment of 1896
the legislature incorporated villages by special laws.2
The amendment provides that any town or city may
, * Organization
frame its own charter, but this right is restricted by Of villages,
the legislature in that a village containing less than
one thousand inhabitants cannot possess what is
called a city government, but must retain its village
organization, the principal difference being in the
office of mayor and the powers of the council. A
village which is unincorporated is in every sense
a part of a town, and has the government of that
body ; but any district, section, or part of a section
not already incorporated, which has been platted
into lots and blocks, providing there is a resident
population of one hundred and seventy-five, may
become incorporated as a village. When thirty of
the inhabitants petition the county commissioners, an
election shall be held for the purpose of determining
the question of incorporation. If the result is favor-
able to such action, the commissioners file the certifi-
cate of election, together with the petition, in the
office of the register of deeds of the county. The
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 1OO3 ; General Laws, amended, 1895,
ch. 13.
2 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. IV., Sec. 36.
74
Local Government
Officers.
village is then incorporated, and becomes a separate
election and assessment district.1
The organization of village government takes place
when officers are elected. The elective officers are
a president, three trustees, a treasurer, recorder, two
justices of the peace, and a constable. With the
exception of the last three officers the term of office
is one year. The justices and constable are elected
for two years.
The president, the three trustees, and the recorder
constitute the village council. Under legislative re-
strictions they are permitted to make ordinances for
the government of the village. The council appoints
a street commissioner, village attorney, pound master,
sextons of the cemetery, fire wardens, and a special
policeman. The council may also establish a fire
department, library, board of health, markets, and
waterworks, and is given the power to provide for the
licensing of amusements, the levying and collecting
of taxes, the plotting of parks, streets, and alleys,
making and repairing of sidewalks, and whatever
is necessary for the better administration of the
village.
A great many villages have been granted charters
by special legislative act, but this was prior to 1891,
and in some instances even to 1883 ; since that time,
a number of laws have been passed classifying the
villages and unifying village government. Thus the
legislatures of 1891 and 1895 thought it wise to pro-
vide an organization for the larger town. It was found
that the village government of a small place was
hardly sufficient for a village of two or three thou-
1 General Statutes, 1878, 2, ch. 10, § 212 ; 1885, ch. 145, § 9.
The Village 75
sand inhabitants. The legislature in 1891 placed The two and
the number of inhabitants at three thousand for a three
... r thousand
town that was to enjoy the privileges of a larger class of
organization.1 The amendment of 1895 reduced this Vlllases-
number to two thousand, but no difference was made
in the organization.2 The villages of three thousand
inhabitants are divided into at least four wards, those
of two thousand into two wards. Each ward is an
election district.
The elective officers of the larger villages are the
same, with the exception of the judge, as those of
the incorporated but smaller villages. There are the
president, recorder, assessor, treasurer, and two trus-
tees for each ward, and a municipal judge. The
president is the executive officer of the village and Officers,
the chairman of the council. It is his duty to see
that the laws of the State and the ordinances of the
council are observed and enforced. He possesses
the power of veto over the action of the council.
This body passes the ordinances necessary for good
order and the regulation of fire department, police,
parks, waterworks, public health, and other matters
related to the welfare of the village. The power to
levy an annual tax for village purposes upon the
property within the village belongs to the village
council.
One of the institutions the village of this class
enjoys over the smaller organization is a municipal
court. The judge of this court is elected for two village court,
years, receiving as a remuneration from $100 to $1500
a year, depending upon the decision of the council. 3
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 1302. 2 General Laws, 1895, c^- ^9*
897, ch. 237.
76 Local Government
The judge also acts as a clerk of the court ex official
By this arrangement the duties of the recorder are
reduced to the keeping of the records of the council
and deeds and contracts relating to village affairs, and
occasionally examining the books of the treasurer.2
In 1896 the constitution of the State was amended,
granting the right to any city or village of a thousand
inhabitants or over to frame its own charter within
the general laws provided by the legislature. In time
such a right will lead to greater uniformity in village
government.3
31. CITIES
The cities of Minnesota have struggled for a num-
ber of years to secure home rule. In 1891 special
legislation concerning their government was stopped ;
two years later a model charter was passed by both
houses and vetoed by the governor. In 1895 the city
attorneys of the three largest cities framed a charter
which failed to pass. An amendment to the consti-
tution was proposed by the legislature in this year,
and accepted by the people in 1896. The amend-
ment, however, proved defective, but was modified at
the next meeting of the legislature and ratified by
the people in 1898. Under this amendment any city
or town of a thousand inhabitants or more may frame
its own charter.
The machinery for framing a charter is set in
motion in two ways : (i) by the judges of the district
court, who appoint commissioners at their own voli-
tion ; or (2) on request of ten per cent of the legal
1 General Laws, 1878, ch. 84. 2 See ch. vii.
8 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. IV., Sec. 36.
Cities 77
voters. The board consists of fifteen freeholders who
have been qualified voters in the city or town for the
last five years. The board serves for four years,
and must submit to the people a charter, signed
by a majority of the board, within six months after
appointment.1
The next step is the submission of the charter to Submission
the electors. This must be done at the next general °'the
charter.
election or at a special election. In order that the
provisions of a new charter may become law, it is
necessary that four-sevenths of all the electors voting
at the election shall vote in favor of the charter. If
the result of the election is favorable, the certificates
showing the vote are signed by the mayor, and de-
posited in the office of the secretary of state and in
the archives of the city.2
The constitutional amendment provides also for
the alteration of a city charter by the charter com-
. . T,, . . f^ ^. . L . . The election.
mission. The commissioners may, after thirty days
notice through the newspapers, present an amend-
ment to the people, but before such an amendment
1See General Laws ; 1899, ch. 351.
2 Steps in securing a charter : —
Petition to judges.
Appointment of commis-
sioners.
Signed by ten per cent of quali-
fied voters.
At the volition of the judges of
the district court, or on request of
4. Submission to voters.
petitioners.
3. The framing of the charter.
Must be accepted by four-
sevenths vote.
Presented by commission or at
5. Amendment. \ rec*uest of five Per cent of the
people. Must be accepted by
three-fifths of qualified voters.
78 Local Government
can become a law it must be accepted by three-fifths
of the qualified electors. The insufficiency of this
method was recognized in 1898, when the constitu-
tion was so changed that any proposed amendment
sustained by a petition signed by five per cent of the
voters might be submitted to the people. The objec-
tion to the first method was its lack of democratic
and representative spirit.
For the purposes of legislation the same amend-
ment to the constitution divides cities into four classes
as follows : those over fifty thousand inhabitants, those
between fifty and twenty thousand, those not less
than ten thousand, and those less than ten thousand
inhabitants. The legislature may, without violating
the constitutional clause against special legislation,
pass laws that will apply only to the different classes
of cities.
The legislature of 1895 provided by general law
a form of charter which might be accepted in lieu
of one made by a charter commission ; so that a city
not wishing to go into the doubtful experiment
of charter-making might be incorporated under the
form provided by the State.1 But even when a
charter is made by a city the general regulations
laid down in the law of 1895 must be conformed to.
Under this law a city of over fifteen thousand may
be incorporated by a majority vote of the qualified
electors residing in the city. Before this incorpora-
tion can take place the inhabitants must signify their
desire to be so governed by presenting a petition
describing the territory. The petition is then filed
in the office of the county commissioners, who an-
1 General Laws, 1895, c^- 8, §§ 1-20.
Cities 79
nounce an election, and, upon canvass of the returns,
if favorable, issue certificates which are filed in the
offices of the register of deeds for the county and the
secretary of state.1
The act also provides for the division of cities into
wards. Cities of more than thirty thousand population
are required to have not less than ten nor more than
fifteen such divisions; cities possessing less than thirty
thousand population may have not more than ten
wards. The city council determines the division of
wards and their boundaries ; any change in the ward
boundaries can be made but once within a period of
five years and then only by a two-thirds vote of the
council. The wards are the basis of the council organization,
membership. Under the law of 1895 there are two
groups of aldermen ; — those elected from the ward,
and those elected at large. The first number are
from each ward, the second vary with the size
of the city. Thus in cities of six wards or less
two aldermen are elected at large; in cities having
ten or more wards eight aldermen are elected at
large. Cities organized previous to this law under
special act or charter do not conform to this method
of electing members of the council. Minneapolis
at the present time elects two members of the
council from each ward. Should she adopt a new
charter it would of necessity conform to the law of
1895.
The salaries of all the officers of a city are
regulated by legislation; occasionally cities secure
special legislation in the form of a general law
permitting them to pay more for the services of an
1 For officers see Appendix P.
8o
Local Government
officer.1 Ordinarily the compensation of aldermen,
in cities exceeding thirty thousand, may be as high
as $500; in cities between this number of inhabitants
and fifteen thousand, $300 is the limit. Below fifteen
thousand, $100 dollars may be paid.
The organization of the council takes place bien-
nially on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
January. The officers, consisting of a president, vice-
president, and secretary, are elected by ballot. The
council after it is once organized meets once a month
and transacts the business of the city, such as the
making of ordinances, the awarding of contracts, the
drawing of warrants, and the appointment of a city
clerk, attorney, engineer, fire chief, and other officers.
In addition to these powers the council may authorize
the issue of bonds to incur an indebtedness for public
buildings and improvements, levy taxes, condemn
property, provide for bridges, docks, light, water,
streets, sidewalks, and many other necessary things.
In every city are street car companies, telephone,
telegraph, and gas companies, which must be regu-
lated and prevented from encumbering streets with
their wagons, poles, tracks, and pipes. The city
council has the power to pass ordinances for the
1 Maximum salaries permissible by law, General Laws, 1895, ch. 8.
The maximum salaries per annum of the following officers are : Mayor,
$3000; private secretary, $1200; treasurer, comptroller, city clerk, city
attorney, and city engineer, each $4000 ; secretary of the board of water
commissioners, $2000; superintendent of the same department, $1800;
commissioner of health, $2400; building inspector, $1800; chief engi-
neer of the fire department, $2500; first assistant, $1500; second assist-
ant, $1200; chief of police, $2500; the judge or judges of the municipal
court, $3000; clerk of the court, $1800; superintendent of the work-
house, $2500; and the commissioner of public works, $2000.
Cities 8 1
proper observance of the laws of hygiene, the regu-
lation of saloons, and the suppression of vice. The
enforcement of these laws constitutes the principal
duty of the mayor and the police department.
The executive department of a city consists of a
mayor and a number of subordinate officers. The
treasurer, and, in cities over thirty thousand, a comp- City .
* executive.
troller, and justices of the peace, are elected by the
people ; but the clerk, attorney, street commissioners,
engineer, weigh master, and assessor are elected by
the council. The members of the police department
and the board of public works are nominated by the
mayor. Over these officers the council has the power
of removal by the presentment of charges and a two-
thirds vote sustaining the charges.
The mayor is the chief executive of the city. It is
his duty to enforce the laws of the State and the
ordinances of the city through the help of the depart-
ment of police. The mayor has a very definite The mayo
relation to the council. From time to time he is to
inform this body concerning the affairs of the city.
The law requires that every ordinance passed by the
council must receive the signature of the city execu-
tive before becoming a law. If the mayor vetoes an
ordinance it may become a law over his negative, pro-
viding it receives a three-fourths vote of the council.
An occasional act of the council requires a three-
fourths vote to make it legal, and in such a case the
mayor's veto can be overcome only by a unanimous
vote. When the mayor refuses to sign a resolution
or ordinance extending the bonded indebtedness of
the city the decision is final. The mayor is not
allowed to sign any ordinance, order, or resolution
c
82
Local Government
until four days have passed, and if not returned
within ten days the ordinance, order, or resolution
possesses the same force as though signed by him.
The city executive appoints the chief of police and
all patrolmen, the commissioner of health, the super-
intendent of the workhouse, and the members of the
library and park boards. The executive is usually a
member ex officio of the several boards ; just what
these are is determined by the city itself.
The comptroller and treasurer are clerical and fis-
cal officers. The first deals with the bookkeeping,
warrant accounts, countersigning of bonds, examina-
tion and auditing of accounts and claims ; while the
second receives the moneys of the city, keeps accounts,
and apportions the receipts to the various funds under
the direction of the council. To insure the safety of
the finances and the responsibility of the treasurer he
is required to give a bond equal to twice the amount
of money likely to be received by him during the fiscal
year. A further check is secured by requiring the
comptroller to sign all warrants before they can be
legally cashed by the treasurer, the payment of the
warrants having first been authorized by the city coun-
cil. The statutes of the State and the ordinances of
the city are full of detail in relation to the work of
the treasurer and comptroller in the expectation
of guarding the public funds against possible cor-
ruption or actual theft.1
Another feature of city government is the boards,
the most important of which are the education, library,
and park boards. The first of these will be treated in
the chapter on " Education " ; the duties of the other
i See Appendk P.
Minneapolis 83
two are sufficiently indicated by their title. Unless
otherwise provided in the charter the mayor appoints
the members of the park and library boards. It has
become quite necessary to include in a charter some
plan for civil service. This has been done in the
law of 1895. Under its provisions a city council may
appoint from three to five experts to examine assistant
engineers, inspectors and their assistants, and clerks
for department positions. The basis for promotion civil service,
is the knowledge and efficiency of the candidates.
The city council is also authorized to provide books
for the registration of laborers who desire employ-
ment on city works. In selecting men for work, they
are usually employed in the order of registration.
Many points concerning city officers have necessa-
rily been omitted in a chapter like this, but matters
relating to the collection of taxes, the conduct of
justice, and the management of education will be left
for consideration in later chapters. Our review of
local government would hardly be complete without
some reference to the charters of the three larger
cities.
32. MINNEAPOLIS
The city of Minneapolis had its first beginnings as
St. Anthony's Falls in 1849. On the west side of the
river another settlement sprang into existence which
was christened Minneapolis in I854.1 Four years later
the newly christened city was vested with its first
town government, but it did not assume the form of a Onginof the
municipality until 1867. The two thriving towns city.
1The name was suggested by Mr. Charles Hoag of the city, who died
in 1888.
84
Local Government
Boards.
situated on opposite sides of the same river found
their interests would not be endangered by a union,
and so in 1873 St. Anthony's Falls was united with
Minneapolis under the latter name.
The present charter of Minneapolis was adopted
in 1873 by a special legislative act and has been modi-
fied and revamped from time to time by the legisla-
ture. It may be called a council form of charter,
that is, the principal powers of government are vested
in the council. The elective officers are a mayor,
treasurer, comptroller, municipal judge, justices of the
peace, members of the city council, and the members
of boards. The mayor, treasurer, and comptroller
hold office for a period of two years. There are two
aldermen from each ward, elected for a four-year
term. The salary of an alderman is $500 per year.
The city is divided into thirteen wards, which makes
the city council a body of twenty-six persons. This
body appoints the city attorney, engineer, assessor,
clerk, chief of fire department, and minor officers.
On this point the charter says, "All other officers
necessary for the proper management of the affairs of
the city shall be appointed by the city council unless
otherwise provided in this charter." 1 The powers of
the council are extensive and include the appropria-
tion of money, paving of streets, and the supervision
of the various departments of the city government.
The schools, library, parks, health, and charity are
under the supervision of boards. The board of edu-
cation is composed of seven persons who are elected
for a term of six years. They are so chosen that their
terms do not expire at the same time, and hence the
l Charter of Minneapolis, 1888, ch. II., § I.
£/. Paul 85
board is a continuous one. The library board con-
sists of nine persons, six of whom are elected for the
same period as the members of the board of educa-
tion. The other three (the mayor of the city, the
president of the board of education, and the president
of the State university) are members ex officio. The
term of service of the park board is six years. Fifteen
members constitute this body. Three of them are ex
officio members, the mayor, chairman of the council
committee on roads and bridges, and the chairman
of the council committee on public grounds and
buildings. The affairs of the waterworks depart-
ment, workhouse, fire department, police, public
health, and hospitals are directed by committees of
the council.1
The present charter has been modified and
amended many times, but the difficulty in securing
legislative action has made it inadequate to the require-
ments of a growing city. An attempt was made in
1898 to frame a new charter, but without success.
A new charter commission was appointed in January,
1900, but its work was largely confined to the remodel-
ling of the work of the commission of 1898. The
commission's charter failed of passage by an over-
whelming vote.
33. ST. PAUL
This city is named after the chapel of St. Paul,
established in 1839 on tne banks of the Mississippi.
In 1854 the town built about the chapel was incorpo-
1 It is very difficult to get a satisfactory copy of a Minneapolis
charter. There is a book containing the charter up to 1888, published
by Harrison and Smith of the city. The city publishes, each year, a
volume of reports. It may be had by application to the city clerk.
86
Local Government
cpenence.
Elective
officers.
rated as the city of St. Paul and was given a special
charter. From time to time this charter has been
modified. The constitutional amendment of 1891 pre-
The charter
vented any further special legislation, and since that
date the people of the city have been trying to secure
modifications of the charter. Under the charter com-
mission act another effort, which was successful, was
made in the spring of 1900, the people accepting the
work of the commission. The present charter is a
mixture of the federal and board types, the mayor
appointing the members of the several governing
boards, while the latter regulate and govern the affairs
of the city in many of its departments. The elective
officers under the charter of 1900 are the mayor, city
comptroller, two judges of the municipal court, two
constables, and the city council. In the council rests
the power of removal by a two-thirds vote.
The mayor is elected for a term of two years at a
salary of $2500. He appoints the board of school
The mayor. inspectors, fire commissioners, water commissioners,
park commissioners, library board, board of public
works, commissioner of health, chief of police, and
the directors of the workhouse. The power which
the executive wields through these appointments is
very important. As an executive officer the mayor
has oversight of the city officers and boards. The
usual provisions are made in the charter for the
signing of ordinances, vetoes, and for advising the
council by message.1
1 An excellent compilation of the municipal code of St. Paul was
published in 1893. The reports of the city departments may be had in
limited number, by applying to the city clerk. The boards and officers
are enumerated there. See also, for the history of St. Paul, The
Pioneer Press, November 9, 1899.
SV. Paul 87
The common council is a bicameral organization
consisting of a council and an assembly. The
assemblymen are elected at large from the city,
although certain restrictions are placed upon resi-
dence to prevent too large a representation from one
section. The aldermen are elected one from each
ward. The present membership of the council is ^™ebership
twenty, eleven aldermen and nine assemblymen. On council
certain occasions, as in the election of a city clerk, the
two bodies act in joint session. The salary is $100
per year and the term of office two years.
The powers of the city council pertain to the man-
agement and control of the finances and property of
the city, and the passage of ordinances relating to
government, order, suppression of vice and crime,
issuance of licenses, paving, roads and bridges, and
many other matters requiring regulation. The coun-
cil elects only the city clerk, attorney, building
inspector, and market master. The city treasurer,
comptroller, and clerk perform the duties set forth
in the section relating to the general government
of a city.1
The St. Paul charter provides for an unusual num-
ber of boards, whose members are appointed by the
mayor. Nearly all of these boards serve without
compensation, and undoubtedly give good service,
guarding the finances and expenditures fairly well.
The boards have already been enumerated. With the boards,
exception of the boards of water commissioners, park
commissioners, and the directors of the workhouse,
whose terms are for five years, the regular period of
service is three years.
1 See § 31.
88 Local Government
34. DULUTH
The city of Duluth has struggled for a number of
Charter years to secure a new charter, and has finally suc-
history. J . ' J .
ceeded in doing so. Commissioners were appointed
under the constitutional provisions to frame a con-
tinuous and complete charter, but it was not until the
spring of 1900 that such an instrument was actually
accepted by the people. Many legislative acts had
been passed to modify the old charter. The consti-
tutional amendment of 1892 prevented any further
legislation, and the citizens were thrown on their own
resources. After much opposition a new charter was
framed and accepted by the people.
The Duluth charter may be described as an extreme
form of the mayor type, in that the common council
has almost no appointive powers. In the matter of
appointive officers, the mayor is allowed to name all
police officers, the members of the board of fire com-
missioners, public works, light and water commis-
sioners, civil service commissioners, and the park and
library boards, assessor, city attorney, health officer,
city engineer, and building inspector. He also has
the right of veto subject to the usual restrictions upon
that power. The city council in turn appoints the city
clerk and a few minor officers.
The elective officers of the city are the mayor,
Elective treasurer, comptroller, aldermen, municipal and spe-
cial municipal judges. With the exception of the last
two, who hold their offices for three years, the terms
of office are two years. The aldermen number two
from each ward and form the common council. This
body fixes the salaries of minor city officers, passes
Duluth 89
such ordinances as are necessary for the proper gov-
ernment of the city, and may remove officers upon
proper evidence.
Three important boards are mentioned in the char- Boards.
ter, the board of fire commissioners, the board of public
works, and the park board. The first board is named
by the mayor and elected by the council. It consists
of three members appointed for three years. The com-
pensation is $200 per year. The board has full con-
trol of the fire department. Public works are always
a part of a city's business. In Duluth the matters
of streets, public buildings, and paving are placed
under the control of a board of three persons holding
their offices for three years. The board passes upon
contracts, and superintends the paving, sewers, and
building within the city. The salary of the members
of this board is $1000 a year. The third board is the
park board. The membership consists of three per-
sons appointed by the mayor. Three years is the
term of office.
The power of removal of any officer or member of Removal,
the boards rests with the city council, providing there
is a two-thirds vote to sustain the charges that may
be brought against an officer.
The charter also provides an elaborate system of
municipal ownership when desired by the people.
The sale of public franchises is forbidden until the
terms are published in the newspapers for six weeks.
The council is limited in the granting of franchises to
a period of twenty-five years. The regulation of the
rates for public service is left in the hands of the
council. The charter is an experiment, but embodies
some of the latest ideas in municipal government.
CHAPTER VI
NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
35. REFERENCES
Bryce, The American Commonwealth, II. chs. lix.-lxix.; General
Statutes, 1894 (see index under Elections); General Laws of 1895,
1897, 1899; Booth, Township Manual, Minneapolis, 1899; Legislative
Manual, 1899, index.
36. WHO ARE VOTERS
A man may vote in some States and still not be
a citizen of the United States, but this is not true
in Minnesota. The question of franchise and the
restrictions upon its exercise are determined by the
States under the authority of the Federal Constitution.
Thus one State may require voters to live within its
boundaries one year, another but six months; in all
cases, however, the voter, if not already a citizen of
the United States, must have signified his intention of
becoming one.1 But the States may remove even this
slight qualification if they choose. The privilege of
the franchise in Minnesota is not as easily acquired as
in earlier days. The constitution has been amended
1 In reference to this point, see articles on "Citizens" and "Natu-
ralization " in Johnson's Cyclopcedia, and Bryce, The American Com-
monwealth, I. 419.
90
Who are Voters 91
from time to time, changing the conditions of resi-
dence, and making it more difficult to become an
elector. In November, 1896, the last amendment was
ratified, granting the privilege of voting to citizens of
the United States alone.
On the subject of franchise and the rights of
voters the words of the constitution present the
matter concisely and to the point.
" Every male person of the age of 2 1 years or
upwards belonging to either of the following classes Classes of
who has resided in this State six months next preced- *
ing any election, shall be entitled to vote at such
election in the election district of which he shall at
the time have been a resident for thirty days, for
all officers that now are, or hereafter may be, elective
by the people.
" First — Citizens of the United States who have
been such for the period of three months next pre-
ceding any election.
" Second — Persons of mixed white and Indian
blood, who have adopted the customs and habits of
civilization.
" Third — Persons of Indian blood residing in this
State, who have adopted the language, customs, and
habits of civilization, after an examination before any
district court of the State, in such manner as may be
provided by law, and shall have been pronounced by
said court capable of enjoying the rights of citizen-
ship within the State."1
Another group has been admitted to the franchise women
on particular questions. Women who comply with voters-
1 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. VII., Sec. I, amended Novem-
ber 3, 1896.
92 Nominations and Elections
the same conditions as the male voters may vote
upon matters relating to schools and libraries and
may participate in the election of officers having
them in charge.
Residential restrictions have been placed upon
voters by the constitution, making it necessary for
a citizen of the United States, either native born or
naturalized, who has been living in another State,
ffetheCti°n to res^e *n Minnesota six months previous to the
franchise. election before he can vote.1 Even a citizen of the
State cannot vote in an election district unless he
has lived in it at least thirty days next preceding
the election. These restrictions are necessary to good
order and pure elections. The election law of the
State has also decreed that persons convicted of
treason or felony, or who are under guardianship, or
are insane, shall be excluded from the franchise.
We now have pretty well before us the qualifica-
tions necessary for citizenship. The whole matter
may be made somewhat clearer by the following
schedule.
1 In reference to the question of United States citizenship as a
requirement for voting in the State, a very interesting point was raised
in the case of the mayor-elect of Redwood Falls. This officer was
elected under the impression that he was a United States citizen. It
was found that the mayor was born in Canada and that he was but five
years of age when his father moved to Minnesota Territory. The father
failed to take out the " second papers " necessary to full United States
citizenship. The attorney general to whom the question had been re-
ferred decided that any foreign-born elector who was in the Territory
of Minnesota at the time it was admitted to statehood was a full citizen
of the State, on the ground that the action of Congress in admitting
Minnesota to the Union was tantamount to a collective naturalization
of the citizens of the Territory.
Nomination of Candidates 93
CONDITIONS OF SUFFRAGE IN MINNESOTA
PERSONS
QUALIFICATIONS
Males
Natives of the United States.
Foreigners who have been natu-
ralized.
Civilized half-breeds.
Civilized Indians who have been
examined.
Women
Belonging to either of the classes
described above may vote upon
measures relating to schools and
libraries.
Age 21 years and upward.
Residence
In the United States five years.
In the State six months.
In the election district thirty
days.
Status
Not convicted of treason or
felony.
Not under guardianship.
Not insane.
Women
The same as those of the male
voter.
Schedule of
Suffrage.
37. NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES
There are two methods of nominating candidates Methods of
for office: first, by convention, which includes the Nomination,
machinery of the primary ; and second, by petition.1
The convention method is the usual way of selecting
party candidates for office.
The organization of a nominating convention is
preceded by the election of delegates by the various
primaries in the city, town, county, or congressional
district. The law of 1895 provides that any political
Primaries
party may hold primary elections in any county or called,
city in the State.2 The political parties in the State
1 " A primary is a meeting of voters belonging to the same political
party in a ward, township, or other election district, held for the pur-
pose of nominating candidates for office or choosing delegates to a con-
vention. Theoretically, every voter belonging to a party in a district
has a right to attend the primary and vote." — Century Dictionary.
* General Laws, 1895, ch. 276.
94 Nominations and Elections
have what are known as committees, one for the
State, and one for each county and city and some-
times township. These bodies have the oversight
and management of a party's affairs. Thus the
State central committee has general charge of the
campaign throughout the State, the county committee
looks after the interests of the party in the county,
and so on down the line until we come to the voting
districts (which in cities of over two thousand must
not contain over four hundred voters), where we find a
committee that has charge of the party's affairs in the
district. The chairman of the district committee, or
better the precinct committee, must see that notices
are posted of the coming primary election at
least twenty days before the event. In this notice
appear the date, place, hour, and number of dele-
gates to be elected. The call for the primary is
signed by the chairman and secretary of the larger
committee that has the election in charge. The
precinct committee carries out the instructions issued
by the county, congressional, or city committees.
