The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1889-01-17


stands that the duty Of Mayor is exec
utive. He is not legislator, and he /,
not reformer. He has no function a,
screen for criminals, and, as Mayor, he
has no function as a missionary. Hi,
duty is to enforce law. And this duty
covers all law as il relates to the muni
sipality of which he is Mayor. When
saloon -keepe, nbreaks law he must suf
fer for 1t just as certainly as thief OF
an incendiary. And in the execution
Of law the Mayor has right to employ
all legitimate means to insure success
If the law-breaker is cunning, and ordi
nary methods OF securing evidence fail,
he may employ detectives. He has nc
right to manufacture testimony. The
Mayor Of Keokuk has done this,
and he has hunted the law. breakers to
their holes. He has caught them. He
is man OF purpose, and man of re-
sources, and even saloon.keepers have
been compelled to succumb to his energy
and ingenuity.
Suddenly the saloon-keepers of Keokuk
have become champions OF executive
virtue. They think it wicked to EN-.
ploy detectives. It is taking them at a
disadvantage. The detective goes be.
hind their screen doors. He gets facts.
He sees with his own eyes how they
break law, and discovers all the cunning
arts by which they aim to defeat justice.
He unearths their infamy, comes into
court with testimony that makes a case
against them, and the Mayor drives
them to the wall. Then they denounce
the Mayor for using means which proved
successful in their punishment.
Then the Mayor publishes q letter
which has in it more good things than
we have room to print. For example:
When the enforcement OF the law was
resolved upon, I also resolved that |
would not pay attention to any criticisms,
just or unjust, that might be made upon
my course or upon the methods used.
The Mayor starts WELL Those thirty.
six words have in them more pluck than
some Mayors distribute over an entire
administration. But hear him again:
A detective system is nnquestio.ably
unpleasant to use. So is the knife OF
the surgeon who amputates q diseased
leg. Every post Office in this county is
daily and hourly under the surveillance
OF detective. So is every national and
State bank. The United States uses dc.
tectiycs 10 punish illicit distilling in the
South or North. Washington, Grant,
and all leaders OF armies used spies
and detectives. Every city in America
has its corps OF detectives. Every law
yer in the land uses detectives when he
considers it necessary. No lawyer in
this city hesitates moment to use the
services OF detective when he, by doing
80, can gain advantage for his case.
Must Tascott go unwhipped of pun
ishment because the detective system
must not be used to catch him? Must
Mrs. Stewart allow the body of her bus.
band to be stolen, and not recovered to
be buried in decent grave, because it's
1ot right to employ detective Can
bank vault be broken in and robbed,
md no spy system be used to discover
he robber? Must the thief and snug
,ler escape because it is not noble to |
employ detective to find him !? Must |
he murderer, the thief, the fire.bug
scape because one must not employ a
detective to obtain the evidence neces.
ary to convict him?
This Mayor can argue case as well as
'unt down saloon. keepers who violate
aw. He can hit hard and hit between
he eyes. He has logic as well as cour
ge.
Hear him further. He sees things
bout as they are, and speaks so as to be
Understood. Somebody has said some.
hing to him about Charger ideals" for
aloon- keepers, and this is his reply:
You can not adjust saloon. keeper /,
Larger ideal" and get him to take on
he Larger size OF his ideal" | will
i've a large donation to any institution
hat will try this scheme on ANDY Hill
r John Herbner. l am criticised be.
ause John Herbner sold a detective.
Whisky on the detectives 3 statement that
Ss~'"S AAsC tOWh ~ CLOCK Ill
he morning and was sick. This same
ohm Herbner sold this same detective
Whisky ten days after that twice day.
nd would have sold him oftener, only
he detective swore he would die If he
lad to drink Herbner's whisky more
han twice day. A number of these
aloon.keepers earlier in the year prom.
sed Judge Banks in open court that ii
et on with nominal punishment they
would not again violate the law. These
cry men have violated the law con.
inually since that promise, and are still
|oing 50. have sent for men suspected
u selling liquor, and have begged them
0 stop, and have warned them that they
you'd be caught. 1t has done no good.
tothing but severe punishment can stop
hem. The only ideal these men have
money, and you can not make them
ave a larger one. Ii John Herbner
nd others had not been violating the
aw, all the detectives in the land could
ot have caught them. Nothing can
verthrow this fact.
And now he tells how the Keokuk
aloon'keepers regard the temperance
e'orm, and their opinion of the proper
,nth o1o ot -