St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-20
A BOLD TRICK.
A Desperate Effort to Manufac-
1910 Can,,,ainu Ijfapatura

A Desperate Effort to Manufac-
ture Campaign Literature.
If any evidence were needed to con-
nual report of the police commission
was gotten up for distribution as Re
publican campaign document, the
souabble that has arisen in the council
over its publication has. furnished
abundant proof. 1t will be remem-
bered that the report went beyond its
province to attack the Democratic city
administration previous to the creation
of the commission. The most trivial eX-
cuSeS were seized upon as a foundation
for self-praise. Great credit is taken for
the abolition of military titles and the
substitution OF the hardly less
redundant titles of superintendent
and assistant superintendent. The
effect of the high license law and other
stringent temperance legislation in re-
ducing the number of saloons and blind
pigs is coolly appropriated as so much
glory for the commission, and the fact
is overlooked that the quasi and spas
modic attempts to suppress gambling
have been mainly the result of grand
Jury action. 1t is assumed that because
gambling existed there must have been
corruption among police officials, al
though the same supposition might be
made in regard to the existence of
gambling during the regime of the police
commission. The authtr Overlooks the
''monkey wrench" scandal to charge
that releases from the lookup were fire.
quent. The effort to furnish capital for
the commission and its existence even
goes so far as to pronounce the former
balls given by the policemen as gather
ings at which ''vicious men and de-
PRAYED women assembled for a de-
bauch."
Mayor Ames as eX-officio member of
the board submitted minority report,
in which he took occasion to except de-
cidedly to the sweeping charges
made against his administration.
Both the reports were submitted
to the council, and the Repub-
licans wanted the majority report
printed. The Democrats did not object,
but insisted that majority and minority
reports should be printed. This carried,
and the committee on printing was in
structed to have $50 copies of each
printed. This did not suit the commits
Sion. evidently. The majority report
was borrowed" by the clerk of the
board, and up to yesterday the city clerk
had not been able to get it back. At
Wednesdays meeting of the council
copies of the majority report, printed in
pamphlet form, were distributed, and
an effort was again made to
adopt it and authorize the pay
ment of the expense of its printing.
This failed, and the report was simply
placed on file. The whole matter re-
solves itself to this: That after the
council had ordered the majority and
minority reports referred to the COM
mittee on printing, the majority report
was forwarded to the city clerk and not
returned; that it was afterwards printed
without any authority and given out for
distribution.
A more desperate and brazen at
tempt to float campaign literature
through their official report to the coun-
ell, in direct violation of the action of
that body, has never been witnessed.
1t only illustrates the ends to which the
Republicans are going to justify in the
eyes of the people the infamous politi-
cal steal by which the police commits
sion was created.