The notice of the Republican Congressional Conven-
tion given below illustrates the system.1
1 REPUBLICAN CONVENTION AND PRIMARY ELECTION
OFFICIAL CALL
A Republican Convention for the Fifth Congressional District, State
of Minnesota, will be held on Wednesday, the 25th day of May, 1898,
at Harmonia Hall, corner of Third Street and Second Avenue south in
the City of Minneapolis.
Said Convention shall convene at 10 o'clock in the forenoon of said
day, for the purpose of nominating a candidate to represent the Fifth
Congressional District of the State of Minnesota in the Fifty-sixth Con-
gress, to be voted for at the next general election, to be held Novem-
ber 8, 1898, and for the transaction of such other business as may
properly come before the Convention.
Nomination of Candidates 95
The primary having been called, and the hour of
the meeting at hand, the chairman or secretary of
The basis of representation in said convention shall be one delegate
for each fifty votes, or major fraction thereof (twenty-five being for the
purpose hereof treated as a major fraction of fifty), cast for the head
of the presidential electors at the last election held November 3,
1896, in each election precinct, each precinct being entitled, however,
to at least one delegate.
In accordance with the above apportionment, the several election
precincts in Hennepin County will be entitled to the following number
of delegates in said convention : —
COUNTRY
Bloomington ................... 3 Minnetrista .................... 2
Brooklyn ...................... 4 Orono ........................ 2
Champlin ...................... 2 Plymouth ...................... 2
Corcoran ...................... 3 Richfield ...................... 3
Crystal Lake ................... 2 St. Anthony ...................
Dayton ........................ 2 Village of Edina ...............
Eden Prairie .................... 2 Village of Golden Valley .......
Excelsior town and village ...... 4 Village of Minnetonka Beach . .
Greenwood ..................... 2 Village of Ossco ..............
Hassan ........................ i Village of Robbinsdale ........
Independence .................. 2 Village of St. Louis Park ........ 4
Maple Grove ................... 3 Village of Wayzata ............. I
Medina ........................ i Village of West Minneapolis ---- 4
Minnetonka .................... 3 —
Total ......................... 60
CITY DISTRICTS
Ward i 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Total
22
35
58
25
54
32
19
33
16
9
City total .................................................. 478
Country total .............................................. 60
Grand total . ................................... 538
4e
r A
.1
0
j •
3
0
32
44
2 2
3
o
7
43254
2 4
3r
33
3 A
3
7
r
7 6 < 4 2
33
3 A
6
43
6
7 5 5 2 . .
5
a
33
42
5
32
3
4t?
6
3e
33
g
10
50
4 A
ii
3
3 A
2 3
32
12
3
32
S3
13. . .
. o.
6
96 Nominations and Elections
Organization the precinct committee calls the assemblage to order,
:idry' and proceeds to form an organization. In case both
of these officers are absent, any of the voters may act
as the temporary chairman. From the members pres-
ent a chairman, a clerk of election, and two judges of
election are chosen by a viva voce vote.
The organization now completed, the chairman
administers the oath of office to the newly elected
Officers. officers and the work of casting the ballots for dele-
gates to the convention proceeds. The officers of the
primary have particular duties to perform ; the chair-
man administers the oaths and presides, the clerk
makes minutes of the meeting and administers the
oath to the presiding officer. The judges of election
receive the ballots of the voters qualified to vote, and
make a record of the name and address of every voter
before he casts his ballot. After the hour of the pri-
The primary election for the selection of delegates to attend the
Convention aforesaid shall be held in each election precinct in Henne-
pin County on Tuesday, the 24th day of May, 1898, at 7.30 o'clock P.M.,
and the polls shall be kept open for at least one hour, provided, however,
that the polls shall not be closed until all qualified voters present at
8.30 o'clock and desiring to vote shall have an opportunity so to do,
and shall be held at the November, 1896, polling place in each pre-
cinct, except as the same may be changed in the further notices of said
primary election, which will be posted in three public places in each
precinct at least six days prior to the date when said primary election
will occur. All voters, without regard to past political affiliations, who
believe in the principles of the Republican party and who desire its
success in the present campaign, are invited to participate in the selec-
tion of delegates to said Convention.
By order of the Republican Congressional Committee for the Fifth
Congressional District.
S. B. LOVEJOY.
Chairman.
T. S. MAYER.
Secretary.
Nomination of Candidates 97
mary has passed the judges count the ballots, and
declare elected those who received a plurality of the
votes cast. It then becomes the duty of the chair-
man and the clerk to furnish the delegates-elect with
proper certificates of election.
The primary law is explicit and strenuous in regard Time-
to the time of meeting, which is limited to the hours
2-9 P.M. If more than one primary is to be held in
a city, town, or county, they must be held at the same
hour and on the same day.
Under this law the parties that poll at least five per
cent of the total vote cast inside a county, city, or
district may elect delegates to their various local con-
ventions. A State convention may be held by a party Conventions.
that has polled a vote equivalent to one per cent of
the total vote of the State. The State central com-
mittees of the various parties determine the number
of delegates to the State convention that shall be
allotted to the different counties. A regular rule has
been established, largely by usage, basing the repre-
sentation in the State convention upon the vote cast
by the counties for the last preceding party candidate
for governor.1 The delegates selected by the various
primaries in a county meet at the call of the party
chairman, choose their candidates for the county
offices, and name delegates to the State convention.2
1 Minneapolis Journal, December 2, 1899, first page.
2 Primary Election Law, General Laws, 1899, ch. 349. This act
applies to Hennepin County alone. In 1899 the legislature passed the
above law applying to counties of two hundred thousand inhabitants
and over. Under its provisions any person may become a candidate
for an office in the county, if his petition is signed by ten per cent of
the qualified voters necessary to his election. The primary election is
held sometime before the regular election, and the members of the
H
98 Nominations and Elections
The delegates so selected from the various counties
form the State convention. On a certain date set
by the central committee the delegates assemble in
one of the larger cities and proceed to the selection
of candidates for the State offices, and delegates to
the national party convention. When the different
parties have made known their choice of candidates,
the secretary of state arranges the names on the
Australian ballot in time for the general election.
The second method of choosing candidates for
political offices is by petition. The law provides
every means to give to protestors and the minority
some representation in the selection of candidates.
Persons may be nominated for State offices when sup-
ported by a petition containing names to the number
Nomination of one per cent of the total party vote at the last elec-
by petition. tjoj^ £Qr congressional or judicial positions when sup-
ported by a petition of five per cent of such voters.
In the case of the city, county, and legislative officers
the candidates' names must be accompanied by a
petition of ten per cent of the party voters. But in
no case shall over two thousand names be required
for the State offices or more than five hundred for
the others.1
The local government is put to a considerable
expense in printing the ballots and preparing the
blanks and notices of an election. The State law pro-
vides that a candidate for a State office or his friends
party then choose their candidates from the persons nominated by
petition. On the tenth day before the regular election, the county
clerk arranges the names of the candidates so selected on the election
tickets.
1 General Laws , 1895, c^' I3S>
The Corrupt Practices Act^S 99
must deposit $50 with the secretary of state; the Fees of
seeker for congressional honors must pay $20 to the candidates-
auditor of each of the counties composing his district;
the county officers pay £10 to have their names on
the ballot of their party; and the candidates for city
places deposit $$ with the clerk of the municipality.
In towns of less than three thousand this last amount
is reduced to £3. When the secretary of state, the
county auditors, and the city clerks have received
these sums and deposited them with the different
treasurers, the names of the candidates may appear
on the ballots.
38. THE CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT
The legislature in 1895 passed an act, as has been
done in many other States, defining bribery in elec-
tions and limiting the expenditures of candidates for
office.1 The penalties for the violation of the act
are severe. This piece of legislation deals with
bribery, stuffing the ballot box, and kindred offences, contents of
election expenses, contributions to party funds, dis- the act.
bursements of money by party committees, and the
method of procedure against actual or suspected vio-
lators of the law.
Bribery, as defined in the law, includes three sepa-
rate acts: (i) the receiving of bribes, (2) the giving Bribery and
of bribes, and (3) the contributing of money with the corruption,
knowledge that it is to be used for corruption. Upon
conviction the violators of the act may be subjected
to imprisonment in the penitentiary for five years or
to a fine of $500. The framers of the law recognized
1 General Laws, 1895, c^- 277'
100
Nominations and Elections
Items of
expense.
Reasonable
expenses.
Campaign
committees.
that other means are open for corrupting voters, for
they included in the law a clause against the use of
force or coercion. The punishment in such cases is
fixed at three months in the county jail. Gifts and
banquets are tabooed under a penalty of a fine of
$25, while stuffing the ballot box is punishable by a
five years' imprisonment in the penitentiary.
The act, however, permits the candidate to ex-
pend some money in a legitimate way. He is
allowed to pay travelling expenses, rent of halls,
and the expenses incurred for speakers, challenges,
clerks, the copying of poll lists and the canvassing of
voters. The law further declares that all candidates
for any public office within the commonwealth must
report in writing, verified by affidavit, the amount of
money spent for these different objects. This state-
ment must be filed in the office of the county auditor
within thirty days after the election. Any person
failing to comply with this part of the law is liable to
a fine not exceeding $1000.
The question as to what constitutes reasonable
expenses is not left unanswered. The act states that
no candidate shall pay out or expend in any manner
connected with an election more than $250 for five
thousand voters or less ; $2 more may be added for
each hundred votes up to twenty-five thousand ; for
each hundred votes over twenty-five thousand and up
to fifty thousand $i may be expended; and for each
hundred voters over fifty thousand, fifty cents.
The party campaign committees usually come into
the control of considerable sums of money during
election periods. The legislature did not overlook
this fact, and provided that the money of such com-
The Corrupt Practices Act IOI
mittees be distributed through a treasurer, who must
file in the office of the county auditor within thirty
days after the election an account of receipts and
expenditures. If the committee neglects to do this a
fine of one hundred dollars or an imprisonment of
three months may be imposed on its members.
The reports, affidavits, and accounts filed by
candidates in the offices of the county auditors are
open to public inspection for four years. After that
time the auditors or their successors shall destroy
the accumulated reports.
In order the better to secure the enforcement of
the act the courts are open, within limits, to those
who wish to bring charges against officers who violate
the law. Charges may be preferred against the sue- befo°™ the
cessful candidate by the person having the next court,
highest vote. The hearing before the court is secured
by applying to the attorney general of the State to
begin proceedings. In order to insure good faith
this application must be accompanied by a bond
of $1000. The charges also must be set forth in
specific and definite language. Within ten days
after the receipt of the application and bond the
legal officer of the State must either begin the action
in person or instruct the county attorney of the
county in which the officer resides to begin proceed-
ings. If the attorney general refuses to comply with
his request, the applicant may bring the action at his
own expense.
Since the enactment of this law, the reports and
accounts of committees and candidates have been
Results of
filed with great regularity. Occasional complaints the law.
have been made concerning the expenditure of money,
IO2 Nominations and Elections
but no important suits have been brought. The law,
nevertheless, serves a very useful function in that it
acts as a check upon election expenses and the con-
duct of candidates.
39. MACHINERY OF ELECTIONS
Time of The general elections in the State are held in every
elections. even-numbered year, on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in November. At this time in every sec-
ond, fourth, or sixth year, presidential electors, mem-
bers of the legislature, representatives in Congress,
State, county, and sometimes city officers, and the
judges of the supreme and district courts are selected.
The machinery of elections is elaborate and intri-
detaiis'11 cate, although from the point of view of the voters
the workings are comparatively simple ; but back of
the scenes of election day are the preparation of
blanks, notices, and ballots, the appointment of elec-
tion officers, registration, posting of the lists of voters,
the counting of the ballots, the official canvass, and
the final deposit of results with the various city,
county, and State officers. In other sections of this
chapter we have described the nomination of candi-
dates ; in this we shall have to do with the points just
mentioned.
The voter first comes in contact with the election
machinery through what is called " registration." By
Registration. ^s ^s meant the listing of the names and addresses of
all of those who are qualified electors. The inten-
tion of this part of the law is to prevent illegal voting
and to give an opportunity to challenge voters. In
all towns and cities having more than twelve hundred
Machinery of Elections 103
inhabitants, registration of voters is required by law.
Such cities are divided into three groups : (i) those of
less than twelve thousand people, (2) those having
between twelve thousand and forty thousand, and (3)
those of over forty thousand population. In the first
group no regular questions are asked of the voter,
although he takes an oath which binds him to answer
such questions as may be put to him. In the second
group, questions must be answered as to name, age,
place of residence, nativity, color, length of residence Ouestions
in the United States, in the State, and district, as to asked,
ability to read English, and as to last place of regis-
tration. Foreign-born voters must also state whether
they have received their first or second papers, and
where such papers were taken out. To the questions
asked in the second group are added, in the third
group of cities, inquiries as to whether the voter is
a householder, boarder, lodger, or employee.1 The
boards that conduct the registration are required to
meet in all the cities at least three times, and in the
cities of over forty thousand inhabitants a fourth
meeting is held on the Saturday previous to the
election. On the days of registration the polls are
open from six A.M. to nine P.M. After each day of
registration the books are turned over to the city
clerk or recorder for safe keeping. The law re- Posting of
quires that at least ten days before election the list
of voters must be posted in a conspicuous place near
the polls.
One thing remains to be done before the election
takes place, and that is the preparation of the ballots. Preparation
of ballots.
Since 1891 the entire State is under the Australian
1 General Statutes, 1894, §§ 60-72.
104
Nominations and Elections
ballot system.1 The ballots containing the names of
the candidates for State offices are white, the munici-
pal ballots are red, and the county and miscellaneous
offices are placed on a blue ballot. The first is pre-
pared by the secretary of state, the city clerk arranges
the second, and the county auditor the third. When
the officer under whose authority the ballot is issued
orders the facsimile of his signature to be printed
under the words " official ballot," this action on his
part designates it as such. Two weeks before the
election the ballots must be ready for distribution,
and at that time printed in the newspapers of the
cities and counties. Sample ballots are kept in the
offices of the city clerk, county auditor, and secretary
of state for public inspection. On the day preceding
the election the ballots are delivered to the judges of
election by special messengers. Every precaution is
taken to prevent fraud.
40. THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS
All preparations have now been made with the
exception of the choosing of judges, clerks, and con-
stables. These officers are selected some time before
registration begins, but it is at this point in our
description of election proceedings that we can best
describe the method of choosing them.
In towns and townships where there is but one elec-
tion district, the supervisors or town council may act
as judges of election. The number of judges is three,
but not more than two may be of the same political
1 For the Australian ballot system, see Wigmore, The Australian
Ballot System.
The Conduct of Elections 105
party. The judges in turn select one of the clerks of
election, the town clerk serving as the second one.
This plan is somewhat changed in towns and cities of
two or more election districts. With respect to these
the law provides that thirty days before the election
the local committees of parties may furnish to the
council a list of qualified electors who are willing to
serve as judges. In cities of more than twelve
thousand inhabitants a ballot judge is added to the
number, making four judges. Except in the cities
of less than twelve thousand inhabitants,1 the judges
of each voting precinct choose four clerks. The
fourth judge and two of the clerks render no service
in the registration of voters, but appear on the elec-
tion day. The election constables, like the clerks,
are chosen by the judges.
The duties of the judges are comparatively simple. Duties.
One of them has charge of the ballots. He delivers
to the voter the several ballots and receives from
him the ballots which he has marked in the booth.
The ballot judge then places each ballot in its proper
box. The other two, or in case of cities of over
twelve thousand inhabitants, three, have control of the
registers compiled from the names of electors regis-
tered previous to the election, and mark the name of
each voter when he delivers his ballot to the ballot
judge, who deposits it in the proper box. The clerks
keep poll lists in which the name, residence, and the
color of the ballot box in which the ballots are cast
are noted. These lists are supposed to correspond
with those kept by the judges.
The ballots are in the form of the Australian ballot,
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 144.
io6
Nominations and Elections
and must be properly marked by the voter. Any
technical error does not cause the rejection of the
vote unless it is impossible to determine the intention
of the voter. The elector in case he cannot write
may receive aid from some person appointed by the
ballot judge.
41. CANVASSING BOARDS
As soon as the polls are closed the ballot boxes
are opened in the presence of judges, clerks, and
party challengers, and the counting begins. The
judges of election first prepare, at the end of each
poll list, a summary of the number of persons present
and voting, the number of women, and the number of
white, red, and blue ballots recorded as cast. When
the statements have been prepared and signed, the
ballot boxes are opened, examined, and the ballots
taken out and arranged. Beginning with the boxes
containing the votes for State officers, the ballots are
counted to see if the number agrees with the poll list.
If the numbers are in accord the judges proceed to
ascertain the number of votes cast for each candidate,
the clerks keeping tally on sheets provided for the
purpose.
After the judges of election have finished the
count, and signed a statement of the results, the
ballots are placed on a string and returned to the box
from which they were taken. These boxes are sealed
with papers on which are written the names of the
judges. The boxes are deposited with the town or
city clerk, and are not opened until the next election
unless necessary to verify the results. The poll lists
Canvassing Boards 107
and one of the registers is deposited with the clerk, and
the others are sent to the office of the county auditor.
The law requires the judges to deposit the returns,
ballot boxes, and registers with the city clerk as soon
as possible, the limit of time being twenty-four hours
after the election.1
The returns for county candidates are sent to the
county auditor, who, within the next ten days, calls a County
canvassing board consisting of himself, the chairman boards-
of the board of county commissioners, and two jus-
tices of the peace of opposite political parties residing
in the county. The business of this board is care-
fully to examine and sum up the returns, and to
make a sworn statement concerning (i) the whole
number of votes cast for each candidate on the State
ticket, (2) the whole number of votes cast for county
officers and members of the legislature, and (3)
to do the same in reference to the votes cast for
presidential electors, representatives in Congress, and
constitutional amendments. When the board has
declared the candidates for county offices receiving the
highest number of ballots elected, the county auditor
makes out a certificate of election for each successful
candidate. As a final act the board sends certified
statements of the results to the secretary of state,
who in time presents them to the State canvassing
board.
Eighteen of the senatorial districts in the State are
composed of two or more counties, which necessitates
a third canvassing board known as the senatorial Senatonal
district
district canvassing board.2 The auditor of the senior board.
1 Minnesota General Statutes, 1894, §§ 156-192.
* General Statutes, 1894, §§ 175-177.
io8 Nominations and Elections
county calls together on the twentieth day after the
election the chairman of the county commissioners of
his county and two justices of the peace, with such
auditors of the counties composing the district as
care to attend. The board then opens and inspects
the returns from the several counties, and declares
those receiving the highest vote elected. The
auditor then makes out certificates of election to the
members of the legislature from that district.
From all parts of the State the county auditors
send the returns for the State officers to the secretary
of state. This officer calls to his aid two or more
judges of the supreme court, and two disinterested
judges of the district courts of the State. On the
third Tuesday in December, after the election, these
officials meet in the office of the secretary of state
and go over the returns, and make a sworn state-
ment concerning the votes received by candidates for
State offices, members of Congress, and presidential
electors. The persons receiving the largest number
of votes for these different positions are given certifi-
cates of election signed by the governor and the
secretary of state.
This act on the part of the State canvassing board
completes the machinery of election. On the first
day of January, with a few exceptions, the officers-
elect take their positions and begin their service for
the State.
CHAPTER VII
THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
42. REFERENCES
Wilson, The State (revised ed.), §§ 1147-1172; Bryce, The Ameri-
can Commonwealth, I. ch. xlii.; General Statutes of Minnesota, 1894;
Dunnell, Minnesota Trial Book, ch. ii.; Legislative Manual, 1899;
Booth, Township Manual, ch. iv., section on Judiciary.
43. THE JUDICIAL POWER
Two of the most important of the functions of the
State are the maintenance of order and the adminis-
tration of justice. The first is largely an executive Functions
duty, but in performing it the governor and other of the courts,
executive officers must frequently rely upon the as-
sistance of judicial tribunals. The second is purely
a judicial function, and is vested in the courts. No
other function that any government undertakes sur-
passes it in importance. Under it the State punishes
crimes which, because of the fact that they menace
the life and property of all the people of the com-
munity, are regarded as offences against the State
rather than as offences against the person injured.
Through the courts also private individuals seek to
protect their rights and to secure the redress of wrongs
committed against them. Certain of the courts assume
the protection of the persons and property of the
109
no The Administration of Justice
insane, minors, and others who are thought to be
incapable of defending themselves.
In these courts two kinds of actions may be
brought, called civil actions and criminal actions.1
The first or civil action may be instituted by the
State in its capacity as an owner or contracting party,
or by a subject or citizen, for the purpose of maintain-
ing a right, collecting a debt, or for damages for an
injury or wrong to person. A criminal action is
brought when the State attempts to prove the guilt
of a person for an act or omission forbidden by law.
Such acts or omissions are called crimes, and are
defined by statute.
The judicial system of Minnesota is largely a crea-
tion of the legislature. The constitution says, " The
judicial power of the State shall be vested in a supreme
court, district courts, courts of probate, justices of the
peace, and such other courts, inferior to the supreme
court, as the legislature may from time to time estab-
lish by a two-thirds vote."2 These courts may be
grouped for convenience in treatment under three
heads, local courts, district courts, and the supreme
court.
44. THE LOCAL AND DISTRICT COURTS
There are three local courts : the justice of the
peace courts, town or city courts, and the probate
courts. The law provides that each township may
elect two justices of the peace and two constables
1 Being what is called a code State the distinction between " actions
at law " and " suits in equity " is abolished, such cases coming under
civil actions.
2 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. VI., Sec. I.
The Local and District Courts in
every two years. In each city justices of the peace
are elected for the same period.1 This officer is,
therefore, primarily a local one. The justice's court Justice's
machinery consists of a constable and a jury. When c
it is necessary to secure a jury the justice directs the
constable, or possibly the sheriff, to make a list of
twenty-four persons, residing in the county and quali-
fied to vote, to serve as jurors. From this list each
party to the cause may strike six names. In case
of agreement between the defendant and plaintiff,
the jury may be reduced to six persons.
The jurisdiction of a justice of the peace is original ;
that is, all cases which a justice hears begin in his
court. None can be appealed to it, for it is the lowest
court in the system. The justice has power within Jurisdiction,
the limits of the county to order the arrest of persons
breaking the peace, or who are charged with any
criminal offence. He may commit to jail, require
security to keep the peace, or bail for appearance
at a higher court, but he does not have any final
jurisdiction when the punishment for the offence
exceeds three months' imprisonment or a fine of
$100. In civil cases the jurisdiction of this court
extends to actions on contracts for the recovery of
money, to suits for damages for injury to person or
property, and to actions on bonds, provided the sum
involved in such cases does not exceed $100. In
cases relating to a title to real estate, false impris-
onment, libel, slander, seduction, breach of promise
to marry, divorce, or actions against an executor or
administrator, the justice has no jurisdiction.2
1 Abolished in Minneapolis, 1899.
8 General Statutes, 1894, §§ 4959, 4960.
112 The Administration of Justice
City justices. The justices of the peace elected within the bounda-
ries of a municipal corporation are called city justices.
They possess a somewhat larger power and jurisdic-
tion than the county justice. In addition to the
jurisdiction described above the city justice has the
right to hear and try all violations of the charter
provisions, ordinances or by-laws passed by councils,
and cases of larceny where the amount stolen does
not exceed $25. In fact all offences not indictable,
such as assaults, batteries, affrays, drunkenness, dis-
order, and breaches of the peace, so long as the
punishment does not exceed $100 fine or three
months' imprisonment, may come before a justice
of the peace for trial.1
But there are, despite the enlarged powers of the
Municipal cfty justice, a great many cases, civil and criminal,
that are not within his jurisdiction. This is particu-
larly true in the larger cities. In order to relieve the
district court from such matters, another local court
has been created called the municipal court. Any
incorporated city may establish such a court. The
municipal court has a judge, a clerk, and a seal. It
has power to hear, try, and determine civil actions
at law where the amount in controversy does not
of th^munic- exceed $5OO. It also has jurisdiction to hear crimi-
ipai court. nal complaints and conduct examinations and trials
in criminal cases arising within such cities where
the jurisdiction is co-extensive with the county and
equivalent to that of a justice of the peace. The
powers of the court do not extend to actions in-
volving the title to real estate, divorces, libel, breach
of promise, civil actions against the city, or any
1 General Statutes, 1894, §§ 1074, 1075.
The Local and District Courts 113
action involving over $500 against an administrator
or executor.1
The judge of this court is elected for a period of officers of
four years and receives a salary varying with the thecourt
size of the city.2 In towns of less than five thousand
inhabitants the chief magistrate of the city acts in
the capacity of judge. The judge is to hear and
dispose of cases brought before him by the police
officers or marshals of the city. The clerk of the
court keeps the records, swears the witnesses and
jurors, and administers oaths.
The third local court is the probate court, estab-
lished in order to relieve the district court of the
business of administering estates, wills, guardian-
ships over children, and the examination of insane
persons. In the case of a will, the probate court court?™
(i) orders the payment of the debts of the deceased,
and (2) divides the remaining property among those
who are entitled to it. If a will, in legal form, has
been left, the division of the property follows the
desire of the former possessor as expressed in the
will; but if no will is left, the judge proceeds in
accordance with the law. The steps in the probating
of a will are as follows : petition for probate ; notice, iJprobatin
by publication in the newspapers, to those interested ; a wil1-
proof of the validity of the will ; admission to pro-
bate; appointment of an administrator, or, in case the
executor is named in the will, confirmation of the
nomination ; settlement and order for payment of
debts; division of the property. When there is no
will, the proceedings are much the same. Some one
interested in the estate petitions for the appointment
1 General Laws, 1895, ch- 229- 2 Ibid-> l899» ch. 271.
I
114
The Administration of Justice
Jurisdiction.
Writs and
processes.
of an administrator; after notice to all concerned
the court makes such an appointment; the pro-
ceedings are then the same as in the case of a
will; the division of the property, however, is in
accordance with the law of the descent of property.
The other duties of the probate court are just as
important. The commitment of insane persons to
an asylum and the appointment of guardians for
minors are difficult tasks. This court is, indeed,
one of mercy in its dealings with orphans, widows,
and the weak.
