St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-07
most fattering mention from the public
-

most fiattering mention from the public
press"
THE MINORITY REPORT
submitted by Mayor Ames was as fol-
lows:
Gentlemen: address you now upon
what is to me very important duty,
that of making minority report OF the
board of police commissioners for the
year ending March 81, 1888. Perhaps it
may he impolite and beneath the notice
of the chief executive of this great city
to reply to false and silly charges, slurs
and imputatiOnS contained in the major
ity report of said board. l was made a
member of it against my will, after my
election as mayor. but am in no wise
responsible for it's acts during the first
year of its existence.
1.-THE board organized April 6, 1887,
with A. A. Ames, mayor (ex-officio mem
Der and president thereby, and Com
missoners G. l.. Baker, L. B. Janney,
Michael Hoy and John Baxter. Mr..
Baxter was elected vice president.
''The much-to-be-regretted last state
legislature attempted the same character
of moral reformation in the formation
of this board which the latter has SO
boastingly, but inefficiently, carried out.
Finding that the local bosses of the
grand old Republican party had
been disastrouSly defeated and
driven to the wall by our lib
erty-loving citizens, the fanatics who
composed the majority of the last
legislature came to the relief OF their
defeated brethren in this city and gave
us the expensive police machinery we
now have. Did the people of our. good
city ask for this? Oh, no; it was simply
D1,t ,n n
circumventing the
WILL OF THE PEOPLE
as expressed at the polls, when not in
accord with the wishes of the bosses.
How we'll the wishes of the trainers
of the police commission law
have been carried out can be
judged by the foregoing deceptive
report, which contains as many facts as
the usual campaign documents issued
for the same purpose it was. AS sam
pie, the majority report speaks OF the
economical stroke of policy of the board
in doing away with the former positions
of major and adjutant, and to use their
own language, ''thus at once to save the
city two large salaries" etc. They,
however. neglect to tell you that in the
place of said major and adjutant there
are a police clerk, typewriter and assist
duU WIFI IOuT COlllUllSSlOLCISy WllOoC
salaries are twice as much.
''The rest of the majority report is on
par with the sample given, and for
pure gall excels any public document l
ever perused. TO review the majority
report in it's entirety would be but to
contradict nearly every statement made.
If the officers under me were such
thieves and scOundrelS as they are al
legged to have been, why has this model
corps of refOrmerS not had them in
dicted after so many attempts? AS far
as gambling was concerned no real live
effort was made to Squelch the evil I'M
til a short time before the major
ity report was made. The intent
of this characteristic e. o. p. act at such
a late date must by this time be appar-
ent to all. state it as fact and have
no fear of reliable contradiction, that
there is to-day more gambling in the
city than ever before known. But COM
miSsiOnerS who direct and control pO-
lice force and who never see the city
under gas light cannot be expected to
give reliable information even ii they
were inclined to do so. AS far as
THE PRESENT POLICE FORCE
are concerned, l am pleased to say they
are, as a whole, a fine body of men, who
are striving to do their duty toward
the taxpayers. There are few
well-known exceptions to the above,
but they are men who have been
Over-ZealOuS in trying to make
themselves solid with powers that were.
There are not, in my opinion, any more
cases of drunkenness and visits made
to saloons by officers than there were
when the force was under my control.
If there is, l do not know how the moral
board found it out, unless somebody
told them.
"As a matter of fact there are more
blind pigs in the city now than ever be-
fore. There are scarcely dozen drug
stores OF corner groceries where liquor
or beer cannot be obtained if you only
put on a sanctimonious look, lay your
hand over your stomach and give the
proper signs and passwords. In the
majority report is told that there are
doubtless some blind pigs, but that the
ingly funny to those who are posted.
"During the last year the whitening
hand of fanaticiSm has been demon
stra ed in our city by the effects of the
oppressive laws passed by the last legiS-
lature, and the moral regulating board
who were forced upon our people with
out their consent. If the penal code
contained clause against lying, with a
severe penalty attached, and a good
Democratic judge to administer justice,
there would not have been as many and
lengthy political reports from Repub-
lican officials as there have been.
personally, l have no malice or ill
will toward any of the members who
composed the commission during the
last year. A majority of the board en-
tered upon their duties with an appar-
ent interest of hunting down an al
legged 'boodler.' Neither the grand jury
nor the police commission have as yet
presented anything tangible, although
the political cry has been loud for
smirching material. Your obedient
servant, A. A. AMEs, Mayor.
EX-Officio member of the police COM
mission.