The district courts have two kinds of jurisdiction,
original and appellate. They have original jurisdic-
tion in all civil actions within their respective dis-
tricts when the sum in controversy exceeds $100,
in those cases where a justice of the peace has no
jurisdiction, and in the case of crimes and misde-
meanors, where the fines and punishment exceed
$100 and three months' imprisonment. The appel-
late jurisdiction of the courts extends to civil and
criminal cases appealed from the courts of probate
and justices of the peace. Appeals may also be made
to these courts from the orders of the railroad and
warehouse commission, board of health, the factory
inspectors, the decisions of county boards on allow-
ances, city condemnation of lands, and county
commissioners.1
In term time the courts, and in vacation the judges
of the district court, may issue writs of injunction,
mandamus, ne exeat, certiorari, habeas corpus, and
such other writs and processes as may be neces-
1 General Statutes, 1894, index title, "Appellate Jurisdiction."
The Supreme Court 115
sary.1 These writs can be served in any part of
the State, but are returnable to the proper county.
45. THE SUPREME COURT
The jurisdiction of this court is largely appellate ;
appeals are taken to the highest court from the dis-
trict courts, where its decisions are reviewed by the
supreme court. The decisions are rendered in writ-
ing, and stand as the law of the case and of the State
quite as effectively as a legislative act. In fact a
legislative act may be declared void by the supreme
court if found to be in conflict with the constitution.
It must be remembered that the* highest court of the
State does not hear jury trials, but passes only upon
questions of law except in cases when " writs " have
been issued by the court. The supreme court has
power, in addition to the trial of appealed cases, to
issue writs of error, certiorari, mandamus, prohibition,
quo warranto, and other writs which are issued in fur-
therance of justice and the administration of law.
The chapter on " Central Government " under the
section "Judiciary " describes the number of courts, the
tenure of office of the judges, and their relation to
each other. The first part of this chapter has been
devoted to the jurisdiction of the different judicial procedure.
bodies, but we still know but little of the real work-
1 Mandamus — a command issued by a superior requiring a lower
court, corporation, or official person to do some specific duty.
Ne exeat — a command to a sheriff or constable to hold a person at
the order of the court.
Certiorari — a writ from a superior to an inferior court directing
that a certified record of a certain case be sent up for review by the
superior court.
Ii6 The Administration of Justice
ings of the courts. Of this, however, we may learn
by an examination of the procedure followed in the
trial of civil and criminal cases.
46. CIVIL PROCEDURE
Undoubtedly the best way to review the method
of procedure is to begin with the introduction of a
case in the district court. If we suppose that a man
has been damaged by the loss of a horse on account
of a neighbor's negligence, we have the basis of a civil
case. Having decided to carry the matter into the
courts, he seeks a lawyer in the county seat and asks
his advice. After the various points have been talked
over the lawyer prepares what is called a " complaint."
This document contains three points, first, the title of
the cause, the court, county, and the names of the
parties, — the plaintiff who brings the suit, and the
defendant against whom it is brought; second, a
plain and concise statement of the facts constituting
the cause of action ; and third, a demand for the
relief to which the plaintiff believes himself entitled.1
The attorney files the complaint with the county clerk,
and notifies the defendant that an action has been
brought against him.
The second step in our case is the answer of the
defendant to the complaint filed by the plaintiff,
which is done within the twenty days allowed by the
law after service. Sometimes the defendant's answer
contains new matter, and if it does the plaintiff is
granted the same time in which to file a reply. The
1 For civil trial, see General Statutes, 1894, §§ 5156-5386.
Civil Procedure 117
general term "pleadings" is used to describe the
papers filed in the case.1
"Issues" arise upon the pleadings, when a fact or
conclusion of law is maintained by one party and
controverted or denied by the other.2 The trial of issues,
the issue constitutes the third step in the proceedings.
The first of these issues arises upon a question of law
in relation to the documents or pleadings of the de-
fendant and plaintiff; the second upon the state-
ment of facts made by the plaintiff, or defendant.
When an issue is joined a trial is the result. A trial
is the judicial examination of the issues or dispute
between parties, and may be tried by the court or by
a jury. Issues of law are tried by the court, issues
of fact by the jury. Sometimes in the latter case
trial by jury is waived, and the matter referred to a
referee. In our case, however, the issue is one of
fact ; both parties insist upon a jury trial.
At any time after issue, but at least eight days before
the term, either party may give notice of trial. The
law provides that the party giving notice must furnish
the clerk of the court with a "note of issue" contain-
ing the names of the parties, and their attorneys, and
when the last pleading was served. When this has The trial,
been done, the clerk enters the cause upon the court
calendar or list of cases for trial according to the date
of the issue. The court disposes of the various cases
in this order: (i) issues of fact, to be tried by a jury ;
(2) issues of law, to be tried by the court. Let us say
that the day of the trial has come, the judge, attorneys,
and parties to the case are present, but a jury must
be secured before the trial can proceed. This is the
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 5332. 2 Ibid., § 5355.
The Administration of Justice
next step. The petit or trial jury consists of twelve
men impanelled and sworn in a district court to try
and determine questions of issue, or fact, in any civil
or criminal proceeding. The names of electors quali-
fied to act as jurors are compiled by the board of
county commissioners.1 These officers make up two
lists of seventy-two names each, one for each jury.
When the lists are completed they are turned over to
the clerk of the district court, and from them the
juries are selected in the presence of witnesses.
On the second day of the term of court the judge
orders the clerk to draw from the jury box not less
than twenty-four names and not more than thirty-six
for a petit jury. After this has been done the clerk
notifies the jurors of their selection, and, unless legally
excused, they are compelled to serve. The court
also orders the clerk to draw as many extra names
as will be necessary to make juries sufficient to serve
two weeks each during the term. The petit jury now
being provided for, we may proceed with the trial.
The names selected by the clerk are put in the
jury box, and on the day of the trial the clerk draws
names until the panel, or jury of twelve men, is com-
pleted. There is still the possibility that both sides
may challenge the jury or object, as allowed by the
law, to certain persons drawn as jurors.2 As soon
as the jury is chosen, (i) the plaintiff's attorney opens
1 There are a few exceptions to this statement. Hennepin County
selects 135 names for grand jurors, and 250 for petit jurors; Ramsey
County, 100 for grand and 200 for petit jurors; and St. Louis County,
400 for both juries. In these counties, including Washington, the selec-
tion of jurors is left to boards differently constituted. General Statutes,
1894, §§ 56ll» 562I> 5628-
2 For method of challenges, see Dunnell, Minnesota Trial Book, ch. ii.
Civil Procedure 119
the trial by stating the issue and presenting the evi- procedure of
dence; (2) the defendant through his attorney pre- the trial
sents his defence substantiated by such evidence as
he can produce ; (3) both sides then offer rebutting
evidence ; (4) which is followed by the arguments of
the plaintiff's and the defendant's attorneys; (5) the
court charges the jury, explaining the powers of
juries and the law applying to the case; (6) after
due deliberation the jury returns its verdict in writing
to the court, where it is filed.
The verdict of the jury may be unsatisfactory to one
of the parties ; in such case he can ask for a new trial, New trial
which the court may grant or deny. The new trial will
be granted providing the aggrieved party can show
reasons, such as irregularity, misconduct, verdict con-
trary to law or the evidence, new evidence, or error
of law. If either party is not satisfied with the
ruling in reference to the new trial, he may appeal
to the supreme court. The party appealing the
case is known as the "appellant," and the second Appeal,
party as the "respondent." The appeal is made by
the service of notice on the latter and on the clerk of
the district court with whom the judgment or verdict
has been filed. When this has been done the clerk
transmits to the supreme court a copy of the judg-
ment, evidence, and the papers upon which the verdict
and judgment were made, which are then printed.1
The time for the filing of the papers on appeal is
limited to six months after the entry of judgment.
The clerk of the supreme court prepares the calen-
dar, and before the opening of the term the attorneys
must file with him their printed briefs. On the day
1 General Statutes, 1894, §§ 6132-6154.
120
The Administration of Justice
set for the hearing the attorneys argue the case before
the judges of the supreme court. These judges have
the power to reverse, affirm, or modify the judgment
of the lower court, and may, if considered necessary,
order a new trial in the district court. The decision
of the supreme court is always presented in writing,
and when once submitted cannot be changed by
appeal to a higher tribunal, except in cases involving
questions in the jurisdiction of the Federal Govern-
ment, which may be taken to the Supreme Court of
the United States. The mandate of the supreme
court, after the decision has been reached, is sent
to the clerk of the district court from which the case
was appealed, who notifies the party against whom
the judgment has been rendered. If necessary he
may issue an execution, which is served by the sheriff
and stands against the property of the defendant
until the judgment is paid; but if a new trial is
ordered the whole case is heard a second time.
47. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Criminal procedure differs considerably from the
trial of a civil case. A crime is an offence against the
law and dignity of the State, and is defined as an act
or omission forbidden by law. It is punishable by
death, imprisonment, or other penal discipline.1
When a person is charged with the commission of
a crime and is arrested therefor, he must be informed
at once of the cause of his arrest. The arrest may
be made by a peace officer with or without a
warrant, or by a private person. Let us begin
1 For the penal code, see General Statutes, 1894, ch. 92.
Criminal Procedure 121
with the arrest by warrant, as this is the usual way.
The complainant appears before a magistrate, and if
upon examination it is shown that a crime has been Arrest,
committed, the court issues a warrant (which is a
paper directing the taking of the person) for the
arrest of the accused person. When the officer to
whom the warrant is addressed takes the prisoner
into custody, the magistrate may admit the prisoner
to bail, under which he agrees to appear for examina-
tion. If the offence is punishable with death or im-
prisonment in the State prison for seven years or
over, the justice of the peace cannot admit him to bail.1
It is at the point of examination that several im- Examination,
portant questions arise. As soon as possible the
person arrested is examined by the magistrate,
witnesses are questioned under oath, and if it appears
to the magistrate that no offence has been committed
he discharges the prisoner ; but if it appears that an
offence has been committed, and there is probable
cause to believe the prisoner guilty, the prisoner is
committed to jail to await trial. As has already been
shown, the prisoner may be admitted to bail ; in such
case he agrees to appear before the superior court
on the day appointed by the magistrate. Meantime
the latter sends to the district court a certified copy of
the examination and the endorsement " Admitted to
bail."
Sometimes a magistrate delays the examination
of a prisoner or makes an illegal commitment. When Habeas
this is done the prisoner may demand a writ of corPus-
" habeas corpus." There are few exceptions to this
right. The demand may be made by the prisoner or
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 7148.
122
The Administration of Justice
Presentment
and indict-
ment.
The grand
jury-
person in his behalf to the supreme court or
district court. This petition for release must state
the reasons for the demand.1 The writ, if issued, is
addressed to the officer having the prisoner in charge,
ordering him to bring the person arrested before the
judge issuing the writ. Then follows an examination
similar to the one described in the previous para-
graph, and if innocent of the offence the prisoner is
discharged; otherwise he is either committed for trial
or admitted to bail. " When the latter appears for
trial the court may order him to be committed to the
custody of the sheriff, to abide the further order of
the court."
The State constitution provides that " No person
shall be held to answer for a criminal offence unless
on the presentment or indictment of a grand jury,
except in cases of impeachment, or in cases cogniza-
ble by a justice of the peace, or those arising in the
army and navy."2 Further progress in the prosecu-
tion of the case is delayed until a grand jury makes
a presentment or indictment against the accused.
So we are confronted by the query, What is a grand
jury ?
"A grand jury is a body of men, not less than
sixteen nor more than twenty-three in number, re-
turned at stated periods from the citizens of the
county, before a court of competent jurisdiction,
chosen by lot, and sworn to inquire of public offences
committed or triable in the county." 3 The members
of a grand jury are chosen from the list sent to the
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 5998.
2 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. I., Sec. 7.
8 General Statutes, 1894, § 7170.
Criminal Procedure 123
clerk of the court by the county commissioners.
Fifteen days before the opening of the term the
clerk draws from a box, in the presence of the sheriff
and a judge or justice of the peace, the names of
twenty-three persons to serve on the grand jury.
A prisoner held on a charge may challenge any indi-
vidual juror for cause, which he must show. When
the jury has been impanelled the court appoints one
of the jurors foreman. After being sworn the jury
retires to a room, elects a clerk, and begins the indictments
inquiry. It is declared by law that the grand jury "
must inquire: (i)into the condition of persons im-
prisoned and not indicted ; (2) into the management
of public prisons ; (3) and the conduct of public
officers in the county. This body of men deliberates
in secret upon the offences committed within the
county. If the jury is convinced that there is
sufficient evidence to justify the trial of the accused
person, it returns a presentment or indictment. A
presentment is a formal accusation made by a grand
jury from its own knowledge or from evidence which
is before it. An indictment is an accusation drawn
up by the public prosecutor and submitted to the
grand jury. The evidence upon which the accusa-
tion is based is then examined, and if it appears
insufficient to justify a trial, the indictment is en-
dorsed " Not a true bill " or " Not found," and the
prisoner is released. But if the evidence points to
the probable guilt of the accused, the indictment is
endorsed " A true bill," and the accused is held for
trial. A majority of the jury must concur in pre-
sentments and indictments. It should be remem-
bered that presentment or indictment by a grand
124
The Administration of Justice
jury does not convict of crime. It merely says that
sufficient evidence has been brought against the ac-
cused to justify further investigation by a regular
judicial process before a court.
The clerk of the court prepares the criminal calen-
dar which includes the names of the persons indicted,
The trial of . , , , 111
the accused, accompanied by the statement whether they are in
custody or on bail. The trial now proceeds. The
defendant may move to have the indictment set aside.
The arguments for and against this motion are then
heard ; if the court decides the indictment may be set
aside the prisoner is free, otherwise the trial goes on.
As in the case of a civil action the defendant charged
with a crime may enter a demurrer.1 This is the sec-
ond step. The defendant must show cause for the
granting of the demurrer. The " motion to set
aside " and the " demurrer " having been refused, the
prisoner may plead guilty or not guilty to the indict-
ment. If he pleads not guilty, an issue of fact arises
which must be tried before a petit jury chosen in the
same way as in a civil action. At every step the
defendant may call in witnesses to meet the evidence
of the prosecution.
Sometimes a jury disagrees, in which case the court
discharges the jury, and a re-trial is ordered ; the
whole matter is gone over a second time. When a
The verdict, verdict is reached the clerk records it on the minutes
of the court, and the judge, if it is a verdict of guilty,
then pronounces sentence. The prisoner, however,
may appeal the case to the supreme court, which has
power to affirm, reverse, or modify the sentence, or
1 A demurrer is an objection to the indictment on the ground that
the facts do not constitute a sufficient basis for a legal action.
Criminal Procedure 125
order a new trial. The proceedings in the higher
court in criminal actions are similar to those in civil
cases already described in the previous section, with
the exception that the State has no right to appeal if
the verdict is in favor of the accused person.
It is possible for the parties to a criminal action to
secure a "change of venue," that is, a transfer of the
case to another district court or county for trial. This ^ehnaunege of
is permitted when there is proof that a fair and impar-
tial trial cannot be had in the county where the case
is pending. The court does not order a change of
venue unless thoroughly persuaded that an impartial
trial is impossible; when the judge is so convinced
the case may be transferred to some other county
within the State.
It will be observed in tracing the various steps
in criminal procedure that the prisoner has many
chances to prove his innocence. In fact, the State is
bound to prove his guilt. At no time in the progress guards Tf
of the trial does the court take it for granted that the justice.
accused is guilty, but at all times, until a verdict of
guilty is rendered, the law presumes the accused to
be innocent. Beginning with his arrest the prisoner
has an opportunity at his examination to prove his
innocence. If he fails in this, or the examination is
delayed, he may apply for a writ of "habeas corpus."
Then comes the indictment by the grand jury, which
the defendant, through his attorneys, may move to
set aside. An argument and decision must be made
on this point before the case can go farther. Again,
the accused may demur to the indictment; then, if
the indictment has held good, he has an opportunity
to plead guilty or not guilty. From this point in the
126 The Administration of Justice
trial proceedings, the defendant is allowed to chal-
lenge the jury, and to present arguments and evi-
dence. Even after the verdict is announced, there is
still the possibility of a new trial, and the certainty of
an appeal to the supreme court.
Both in civil and criminal procedure every safe-
guard is placed about the rights of the parties. Par-
ticularly is this true in the trial of persons accused of
crime. We often hear disparaging remarks concern-
law, ing the law, but a knowledge of it impresses one with
its greatness, importance, fairness, and wisdom. The
Anglo-Saxon civil and criminal procedure is the re-
sult of centuries of development and years of warfare
and struggle. It is the bulwark of our liberties, and
is deserving of our highest respect, even though jus-
tice at times may seem to miscarry or result in the
acquittal of some person whom the community believes
to be guilty.
CHAPTER VIII
REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
48. REFERENCES
Bryce, The American Commonwealth, I. ch. xlviii. ; Adams, The
Science of Finance ; Plehn, Introduction to Finance ; Daniels, Public
Finance; General Statutes of Minnesota, 1894 ; General Laws, 1895,
1897, 1899 (see index); Legislative Manual, 1899; Report of the
Auditor of State, 1899.
49. RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES
The expense of the Minnesota State government
has averaged in the last few years $5,250,000 per
annum, while the local and county governments have
cost the people nearly $15,000,000. The disburse- Expenses,
ments of the central government for the payment of
expenses consisted of twenty-five items, among which
are the expenses of legislative, executive, and judicial
departments, State institutions, public schools, boun-
ties, grain inspection, national guard and Spanish war,
drainage commission, and interest on the State debt.1
The items of local expense vary with the community,
but include salaries, the expenses of roads, lighting,
public buildings, policing, fire protection, and many
other items.
The revenue of the State comes from the regular
State tax, railroad, insurance, telegraph and telephone
1 Legislative Manual, 1899, pp. 558, 568.
127
128 Revenue and Expenditure
Sources of taxes, incorporation fees, interest on deposits, earn-
revenue. jngg Q£ State institutions, sale and lease of public
lands, royalties on mining ore, and departmental
earnings.1 The resources of the local governments
are almost entirely limited to the taxation of real and
personal property, fines, and licenses, and in some
cases receipts from water rates where the community
owns the water plant. The legislature has thus
clearly stated the sources of taxation : —
" All real and personal property in this State, all
personal property of persons residing therein, the
property of corporations now existing or hereafter
created, and the property of all banks existing or
hereafter created, and of all bankers, except such as
is hereinafter expressly excepted, is subject to taxa-
tion, and such property, or the value thereof, shall be
entered in the lists of taxable property for that pur-
pose, in the manner prescribed by this act ; provided,
that railroads, insurance, and telegraph companies
shall be taxed in such manner as now is or may be
hereafter fixed by law." 2
50. THE KINDS OF TAXES
The revenues of the State are raised, so far as
Taxes. taxes are concerned, by the levy upon personal and
real property, and the gross earnings tax on the
incomes of railroads, express, insurance, sleeping-car,
and telegraph companies. The local governments
1 The instructor will do well to read carefully some of the general
works on finance, so that a clear statement of the methods of levying
and collecting taxes may be made to the students.
2 General Statutes, 1894, § 1508.
The Assessment of Property 129
rely upon the taxation of the personal and real prop-
erty within their jurisdiction for their support. The
first kind of property consists of personal belongings,
which include all kinds of money, goods, chattels,
effects, evidences of rights in action, and all written
instruments bringing to the owner an increase of
income or evidencing an ownership of rights or inter-
ests in other property.1 The second is land and
houses, and is defined by the law as " every estate,
interest, and right in land, tenements, and heredita-
ments."2 The "gross earnings tax" was established
in 1873 and afterward modified in iSQ/.8 Under
this law the various companies enumerated above are
compelled to pay into the State treasury three per
cent of their gross incomes, but the payment of this
tax relieves the companies from all other taxes.4
In some cases another tax is sometimes laid. It is
lawful for the common council of a city or town to Poll tax
levy a local tax, known as a poll tax. The amount
of the tax is limited to $2 in any one year, and is laid
upon voters only.6
51. THE ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY
Some basis is necessary for taxation, and this, in
the case of personal and real property, is the wealth
held in such forms. To ascertain the amount of
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 6842. 2 Ibid.
8 General Laws, 1873, ch. in, § I; 1897, chs- !59» *6o» 309, 314.
See also General Statutes, 1894, §§ 1667, 1668.
4 An inheritance tax is authorized by the constitution, but the law
passed a few years ago was declared unconstitutional by the supreme
court, February 15, 1900.
6 General Statutes, 1894, § 1105.
K
130
Revenue and Expenditure
Assessors. property owned by citizens is the first step; for
this purpose officers called assessors are elected in
townships, and appointed in villages, towns, and cities
by the common councils. In the townships, the ser-
vice is for one year and the compensation $2 per day.
In the towns, villages, and cities, the service is for
two years and the compensation fixed by the councils.
During May and June the assessors, having received
the books and blanks from the county auditors, pass
upon the property in their districts. In odd-num-
bered years, both personal and real property are
assessed ; in even years only the personal property is
listed.
Exempted The law exempts certain forms of property from
property. taxation. All public property, such as public build-
ings, churches, universities, charitable institutions,
fire engines, market houses, town halls, and public
libraries, are free of taxes. The personal property
of each individual liable to assessment is exempt
to an amount not exceeding $100. The assessor
makes a note of these deductions, and the auditor, in
filling out the tax lists, deducts the exemptions from
the total assessments and levies the tax upon the re-
mainder. After the examination of the property lists
by the boards of review the assessors' books are
returned to the auditor.
Complaint of some kind is sure to arise when prop-
erty is assessed; the property holders, in the case
Review of of a grievance, may appeal to the boards of review.
Assessments. There ^Q three dasses of such boardSj town Qr dty
boards, county boards, and State boards of equali-
zation. On the fourth Monday in June, after having
given ten days' notice, the town board meets at the
The Assessment of Property 131
office of the town clerk or recorder. This board con-
sists of the supervisors, assessor, recorder, and presi-
dent of each incorporated village, and the assessor, The town
recorder, and mayor of each city.1 At that time a board-
review is made of the property list and assessments,
and if in the opinion of the board any assessment is
wrong or does not appear at all on the books of the
assessor, the board makes the assessment or changes
the valuation as it sees fit. During its sessions per-
sons who consider themselves aggrieved may have
their assessments reviewed.
When the work of the town board is finished, the
assessor makes a tabular statement of the property
assessed, together with the changes noted by the
board of review, and turns the lists over to the county
auditor, accompanied by an affidavit certifying to
their correctness. All of this is accomplished by the
first Monday of July. The auditor then examines
the work of the assessor and the board of review,
and if any errors or omissions are found notifies the
assessor to make the proper assessment; if the
latter refuses to do this, the auditor makes the cor-
rections.
The unequal assessment of property in the differ-
ent parts of the State, due to the assessors and differ-
ent economic conditions, has brought into existence
two other boards known as the county and State Boards of
boards of equalization. The first meets on the third equal
Monday of July, and endeavors to equalize the prop-
erty valuations of the various towns and cities inside
1 Some city charters provide for boards of equalization ; in such
case the membership differs from those described above. General
Statutes, 1894, § 1547.
132 Revenue and Expenditure
the county; its membership consists of the county
commissioners and the auditor.1 When the work of
the board is finished the auditor sends a record of the
proceedings to the auditor of the State. The second
board, consisting of the governor, the State auditor,
attorney-general, and one qualified elector from each
judicial district, attempts to do the same for the
counties of the State that the county board does for
the towns, villages, and cities in the county.2 In
Duties of the reference to their duties the law says, "The board
state board, gj^]] meet annually, on the first Tuesday in Septem-
ber, at the office of the auditor of State, and, each
member having taken the oath prescribed by law,
they shall examine and compare the returns of the
assessments of the property in the several counties
of the State, and proceed to equalize the same, so
that all the taxable property in the State shall be
assessed at its true and full value." 3 The secretary
of the board, in other words, the auditor, sends to the
county auditors an abstract of the State board's pro-
ceedings, specifying the per centum added to or
deducted from the valuation of the property in the
towns, villages, cities, and counties of the State.
A very important step is still to be taken. It is
now necessary to determine the rate of taxation.
This brings us to the question of tax levy.
52. THE LEVYING AND COLLECTION OF TAXES
The State tax is levied by the legislature, the
county tax by the county commissioners, the vil-
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 1552. 2 See Appendix L.
8 General Statutes, 1894, § 1555.
The Levying and Collection of Taxes 133
lage or city tax by the common council, and the town
tax by the town meeting. The taxes voted by towns,
cities, and villages must be certified to the county
auditors before the tenth day of October in each
year. The total of these estimates of funds neces- Estimate of
sary for the different governmental organizations of l
the State is the amount to be raised by taxation.
Knowing the value of assessed property and the
various amounts desired by the State, county, city,
and township, the auditor is able to ascertain the
total tax rate ; but the officers of the local government
are prevented by legislative act from levying too high
taxes upon the property of the people.
The general act of 1895, providing for the govern-
ment of cities, institutes a somewhat more elaborate
machinery for the levy of taxes and the determina-
tion of the rate.1 Under this law two committees
have to do with the tax levy. The conference com- City boards
mittee, consisting of the president of the council, the
head of each board and of each department of the
city government, meets in September of each year
and forms an estimate of the necessities of each
department, and presents to the board of tax levy
a report of the estimated expenses for the ensuing
year. The second committee, called the tax levy
board, is made up of the mayor, the president of the
council, and the comptroller. This board fixes a
maximum rate of taxation ; the reports of both com-
mittees are sent to the council, but this body (how-
ever it may alter the estimates), cannot change
the maximum rate established by the board. When
the rates are determined by the local governments,
* General Laws, 1895, ch. 8, §§ 104, 105.
134
Revenue and Expenditure
The coiiec-
tion of taxes.
Personal
property
taxes.
Real prop-
erty taxes.
the county auditors make out the lists, and by
January I deliver them to the county treasurers for
collection.
The statutes designate the county treasurer as
the receiver and collector of all taxes.1 On receiv-
^ the tax lists f rom the coimty auditor the treas-
urer notifies the community of the rate and the
amount due, either through the columns of a news-
paper or by special notices mailed to each taxpayer
in the county. All taxes are due on January i. The
county treasurers do not collect the gross earnings
tax; their duty is limited to the real and personal
property taxes. The personalty tax is payable, with-
out penalty, until the first day of March, when a
penalty of ten per cent is added. On the first day
of April the treasurer is authorized to make a list
of the delinquent personal taxes, and send the same,
certified, to the clerk of the district court. This
officer then issues warrants to the sheriff of the county
giving him power to seize the property, and if the
taxes are not paid within ten days to sell it at auction.
If the owner redeems the property before it is sold
he must pay the taxes, penalty, and costs before it
is returned to him.
The real estate taxes may be paid in two equal
instalments. The payment of the first half may be
delayed until May 31, but on June I a penalty of ten
per cent of the whole tax, if this first half is not paid
at that time, is added. The second half is due Octo-
ber 31. If it is not paid by November i, an addi-
tional ten per cent increases the taxpayer's burden.
The whole tax becomes delinquent on January I
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 1563.
The Levying and Collection of Taxes 135
following, when a third penalty is added, this time
of five per cent. If the tax and penalties remain un-
paid until the ist of May, the property is then sold.
After the sale the amount of the judgment draws
interest at the rate of one per cent a month. The
owner of the property is allowed three years in which
to redeem his property, but in case he does this he
must pay the judgment and the interest at the rate
mentioned above. At the end of the three years
the auditor of the county publishes for three weeks
in one of the county papers the statement that the
redemption period is closing. If the owners of
delinquent property do not then appear and pay the
judgment, the purchasers receive a tax title to the
land.
So much for delinquent personal and real estate
taxes. The treasurer, having collected the taxes, must
now account to the county auditor for the moneys
received. On the last days of February, May, and
October, the treasurer makes with the auditor a full Settlement of
settlement of his receipts and collections for all
purposes. The auditor in turn sends an abstract of
the finances to the State auditor, and also keeps an
account of the funds due the State, county, cities,
townships, and school districts. Upon the request
of any or all of these bodies he gives to them or
their representatives an order on the county treas-
urer. The treasurer, after the days of settlement,
pays over to the local governments the amounts due
them.1
The State, however, has not yet received the taxes
from the railroad, telephone, telegraph, sleeping-car,
1 General Statutes, 1894, §§ 1576, 1577.
136
Revenue and Expenditure
The gross
earnings tax.
Checks on
the expendi-
ture of
money.
express, and freight companies.1 We turn, therefore,
to the work of the State treasurer, who is authorized
by a State law to collect a three per cent tax on
the gross earnings of transportation, telegraph, and
telephone companies. This tax becomes due on the
first day of March, and is enforced in case of non-
payment by severe methods. When the tax is delin-
quent the State treasurer adds a penalty of twenty-five
per cent. Sometimes a company refuses to make a
declaration concerning its gross earnings ; in such case
the treasurer fixes the amount according to the informa-
tion he possesses of the business of the road, adding to
the tax a penalty of twenty-five per cent. The railroad
reports are due February i. About one-fifth of the
State's income is derived from the gross earnings tax.
53. THE EXPENDITURE OF PUBLIC MONEY
To give a government power to collect money and
place no restrictions upon the expenditure of it
would have been unlike the framers of American
constitutions. In every State, and Minnesota is no
exception to the rule, an elaborate system of law
has been built up to restrain the extravagance
of public officers. Thus, in the case of the State,
the constitution limits the public debt for defray-
ing extraordinary expenditures to $250,000 in the
aggregate. This, however, is a slight precau-
tion, but all money expenditures must be made by
appropriation bill alone.2 In the expenditure of the
1 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. IV., Sec. 32. General Statutes^
1894, § 1676. General Laws, 1873, ch. in, § I; 1897, chs- I59> '66,
309, 314; 1899, chs. 185, 317.
a Constitution of Minnesota, Art. IV., Sec. 12.
The Expenditure of Public Money 137
State's money the legislature has provided an elabo-
rate system of bookkeeping. Thus all bills and
obligations against the State are presented to the
auditor, who issues an order on the treasurer, retain-
ing a copy. The treasurer in turn is required to
make out a daily statement of the condition of the
State's moneys and present it to the auditor, so that
the accounts of the two officers must be the same.
The system is seen also in the local governments. The
county auditors and treasurers, the city comptrollers
and treasurers, and the town clerks and treasurers
stand in the same relations to each other. In the
county the commissioners appropriate the money,
in the city and village the council, and in the town-
ship the town meeting. The legislature of the
State, as the creator of these local bodies, has
restricted their expenditure of money.
In the expenditure of the money belonging to the
county, the commissioners are limited in two ways, county com-
In the first place the legislature has placed a limit
upon the amount of the tax levy, so that it is
impossible to tax the property holders more than
a certain amount, and if the officers of a county,
village, township, or city make a contract to in-
crease their obligations beyond the amount of money
produced by their maximum tax rate, such debts
are null and void.1 The second restriction placed
upon the county commissioners is in the issuance
of bonds. Whenever such an issue is made it
must be done with the consent of two-thirds of
the electors.
In the cities and villages the power of regulating
1 General Statutes, 1894, § 1639.
138
Revenue and Expenditure
Local
government
powers in
money
matters.
City expen-
ditures.
money matters rests with the council. This body
votes appropriations, but within the income of the
city or village. A limit, usually five per cent of the
total valuation of the property in the town or city,
is placed upon the making of debts without the con-
sent of the electors. It is, therefore, impossible for a
municipal organization to burden itself with debt
unless by its own consent. In the township money
matters rest entirely with the town meeting, but
bonds cannot be voted except with the consent of
two-thirds of the electors of the township.
Under charter forms of government some general
restrictions are placed by the legislature upon the
extension of city debts. No appropriations of money
can be made by a municipal council without a two-
thirds vote ; in the issue of bonds a three-fourths
vote must sustain the issue, and even then the ques-
tion must be submitted to the people, who must
ratify the issue by a two-thirds vote before the
bonds can be sold. A limit has been placed upon
the total indebtedness of a city, but the indebted-
ness may be increased beyond the five per cent
limit upon the total valuation of property by the
consent of two-thirds of the electors voting. A
number of local bodies, such as school boards, park
commissioners, and library boards, may issue bonds
under certain conditions.
These restrictions, sometimes harassing, are neces-
sary for the protection of the taxpayer. Governments
are so complicated that unrestricted expenditures
would mean extravagances and increased burdens
of taxation. To prevent this the legislature has
enacted the laws mentioned above.
CHAPTER IX
EDUCATION
54. REFERENCES
Black mar, The History of State and Federal Aid to Education,
295-7 ; Hyde, Minnesota School Laws ; General Statutes, \ 894, ch. 36 ;
General Laws, 1899, chs. 101, 352, 354 ; Farmers' Institute Annual,
1899 ; Reports of the Superintendents of Public Instruction; Minne-
apolis Times, August 20, 1899.
55. THE GROWTH OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
The history of education in Minnesota has been
uneventful. Unlike Michigan and Wisconsin, the
State has never been compelled to litigate the ques-
tion of public support to high schools, so that the sys-
tem has grown steadily from its inception. The
framers of the constitution accepted thoroughly the
idea of popular education, going so far as to make The history
a positive declaration concerning the duty of the
legislature to establish a general and uniform sys-
tem of public schools.1 In the act organizing the
Territory of Minnesota, the school system of the
future State was kept constantly in view. By that
act the basis of the present fund was, laid, amounting
to $11,822,145 at the end of the school year 1898.2
1 Constitution of Minnesota, Art. VIII., Sec. I.
* Legislative Manual, 1899, p. 261.
139
140 Education
Congress very generously voted two sections in each
township in the Territory for school purposes, thus
endowing the public school.1 With this heritage the
Territory had but little to do; it has only been in
more recent years that the State has sold the lands
to advantage. The preliminary organization of the
schools, however, rested with the legislature.
Almost the first act of the territorial legislature was
to establish common schools. In November of
1849 sucn a system was devised, making a township
in which five or more families were living a school
district. The township district was changed in 1851
districts ^or the Present sch°°l district. This method of
organization was far from satisfactory to the grow-
ing towns of St. Paul, Minneapolis, Winona, Stillwater,
and others, so that they requested the legislature, at
different times, to make these cities special school
districts. This, however, led to some abuses, and in
1865 the legislature established a third type of
school district, now called the independent district.
Here and there in the State special and indepen-
High dent districts established high schools. Great diffi-
schoois. culty was found in the newer communities in
sustaining these forms of higher education. The
State therefore considered it advisable to extend aid,
which it did for the first time in 1881. Since then
this high school act has been much modified, as will
be seen in a later paragraph.
Regarding the high school as the second link, the
schools1 third one in the State educational system is the nor-
mal school. The framers of the constitution recog-
nized the necessity of specially trained teachers. In
1 Act organizing the Territory of Minnesota, Sec. 18, Appendix G.
The Organization of the School System 141
1858 provision was made for the location and estab-
lishment of three normal schools, a fourth one was
created in 1885 and established at Moorhead, and a
fifth at Duluth in 1895. The three earliest schools
did not really get well established until 1870.
The University is the crown of the entire school sys-
tem. It was established by legislative enactment as
early as 1851, but was reorganized in 1860, 1864, and TheUni-
1868. In the first year mentioned, Congress granted versity-
to the Territory two townships of land for the use and
support of a university. A school was organized in
1851, which was continued until 1854 ; two years later
the title passed out of the hands of the regents. It
was in 1854 that the present site was secured. The
old stone building was completed in 1858, but the
vicissitudes of the University were so great that finally,
in 1864, the legislature appointed a committee, con-
sisting of John S. Pillsbury, John Nichols, and O. C.
Merriman, to pay the debts and sell the building and
lands. Through the tact and energy of these men the
University was saved. In 1867 a preparatory school
was opened, but another reorganization was necessary
before the institution was fairly started. The act of
1868 created a governing body of nine regents and
established five collegiate departments. Dr. William
W. Folwell was chosen president in 1869. He
was succeeded in 1884 by the present president,
Dr. Cyrus Northrop.
56. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
Three forms of school districts are now established
by the law. These are the common, independent,
142 Education
School and special districts. All are bodies corporate, pos-
sessing the power to sue and be sued, and the right
to make contracts. In the use of these powers the
districts differ very considerably. We shall therefore
examine them in order.
The common school district is an area of territory
including less than five hundred people. When a
Common majority of the freeholders who are legal voters
schools. make known by a petition to the county commis-
sioners their desire to have a school district in a
particular part of a county, the commissioners grant
the request upon the approval of the county superin-
tendent of schools. The organization of the district
rests with the district meeting. This as a usual thing
is held once a year, the time set by statute being the
third Saturday in July. At this time the meeting
determines the length of the school year, the amount
of the tax, the site of the schoolhouse, and elects
officers. The officers in the case of the common dis-
trict are a director, a treasurer, and a clerk, elected for
a period of one year. This board controls the school
affairs of the district, and hires and pays teachers.
Such a school board may issue bonds for school pur-
poses upon the consent of two-thirds of the voters
present at the annual meeting.
independent The independent district is not as democratic in its
districts. organization as the one just referred to. Its affairs
are in the hands of a board of education consisting of
six men elected by the people. The board has power
to erect school buildings and to issue bonds when au-
thorized to do so by the people. It controls directly
the election of the superintendent, the question of
grades, the selection of teachers, and the regulation of
The Organization of the School System 143
the schools. The board did have, at one time, the
power to appoint commissioners to examine candi-
dates for teachers' certificates, but that power now
rests with the State superintendent of public instruc-
tion and the county superintendent.1
Owing to the large population in the cities, a third
form of district has been created, called a " special dis- Special
trict." The general school laws do not appear to be dlstncts-
sufficient to meet all the questions that come up in the
management of city schools, and, in consequence, the
legislature has established, in the cities of St. Paul,
Minneapolis, Duluth, Winona, and other towns, boards
of education with wider powers. There is no special
uniformity in their organization. The usual powers
found in the independent school district are retained,
with other features added. The electors in the spe-
cial districts select, at the regular city election, from
two to four members of the board of education for a
term of two or three years. The powers conferred
upon the boards render the office an important and
responsible one.2
It is under the direction of the boards in the school
districts that the schools are graded and grouped into
primary, graded, and high schools. An elaborate sys- Grading of
tern of control and direction has been built up in s
order to keep the work uniform and even, but this
must be left for consideration in another section.
Meantime, our inquiry brings us to another important
matter, the support of the schools.
1 General Laws, 1899, chs. IOI, 354.
2 In 1898 there were 6415 common, 151 independent, and 25 special
districts. In these were enrolled 324,650 pupils.
144 Education
57. THE SUPPORT OF THE SCHOOLS
The money necessary for the support of the public
schools comes from two sources, — interest on the
School funds, school fund and taxation. As already noted, Congress
gave to the Territory of Minnesota two sections in each
township for school purposes. By judicious sales a
fund amounting to nearly $12,000,000 has been built
up. The fund is composed of receipts from the land
sales, sale of timber, mineral leases, and royalties on
iron ore.1 The proceeds from these various sources
are invested in bonds, or loaned to counties and school
districts to be used in the erection of county or school
buildings. The income is distributed to the various
counties in proportion to the number of scholars en-
rolled. The second source is taxation in the form of
state, county, and special taxes.
There is annually levied upon all the taxable prop-
erty of the State a tax of one mill on the dollar.
This is known as the " one mill school tax," and the
School taxes, collections from this source are added to the income
from the school fund. The total, amounting to over
$ i, 000,000, is distributed by the State auditor to the
different counties. As a further provision for the
support of the schools, a tax of one mill is levied in
the counties. This is paid into the county treasury
(as are all local taxes), and returned in the final settle-
ment to the districts from which it is collected.
Usually the apportionment from the State fund and
the local tax are not sufficient to meet the school
% expenses, so a third tax is levied called a special
school tax. The needs of the district cause the last
1 Legislative Manual, 1899, p. 560.
The Support of the Schools 145
tax to vary a great deal. The amount of the State
and local tax is fixed by law, but the special tax rate
is determined by the school meeting in the common
districts, and by the boards of education in the inde-
pendent and special districts. The expenses of the
normal schools, teachers' institutes, training schools,
and the department of public instruction are met by
appropriations granted by the legislature.
The University, like the public schools, was en-
dowed with a gift of land by the Enabling Act. Con-
gress had made one grant of two townships in 1851, TheUniver-
but this had been lost in an effort to found a univer-
sity, so in the enabling act a second grant was made.
Again, in 1862, Congress, by the Agricultural Land
Grant Act gave each State a quantity of land for a
mechanical and agricultural college. This grant, in
1868, was turned over to the regents of the Univer-
sity. From the sale of these lands a permanent uni-
versity fund has been created, amounting, in 1898, to
$1,202,893. There still remains to be sold 46,936
acres of land belonging to the original grants. In
addition to the interest from the permanent fund, the
University receives $2 5,000 annually from the govern-
ment of the United States, the proceeds from the
$s mill tax on the property in the State, fees from
the students, and the proceeds from the sale of the
products of the University farm. The legislature
appropriates from year to year $60,000 to $70,000
for repairs and new buildings. It is well equipped
with buildings, now numbering thirty. The income
of the University at present is about $380,000.
146
Education
Division
of the
schools.
The rural
school.
Aids to rural
schools.
58. ADMINISTRATION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
For the purpose of proper management the school
system is divided into three parts : the public schools,
normal schools, and the University. The first of
these groups is again subdivided into rural, State
graded, and State high schools. The rural school is the
common school found throughout the State in the
agricultural districts. A board of three persons
elected by the school meeting hires the teacher and
conducts the financial affairs of the district. In each
county there are a number of such schools, in which
from twenty to forty pupils are instructed in the ele-
ments of education. To keep these in touch and at
the same time maintain a certain standard of effi-
ciency an officer, called the county superintendent, is
elected in each county every two years. His duty is
to examine and license teachers, under the direction
of the State department of public instruction, visit
and inspect the schools of the county, and give such
advice as is needed.1 He also conducts each year a
county institute, and makes an annual report to the
State superintendent of public instruction and the
county auditor. The latter report finally finds its
way to the State auditor, and is the basis of the distri-
bution of the school fund to that county.
To encourage the development of the rural schools
the legislature, in 1 899, passed an act granting yearly
to such schools as meet certain requirements the sum
of $75. In order to secure this bonus the school
trustees must provide for eight months of school, a
school building and library, and hire a teacher who
1 See p. 149, and General Laws, 1899, ch. 10.
Administration of the School System 147
has a first-class certificate.1 When the schools in a
county have complied with the regulations, applica-
tion is made to the county superintendent, who certi-
fies to the correctness of the application. The papers
are then sent to the State superintendent, who makes
the apportionment in accordance with the law.
It is seldom that a school reaches the dignity of a Semi-graded
graded school until it is organized as an independent s2f0|^.aded
district. There is no demand in a rural community
for a graded school, but a population of five hundred
or over in the district makes it desirable to grade the
pupils. An organization of this kind requires a
larger expenditure of time and money. It is usually
necessary to have a special superintendent to look
after the interests of the schools, and to employ a
larger number of teachers. The independent and
special districts are not, therefore, subject to the
direct supervision of the county superintendent. The
legislature, recognizing the good work done by the
graded schools, made provision for State aid. But
there are some schools only partially graded ; to these,
if they have eight months of school, two departments,
at least one teacher with a first grade certificate,
buildings, and a small library, $100 is granted annu-
ally. The application is made in the same way as in
the case of the rural schools. The fully graded
schools receive $200 a year, but the requirements are
very much greater. It is necessary for them to have
nine months of school, four departments (the princi-
pal being a college graduate), buildings, library, and
a regular course of study.
The ambition of every high school is to become
1 General Laws, 1899, ch. 352.
I48
Education
State high
schools.
a State high school. The legislature early recog-
nized that the expense of conducting a first-class high
school rests heavily upon a small and energetic com-
munity. In 1 88 1 an act was passed to meet this
difficulty. The legislature of 1899, however, sur-
passed all records, and provided generously for State
aid to high schools. Under this act, if a high school
maintains regular courses admitting to the Univer-
sity, nine months of school, charges no tuition, and
has proper buildings and a library, it may receive
from the State the sum of $800 annually. Such aid
is limited to five schools in the same county. These
schools are always open to the visits of the high
school inspector, and are subject to the regulations
of the high school board. The application for aid is
made to the latter body.
Possibly the most important part of the machinery
school board. of tne pUbHc schools is the high school board. The law
first provided for this board in 1878, but the present
membership was established in iSSi.1 The opening
paragraph of the law reads, " The governor, super-
intendent of public instruction, and the president
of the University of Minnesota, ex officio, are hereby
constituted a board of commissioners on preparatory
schools for the encouragement of higher education in
this State." This board is given great discretionary
power in the regulation of the schools receiving State
aid. The board also causes to be visited each school
receiving aid from the State. Two inspectors are
employed for this purpose, one with the title of
Inspector of State High Schools, the other with the
The high
1 General Statutes, 1878, II.
ch. 144, § I.
ch. 36, § 155. General Laws, 1881,
Administration of the School System 149
title of Inspector of State Graded Schools. The
recommendations made by these officers from time
to time have been extremely helpful in making the
school system more uniform. Under the authority
of the board, examinations on the various subjects
pursued in a high school are given twice a year.
The papers are submitted to the examiner of the
board and marked. The pupils receive cards for each
subject in which they pass ; these, as far as they go,
are prima facie evidence that the requirements for
admission to the University have been met.
The head of the public school system is the super- Superintend-
intendent of public instruction, who is appointed by p°*b^ in_
the governor for a term of two years.1 His duties stmction.
are numerous ; among these are meetings with the
county superintendents of congressional districts, the
organization of training schools and teachers' insti-
tutes, the preparation of blanks for school reports,
the holding of examinations for teaching certificates,
and the presentation of an annual report showing the
number of pupils in the schools, the condition of the
public schools, the amount of the school fund and
how distributed, and such other matters as relate to
his work.2 The State superintendent is, by virtue of
his office, a member of the high school board, the
normal school board, and the University regents.
The law of 1899 (Ch. 101) has placed an addi-
tional burden upon the State superintendent. The
irregularities in the granting of teachers' certificates Teachers'
demanded some adjustment, and the law just referred certificate.
to attempts to obviate the difficulty by placing the
1 Appendix L.
8 General Statutes, 1894, § 3724.
150 Education
granting of certificates jointly in the hands of the
State and county superintendents. Five different cer-
tificates may now be issued. The State superintend-
ent issues two forms of first-grade certificates, both
for a period of five years, one upon examination, the
other without. Examinations are held twice a year
in every county, the papers for the State examinations
being sent to the State superintendent for marking.
In the cases where a high grade of scholarship is
shown and the candidates have taught for eight
months, the certificates are issued for five years, pro-
vided the county superintendents can vouch for the
character of the candidates. The other first-grade
certificate is given to persons who have taught five
years in the State and are recommended by a board
of education and a city or county superintendent
A second-grade certificate is issued under the same
conditions, except that it is for a term of two years
and after an experience of five months in teaching.
These certificates are good in any county of the
State.
Certificates The other two certificates are issued by the county
issued by the superintendents. One is called a limited second-
county super- .
intendent. grade certificate, and the other a third-grade certifi-
cate. The second-grade certificate is issued to those
who have passed successfully the State examinations,
but who have never taught. Such a certificate is
good for one year in the county in which it is issued.
The third grade is issued by the county superintend-
ent upon his own examination, but is good only in
a single district in the county. The law forbids the
county superintendent to issue this certificate to the
same person more than twice. The object of the law
Normal Schools 151
is to secure better qualified teachers ; that it will do
this cannot be doubted.
59. NORMAL SCHOOLS
This grade of schools was established to educate and
prepare teachers for work in the public schools of the
State. Various acts of the legislature have created
five schools in which are maintained three different
courses of study — an elementary course, an advanced
course for high school teachers, and a professional Courses-
course equivalent to about two years' work in the
University. In addition to these courses instruction in
kindergarten methods is given. Each of the schools
maintains a model school for purposes of demon-
strating practically the work of scientific teaching.
The attendance has been large during the last ten
years.1
The management of the normal schools is in the
control of a board of nine persons appointed by the The board,
governor. The term of office is four years. The law
describes the powers of the board as follows : " The
State normal school board shall have the general
supervision, management, and control of the State
normal schools, and of all property, real and personal,
thereto appertaining. They are hereby authorized and
empowered to contract for the erection of all buildings
connected with the schools under their charge, to
appoint all professors and teachers in said schools,
and to fix the salaries of the same." 2 The board is
also given the power to prescribe and regulate the
1 Legislative Manual, 1899, pp. 290-297.
2 General Statute, § 3839.
152 Education
courses and conditions of admission. At the end of
each year a report is made to the governor, setting
forth the condition of each school. At the head
of each school is a president, who manages its af-
fairs so far as instruction and discipline are con-
cerned.
60. THE UNIVERSITY
In another paragraph of this chapter the early his-
tory of this institution was briefly described, so that
the organization and government alone will be the
subject of this section. The amended acts of 1868
and 1872, as well as later ones, provided for the
establishment of five or more colleges in the Univer-
De artments s^ °^ Minnesota. At the present time there are
and degrees, colleges of science, literature and the arts, mechani-
cal engineering, medicine, dentistry, law, agriculture,
schools of mines and chemistry, and a graduate de-
partment. From these schools and colleges the
degrees of bachelor of arts, science, literature, agri-
culture, engineering, and law are given upon the
completion of undergraduate work. Other degrees,
such as doctor of medicine, master of arts, and doctor
of philosophy, are awarded to candidates completing
advanced courses. The University does not confer
any honorary degrees.
A close relation exists between the University and
the public schools. It is the ultimate goal toward
Relation of which the courses of study in the public schools lead,
schools to The high schools act as feeders to the higher institu-
versity." tution. Recognizing the desirability of such a rela-
tion, the entrance requirements to the University are
made the basis of much of the high school work. A
The University 153
system of accredited schools has been created, so that
a pupil from a high school which has been inspected
and approved may be admitted to the University upon
presentation of his diploma. Such schools as are not
accredited may secure credits for their students by the
presentation of State high school board examination
certificates to the University authorities.1
The government of the University is vested in a
board of twelve regents, of which the governor, the The board of
State superintendent of public instruction, and the regents-
president of the University are ex officio members.
The remaining nine members are appointed by the
governor for a term of six years. Because of the
great services of Hon. John S. Pillsbury to the Uni-
versity, he was made a life regent, thus increasing the
board to thirteen during his lifetime. This body
elects from its members a president of the board, a
treasurer, and a recording secretary. The last two
need not be members of the board. The president
of the board and the treasurer give bonds to the State
of Minnesota in the sums of $50,000 each for the
faithful performance of their duties.
The regents have power to enact by-laws for the
government of the University, to elect a president,
the requisite number of professors, instructors, officers, Powers,
and employees, fix salaries, regulate the courses of
study, confer degrees, hold property, and dispose of
the same. The regents also have charge of the
agricultural farms and experimental stations estab-
lished under congressional grants. The president of
the University holds his office during the pleasure of
the board. The administration of the affairs of the
1 See State high school board, p. 148.
154
Education
The geolog-
ical
survey.
institution rests with him. Two reports are required
from him, one to the regents, the other to the super-
intendent of public instruction.
In 1872 the legislature provided for a geological
and natural history survey of the State. The direc-
tion of this undertaking was left in the hands of the
regents. Funds were to be provided by the sale of
the " salt lands " transferred to the regents. The
purpose of the survey was to secure a complete
account of the animal, mineral, and vegetable king-
doms in the State. Reports of the work done were
authorized, and these have appeared from time to
time in quarto volumes.
Farmers'
institutes.
61. FARMERS' INSTITUTES, FREE TEXT-BOOKS, AND
LIBRARIES
There have grown up in the Minnesota system of
education a number of features which cannot be
treated within any orderly scheme, such as the
farmers' institutes, school libraries, and free text-
books. It is necessary, therefore, to consider these in
a paragraph by themselves. The farmers' institutes
are a most interesting part of the educational work.
Since 1891 the legislature has made an annual grant
of $10,000 for their maintenance. The object is to
disseminate practical knowledge upon questions per-
taining to agriculture, horticulture, stock, and dairy
farming with the least expense and inconvenience to
the people of the State. The administration of the
system is intrusted to a board consisting of two
regents of the University, the director of the experi-
mental station, and the presidents of the State
Institutes, Free Text-books, and Libraries 155
Agricultural Society, State Dairy Society, and the
Horticultural Society. The members hold office for
three years and are given power to employ a super-
intendent of institutes. This officer has charge of
the institute programmes, the securing of instructors,
and the publication of the Farmers' Institute Annual.
He also makes a report of the attendance, character
of the work, and expenses to the administrative
board.1 The work of the institutes has been very
helpful to the farmers of the State, and must pro-
duce great results in a few years. The first act in
relation to the institutes was passed in 1887; since
that time it is required that at least forty such insti-
tutes must be held each year.
The State legislature has never deemed it wise to
undertake the publication of free text-books, although
bills for that purpose have been introduced from
time to time. Nevertheless, an act was passed as
. i i • . 11 Free text-
early as 1887, and since amended, giving school books.
districts the power to make contracts with publishers
with the expectation of loaning books free of charge,
or selling them at cost. In this law there are two or
three steps to be noted. First, the act provides for
the filing with the superintendent of public instruc-
tion of lists of books and the lowest prices at which
the publishers are willing to sell them to any board of
school trustees in the State.2 Copies of the books
listed must be deposited in the office of the depart-
ment of public instruction. The second step rests
with the superintendent of public instruction, who,
after receiving the lists and the copies of the book,
1 Legislative Manual, 1899, pp. 340-342.
2 Curryer vs. Merrill, 25 Minn. I.
156
Education
Travelling
libraries.
sends a certified pricelist to the clerk of each com-
mon school district. The final step is determined by
the legal voters of the district. Five or more legal
voters may petition the trustees to submit the ques-
tion of free text-books to a vote. After ten days'
notice a meeting may be held to decide the question.
If a majority vote in favor of free text-books, it is the
duty of the trustees to provide for the same. The
legislature enacted that contracts might be made with
publishers for periods of from three to five years.1
For the purpose of encouraging school libraries
the legislature appropriated, in 1887, the sum of
$10,000, which was to be distributed as follows : The
presidents of the normal schools and the superintend-
ent of public instruction were directed to select a
suitable list of books for use in schools. When this
was done they were to advertise for bids on the
books and to make a contract with the publishers for
a term of two years. When any school district
purchases all or part of the books noted on the list
and provides for their care, the State auditor, upon
the recommendation of the county superintendent to
the superintendent of public instruction, shall issue a
warrant for not more than $20 for the first statement,
$15 for the second, and $5 for each subsequent state-
ment.2 Each school may receive from the State only
one payment in each year.
The crowning act of the legislature in rounding
out and completing the educational system of the
State was the creation of travelling libraries. By an
act passed in 1899 a commission of five persons was
created, consisting of the president of the University,
1 General Statutes, 1894, §§ 3896-3901. 2 Ibid., § 3716.
Institutes ', Free Text-books, and Libraries 157
the superintendent of public instruction, the secretary
of the Minnesota Historical Society, and two mem-
bers appointed by the governor for six years.1 The
board is to buy books and provide for their circula-
tion throughout the State. The legislature appro-
priated $5000 annually for this purpose.
It will thus be seen that Minnesota has a remarkably
well-developed system of public education. This sys-
tem provides not merely for instruction in the school- Conclusion,
room, but comprises also institutes, school libraries,
and circulating libraries. The machinery is now well
organized ; time alone is needed for the full growth of
the educational work.
General Laws, 1899, ch. 353.
CHAPTER X
THE PROTECTION OF THE STATE
62. REFERENCES
General Statutes, 1894, ch. 35 ; General Laws, 1897, cn- II^» 1899,
ch. 231 ; Legislative Manual, 1899 (Index); Reports of the Adjutant
General and of the Superintendents of Institutions in the Executive
Documents published every two years by the State.
63. THE PROBLEMS
The commonwealth of Minnesota is a part of
society united politically, industrially, and socially.
The whole study of this book has been given over to
the political side of this organization; nevertheless,
the industrial and social functions of the common-
wealth are just as important as the political, although
left more to the individual, who arranges his industrial
and social relations to suit himself. So long as the
actions of the individual are not contrary to law, there
is no interference on the part of society. But among
Social every people exist certain persons who refuse to con-
ciasses. form to the laws of society. These must be prevented
from interfering with the property and the affairs
of the law-abiding. Then there are others who,
through misfortune, have become paupers, or others,
defective by birth or other causes, who need protec-
tion, so that the State finds it necessary to help them.
Sometimes a body of citizens, feeling that they have
158
The Problems 159
been wronged, usually in some industrial affair, break
out in revolt against the government and refuse to
await the action of the courts, preferring to take the
law into their own hands. Such an act requires the
use of force. This necessitates the existence of a body
of militia to prevent the infraction of law by force of
arms. Another reason for the existence of the militia
is the need of a national body of citizen soldiery for
use in any emergency, State or national. Thus it will
be seen that the State has two problems before it in
protecting society ; the first and larger is correctional
and charitable in its character, the second, military.
The first question deals with the housing of depend-
ents, the care of defectives, the reform of youthful
offenders, and the imprisonment of criminals. The
State has recognized fully its duty in reference to
these four classes, and in consequence a number of
. Classification
institutions have been created to meet this need, ofinstitu-
These may be grouped as follows: — tions-
CHARITABLE AND CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS
I. Dependents.
1. School for Dependent and Neglected Chil-
dren.
2. Soldiers' Home.
II. Defectives.
1. Insane Asylums.
2. Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institutes.
III. Youthful Offenders.
1. State Reform School.
2. The State Reformatory.
IV. Criminals.
i. State Penitentiary.
i6o
The Protection of the State
Organized
militia.
The second problem involves the maintenance of
order under all circumstances. To some degree this
The militia, requires a military force. The unorganized militia
consists of all male persons between the ages of
twenty-one and forty-five who are residing in the
State.
The organized militia is composed of companies
and regiments formed under the authority of the
United States and of the State. The governor of the
State may call out the State militia, and the Presi-
dent of the United States the entire national guard
for three causes, — to execute the laws of the State or
the United States, to suppress insurrections, or to
repel invasions. The Constitution of the United
States gives Congress the authority to provide for
the organization of militia in the different States.1
In order to encourage the States to organize militia,
an appropriation is made by Congress which is dis-
tributed among the different States in proportion to
the men enlisted. The legislature also makes pro-
vision for the militia, but even with this financial aid
the members of the militia often find it necessary to
contribute to the support of their respective companies.
In some of the States naval reserves are organized.
This force stands in the same relation to the navy
that the militia does to the army.
The two problems of protection, which are quite
as important as those of education, are before us, and
we shall consider them in the following order : chari-
table and correctional institutions, the militia, and
naval reserves.
1 Constitution of the United States, Art. II., Sec. 8, and Art. II.,
Sec. 2.
Charitable Institutions 161
64. CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
The inmates of these institutions are to be distin-
guished from those in the correctional institutions. Dependents.
They are here because of misfortune or inability to
maintain themselves in the outside world. As shown
in a previous paragraph, there are two groups, one
for dependents, the other for defectives. There are
only two institutions for dependents, the School for
Dependent and Neglected Children, and the Soldiers'
Home.
The School for Dependent and Neglected Children
is situated in the city of Owatonna and was established Sch°o1 for
there in 1885. In the following year the school was and
opened for the reception of children. The permanent
buildings are eleven in number and comprise an ad-
ministration building, a schoolhouse, heating plant,
seven cottages, hospital, and barns. The total cost
of the property was $203,743. The object of the
institution is to provide a temporary home for the
dependent and neglected children of the State.1 The
plan of administration embodies the features of a
home life. The children are divided into families
numbering from twenty to thirty members. Each
family occupies a separate cottage and is in charge
of a competent woman. The county commissioners
of each county are authorized by the State law to
send dependent or neglected children to the home
after an examination before the judges of probate. In
this way the State keeps in touch with all its parts,
and is able to carry out the benevolent purpose of
the school.
1 Legislative Manual, 1899, pp. 309-310.
M
1 62
The Protection of the State
The Soldiers'
Home.
The Soldiers' Home was established by legislative
act in 1887. It was located near the historic Minne-
haha Falls. The object of the home is to provide a
refuge for all honorably discharged soldiers, sailors,
and marines who served in the wars of the nation,
and who are not able to earn their living and have no
adequate means of support. The property owned by
the State for this purpose consists of fifty acres of
land and nine permanent buildings. The cottage
system is followed as the best method of housing and
maintaining discipline. The expenses of the home are
met by the "home support fund," which consists of
(1) moneys transferred from the soldiers' relief fund,
(2) the annual payment by the United States govern-
ment of $100 for each inmate, (3) payments by pen-
sioned inmates of all moneys received by them from
the government over and above the sum of four dollars
a month.
The management of the home is vested in seven
trustees, who are appointed by the governor for a
term of six years. This board is non-partisan ; no
more than four can be of the same party. The com-
mander of the home is selected by the trustees.
The State has three insane hospitals, situated at
St. Peter, Fergus Falls, and Rochester. By the legis-
lative act of April 15, 1899, two asylums were estab-
lished at Anoka and Hastings, which will be built
during the year.1 January i, 1899, there were 3357
persons in the insane hospitals. The cost of main-
taining them, together with the expenses of adminis-
tration, was about $i,ooo,ooo.2
1 General Laws, 1899, ch. 230.
2 Legislative Manual, 1899, p. 300.
Correctional Institutions 163
The control of the asylums and all the matters
pertaining to them is in the hands of a board of five
trustees appointed by the governor. The term of mentby
office is three years. It is their duty to examine the trustees-
condition of the institutions, to ascertain their needs,
and regulate the expenditures. The board appoints
the superintendents of the asylums under its care.
At Faribault are situated the institutions for the
defectives. These consist of schools for the deaf
and dumb, blind, and feeble-minded. The legislature
as early as 1858 made provision for a State insti- institute for
tute for defectives. The school, however, was not
opened until 1863. The first building was erected
five years later. As the school grew in size the
difficulties in training the blind and deaf and dumb
together grew more and more apparent. To obviate
this the legislature established three separate schools
now known as the schools for the deaf and dumb,
blind, and feeble-minded. Each school is governed,
so far as instruction and discipline are concerned,
by a superintendent and assistants. The business
affairs of the schools, the matter of buildings, and the
employment of officers are in the hands of a board
consisting of the governor, five other persons ap-
pointed by him, and the superintendent of public
instruction.
65. CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS
The problem of the State under this head is a
defensive and correctional one. The individuals with
whom it deals are not defectives, but are breakers of
the law. In order to meet the problem of offenders
tion^ inStitU"
1 64 The Protection of the State
against the law, the State has established three institu-
tions> two of which are for y°uthful offenders. One
of these, the State training school at Red Wing, is for
boys and girls under sixteen years of age. The
second, the State reformatory at St. Cloud, is for boys
and men between the ages of sixteen and thirty.
The third institution, the penitentiary at Stillwater, is
the State's prison for criminals.
The Minnesota State training school was estab-
lished at St. Paul in 1866. The crowded condition
°f tne institution and its nearness to the city com-
pelled its removal to Red Wing in 1895. The object
of the school is to train incorrigible children and
youthful offenders. The school is organized on the
open family plan. The families are graded accord-
ing to the age of the children, and are in charge of
a manager, teacher, and housekeeper. The boys are
taught trades and the girls are given instruction in
housework. A State agent of the school finds homes
for the children in the various parts of the State. A
board of three persons, appointed by the governor
for a period of six years, has general control of the
school's affairs. The cost of the buildings constructed
at Red Wing up to 1899 was $307,000. The expense
of maintenance is $165 per child.
Immediately between the State School and the
State prison is the reformatory. Boys and young
men between the ages of sixteen and thirty, never
before convicted of a crime, are sent here for reforma-
tion. The reformatory is situated at St. Cloud, where
it was established in 1887. The object of the institu-
tion is to place first offenders under such discipline
and education as will enable them to form habits and
Correctional Institutions 165
character suitable to meet the problems of honest
self-support. The men who are sentenced to the
reformatory do not enter the institution for any
definite time, but are retained until reformation is
strongly probable. When allowed to leave the in-
stitution the release is not final, but such persons,
after a period of good conduct, may be paroled.
The paroled prisoner must report to the prison
authorities for a period of several months. The
reformatory is under the control of a non-partisan
board of six men. One member of the board is
appointed each year by the governor. The board
elects the superintendent, who appoints his subor-
dinates. In the training of the men and boys an
effort is made to teach them some useful trade
before they leave the institution. On this point the
superintendent says, " Eighty per cent of the inmates
are growing boys, sixteen to twenty-four years old,
hearty eaters and hard on clothes, and, as they come
without trades and are mostly undisciplined to labor
or otherwise, and as soon as fitted go out for them-
selves again, their cost to the State is much more
than their earning capacity. The object is reforma-
tion, and if that is accomplished and due economy
exercised, the State is well served." 1
The State prison was the second institution pro-
vided after the organization of the Territory. The
buildings of the prison were begun in 1851. Since State prison,
that time the prison has been entirely rebuilt. The
shops alone now number seven. The following quota-
tion depicts clearly the workings of the prison sys-
tem : " The discipline and management of the prison
1 Legislative Manual, 1899, p. 313.
1 66
The Protection of the State
Employment
of prisoners.
Board of
pardons.
is equal to the best in the country ; every feature of
advanced penal management is in full operation, the
State laws allowing diminution of sentence term for
good conduct. An evening school is conducted for
the benefit of inmates -eight months in the year, a
Chautauqua circle is well attended by the inmates,
and a well-organized choir of inmates furnishes music
for Sunday services and holiday entertainments. The
Prison Mirror, a weekly newspaper, is published and
edited by the inmates, who have full control. The
prison has a well-selected library of five thousand
volumes, which are freely circulated among the pris-
oners. The parole and grading systems, which have
been in operation for seven years, are satisfactory. . . .
The paroled prisoner is looked after by a State agent,
whose duty it is to assist the discharged prisoner in
securing employment and to have a watchful care
that the conditions of parole are not violated." l
The inmates of the prison are employed in a num-
ber of industries. These are the making of binding
twine, school supplies, and the manufacture of shoes.
The profits to the State from the business done have
been something like $20,000 a year. The affairs of
the prison are very largely in the hands of a board of
prison managers. The members are five in number,
serving for terms of five years. The board appoints
the warden without term.
In connection with the State prison, the legislature
thought it necessary to establish a board of pardons,
which was done in 1 897.2 Previous to the passage
of this law, the power of releasing prisoners rested
1 Legislative Manual, 1899, P- 3*4-
2 General Laws, 1897, c^* 23«
The Board of Charities and Corrections 167
entirely with the governor. The new board consists
of the governor, the chief justice of the supreme
court, and the attorney general. The power to grant
pardons and to commute the sentence of any person
convicted of any offence against the laws of this State
now rests with this board. Regular meetings are
held on the second Mondays of January, April, and
July, at which time written applications for pardons
are made. A majority of the board determines the
fate of the applicant.
66. THE BOARD OF CHARITIES AND
CORRECTIONS
A general board of supervision was created in 1883,
to act as a sort of check upon the managements of
the various charitable and correctional institutions.
The board consists of six persons, not more than Membership.
three of whom shall be from the same political party.
No compensation, beyond expenses, is given to the
members of the board. Two members are appointed
each year for three years. The secretary of the board,
a most important officer, is appointed without term.
In the law itself, the duties of the board are defined
as follows : " To investigate the whole system of pub-
lic charities and correctional institutions of the State ;
examine into the condition and management thereof,
especially of prisons, jails, infirmaries, public hospi-
tals, and asylums ; and to secure accuracy, uniformity
and completeness in statistics of such institutions, the
board may prescribe such forms of report and regis- Duties,
tration as they may deem essential, and all plans of
new jails, lock-ups, and infirmaries shall, before the
1 68 The Protection of the State
adoption of the same by the county authorities, be
submitted to the board for criticisms and suggestions.
The governor, in his discretion, may, at any time,
order an investigation by the board, or by a committee
of its members, of the management of any penal,
reformatory, or charitable institution of the State."
The board also makes a report to the legislature
biennially. In the report are set forth the expenses,
and the condition of the State institutions, together
with such suggestions as may seem desirable.
Cost of The State spent during 1896-98 the sum of
institutions. $2,829,723 for the support of the charitable and
correctional institutions. The number of inmates
at the time was 5671, which made one inmate to
every 306 people in the State. The cost of main-
tenance per inhabitant was $1.63. These are rather
remarkable figures. Compared with 1880, it means
a decided increase in number of inmates and expense
of management. The work of the board, nevertheless,
has been particularly helpful in securing uniform
prison conditions throughout the State.
67. THE MILITIA
The military problem of the State, such as it is,
remains to be considered. The Spanish War dis-
turbed very considerably the national guard organi-
zation existing in the various commonwealths. This
was particularly true of Minnesota, for the enlistment
of the militia in the volunteer army of the United
States nearly wiped out the militia organization for
the time being. The military code of the State, as
already pointed out, declares that all able-bodied
The Militia 169
persons between the ages of twenty-one and forty-
five are subject to military duty,1 and the assessors
are instructed to enroll all such persons within
their districts. Two lists are made out, one of unorganized
which is sent to the city or town clerk, the other mihtia-
to the county auditor. The latter officer corrects
the list and sends it to the adjutant general.
There are some exemptions from service, thus, (i)
all persons exempted by the laws of the United
States ; (2) persons in the army, navy, or volunteer
service of the United States; (3) ministers of the
gospel ; (4) Indians not taxed, idiots, lunatics, and
persons who have been convicted of an infamous
crime are free of military duty. In time of war
the adjutant general may use the lists prepared by the
assessors for drafting purposes. This officer is the cus- Adjutant
todian of all records, books, papers, and accounts of eeneral-
the military department of the State. He has a gen-
eral supervision over the military stores, and performs
all other duties required of him by the commander-
in-chief. The adjutant general is also the claim agent
against the United States government for all persons
who have claims for pensions, back pay, bounties, or
other compensation arising during the Civil War.
The national guard in time of peace consists, to
quote the statute, of the commander-in-chief and
staff, three regiments of infantry and one battalion
of artillery, formed into one brigade, and one medical
corps. The brigade consists of one brigadier general
and staff, three regiments of infantry, and one battal-
ion of artillery. The organization of the brigade may
be seen in the following diagram : —
1 Military code, General Laws, 1897, ch- II8-
The Protection of the State
f 3 J 2-3 f 2-5 f 26-56
Brio-ade J ^eS^ments 1 Battalions 1 Companies 1 Privates
i Battalion of Artillery j 4 Companies
In time of war the commander-in-chief has power to
increase the force, and to organize and equip it as the
exigencies of the case may require.
Enlistments in the national guard are made for
a period of three years. The recruits sign a muster-
roll and an enlistment paper, the latter containing an
oath of allegiance to the State and the United States.
Reenlistments may be made for a shorter term.
Each year the various companies are mobilized at
some convenient point for regimental or brigade
manoeuvres. At such times the privates receive a
compensation of $1.50 per day. From this is deducted
the sum of fifty cents for sustenance, but the State
furnishes food, transportation, and tents. The officers
receive a higher compensation, the maximum being
$2.25 per day. In actual service, so long as they
are under the authority of the State, the pay of
privates is $2.00 per day, while the officers receive
the same compensation as officers of similar rank in
the army of the United States.
The military code provides a series of courts for
the trial of charges and offences against military law
and custom. These courts are : —
(1) Courts of inquiry
(2) General courts martial
(3) Regimental courts martial
(4) Summary courts {<«) ™d officers> courts
I (b) Company courts
The Naval Reserve 171
Before these courts the charges must be brought
in writing with specifications, which must be approved
by a different commanding officer for each court.
If approved then follows arrest, summons, and pro-
cedure to trial and finally the verdict and sentence.1
These and other regulations are seemingly necessary
for the discipline of large bodies of men.
The expenses of the national guard are largely Expenses.
met by the State. The arms, uniforms, accoutre-
ments, and ammunition are provided from this source.
The erection, leasing, or renting of armories for troops
is a municipal matter, and rests with the city councils.
68. THE NAVAL RESERVE
The legislature of 1899 authorized the formation of Naval
eight divisions of the naval reserve. These are to be reserve-
divided into two crews, known as the first and second
crews of the naval reserve of Minnesota. The naval
reserve is commanded by an officer appointed and
commissioned by the governor. Each ship's crew is
commanded by a lieutenant-commander appointed
and commissioned in the same way.
The organization of the reserve conforms to the Organiza-
provisions of the laws of the United States and the i]
system of discipline used in the United States navy.
No appropriation was made for the organization ; the
State relies upon the Federal Government to supply
the equipment and the instruction. The naval re-
serve, as the militia, is under the command of the
governor, and may be called into active service in
time of war, riot, or insurrection.
1 Military Code, Part II., Art. II., General Laws, 1897, ch. 118.
172 The Protection of the State
Government is the agent of the State, established to
carry on public works, insure justice, and provide for
the common defence. In this book we have seen the
organization, the machinery, and the working of the
government of the Commonwealth of Minnesota. It
is all a means to an end, that end being to increase
the possibilities of human happiness and comfort.
APPENDIX
A. GOVERNORS OF MINNESOTA
TERRITORIAL
Alexander Ramsey 1849-1853
Willis A. Gorman 1853-1857
Samuel Medary 1857-1858
STATE
Henry H. Sibley 1858-1860
Alexander Ramsey 1860-1864
Stephen Miller 1864-1866
William R. Marshall 1866-1870
Horace Austin 1870-1874
Cushman K.Davis 1874-1876
John S. Pillsbury 1876-1882
Lucius F. Hubbard 1882-1887
Andrew R. McGill 1887-1889
William R. Merriam 1889-1892
Knute Nelson 1892-1895
David M. Clough 1895-1899
John Lind 1899-1901
Samuel R. Van Sant 1901-
'73
174
Appendix
B. MEMBERS OF THE FIRST LEGISLATURE OF
MINNESOTA
[For membership list of the second and third legislatures see Neill, History of
Minnesota, 546-564.]
MET SEPTEMBER 3, 1849, CENTRAL HOUSE, ST. PAUL
6.U2
Residence
Age
Place of Birth
COUNCILLORS
James S. Norris .
I
Cottage Grove . .
38
Maine.
Samuel Burkleo .
2.
Stillwater ....
45
Delaware.
W. H. Forbes . .
3
St. Paul ....
38
Montreal.
James McC. Boal .
3
St. Paul ....
38
Pennsylvania.
D. B. Loomis . .
4
Marine Mills . . .
32
Connecticut.
John Rollins . .
Falls of St. Anthony
Maine.
David Olmstead .
6
Long Prairie . . .
27
Vermont.
William Sturges .
6
Elk River ....
28
Upper Canada.
Martin McLeod .
7
Lac qui Parle . .
36
Montreal.
REPRESENTATIVES
J. W. Furber . .
i
Cottage Grove . .
36
New Hampshire.
James Wells . .
i
Lake Pepin . . .
46
New Jersey.
M. S. Wilkinson .
2
Stillwater ....
30
New York.
Sylvanus Trask .
2
Stillwater ....
New York.
M. Black . . .
2.
Stillwater ....
—
Ohio.
B. W. Brunson .
3
St. Paul ....
25
Michigan.
Henry Jackson
3
St. Paul ....
42
Virginia.
J. J. Dewey . .
P. K. Johnson . .
3
3
St. Paul ....
St. Paul ....
New York.
Vermont.
H. F. Setzer . .
4
Snake River . . .
—
Missouri.
W. R. Marshall .
5
St. Anthony . . .
25
William Dugas
5
Little Canada . .
37
Lower Canada.
Jeremiah Russell .
6
Crow Wing . . .
L. A. Babcock
6
Sauk Rapids . . .
29
Vermont.
Thomas Holmes .
6
Sauk Rapids . . .
44
Pennsylvania.
Allen Morrison
6
Alexis Bailey . .
7
Mendota ....
5°
Michigan.
Gideon H. Pond .
7
Oak Grove . . .
39
Connecticut.
— House Journal, 1849.
Appendix
C. POPULATION OF MINNESOTA IN 1849
COUNTY SEATS
Counties
Males
Females
Vote
for
Dele-
gate
St. Paul . . .
Ramsey . . .
976
564
273
Stillwater . . .
Washington . .
821
29I
213
Sauk Rapids . .
Benton . . .
249
108
18
Mendota . . .
Dakota . . .
301
167
75
Wahnatah . .
344
182
70
Wabasha . . .
Wabasha. . .
246
84
33
Pembina . . .
Pembina . . .
295
342
—
Itasca ....
21
9
—
Mankato . . .
—
—
—
3253
1687
682
1687
4940
First census, 1849, August, showing vote for delegate also.
ffi g
II
Appendix
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Appendix 177
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Appendix
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179
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E. NATIVITY OF THE POPULATION OF MINNESOTA
CENSUS OF 1895
{Legislative Manual, 1899, pp. 546-549.)
4
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Appendix 181
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182
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Appendix
183
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1 84
Appendix
F. GROWTH OF CITIES IN MINNESOTA
1890-1900
CITIES
1900
1890
Increase
Per cent
Increase
Minneapolis ....
St Paul
202,718
16^,632
164,738
I33.IC.6
37,980
3O.476
23.05
228
Duluth
C2.Q2Q
33, lie
IQ,8l4
CQ.8
"Winona
10,714
18,208
i ,co6
8.2
Stillwater
I2,3l8
II,26o
i oq8
Q O4
Mankato
IO.CQQ
8838
i 761
10 O
St. Cloud
Faribault
8,663
7,868
7,686
6.C2O
977
1.348
12.0
20 6
Red Wing
7 ,C2C
6,204
1. 231
IQ 6
Brainerd . . . .
7C24
C.7O3
i 801
31 Q
Rochester
O-"r
6843
c -J21
I ^22
286
Fergus Falls ....
Little Falls ....
Owatonna
6,072
5*774
C.c6l
3>772
2,354
3.840
1,^^-C.
2,300
3,420
712
60.9
104.5
44 4
Austin .
c 474.
3 QOI
r 7-7
4O 3
New Ulm
r 4.03
3741
O/ J
662
Croolcston
c,7cq
3,4^7
,QO2
cc o
Albert Lea ....
St Peter . . .
4,50°
4.3O2
3,305
3,671
,195
631
36.1
171
Hastings .
•\ 811
3 7OC
1 06
2 Q
•2,760
4,2C2
— 483
1II.'?
3,730
2,088
I 642
786
Ely
3.712
QOI
2 8ll
311 Q
Willmar
3 4OO
I.82t;
I ^84
867
Two Harbors ....
Northfield
3,278
3,2IO
2,6CQ
eci
20. 7
Waseca
3,IO3
2,482
621
2O C
Cloquet
3,074
2.C3O
C44
21 C
Fairmont . .
3.O4O
I 2O^
Oft
I 83C
IOC 2
Virginia
Blue Earth City . . .
2,962
2,9OO
•l**^
1,569
1,°J.)
1,331
1<O"fc
84.8
1 Loss.
Appendix
185
CITIES
1900
1890
Increase
Per cent
Increase
Lake City
2,744
2,128
616
2O 0
Alexandria ....
St James ....
2,68 1
2.6O7
2,118
Q-IQ
563
I 668
20.5
1 77 6
2,536
1,223
1,313
IOO 7
Wabasha
2,528
2,487
41
I 6
Hutchinson ....
Hibbing
2^95
2,48l
1,414
1,081
764
Worthington ....
South St. Paul . . .
Litchfield ....
2,386
2,322
2,28O
I,l64
2,242
It8oo
1,222
80
38l
100.4
3-5
20 o
2,223
1,466
757
51.6
Sauk Centre ....
Bemidii . . . . •
2,220
2.l83
I»695
525
30.0
Chaska
2,165
2,2IO
— 45
1 2.O3
Montevideo ....
Marshall
2,146
2,088
1 437
It2O7
709
885
49-3
73.5
East Grand Forks . .
Detroit
2,077
2,O6O
795
1,510
1,282
55O
106.1
36.4
Shakopee .....
2.O4.7
1.757
2QO
16.4
Sleepy Eye ....
Wells
2,046
2,OI7
1.5^3
1, 208
533
809
35-2
66.9
iLoss.
1 86 Appendix
G. AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE TERRITORIAL
GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA
[Passed March 3, 1849]
SECTION I . Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That from and after the passage of this act, all that part of the
territory of the United States which lies within the following
limits, to wit: Beginning in the Mississippi river, at the point
where the line of forty-three degrees and thirty minutes of north
latitude crosses the same ; thence running due west on said line,
which is the northern boundary of the State of Iowa, to the
northwest corner of the said State of Iowa; thence southerly
along the western boundary of said state to the point where said
boundary strikes the Missouri river ; thence up the middle of the
main channel of the Missouri river to the mouth of White Earth
river; thence up the middle of the main channel of the White
Earth river to the boundary line between the possessions of the
United States and Great Britain ; thence east and south of east
along the boundary line between the possessions of the United
States and Great Britain to Lake Superior ; thence in a straight
line to the northernmost point of the State of Wisconsin in Lake
Superior ; thence along the western boundary line of said State
of Wisconsin to the Mississippi river; thence down the main
channel of said river to the place of beginning, be and the same
is hereby erected into a temporary government by the name of
the Territory of Minnesota ; provided, that nothing in this act
contained shall be construed to inhibit the government of the
United States from dividing said territory into two or more ter-
ritories, in such manner and at such times as Congress shall
deem convenient and proper, or from attaching any portion of
said Territory to any other State or territory of the United
States.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the executive power
and authority in and over said Territory of Minnesota shall be
Appendix 187
vested in a governor, who shall hold his office for four years, and
until his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner
removed by the president of the United States. The governor
shall reside within said Territory ; shall be commander-in-chief
of the militia thereof; shall perform the duties and receive the
emoluments of superintendent of Indian affairs. He may grant
pardons for offences against the laws of said Territory, and
reprieves for offences against the laws of the United States until
the decision of the president can be made known thereon ; he
shall commission all officers who shall be appointed to office
under the laws of the said Territory, and shall take care that the
laws be faithfully executed.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a
secretary of said Territory, who shall reside therein, and hold his
office for four years, unless sooner removed by the president of
the United States ; he shall record and preserve all the laws and
proceedings of the legislative assembly hereinafter constituted,
and all the acts and proceedings of the governor in his executive
department ; he shall transmit one copy of the laws and one copy
of the executive proceedings, on or before the first day of Decem-
ber in each year, to the president of the United States, and at the
same time two copies of the laws to the speaker of the house of
representatives, and the president of the senate, for the use
of Congress. And in case of the death, removal, resignation, or
necessary absence of the governor from the Territory, the secre-
tary shall be and he is hereby authorized and required to execute
and perform all the powers and the duties of the governor during
such vacancy or necessary absence, or until another governor
shall be duly appointed to fill such vacancy.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power
and authority of said Territory shall be vested in the governor
and a legislative assembly. The legislative assembly shall con-
sist of a council and house of representatives. The council shall
consist of nine members having the qualifications of voters, as
hereinafter prescribed, whose term of service shall continue two
years. The house of representatives shall, at its first session,
consist of eighteen members, possessing the same qualifications
as prescribed for members of the council, and whose term of
service shall continue one year. The number of councillors and
1 88 Appendix
representatives may be increased by the legislative assembly,
from time to time, in proportion to the increase of population ;
provided, that the whole number shall never exceed fifteen
councillors and thirty-nine representatives. An apportionment
shall be made, as nearly equal as practicable, among the several
counties or districts for the election of the council and represen-
tatives, giving to each section of the Territory representation in
the ratio of its population, Indians excepted, as nearly as may be.
And the members of the council and of the house of represen-
tatives shall reside in and be inhabitants of the districts for which
they may be elected, respectively. Previous to the first election,
the governor shall cause a census or enumeration of the inhab-
itants of the several counties and districts of the Territory to be
taken, and the first election shall be held at such time and places
and be conducted in such manner as the governor shall appoint
and direct ; and he shall, at the same time, declare the number
of members of the council and house of representatives to
which each of the counties and districts shall be entitled under
this act.
The number of persons authorized to be elected having the
highest number of votes, in each of said council districts for
members of the council, shall be declared by the governor to be
duly elected to the council, and the person or persons authorized
to be elected, having the greatest number of votes for the house
of representatives, equal to the number to which each county or
district shall be entitled, shall also be declared by the governor
to be duly elected members of the house of representatives ;
provided, that in case of a tie between two or more persons
voted for, the governor shall order a new election to supply the
vacancy made by such tie. And the persons thus elected to
the legislative assembly shall meet at such place on such day as
the governor shall appoint, but thereafter the time, place, and
manner of holding and conducting all elections by the people, and
the apportioning of the representation in the several counties or
districts to the council and house of representatives, according to
the population, shall be prescribed by law, as well as the day of
the commencement of the regular session of the legislative
assembly; provided, that no one session shall exceed the term
of sixty days.
Appendix 189
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That every free white male
inhabitant above the age of twenty-one years, who shall have
been a resident of said Territory at the time of the passage of this
act, shall be entitled to vote at the first election, and shall be
eligible to any office within the said Territory ; but the qualifi-
cations of voters and of holding office at all subsequent elections
shall be such as shall be prescribed by the legislative assembly ;
provided, that the right of suffrage and of holding office shall be
exercised only by citizens of the United States and those who
shall have declared on oath their intention to become such, and
shall have taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United
States and the provisions of this act.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power
of the Territory shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation,
consistent with the Constitution of the United States and the
provisions of this act ; but no law shall be passed interfering with
the primary disposal of the soil ; no tax shall be imposed upon
the property of the United States ; nor shall the lands or other
property of non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or other
property of residents. All the laws passed by the legislative
assembly and governor shall be submitted to the Congress of the
United States, and if disapproved shall be null and void and of
no effect.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That all township, district,
and county officers, not herein otherwise provided for, shall be
appointed or elected, as the case may be, in such manner as shall
be provided by the governor and legislative assembly of the
Territory of Minnesota. The governor shall nominate and, by
and with the advice and consent of the legislative council, appoint
all officers not herein otherwise provided for, and, in the first
instance, the governor alone may appoint all said officers, who
shall hold their offices until the end of the next session of the
legislative assembly.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That no member of the
legislative assembly shall hold or be appointed to any office which
shall have been created, or the salary or emoluments of which shall
have been increased, while he was a member, during the term for
which he was elected, and for one year after the expiration of
such term ; and no person holding a commission or appointment
190 Appendix
under the United States, except postmasters, shall be a member
of the legislative assembly, or shall hold any office under the
government of said Territory.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the judicial power of
said Territory shall be vested in a supreme court, district courts,
probate courts, and in justices of the peace. The supreme court
shall consist of a chief justice and two associate justices, any two
of whom shall constitute a quorum, and who shall hold a term at
the seat of government of said Territory annually ; and they shall
hold their offices during the period of four years. The said
Territory shall be divided into three judicial districts, and a dis-
trict court shall be held in each of said districts by one of the
justices of the supreme court, at such time and places as may be
prescribed by law ; and the said judges shall, after their appoint-
ment, respectively, reside in the districts which shall be assigned
them. The jurisdiction of the several courts herein provided for,
both appellate and original, and that of probate courts and justices
of the peace, shall be as limited by law ; provided, that the
justices of the peace shall not have jurisdiction of any matter in
controversy when the title or boundaries of land may be in dispute,
or where the debt or sum claimed shall exceed one hundred
dollars; and the said supreme and district courts, respectively,
shall possess chancery as well as common law jurisdiction. Each
district court, or the judges thereof, shall appoint its clerk, who
shall also be the register in chancery, and shall keep his office at
the place where the court may be held. Writs of error, bills of
exception, and appeals shall be allowed in all cases from the final
decisions of said district courts to the supreme court, under such
regulations as may be prescribed by law, but in no case removed
to the supreme court shall trial by jury be allowed in said court.
The supreme court, or the justices thereof, shall appoint its own
clerk, and every clerk shall hold his office at the pleasure of the
court for which he shall have been appointed. Writs of error
and appeals from the final decisions of said supreme court shall
be allowed, and may be taken to the supreme court of the United
States, in the same manner and under the same regulations as
from the circuit courts of the United States, where the value of
the property or the amount in controversy, to be ascertained by
the oath or affirmation of either party, or other competent witness,
Appendix 191
shall exceed one thousand dollars ; and each of the said district
courts shall have and exercise the same jurisdiction in all cases
arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States, as
is vested in the circuit and district courts of the United States ;
and the first six days of every term of said courts, or so much
thereof as shall be necessary, shaN be appropriated to the trial of
causes arising under the said Constitution and laws ; and writs
of error and appeal in all such cases shall be made to the supreme
court of said Territory, the same as in other cases. The said
clerk shall receive in all such cases the same fees which the clerks
of the district courts of the late Wisconsin Territory received for
similar services.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That there shall be ap-
pointed an attorney for said Territory, who shall continue in
office for four years, unless sooner removed by the president, and
who shall receive the same fees and salary as the attorney of the
United States for the late Territory of Wisconsin received.
There shall also be a marshal for the Territory appointed, who
shall hold his office for four years, unless sooner removed by the
president, and who shall execute all processes issuing from the
said courts, when exercising their jurisdiction as circuit and dis-
trict courts of the United States ; he shall perform the duties, be
subject to the same regulations and penalties, and be entitled to
the same fees as the marshal of the district court of the United
States for the late Territory of Wisconsin ; and shall, in addition,
be pcid two hundred dollars annually as a compensation for extra
services.
SEC. ii. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secre-
tary, chief justice and associate justices, attorney and marshal,
shall be nominated and, by and with the advice and consent of
the senate, appointed by the president of the United States. The
governor and secretary to be appointed as aforesaid, shall, before
they act as such, respectively, take an oath or affirmation, before
the district judge, or some justice of the peace in the limits of
said Territory, duly authorized to administer oaths and affirma-
tions by the laws now in force therein, or before the chief justice,
or some associate justice of the supreme court of the United
States, to support the Constitution of the United States, and
faithfully to discharge the duties of their respective offices, which
192 Appendix
said oaths, when so taken, shall be certified by the person by
whom the same shall have been taken, and such certificates shall
be received and recorded by the said secretary among the ex-
ecutive proceedings ; and the chief justice and associate justices,
and all other civil officers in said Territory, before they act as
such, shall take a like oath or affirmation, before the said governor
or secretary, or some judge or justice of the peace of the Territory,
who may be duly commissioned and qualified ; which said oath
or affirmation shall be certified and transmitted, by the person
taking the same, to the secretary, to be by him recorded as afore-
said ; and afterwards, the like oath or affirmation shall be taken,
certified and recorded in such manner and form as may be pre-
scribed by law. The governor shall receive an annual salary of
$1,500 as governor, and $1,000 as superintendent of Indian affairs.
The chief justice and associate justice shall each receive an annual
salary of $1,800. The secretary shall receive an annual salary
of $ i, 800. The said salaries shall be paid quarter-yearly, at the
treasury of the United States. The members of the legislative
assembly shall be entitled to receive three dollars each per day
during their attendance at the sessions thereof, and three dollars
each for every twenty miles traveled in going to and returning
from the said sessions, estimated according to the nearest usually
travelled route. There shall be appropriated, annually, the sum
of $1,000, to be expended by the governor to defray the contingent
expenses of the Territory : and there shall also be appropriated,
annually, a sufficient sum to be expended by the secretary of the
Territory, and upon an estimate to be made by the secretary of
the treasury of the United States, to defray the expenses of the
legislative assembly, the printing of the laws, and other incidental
expenses, and the secretary of the Territory shall annually account
to the secretary of the treasury of the United States for the man-
ner in which the aforesaid sum shall have been expended.
SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the inhabitants of the
said Territory shall be entitled to all the rights, privileges, and
immunities heretofore granted and secured to the Territory of
Wisconsin and to its inhabitants ; and the laws in force in the
Territory of Wisconsin at the date of the admission of the State
of Wisconsin shall continue to be valid and operative therein, so
far as the same be not incompatible with the provisions of this
Appendix 193
act, subject, nevertheless, to be altered, modified, or repealed by
the governor and legislative assembly of the said Territory of
Minnesota ; and the laws of the United States are hereby extended
over, and declared to be in force in said Territory, so far as the
same, or any provision thereof, may be applicable.
SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the legislative
assembly of the Territory of Minnesota shall hold its first
session in St. Paul ; and at said first session the governor and
legislative assembly shall locate and establish a temporary seat
of government for said Territory, at such place as they may deem
eligible ; and shall at such time as they shall see proper prescribe
by law the manner of locating the permanent seat of government
of said Territory by a vote of the people. And the sum of twenty
thousand dollars, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise
appropriated, is hereby appropriated and granted to said Territory
of Minnesota, to be applied by the governor and legislative
assembly to the erection of suitable public buildings at the seat
of government.
SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That a delegate to the
house of representatives of the United States, to serve for the
term of two years, may be elected by the voters qualified to elect
members of the legislative assembly, who shall be entitled to the
same rights and privileges as are exercised and enjoyed by the
delegates from the several other territories of the United States
to the said house of representatives. The first election shall be
held at such times and places and be conducted in such manner
as the governor shall appoint and direct ; and at all subsequent
elections the times, places, and manner of holding the elections
shall be prescribed by law. The person having the greatest
number of votes shall be declared by the governor to be duly
elected, and a certificate thereof shall be given accordingly.
SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That all suits, process, and
proceedings, civil and criminal, at law or in chancery, and all
indictments and informations, which shall be pending and unde-
termined in the courts of the Territory of Wisconsin, within the
limits of said Territory of Minnesota, when this act shall take
effect, shall be transferred to be heard, tried, prosecuted, and
determined in the district courts hereby established, which may
include the counties or districts where any such proceeding may be
IQ4 Appendix
pending. All bonds, recognizances, and obligations of every
kind whatsoever, valid under the existing laws, within the limits
of said Territory, shall be valid under this act ; and all crimes and
misdemeanors against the laws, in force within said limits, may
be prosecuted, tried, and punished in the courts established by
this act ; and all penalties, forfeitures, actions, and causes of
action may be recovered under this act the same as they would
have been under the laws in force within the limits composing
said Territory at the time this act shall go into operation.
SEC. 1 6. And be it further enacted, That all justices of the
peace, constables, sheriffs, and all other judicial and ministerial
officers, who shall be in office within the limits of said Territory
when this act shall take effect, shall be and they are hereby
authorized and required to continue to exercise and perform the
duties of their respective offices as officers of the Territory of
Minnesota, temporarily, and until they or others shall be duly
appointed and qualified to fill their places, in the manner herein
directed, or until their offices shall be abolished.
SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $5,000
be and the same is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the
treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be expended by and under
the direction of the said governor of the Territory of Minnesota,
in the purchase of a library, to be kept at the seat of government
for the use of the governor, legislative assembly, judges of the
supreme court, secretary, marshal, and attorneys of said Territory,
and such other persons and under such regulations as shall be
prescribed by law.
SEC. 1 8. And be it further enacted, That when the lands in
said Territory shall be surveyed under the direction of the govern-
ment of the United States, preparatory to bringing the same into
market, sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in each town-
ship in said Territory shall be and the same are hereby reserved
for the purpose of being applied to schools in said Territory, and
in the State and Territories hereafter to be erected out of the same.
SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That temporarily, and
until otherwise provided by law, the governor of said Territory
may define the judicial districts of said Territory, and assign the
judges who may be appointed for said Territory to the several
districts, and also appoint the times and places for holding courts
Appendix 195
in the several counties or subdivisions in each of said judicial dis-
tricts, by proclamation to be issued by him ; but the legislative
assembly, at their first or any subsequent session, may organize,
alter, or modify such judicial districts, ahd assign the judges, and
alter the times and places of holding the courts, as to them shall
seem proper and convenient.
SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That every bill which shall
or may pass the council and house of representatives, shall, before
it becomes a law, be presented to the governor of the Territory ;
if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, with
his objections, to the house in which it originated ; which shall
cause the objections to be entered at large upon their journal,
and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-
thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent,
together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall
also be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house
it shall become a law ; but in all such cases the votes of both
houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of
the persons voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the
journal of each house, respectively. If any bill shall not be
returned by the governor within three days (Sundays excepted)
after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law
in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the legislative
assembly, by adjournment, prevent it ; in which case it shall not
become a law.
196 Appendix
H. THE ENABLING ACT OF MINNESOTA1
[Passed Feb. 26, 1857]
SECTION I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress
assembled, That the inhabitants of that portion of the Territory
of Minnesota which is embraced within the following limits,
to-wit : Beginning at the point in the centre of the main channel
of the Red River of the North, where the boundary line between
the United States and the British Possessions crosses the same ;
thence up the main channel of said river to that of the Bois de
Sioux river ; thence up the main channel of said river to Lake
Traverse; thence up the centre of said lake to the southern
extremity thereof; thence in a direct line to the head of Big
Stone lake ; thence through its centre to its outlet ; thence by a
due south line to the north of the State of Iowa ; thence along
the northern boundary of said State to the main channel of the
Mississippi river ; thence up the main channel of said river, and
following the boundary line of the State of Wisconsin, until the
same intersects with the St. Louis river ; thence down the said
river to and through Lake Superior, on the boundary line of Wis-
consin and Michigan, until it intersects the dividing line between
the United States and the British Possessions ; thence up Pigeon
river and following said dividing line to the place of beginning,
be and they hereby are authorized to form for themselves a
constitution and State government by the name of the State of
Minnesota, and to come into the Union on an equal footing with
the original States, according to the Federal Constitution.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the State of Minnesota
shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the Mississippi and all other
rivers and waters bordering on the said State of Minnesota, so
far as the same shall form a common boundary to said State and
any State or States now or hereafter to be formed or bounded by
1 One of the first steps in the admission of a new State to the Union is the enact-
ment by Congress of an act authorizing the people of the Territory to form a State
government. Such an act is technically known as an enabling act.
Appendix 197
the same ; and said river or waters leading into the same shall be
common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of
said State as to all other citizens of the United States, without
any tax, duty, impost, or toll therefor.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That on the first Monday
in June next, the legal voters in each representative district then
existing within the limits of the proposed State, are hereby
authorized to elect two delegates for each representative to which
said district shall be entitled according to the apportionment for
representatives to the Territorial legislature ; which election for
delegates shall be held and conducted, and the returns made, in
all respects in conformity with the laws of said Territory reg-
ulating the election of representatives, and the delegates so
elected shall assemble at the capital of said Territory on the
second Monday in June next, and first determine by a vote
whether it is the wish of the people of the proposed State to be
admitted into the Union at that time ; and if so, shall proceed to
form a constitution, and take all necessary steps for the establish-
ment of a State government, in conformity with the Federal
Constitution, subject to the approval and ratification of the
people of the proposed State.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted. That in the event said
convention shall decide in favor of the immediate admission of
the proposed State into the Union, it shall be the duty of the
United States marshal for said Territory to proceed to take a
census or enumeration of the inhabitants within the limits of the
proposed State, under such rules and regulations as shall be pre-
scribed by the secretary of the interior, with the view of ascer-
taining the number of representatives to which said State may be
entitled in the Congress of the United States. And said State
shall be entitled to one representative, and such additional repre-
sentatives as the population of the State shall, according to the
census, show it would be entitled to according to the present ratio
of representation.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the following proposi-
tions be and the same are hereby offered to the said convention
of the people of Minnesota for their free acceptance or rejection,
which, if accepted by the convention, shall be obligatory on the
United States, and upon the said State of Minnesota, to-wit :
198 Appendix
First — That sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in every
township of public lands in said State, and where either of said
sections, or any part thereof, has been sold or otherwise disposed
of, other lands, equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be,
shall be granted to said State for the use of schools.
Second — That seventy-two sections of land shall be set apart
and reserved for the use and support of a State university, to be
selected by the governor of said State, subject to the approval
of the commissioner at the general land office, and to be appro-
priated and applied in such manner as the legislature of said
State may prescribe, for the purpose aforesaid, but for no other
purpose.
Third — Ten entire sections of land to be selected by the gov-
ernor of said State, in legal subdivisions, shall be granted to said
State for the purpose of completing the public buildings, or for
the erection of others at the seat of government, under the direc-
tion of the legislature thereof.
Fourth — That all salt springs within said State, not exceeding
twelve in number, with six sections of land adjoining or as con-
tiguous as may be to each, shall be granted to said State for its
use ; and the same to be selected by the governor thereof within
one year after the admission of said State, and, when so selected,
to be used or disposed of on such terms, conditions, and regula-
tions as the legislature shall direct ; provided, that no salt spring
or land the right whereof is now vested in any individual or in
individuals, or which may be hereafter confirmed or adjudged to
any individual or individuals, shall by this article be granted to
said State.
Fifth — That five per centum of the net proceeds of sales of all
public lands lying within said State, which shall be sold by Con-
gress after the admission of said State into the Union, after
deducting all the expenses incident to the same, shall be paid to
said State for the purpose of making public roads and internal
improvements as the legislature shall direct ; provided, the fore-
going propositions herein offered are on the condition that the
said convention which shall form the constitution of said State
shall provide, by a clause in said constitution, or an ordinance,
irrevocable without the consent of the United States, that said
State shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil
Appendix 199
within the same by the United States, or with any regulations
Congress may find necessary for securing the title in said soil
in bona fide purchasers thereof; and that no tax shall be im-
posed on lands belonging to the United States, and that
in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than
residents.
2OO Appendix
I. AN ACT FOR THE ADMISSION OF MINNESOTA
INTO THE UNION
[Passed May //, 1858}
WHEREAS, an act of Congress was passed February twenty-
sixth, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, entitled "An act to
authorize the people of the Territory of Minnesota to form a
constitution and State government preparatory to their admission
into the Union on an equal footing with the original States;"
and, whereas, the people of said Territory did, on the twenty-
ninth day of August, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, by dele-
gates elected for that purpose, form for themselves a constitution
and State government, which is republican in form, and was
ratified and adopted by the people at an election held on the
thirteenth day of October, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, for
that purpose ; therefore,
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the State
of Minnesota shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one, of
the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on
an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That said State shall
be entitled to two representatives in Congress, until the next
apportionment of representatives among the several States.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That from and after the
admission of the State of Minnesota, as hereinbefore provided,
all the laws of the United States which are not locally inapplicable
shall have the same force and effect within that State as in other
States of the Union ; and the said State is hereby constituted a
judicial district of the United States ; within which a district
court, with like powers and jurisdiction as the district court of the
United States for the district of Iowa, shall be established ; the
judge, attorney, and marshal of the United States of the said dis-
trict of Minnesota shall reside within the same, and shall be
entitled to the same compensation as the judge, attorney, and
Appendix 20 1
marshal of the district of Iowa ; and in all cases of appeal or
writ of error heretofore prosecuted and now pending in the
supreme court of the United States, upon any record from the
supreme court of Minnesota Territory, the mandate of execution
or order of further proceedings shall be directed by the supreme
court of the United States to the district court of the United
States for the district of Minnesota, or to the supreme court of
the State of Minnesota, as the nature of such appeal or writ
of error may require ; and each of those courts shall be the suc-
cessor of the supreme court of Minnesota Territory, as to all such
cases, with full power to hear and determine the same, and to
award mesne or final process therein.
202
Appendix
J. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA
Adopted October /j, 1857. Ayes, 30,055 ; Noes, 577.
Preamble. PREAMBLE. We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful
to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to per-
petuate its blessings and secure the same to ourselves and our
posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution :
Object of
government.
Rights and
privileges.
Liberty of
the press.
Right of trial
by jury.
No excessive
bail or
unusual
punishments.
ARTICLE I
Bill of Rights
SECTION I. Government is instituted for the security, benefit
and protection of the people, in whom all political power is
inherent, together with the right to alter, modify, or reform such
government, whenever the public good may require it.
SEC. 2. No member of this State shall be disfranchised, or
deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen
thereof, unless by the law of the land, or the judgment of his
peers. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude
in the State otherwise than in the punishment of crime, whereof
the party shall have been duly convicted.
SEC. 3. The liberty of the press shall forever remain inviolate,
and all persons may freely speak, write, and publish their senti-
ments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of such right.
SEC. 4. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, and
shall extend to all cases at law without regard to the amount in
controversy, but a jury trial may be waived by the parties in all
cases in the manner prescribed by law ; [and the legislature may
provide that the agreement of five-sixths of any jury in any civil
action or proceeding, after not less than six (6) hours' delibera-
tion, shall be sufficient verdict therein.] J
SEC. 5. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor shaH exces-
sive fines be imposed ; nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be
inflicted.
1 The clause in brackets was adopted November 4, 1890.
Appendix 203
SEC. 6. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy Rights of
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of accused in
criminal
the county or district wherein the crime shall have been com- pr0secutions.
mitted, which county or district shall have been previously ascer-
tained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to
have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor,
and to have the assistance of counsel in his defence.1
SEC. 7. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal Further
offence unless on the presentment or indictment of a grand jury, nshts °*
. J. Jt accused,
except in cases of impeachment, or in cases cognizable by justices
of the peace, or arising in the army or navy, or in the militia
when in actual service in time of war or public danger; and
no person for the same offence shall be put twice in jeopardy
of punishment, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be
witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law. All persons shall, before conviction,
be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences, when
the proof is evident or the presumption great ; and the privilege of
the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless, when in
cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require.
SEC. 8. Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in the Redress of
laws for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his inJll"es °r
person, property, or character ; he ought to obtain justice freely
and without purchase ; completely and without denial ; promptly
and without delay, conformable to the laws.
SEC. 9. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying Treason
war against the same, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them defined-
aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless
on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on
confession in open court.
SEC. 10. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, Right against
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and unreasonable
seizures, shall not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue but
upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
1 The jury contemplated by Article i, Section 6, securing the right to jury trial
in criminal cases, is a body of twelve men, and it is error to try a party charged with
crime in a justice court, against his objection, with a jury of six. The fact that he
may appeal to the district court, on entering into recognizance with sureties, does
not change the rule. 14 Minn. 330.
2O4 Appendix
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person
or things to be seized.
Prohibits SEC. ii. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, nor any law im-
ex post facto pairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed, and no con-
aws, or aws vjc|-jon snan work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate,
impairing r
contracts. SEC. 12. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in this
Imprison- State,1 but this shall not prevent the legislature from providing
ment for for imprisonment, or holding to bail, persons charged with fraud
debt. jn C011tracting said debt. A reasonable amount of property shall
be exempt from seizure or sale for the payment of any debt or
liability. The amount of such exemption shall be determined
Property by law. \Provided, however, that all property so exempted shall
exemption. ^e iiaDie to seizure and sale for any debts incurred to any person
for work done or materials furnished in the construction, repair,
or improvement of the same; and, provided further, that such
liability to seizure and sale shall also extend to all real property
for any debt incurred to any laborer or servant for labor or
service performed.] 2
Private prop- SEC. 13. Private property shall not be taken, destroyed, or
erty for pub- damaged for public use without just compensation therefor, first
he use. paid or secured .3
Military SEC. 14. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power, and
subordinate no stancnng army shall be kept up in this State in time of peace
Lands de ^EC' *$' ^ lands within the State are declared to be allodial,
clared allo- an<^ feudal tenures of every description, with all their incidents,
dial. Leases, are prohibited. Leases and grants of agricultural lands for a
when void. longer period than twenty-one years, hereafter made, in which
shall be reserved any rent or service of any kind, shall be void.
Freedom of SEC. 16. The enumeration of rights in this constitution shall
conscience. not De construed to deny or impair others retained by and in-
herent in the people. The right of every man to worship God
according to the dictates of his own conscience shall never be
infringed, nor shall any man be compelled to attend, erect, or
support any place of worship, or to maintain any religious or
ecclesiastical ministry, against his consent ; nor shall any control
of or interference with the rights of conscience be permitted, or
1 23 Minn, i; 23 Minn. 411.
* The clause in brackets was adopted November 6, 1888.
8 The words "destroyed or damaged" inserted by amendment adopted Novem-
ber 3, 1896.
Appendix 205
any preference be given by law to any religious establishment or No prefer-
mode of worship ; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured e?ce to be
shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or religious
justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of the State, establish-
nor shall any money be drawn from the treasury for the benefit ment °r
of any religious societies, or religious or theological seminaries. worshi°
SEC. 17. No religious test or amount of property shall ever
be required as a qualification for any office of public trust under No religious
the State. No religious test or amount of property shall ever be ^ °uaHfi^
required as a qualification of any voter at any election in this cation to be
State; nor shall any person be rendered incompetent to give required,
evidence in any court of law or equity in consequence of his
opinion upon the subject of religion.
ARTICLE II
Boundaries
[Omitted.]
ARTICLE III
Distribution of the Powers of Government
SECTION i. The powers of government shall be divided into Division of
three distinct departments — legislative, executive, and judicial ; P°wers'
and no person or persons belonging to or constituting one of
these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly be-
longing to either of the others, except in the instances expressly
provided in this constitution.
ARTICLE IV
Legislative Department
SECTION i. The legislature shall consist of the Senate and Legislature
House of Representatives, which shall meet biennially at the meets
seat of government of the State, at such time as shall be pre- biennially-
scribed by law, but no session shall exceed the term of ninety Length of
(90) legislative days ; 1 and no new bill shall be introduced in session.
1 February 5, 1889, the judiciary committee of the House of Representatives unani-
mously reported, " that it was clearly the purpose of the legislature which pro-
posed this amendment of the Constitution to the people, and plainly the intention
of the people themselves, when voting for its adoption, to limit the sessions of the
legislature to ninety days, excluding only Sundays and legal holidays." Also that
twenty days' limitation of introduction of bills before adjournment only applied to
the period of ninety days, and proportionately for a shorter session.
206
Appendix
Apportion-
ment of
members.
Eligibility of
members.
Quorum.
Rules of
government.
Officers.
Journal of
proceedings.
Length of
adjourn-
ments.
Compensa-
tion.
either branch, except on the written request of the governor,
during the last twenty (20) days of such sessions, except the
attention of the legislature shall be called to some important
matter of general interest by a special message from the governor.1
SEC. 2. The number of members who compose the Senate
and House of Representatives shall be prescribed by law, but
the representatives in the Senate shall never exceed one member
for every 5,000 inhabitants, and in the House of Representatives
one member for every 2,000 inhabitants. The representation
in both houses shall be apportioned equally throughout the
different sections of the State, in proportion to the population
thereof, exclusive of Indians not taxable under the provisions
of law.
SEC. 3. Each house shall be the judge of the election returns
and eligibility of its own members ; 2 a majority of each shall
constitute a quorum to transact business, but a smaller number
may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of
absent members in such manner and under such penalties as it
may provide.
SEC. 4. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings,
sit upon its own adjournment, punish its members for disorderly
behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a mem-
ber ; but no member shall be expelled the second time for the
same offence.
SEC. 5. The House of Representatives shall elect its presiding
officer, and the Senate and House of Representatives shall elect
such other officers as may be provided by law ; they shall keep
journals of their proceedings, and from time to time publish the
same, and the yeas and nays, when taken on any question, shall
be entered on such journals.
SEC. 6. Neither house shall, during a session of the legislature,
adjourn for more than three days (Sundays excepted), nor to any
other place than that in which the two houses shall be assembled,
without the consent of the other house.
SEC. 7. The compensation of senators and representatives
shall be three dollars per diem during the first session, but may
1 Amendment adopted November 6, 1888.
2 The election of a State senator or representative to Congress does not necessarily
create a vacancy. Senate Journal, 1889, page 062. See opinion of Attorney Gen-
eral Clapp.
Appendix
207
afterwards be prescribed by law. l But no increase of compensa-
tion shall be prescribed which shall take effect during the period
for which the members of the existing House of Representatives
may have been elected.
SEC. 8. The members of each house shall in all cases, except
treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest
during the session of their respective houses, and in going to or
returning from the same. For any speech or debate in either
house they shall not be questioned in any other place.
SEC. 9. No senator or representative shall, during the time for
which he is elected, hold any office under the authority of the
United States or the State of Minnesota, except that of post-
master, and no senator or representative shall hold an office
under the State which has been created or the emoluments of
which have been increased during the session of the legislature
of which he was a member, until one year after the expiration of
his term of office in the legislature.2
SEC. 10. All bills for raising a revenue shall originate in the
House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose and concur
with amendments as on other bills.
SEC. n. Every bill which shall have passed the Senate and
House of Representatives, in conformity to the rules of each house
and the joint rules of the two houses, shall, before it becomes a
law, be presented to the governor of the State. If he approve, he
shall sign and deposit it in the office of secretary of state for
preservation, and notify the house where it originated of the fact.
But if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in
which it shall have originated ; when such objections shall be
entered at large on the journal of the same, and the house shall
proceed to reconsider the bill. If, after such reconsideration,
two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be
sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which
it shall likewise be reconsidered ; and if it be approved by two-
thirds of that house it shall become a law. But in all such cases
the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays,
and the names of the persons voting for or against the bill shall
be entered on the journal of each house, respectively. If any bill
shall not be returned by the governor within three days (Sundays
Privileged
from arrest.
Restriction
as to holding
office.
Bills of
revenue to
originate in
House.
Approval of
bills by
governor.
Action on
non-
approval.
1 Made $5 per day, Genera! Laws, 1873, ch. 113.
27 Minn. 466.
208
Appendix
Governor
may cut out
items of
appropria-
tion bills and
otherwise
approve.
Money
appropria-
tions, how
made.
Majority
vote of all
members-
elect to pass
a law.
Impeach-
ment powers.
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same
shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the
legislature, by adjournment within that time, prevents its return ;
in which case it shall not be a law. The governor may approve,
sign, and file in the office of the secretary of state, within three days
after the adjournment of the legislature, any act passed during the
last three days of the session, and the same shall become a law.
[If any bill presented to the governor contain several items of
appropriation of money, he may object to one or more of such
items, while approving of the other portion of the bill. In such
case he shall append to the bill, at the time of signing it, a state-
ment of the items to which he objects, and the appropriation so
objected to shall not take effect. If the legislature be in session,
he shall transmit to the house in which the bill originated a copy
of such statement, and the items objected to shall be separately
reconsidered. If, on consideration, one or more such items be
approved by two-thirds of the members elected to each house,
the same shall be a part of the law, notwithstanding the objections
of the governor. All the provisions of this section, in relation to
bills not approved by the governor, shall apply in cases in which
he shall withhold his approval from any item or items contained
in a bill appropriating money.] 1
SEC. 12. No money shall be appropriated except by bill
Every order, resolution, or vote requiring the concurrence of the
two houses (except such as relate to the business or adjournment
of the same) shall be presented to the governor for his signature,
and, before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him,
or, being returned by him with his objections, shall be repassed
by two-thirds of the members of the two houses, according to the
rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill.
SEC. 13. The style of all laws of this State shall be: "Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota." No law
shall be passed unless voted for by a majority of all the members
elected to each branch of the legislature, and the vote entered
upon the journal of each house.
SEC. 14. The House of Representatives shall have the sole
power of impeachment, through a concurrence of a majority of all
the members elected to seats therein. All impeachments shall
1 This paragraph in brackets was adopted November 7, 1876.
Appendix 209
be tried by the Senate; and when sitting for that purpose the
senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according
to law and evidence. No person shall be convicted without the
concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.
SEC. 15. The legislature shall have full power to exclude from Exclusion
the privilege of electing or being elected any person convicted of flx>m civil
bribery, perjury, or any other infamous crime.
SEC. 16. Two or more members of either house shall have Protest and
liberty to dissent and protest against any act or resolution which dissent of
,, ...... . .. . . , , members.
they may think injurious to the public or to any individual, and
have the reason of their dissent entered on the journal.
SEC. 17. The governor shall issue writs of election to fill such Vacancies in
vacancies as may occur in either house of the legislature. The legislature,
legislature shall prescribe by law the manner in which evidence
in cases of contested seats in either house shall be taken.
SEC. 1 8. Each house may punish by imprisonment, during Punish for
its session, any person, not a member, who shall be guilty £
of any disorderly or contemptuous behavior in their presence,
out no such imprisonment shall at any time exceed twenty-four
hours.
SEC. 19. Each house shall be open to the public during the Open
sessions thereof, except in such cases as in their opinion may sessions,
require secrecy.
SEC. 20. Every bill shall be read on three different days in Reading of
each separate house, unless, in case of urgency, two-thirds of the bills*
house where such bill is depending shall deem it expedient to
dispense with this rule ; and no bill shall be passed by either
house until it shall have been previously read twice at length.1
SEC. 21. Every bill having passed both houses shall be care- Enrolment
fully enrolled, and shall be signed by the presiding officer of each of bills,
house. Any presiding officer refusing to sign a bill which shall
have previously passed both houses shall thereafter be incapable
of holding a seat in either branch of the legislature, or hold any
other office of honor or profit in the State, and in case of such
refusal, each house shall, by rule, provide the manner in which
such bill shall be properly certified for presentation to the gov-
ernor.
1 Provision as to manner of passing bills is imperative and not directory. 2 Minn.
530,
210
Appendix
Passage of
bills on last
day of
session
prohibited.
Census
enumeration.
Apportion-
ment.
Senatorial
districts —
term of office
of senators
and repre-
sentatives.
Qualifica-
tion of
legislators.
SEC. 22. No bill shall be passed by either house of the legis-
lature upon the day prescribed for the adjournment of the two
houses. But this section shall not be so construed as to preclude
the enrolment of a bill, or the signature and passage from one
house to the other, or the reports thereon from committees, or its
transmission to the executive for his signature.
SEC. 23. The legislature shall provide by law for an enumeration
of the inhabitants of this State in the year one thousand eight hun-
dred and sixty-five, and every tenth year thereafter. At their first
session after each enumeration so made, and also at their first ses-
sion after each enumeration made by the authority of the United
States, the legislature shall have the power to prescribe the bounds
of congressional, senatorial, and representative districts, and to ap-
portion anew the senators and representatives among the several
districts according to the provisions of section second of this article.
SEC. 24. The senators shall also be chosen by single districts
of convenient contiguous territory, at the same time that members
of the house of representatives are required to be chosen, and in
the same manner ; and no representative district shall be divided
in the formation of a senate district. The senate districts shall
be numbered in a regular series. The terms of orifice of senators
and representatives shall be the same as now prescribed by law
until the general election of the year one thousand eight hundred
and seventy-eight (1878), at which time there shall be an entire
new election of all the senators and representatives. Representa-
tives chosen at such election, or at any election thereafter, shall
hold their office for the term of two years, except it be to fill a
vacancy; and the senators chosen at such election by districts
designated as odd numbers shall go out of office at the expiration
of the second year, and senators chosen by districts designated by
even numbers shall go out of office at the expiration of the fourth
year ; and thereafter senators shall be chosen for four years, except
there shall be an entire new election of all the senators at the
election of representatives next succeeding each new apportion-
ment provided for in this article.
SEC. 25. Senators and representatives shall be qualified voters
of the State, and shall have resided one year in the State and six
months immediately preceding the election in the district from
which they are elected.
Appendix 211
SEC. 26. Members of the Senate of the United States from Senators to
this State shall be elected by the two houses of the legislature Congress,
in joint convention, at such time and in such manner as may be
provided by law.
SEC. 27. No law shall embrace more than one subject, which Laws to
shall be expressed in its title. embrace only
SEC. 28. Divorces shall not be granted by the legislature.
SEC. 29. All members and officers of both branches of the l ces*
legislature shall, before entering upon the duties of their respec- ~l °
tive trusts, take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to support
the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the
State of Minnesota, and faithfully and impartially to discharge
the duties devolving upon him as such member or officer.
SEC. 30. In all elections to be made by the legislature, the Elections
members thereof shall vote viva voce, and their votes shall be viva voce-
entered on the journal.
SEC. 31. The legislature shall never authorize any lottery, or Prohibition
the sale of lottery tickets. of lotteries.
SEC. 32 [a]. Any law providing for the repeal or amendment of Change of
any law or laws heretofore or hereafter enacted, which provides form of tax'
that any railroad company now existing in this State or operating ^^ds to
its road therein, or which may be hereafter organized, shall, in be voted
lieu of all other taxes and assessments upon their real estate, upon,
roads, rolling stock, and other personal property, at and during
the time and periods therein specified, pay into the treasury of
this State a certain percentage therein mentioned of the gross
earnings of such railroad companies now existing or hereafter
organized, shall, before the same shall take effect or be in force,
be submitted to a vote of the people of the State, and be adopted
and ratified by a majority of the electors of the State voting at
the election at which the same shall be submitted to them.
SEC. 33. In all cases when a general law can be made appli- Against
cable, no special law shall be enacted ; and whether a general special
law could have been made applicable in any case is hereby leSlslatlon-
declared a judicial question, and as such shall be judicially
determined without regard to any legislative assertion on that
subject. The legislature shall pass no local or special law
regulating the affairs of, or incorporating, erecting, or changing
the lines of, any county, city, village, township, ward, or school
212
Appendix
Repeal of
existing
special laws.
Refers to
amendment
of 1881,
superseded
as above.
district, or creating the offices, or prescribing the powers and
duties of the officers of, or fixing or relating to the compensation,
salary, or fees of the same, or the mode of election or appoint-
ment thereto, authorizing the laying out, opening, altering, vacat-
ing, or maintaining roads, highways, streets, or alleys ; remitting
fines, penalties, or forfeitures ; regulating the powers, duties, and
practice of justices of the peace, magistrates, and constables;
changing the names of persons, places, lakes, or rivers ; for open-
ing and conducting of elections, or fixing or changing the places
of voting ; authorizing the adoption or legitimation of children ;
changing the law of descent or succession; conferring rights
upon minors ; declaring any named person of age ; giving effect
to informal or invalid wills or deeds, or affecting the estates of
minors or persons under disability ; locating or changing county
seats ; regulating the management of public schools, the building
or repairing of schoolhouses, and the raising of money for such
purposes; exempting property from taxation, or regulating the
rate of interest on money ; creating corporations, or amending,
renewing, extending, or explaining the charters thereof; granting
to any corporation, association, or individual any special or ex-
clusive privilege, immunity, or franchise whatever, or authorizing
public taxation for a private purpose. Provided, however, That
the inhibitions of local or special laws in this section shall not
be construed to prevent the passage of general laws on any of
the subjects enumerated.
The legislature may repeal any existing special or local law,
but shall not amend, extend, or modify any of the same.1
SEC. 34. The legislature shall provide general laws for the
transaction of any business that may be prohibited by section
one (i) of this amendment, and all such laws shall be uniform
in their operation throughout the State.2
SEC. 35. Any combinations of persons, either as individuals
or as members or officers of any corporation, to monopolize the
1 Adopted November 8, 1892.
* Adopted November 8, 1881. This section, having been a part of the amendment,
regulating special legislation, adopted in 1881, should properly have been included in
the substitution of the amendment of 1892; but as it was not referred to by section, in
the law submitted to the people, it must perforce remain in the Constitution, however
inapplicable its reading.
Appendix 213
markets for food products in this State, or to interfere with, or Against corn-
restrict the freedom of such markets, is hereby declared to be a bj)nQ^i^s °r
criminal conspiracy, and shall be punished in such manner as the affect
legislature may provide.1 markets.
SEC. 36. Any city or village in this State may frame a charter city or
for its own government as a city consistent with and subject to village may
the laws of this State, as follows: The legislature shall provide,
under such restrictions as it deems proper, for a board of fifteen
freeholders, who shall be and for the past five years shall have
been qualified voters thereof, to be appointed by the district
judges of the judicial district in which the city or village is situ-
ated, as the legislature may determine, for a term in no event to
exceed six years, which board shall, within six months after its
appointment, return to the chief magistrate of said city or village
a draft of said charter, signed by the members of said board, or
a majority thereof. Such charter shall be submitted to the Charter to be
qualified voters of such city or village at the next election there- ™
after, and if four-sevenths of the qualified voters voting at such
election shall ratify the same it shall, at the end of thirty days
thereafter, become the charter of such city or village as a city,
and supersede any existing charter or amendments thereof;
provided, that in cities having patrol limits now established,
such charter shall require a three-fourths majority vote of the
qualified voters voting at such election to change the patrol
limits now established.
Before any city shall incorporate under this act the legislature Legislature
shall prescribe by law the general limits within which such to prescribe
charter shall be framed. Duplicate certificates shall be made of charter.
setting forth the charter proposed and its ratification, which
shall be signed by the chief magistrate of said city or village
and authenticated by its corporate seal. One of said certificates
shall be deposited in the office of secretary of state, and the
other, after being recorded in the office of the register of deeds for
the county in which such city or village lies, shall be deposited
among the archives of such city or village, and all courts shall
take judicial notice thereof. Such charter so deposited may be Amendment
amended by proposal therefor made by a board of fifteen com- of charter-
missioners aforesaid, published for at least thirty days in three
1 Adopted November 6, 1888.
2I4
Appendix
Upon appli-
cation of five
per cent of
legal voters.
Mayor and
legislative
body.
Articles of
amendment
may be
submitted
separately.
General laws
for cities by
divisions of
population.
newspapers of general circulation in such city or village, and
accepted by three-fifths of the qualified voters of such city or
village voting at the next election, and not otherwise ; but such
charter shall always be in harmony with and subject to the Con-
stitution and laws of the State of Minnesota. The legislature
may prescribe the duties of the commission relative to submit-
ting amendments of charter to the vote of the people, and shall
provide that upon application of five per cent of the legal voters
of any such city or village, by written petition, such commission
shall submit to the vote of the people proposed amendments to
such charter set forth in said petition. The board of freeholders
above provided for shall be permanent, and all the vacancies by
death, disability to perform duties, resignation, or removal from
the corporate limits, or expiration of term of office, shall be filled
by appointment in the same manner as the original board was
created, and said board shall always contain its full complement
of members.
It shall be a feature of all such charters that there shall be
provided, among other things, for a mayor or chief magistrate,
and a legislative body of either one or two houses ; if of two
houses, at least one of them shall be elected by general vote of
the electors.
In submitting any such charter or amendment thereto to the
qualified voters of such city or village, any alternate section or
article may be presented for the choice of the voters, and may
be voted on separately without prejudice to other articles or
sections of the charter or any amendments thereto.
The legislature may provide general laws relating to affairs
of cities, the application of which may be limited to cities of over
fifty thousand inhabitants, or to cities of fifty and not less than
twenty thousand inhabitants, or to cities of twenty and not less
than ten thousand inhabitants, or to cities of ten thousand
inhabitants or less, which shall apply equally to all such cities
of 'either class, and which shall be paramount while in force to
the provisions relating to the same matter included in the local
charter herein provided for. But no local charter, provision, or
ordinance passed thereunder shall supersede any general law of
the State defining or punishing crimes or misdemeanors.1
1 Section 36 adopted November 8, 1898.
Appendix 215
ARTICLE V
Executive Department
SECTION I. The executive department shall consist of a gov- Officers in
ernor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, executive
and attorney general, who shall be chosen by the electors of the epar
State.1
SEC. 2.2 The returns of every election for the officers named Election
in the foregoing section shall be made to the secretary of state, returns to be
who shall call to his assistance two or more of the judges of the
supreme court, and two disinterested judges of the district courts
of the State, who shall constitute a board of canvassers, who
shall open and canvass said returns and declare the result within
three days after such canvass.
SEC. 3. The term of office for the governor and lieutenant Official term
governor shall be two years, and until their successors are of governor
chosen and qualified. Each shall have attained the age of an? lieuten'
ant governor
twenty-five (25) years, and shall have been a bona fide resident _quaiinca-
of the State for one year next preceding his election. Both tions.
shall be citizens of the United States.
SEC. 4. The governor shall communicate by message to each Powers and
session of the legislature such information touching the State and duties °f
condition of the country as he may deem expedient. He shall be gov<
commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces, and may
call out such forces to execute the laws, suppress insurrection,
and repel invasion. He may require the opinion, in writing, of
the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon
any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices ; 8 and
he shall have power, in conjunction with the board of pardons,
of which the governor shall be ex-ojficio a member, and the other
members of which shall consist of the attorney general of the
State of Minnesota, and the chief justice of the supreme court of
the State of Minnesota, and whose powers and duties shall be
1 An executive officer of the State is not subject to the control or interference of
the judiciary in the performance of duties belonging to him as an executive officer,
and no act done or threatened to be done by him in his official capacity can be brought
under judicial control or interference by mandamus or injunction, even when the act
is purely ministerial. 29 Minn. 555.
1 As amended November 6, 1877. * Adopted November 3, 1896.
2l6
Appendix
Official term
of other
executive
officers.
Duties of
lieutenant
governor.
Official
terms of
first State
officers.
[Obsolete.]
defined and regulated by law, to grant reprieves and pardons
after conviction for offences against the State, except in cases of
impeachment. He shall have power, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, to appoint a State librarian and notaries
public, and such other officers as may be provided by law. He
shall have power to appoint commissioners to take the acknowl-
edgment of deeds or other instruments in writing, to be used in
the State. He shall have a negative upon all laws passed by the
legislature, under such rules and limitations as are in this Consti-
tution prescribed. He may on extraordinary occasions convene
both houses of the legislature. He shall take care that the laws
be faithfully executed, fill any vacancy that may occur in the
office of secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general,
and such other State and district offices as may be hereafter
created by law, until the next annual election, and until their
successors are chosen and qualified.
SEC. 5. The official term of the secretary of state, treasurer,
and attorney general shall be two (2) years. The official term
of the State auditor shall be four (4) years, and each shall
continue in office until his successor shall have been elected
and qualified. The further duties and salaries of said executive
officers shall each be prescribed by law.1
SEC. 6. The lieutenant governor shall be ex-officio president of
the Senate ; and in case a vacancy shall occur, from any cause
whatever, in the office of governor, he shall be governor during
such vacancy. The compensation of the lieutenant governor
shall be double the compensation of a State senator. Before the
close of each session of the Senate they shall elect a president
pro tempore, who shall be lieutenant governor in case a vacancy
should occur in that office.
SEC. 7. The term of each of the executive officers named in
this article shall commence on taking the oath of office on or after
the first day of May, 1858, and continue until the first Monday
of January, 1860, except the auditor, who shall continue in office
till the first Monday of January, 1861, and until their successors
shall have been duly elected and qualified ; and the same above-
mentioned time for qualification and entry upon the duties of their
respective offices shall extend and apply to all other officers
1 Adopted November 6, 1883.
Appendix 217
elected under the State Constitution, who have not already taken
the oath of office, and commenced the performance of their
official duties.1
SEC. 8. Each officer created by this article shall, before enter- Oath of
ing upon his duties, take an oath or affirmation to support the J Je ^ e
Constitution of the United States and of this State, and faithfully state
discharge the duties of his office to the best of his judgment and officers,
ability.
SEC. 9. Laws shall be passed at the first session of the legis- [Obsolete.]
lature after the State is admitted into the Union to carry out the
provisions of this article.
ARTICLE VI
Judiciary
SECTION i. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in Judicial
a supreme court, district courts, courts of probate, justices of the Powers«
peace, and such other courts, inferior to the supreme court, as
the legislature may from time to time establish by a two-thirds
vote.2
SEC. 2. The supreme court shall consist of one chief justice Supreme
and two associate justices, but the number of the associate jus-
tices may be increased to a number not exceeding four, by the
legislature, by a two-thirds vote, when it shall be deemed neces- jurisdiction
sary. It shall have original jurisdiction in such remedial cases as and powers.
may be prescribed by law, and appellate jurisdiction in all cases,
both in law and equity, but there shall be no trial by jury in said
court. It shall hold one or more terms in each year, as the legis-
lature may direct, at the seat of government, and the legislature
may provide, by a two-thirds vote, that one term in each year
shall be held in each or any judicial district. It shall be the duty Reporter of
of such court to appoint a reporter of its decisions. There shall decisions,
be chosen, by the qualified electors of the State, one clerk of the
supreme court, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, Su6ren°e
and until his successor is duly elected and qualified, and the judges court.
1 This section was adopted April 15, 1858.
» Article VI, section i. The provision of Article VI, section i, vesting the judicial
powers of the State in the courts specified therein, is not infringed by the statute
authorizing the appointment of and trial of cases before referees, who are merely
subordinate officers of the courts, acting only in an intermediate capacity. 5 Minn. 78.
218
Appendix
Election and
term of office
for judges.
of the supreme court, or a majority of them, shall have the power
to fill any vacancy in the office of clerk of the supreme court until
an election can be regularly had.1
SEC. 3. The judges of the supreme court shall be elected by
the electors of the State at large, and their term of office shall be
six years, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
[Whenever all or a majority of the judges of the supreme court
shall, from any cause, be disqualified from sitting in any case in
said court, the governor, or, if he shall be interested in the result
of such case, then the lieutenant governor, shall assign judges of
the district court of the State, who shall sit in such case in place
of such disqualified judges, with all the powers and duties of
judges of the supreme court.] 2
SEC. 4. The State shall be divided by the legislature into
judicial districts, which shall be composed of contiguous territory,
be bounded by county lines, and contain a population as nearly
equal as may be practicable. In each judicial district, one or
more judges, as the legislature may prescribe, shall be elected by
the electors thereof, whose term of office shall be six years, and
each of said judges shall severally have and exercise the powers
of the court, under such limitations as may be prescribed by law.
Every district judge shall, at the time of his election, be a resident
of the district for which he shall be elected, and shall reside
therein during his continuance in office. In case any court of
common pleas heretofore established shall be abolished, the judge
of said court may be constituted by the legislature one of the
judges of the district court of the district wherein such court has
been so established, for a period not exceeding the unexpired
term for which he was elected.8
SEC. 5. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction in
all civil cases, both in law and equity, where the amount in con-
troversy exceeds one hundred dollars, and in all criminal cases
where the punishment shall exceed three months' imprisonment
or a fine of more than one hundred dollars, and shall have such
appellate jurisdiction as may be prescribed by law. The legis-
1 The supreme court shall consist of one chief justice and four associate justices.
General Laws , 1881, ch. 141.
1 Paragraph in brackets added November 7, 1876.
3 This section was adopted November 5, 1875.
Appendix 219
lature may provide by law that the judge of one district may
discharge the duties of judge of any other district not his own,
when convenience or the public interest may require it.
SEC. 6. The judges of the supreme and district courts shall be Qualifica-
men learned in the law, and shall receive such compensation at tions.
stated times as may be prescribed by the legislature ; which com-
pensation shall not be diminished during their continuance in
office, but they shall receive no other fee or reward for their
services.
SEC. 7. There shall be established in each organized county Probate
in the State a probate court, which shall be a court of record, and court,
be held at such time and places as may be prescribed by law.
It shall be held by one judge, who shall be elected by the voters
of the county for the term of two years. He shall be a resident judges to
of such county at the time of his election, and reside therein dur- be elected,
ing his continuance in office; and his compensation shall be
provided by law. He may appoint his own clerk where none
has been elected ; but the legislature may authorize the election,
by the electors of any county, of one clerk or register of probate
for such county, whose powers, duties, term of office, and com-
pensation shall be prescribed by law. A probate court shall jurisdiction,
have jurisdiction over the estates of deceased persons and persons
under guardianship, but no other jurisdiction, except as prescribed
by this Constitution.
SEC. 8. The legislature shall provide for the election of a suffi- justices of
cient number of justices of the peace in each county, whose term the peace to
of office shall be two years, and whose duties and compensation te '
shall be prescribed by law. Provided, That no justice of the
peace shall have jurisdiction of any civil cause where the amount jurisdiction,
in controversy shall exceed one hundred dollars, nor in a criminal
cause where the punishment shall exceed three months' imprison-
ment, or a fine over one hundred dollars, nor in any cause involv-
ing the title to real estate.
SEC. 9. All judges other than those provided for in this Con- judges for
stitution shall be elected by the electors of the judicial district, other courts
county, or city, for which they shall be created, nor for a longer to be elected-
term than seven years.
SEC. 10. In case the office of any judge become vacant before Vacancies—
the expiration of the regular term for which he was elected, the
22O
Appendix
Prohibition
of supreme
or district
judges to
hold other
offices, or to
be voted for
office while
in office.
Change of
judicial
districts.
Clerk of
court.
Legal
pleadings.
Court com-
missioner—
powers and
jurisdiction.
Elective
franchise.
Residence
required.
vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor, until a
successor is elected and qualified. And such successor shall be
elected at the first annual election that occurs more than thirty
days after the vacancy shall have happened.
SEC. ii. The justices of the supreme court and the district
courts shall hold no office under the United States, nor any other
office under this State. And all votes for either of them for any
elective office under this Constitution, except a judicial office
given by the legislature or the people, during their continuance
in office, shall be void.
SEC. 12. The legislature may at any time change the number
of judicial districts or their boundaries, when it shall be deemed
expedient ; but no such change shall vacate the office of any judge.
SEC. 13. There shall be elected in each county where a district
court shall be held, one clerk of said court, whose qualifications,
duties, and compensation shall be prescribed by law, and whose
term of office shall be four years.
SEC. 14. Legal pleadings and proceedings in the courts of this
State shall be under the direction of the legislature. The style
of all process shall be, " The State of Minnesota," and all indict-
ments shall conclude, "against the peace and dignity of the State
of Minnesota."
SEC. 15. The legislature may provide for the election of one
person in each organized county in this State, to be called a court
commissioner, with judicial power and jurisdiction not exceeding
the power and jurisdiction of a judge of the district court at
chambers ; or the legislature may, instead of such election, confer
such power and jurisdiction upon the judge of probate in the
State.
ARTICLE VII
Elective Franchise
SECTION i .* What persons are entitled to vote :
Every male person of the age of twenty-one (21) years or
upwards belonging to either of the following classes who has
resided in this State six (6) months next preceding any election
shall be entitled to vote at such election in the election district
of which he shall at the time have been for thirty (30) days a
1 Section i adopted November 3, 1896.
Appendix 221
resident, for all officers that now are, or hereafter may be, elective
by the people.
First— Citizens of the United States who have been such for Citizens of
the period of three (3) months next preceding any election.
Second — Persons of mixed white and Indian blood, who have
adopted the customs and habits of civilization. Indians
Third — Persons of Indian blood residing in this State, who
have adopted the language, customs, and habits of civilization,
after an examination before any district court of the State, in adopted
such manner as may be provided by law, and shall have been habits of
pronounced by said court capable of enjoying the rights of c
citizenship within the State.
SEC. 2. No person not belonging to one of the classes specified Non-eligible.
in the preceding section ; no person who has been convicted of trea-
son or any felony, unless restored to civil rights ; and no person
under guardianship, or who may be non compos mentis or insane,
shall be entitled or permitted to vote at any election in this State.
SEC. 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed Residence
to have lost a residence by reason of his absence while employed not 1(?st in
in the service of the United States ; nor while engaged upon the c
waters of this State or of the United States ; nor while a student
in any seminary of learning ; nor while kept at any almshouse or
asylum ; nor while confined in any public prison.
SEC. 4. No soldier, seaman, or marine in the army or navy of Soldiers and
the United States shall be deemed a resident of this State in restriction
consequence of being stationed within the same.
SEC. 5. During the day on which any election shall be held, "'
no person shall be arrested by virtue of any civil process.
SEC. 6. All elections shall be by ballot, except for such town
officers as may be directed by law to be othenvise chosen. ballots.
SEC. 7. Every person who by the provisions of this article Right to hold
shall be entitled to vote at any election shall be eligible to any office,
office which now is, or hereafter shall be, elective by the people
in the district wherein he shall have resided thirty days previous
to such election, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution,
or the Constitution and laws of the United States.1
1 Held restrictive and to disqualify a person from holding an elective office who
was not eligible at the date of his election, though eligible at the beginning of the
term. 45 Minn. 309.
222
Appendix
Women may
vote and be
eligible.
SEC. 8.1 Women may vote for school officers and members of
library boards, and shall be eligible to hold any office pertaining
to the management of schools or libraries.
Any woman of the age of twenty-one (21) years and upward
and possessing the qualifications requisite to a male voter may
vote at any election held for the purpose of choosing any officers
of schools or any members of library boards, or upon any
measure relating to schools or libraries, and shall be eligible to
hold any office pertaining to the management of schools and
libraries.2
SEC. 9. The official year for the State of Minnesota shall
commence on the first Monday in January in each year, and all
terms of office shall terminate at that time; and the general
election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday
in November. The first general election for State and county
officers, except judicial officers, after the adoption of this amend-
ment, shall be held in the year A.D. one thousand eight hundred
and eighty-four (1884), and thereafter the general election shall
be held biennially. All State, county, or other officers elected at
any general election, whose terms of office would otherwise
expire on the first Monday of January, A.D. one thousand eight
hundred and eighty-six (1886), shall hold and continue in such
offices, respectively, until the first Monday in January, one
thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven (1887).*
1 Adopted November 8, 1898.
* The right to vote on district school matters was granted by chapter 71, General
Laws of 1878; and the right to vote for county school superintendents was granted
by chapter 204, General Laws of 1885.
8 Adopted November 6, 1883.
The following parts of the constitution are here omitted :
Article VIII. School-funds, Education, and Science.
Article IX. Finances of the State, and Banks and Banking.
Article X. Of Corporations having no banking privileges.
Article XI. Counties and Townships.
Article XII. Of the Militia.
Article XIII. Impeachment and Removal from Office.
Article XIV. Amendments to the Constitution.
Article XV. Miscellaneous subjects.
Schedule.
Appendix
223
K. PRESIDENTIAL VOTE OF MINNESOTA
i860
Abraham Lincoln, Rep. . . .
99,069
1884
Grover Cleveland, Dem. .
S. A. Douglas, Northern Dem. .
J. C. Breckenridge, South'n Dem.
11,920
748
James G. Blaine, Rep. . . .
St. John, Pro
111,685
4 68*
Butler Greenback . . .
1964
Abraham Lincoln, Rep. . . .
George B. McClellan, Dem. . .
»5,055
17,367
Benjamin Harrison, Rep. . .
Grover Cleveland, Dem. . . .
Fisk Pro
»4*,49»
»<H,385
1868
U S. Grant Rep
43«7aa
1891
Horatio Seymour, Dem. . . .
1871
98,096
Grover Cleveland, Dem. . . .
Benjamin Harrison, Rep. . .
James B. Weaver, Peo. . . .
John Bidwell Pro . .
100,990
123,833
*9»3'3
U. S. Grant, Rep
Horace Greeley, Dem
1876
R. B. Hayes, Rep
S. J. Tilden, Dem
55,7o3
35,«i
7«,955
48,587
1896
William McKinley, Rep. . . .
William J. Bryan, Dem.-Pop. .
Joshua Levering, Pro
Palmer, Gold Dem
Marhctt Soc
»93,5°3
130,735
4,338
3,223
Peter Cooper, Greenback . . .
1880
James A. Garfield, Rep. . . .
W S Hancock Dem
",389
93 »9oa
1900
William McKinley, Rep. . .
William J. Bryan, Dem.-Pop. .
John G. Wooley, Pro
E Debs Labor
954
190,461
112,901
8,555
3.O65
James B. Weaver, Greenback .
3,967
J. B. Harrimann, Soc. Labor .
»,3*9
224
Appendix
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Senators
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Public Exam
Appendix
225
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226
Appendix
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229
|
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A
230
Appendix
Q. REFERENCES TO MINNESOTA IN THE
CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENTS
SUBJECT
1
House
|
1
,
No.
Vol.
Date
3
1
a
1
Admission . .
710
Senate
Rept.
35
ISt
21
VII.
Jan. 26, 1858
721
Senate
Mis. D.
35
ISt
209
III.
Mar. 30, 1858
Boundary . .
555
Senate
Mis. D.
30
ISt
98
I.
Mar. 28, 1848
785
Senate
Mis. D.
36
ad
7
—
Dec. 31, 1860
Constitution
710
Same as Admission Document.
Census . . .
710
House
Ex. Doc.
35
ISt
49
IX.
Feb. i, 1858
727
Ex. Doc.
35
ISt
no
XII.
April 30, 1858
Expense of the |
Territory j
607
626
671
House
House
House
Ex. Doc.
Ex. Doc.
Ex. Doc.
32
32
34
ISt
2d
ISt
42
38
59
I.
IV.
IX.
Jan. 22, 1852
Feb. 3, 1853
Mar. 17, 1856
Exploration . .
584
Senate
Ex. Doc.
3i
ISt
42
X.
Mar. 31, 1850
Land ....
662
House
Ex. Doc.
33
ad
83
VIII.
Feb. 27, 1855
Land Grants .
651
House
Ex. Doc.
33
ISt
i, part 2
I.
Sept. 15, 1854
686
House
Rept.
34
ISt
344
III.
Aug. 13, 1856
882
Senate
Rept.
4°
2d
132
—
June 18, 1868
1003
House
Mis. D.
43
ISt
203
III.
Mar. 16, 1874
1063
House
Mis. D.
44
ISt
130
V.
Mar. 13, 1876
II2I
Senate
Rept.
45
2d
259
II.
April 16, 1878
Land Settlers .
1061
Senate
Mis. D.
44
ISt
69
I.
Mar. 2, 1876
1065
House
Mis. D.
44
ISt
140
V.
Mar. 20, 1876
Indians . . .
642
House
Rept.
33
ISt
138
II.
April 28, 1854
683
House
Ex. Doc.
34
ISt
134
XII.
July 24, 1856
802
Senate
Mis. D.
37
2d
77
—
April i, 1862
809
Senate
Mis. D.
37
3d
7
—
Dec. n, 1862
812
House
Rept.
37
3d
13
—
Jan. 26, 1863
872
Senate
Mis. D.
40
2d
26
I.
Feb. 7, 1868
910
House
Mis. D.
41
2d
104
III.
Mar. 28, 1870
9"
House
Mis. D.
41
2d
120
III.
April 4, 1870
952
House
Mis. D.
42
2d
ISO
III.
Mar. 25, 1872
Sioux . . .
819
Senate
Mis. D.
38
ISt
37
I.
Feb. i, 1864
833
Senate
Mis. D.
38
2C1
30
I.
Feb. 11, 1865
858
Senate
Mis. D
39
2d
28
I.
Feb. 18, 1868
Judicial Dist. .
802
Senate
Mis. D.
37
2d
73
—
Mar. 26, 1862
Appendix
231
REFERENCES TO MINNESOTA. — Concluded
SUBJECT
I
House
3
|
•
No.
Vol.
Date
3
3
$
1
Public Build- j
636
House
Ex. Doc.
33
xst
48
VIII.
Feb. 6,1854
ings
6xa
House
Ex. Doc.
3*
xst
85
VI.
Mar. 4, 1852
Terr. Govern 't .
1190
House
Rept.
46
2d
73i
III.
April 6, 1880
Ag. College . .
813
Senate
Mis. D.
37
3d
as
—
Feb. 13, 1863
Schools . . .
587
House
Rept.
30
xst
270
II.
April ii, 1850
686
House
Rept.
34
ISt
344
III.
Aug. 13, 1856
Swamps . . .
822
Senate
Mis. D.
38
ISt
63
I.
Mar. 10, 1864
999
House
Rept.
43
ISt
149
I.
Feb. 24, 1874
1190
House
Rept.
46
2d
733
III.
April 6, 1880
Settlers' Rights
1056
House
Mis. D.
44
xst
73
II.
Jan. 31, 1876
1067
House
Mis. D.
44
ISt
158
V.
April 3, 1876
Currency 1
858
Senate
Mis. D.
39
ad
39
I.
Feb. 18, 1867
Finance
Railroads . .
66a
Senate
Rept
33
2d
547
I.
Feb. 27, 1855
789
House
Mis. D.
36
2d
36
—
Feb. 6,1861
799
Senate
Mis. D.
37
2d
55
—
Feb. 24, 1862
820
Senate
Mis. D.
38
xst
38
Feb. 8, 1864
833
Senate
Mis D.
38
2d
22
Feb. i, 1865
834
Senate
Mis. D.
38
ad
34
Feb. 14, 1865
862
Senate
Mis. D.
4<>
ISt
20
—
Mar. 22, 1867
872
Senate
Mis. D.
4«>
2(1
27
Feb. 7, 1868
876
Senate
Mis. D.
4°
sd
54
Mar. 21, 1868
878
Senate
Mis. D.
4<>
2d
73
April 6, 1868
908
Senate
Mis. D.
4»
2d
81
Mar. 14, 1870
909
House
Mis. D.
41
ad
90
III.
Mar. 17, 1870
1 102
Senate
Mis. D.
43
xst
80
I.
Mar. 6, 1874
1055
House
Mis. D.
44
2d
72
II.
Jan. 31, 1876
I065
House
Mis. D.
44
xst
138
V.
Mar. 20, 1876
1X07
House
Rept.
45
3d
120
I.
Feb. 5,1878
INDEX
Actions, civil and criminal, no; in
justice of peace court, in.
Adjutant general, 169.
Alderman, 80; Duluth, 88; Minne-
apolis, 84 ; St. Paul, 87 ; salaries,
80.
Allouez, 5.
Amendment of constitution, 41, 42.
American Fur Company, 10.
Appropriation bills, 57.
Arrest, examination, 121 ; warrant,
121.
Assessments, review of, 131.
Attorney, county, 67; general duty,
51; pardons, 167.
Auditor, county, 64; county in elec-
tions, 108 ; State, 51.
Bail, admitted to, xax.
Ballots, preparation, 103; printing,
98.
Bill of rights, 40.
Bills, passing, 55-56, 57.
Boards, care of insane, 162 ; charities
and correction, 167 ; city, 82, 133 ;
and commissions, 52-53; Duluth,
91 ; high school, 148 ; Minneapolis,
84; normal school, 151 ; of equali-
zation, 131-132; of pardon, 167;
of St. Paul, 87 ; of State training
school, 164.
Bribery, elections, 99.
Candidates, fees, 99 ; nomination,
93-
Canvassing of elections, 105-107.
Cass, Lewis, governor, 7.
Catlin, John, 12.
Charities and correction, board of,
55. 167-
Charter, commissions, 76-78 ; Du-
luth, 88-90 ; Minneapolis, 84 ; new
in Minneapolis, 85 ; St. Paul, 86-
88 ; steps in securing, 77.
Charters, and villages, 76.
Cities, civil service, 83 ; classification,
78 ; comptroller and treasurer, 82 ;
council powers, 80; executive 80;
home rule, 76; justice of peaoe,
in; municipal courts, 112; mu-
nicipal ownership, 89; police, 82;
population of, 184-185 ; wards, 79.
Citizens, Indian, 91; militia, 162; of
U. S. and State, 91, 161 ; restrictions
upon, 92; women, 91.
City, boards, 82, 133 ; indebtedness,
81; local government, 46 ; offices,
232 ; salaries of officers, 79.
Civil procedure, 116-121.
Civil service, municipal, 83.
Civil war, Minnesota, 22.
Classes, social number, 158 ; special,
159.
Clerk, of court, 118, 124; supreme
court, 58.
Commissioners, county, 64, 65, 137.
Commissions and boards, 52-53.
Comptroller, city, 82.
Congress, documents referring to
Minnesota, 230 ; militia, 159, 168.
Constitution, amendment of 1896, 76;
amendment and revision, 40-41 ;
and the legislature, 55 ; convention,
19; of Minnesota, 39, 202-222; of
the United States, 39.
Convention, constitutional, 19, 42.
Conventions, party, 97.
Coroner, duties, 66; relation to
sheriff, 67.
Corporations, gross earnings, 136.
Council, Duluth, 88; Minneapolis,
85; powers, 80; St. Paul, 87;
village and town, 74-76.
Counties, population of, 176-179,
233
234
Index
County, 45 ; attorney, 67 ; auditor, 64 ;
auditor in elections, 108 ; the busi-
ness of, 62; canvassing elections,
107; commissioners, 63; commis-
sioners appeal to district courts,
113; commissioners and villages,
73; commissioners and township,
71 ; officers, 64, 78, 226 ; organiza-
tion of, 62-63 ; powers of, 63 ; rela-
tion to State, 60 ; removal of officers,
68 ; superintendent, 67 ; treasurer
of, 65.
Court, commissioners, 68 ; supreme,
new trial, 119; village, 75.
Courts, appeal, classification, no,
119; civil procedure, 116-120; dis-
trict, 59; function of, 109; local
and district, no-in ; military, 173 ;
municipal, 59, 112; probate, 60,
113 ; of State, 58-60 ; supreme, 115 ;
supreme judges, 58.
Crime, actions for, no; defined, 121 ;
institutions for correction, 163.
Deeds, register of, 65.
Defectives, care of, 161 ; schools for,
161.
District court, appeals to, 114; juris-
diction of, 114.
Divisions, administrative, 43-47.
Du Lhut, Sieur, 5.
Duluth, boards, 89; charter, 88-89;
municipal ownership, 89; officers,
89 ; officers' removal, 89.
Education, 139-157.
Election, campaign committees, too;
canvassing boards, 106-108; con-
duct of, 104-106; corrupt prac-
tices act, 99; expenses of, 100;
judges of, 105; machinery of,
102; preparation of ballots, 103;
primary, 93; registration, 102; re-
sult of corrupt practices act, loi ;
senatorial canvassing board, 107 ;
State canvassing board, 107-108.
Enabling act, 196-199 ; contents, 17-
18 ; Minnesota, 17.
English in Minnesota, 6-7.
Equalization boards, 131-2,
Executive of the State, 48-50.
Expeditions, 7-8.
Expenditures, checks on, 136; city,
138 ; of Minnesota, 136 ; of money,
136-
Explorers, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Farmers' institutes, 154.
Franchise, Minnesota, 90-93 ; the
law of, 91.
French explorers, 4, 5.
Government, act to establish the Ter-
ritory, 186-195 1 central, 43-44, 48-
60; enabling act, 196-199; local,
44; object of, 172; organization, 21.
Governor, appropriations, 57 ; board
of pardons, 167 ; charities and cor-
rection, 167 ; officers appointed by,
51-52; powers, 49-50; the Terri-
tory, 13.
Governors of Minnesota, 173.
Grosseillier, explorer, 5.
Habeas Corpus, and prisoner, 121.
Health, board of, 53 ; in township, 72.
Hennepin County, commissioners,
64.
Hennepin, Father, 5.
High schools, 147.
History, chronological arrangement,
31-37.
Hudson Bay Company, 6.
Impeachment, method and persons
impeached, 57.
Indians, as citizens, 91 ; Sioux mas-
sacre, 23-26 ; treaties, 10.
Indictment, defined, 123; drawn by
attorney, 68.
Industry, development of, 30-31.
Insane, care of, 162-163.
Institutions, charitable, 161-163 ; clas-
sified, 159; cost of, 168.
Iron, Mesabi and Vermillion ranges,
2.
Issues, in civil trial, 117.
Judges, district courts, 59 ; duties of
election, 105 ; election, 104 ; su-
preme court, 58, 115.
Index
235
Judiciary, 44; legislature, no.
jury, grand, 122, 123; petit, 118;
trial, 40; trial before, 119; verdict,
124.
Justice, administration of, 109, 126;
city, 112; of peace, 59, in; safe-
guards, 125.
Land grants to railroads, 27.
Law, greatness of, 126.
Legislature, 44 ; and charters, 78-79 ;
cities, 77; andjudiciary.no; con-
trol over local governments, 47;
limited, 55 ; meeting, membership,
qualifications, 53-54 ; members of
first, 175 ; method of passing bills,
55-56.
Le Sueur, 5.
Libraries, school, 156 ; travelling, 156 ;
board of travelling, 157.
Lieutenant governor, 50.
Local government, 61-90; control
of legislature over, 47 ; money mat-
ters, 138.
Louisiana purchase, 6.
Mayor, appointments, 80; Duluth,
88; Minneapolis, 84; St. Paul, 86;
towns and villages, 73, 76 ; veto, 81.
Menard, missionary, 5.
Mesabi iron range, 2.
Militia, 160; and citizens, 168; courts
of, 170; enlistment, 170; excep-
tions to service, 169 ; expenses of,
171 ; organization, 169 ; State, 168-
171.
Minerals, 3.
Minneapolis, aldermen, 79; boards,
84; charter, 84; new charters, 85 ;
sketch of history, 83-85.
Minnesota, act of admission, 200-
201; admitted, 20; citizens, 90-91 ;
Civil War, 22 ; Congressional docu-
ments referring to, 230; constitu-
tion of, 202-222; education in, 139;
enabling act, 16 ; governors, 177 ;
opposition to admission, 16-17;
population, 10; population in 1849,
175 ; population by counties, 176-
179.
Missionaries, 9, n.
Municipal courts, 59.
Naval reserves, 160; organization,
171.
Nicollet, Jean, 5.
Nomination by petition, 98; candi-
dates, 93.
Normal schools, courses of study.
Northwest Territory, xx.
Notaries public, 60.
Officers, appointed by governor, 51-
52; city, 229; city salaries, 79;
county, 226 ; State, 224-225 ; town-
ship, 72; town, 227; village, 228.
Pardons, board of, 166.
Parties, campaign committee of, 100.
Party, convention, 97.
Personal property, taxation of, 134.
Petition, nomination by, 98.
Pike, Lieutenant Zebulon, 7.
Police in cities, 82.
Population, cities, 184; growth, 30;
growth of, 176-180; Minnesota in
1849, 176; nativity of, 180-185.
Presentmrnt defined, 123.
President, vote for, 1860-1900. 223.
Primary, call for, 96-97 ; elections, 93 ;
holding of, 94; organization, 96.
Prison, parole system, 166; profits,
166; State, 165.
Probate, court, 59, 113; will in court,
113.
Procedure, civil, 116-121; criminal,
120, 126.
Products of Minnesota, 30-31.
Property, assessment of, 129; assess-
ors of, 130; exempted, 130; tax,
real, 134.
Public schools, 139.
Radisson, explorer, 5.
Railroad commissioners, 53.
Railroads, bonds repudiated, 28;
mileage, 29 ; the State and, 27-29.
Ramsey, Governor, 14-22.
Reformatory, State, 163.
Register of deeds, 65.
236
Index
Registration, election, 102; in cities,
103.
Removals, by governor, 49.
Representatives, structure of House
of, 54 ; qualifications for member-
ship, 54.
Revenue, sources of, 128; State, 127-
138.
Revision of constitution, 41-42.
St. Paul, boards, 87; council, 87;
history and charter, 85-87 ; mayor
and officers, 86.
Schoolcraft, explorer, 8.
Schools, administration, 146; com-
mon, 142; county superintendent,
68; districts, 140-143; division of,
146 ; for defectives, 163 ; grading of,
143; growth of system, 139; high
schools, 140; independent school
districts, 142 ; normal schools, 140 ;
organization of, 141; rural, 146;
semi-graded and graded, 147; State
training, 164 ; support of, 144.
Secretary of State, 50.
Settlements, 8, 9.
Sheriff, duties, 66.
Sibley, H. H., 13.
Sioux massacre, 23-26.
Soldiers' home, 162.
State, object of, 172; care of chil-
dren, 161; care of insane, 162;
citizens, 158; cost of institutions
to, 168 ; expenses of militia, 171 ;
militia, 168-171; naval reserves
171 ; offences against, no ; officers
227-228; prison, 165; protection
of, 159-172; reformatory, 164; re-
stricted powers, 38 ; revenues, 130-
142; Secretary of, 50; soldiers
home, 162; treasurer, 135; uni
versity, 152.
Suffrage, conditions of, 93.
Superintendent of public instruction
149.
Supreme court, 58-59, 115 ; new tria
119.
Taxation, collection, 134; estimate,
of, 133 ; gross earnings, 136 ; kind
of, 128; levying and Collection o
132; of property, 134; personal
property, 134 ; poll-tax, 129 ; school,
144.
Teachers' certificate, 149.
Territory, act to establish, 186-195;
delegate, 13 ; enabling act, 13, 196 ;
government of, 13, 14, 15 ; organi-
zation, ii ; physical, 2.
Text-books, free, 154.
Topography of the State, 2.
Town officers, 227 ; board of taxa-
tion, 131 ; judiciary functions, 46.
Township, and county commission-
ers, 71 ; defined, 69 ; officers, 72 ;
origin, 69; political organization,
70; powers, 72.
Traders in Minnesota, 9.
Treasurer, settlement of accounts of,
135; city, 82; county, 65; State,
duty, 51.
Treaties, Indian, 10.
Trial, civil, steps in, 116; criminal,
120; decisions in, 120; new, 119;
review of, 125 ; venue, 125 ; verdict,
124.
University of Minnesota, 141, 152;
board of regents, 153; depart-
ments and degrees, 152; endow-
ment, 141 ; geological survey, 154 ;
relation to schools, 152.
Vacancies in State offices, 49.
Venue, change, 125.
Vermillion iron range, 2.
Veto, governor, 49; legislature, 56;
mayor, 81.
Village, court, 75; officers, 228; or-
ganization, 73 ; powers, 74.
Villages, and charter, 76 ; classes, 75 ;
officers, 75.
Vote, presidential, 1860-1900, 223.
Voters, registered in cities, 103 ; who
are, 90.
Wards, city, 79.
Warrant for arrest, 121.
Will, probating, 113.
Wisconsin admitted, 12.
Women, citizens, 91.
Writs-and processes, 114-113.
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