St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-14
MINNEAPOLIS
SUNDAY COMMENT.


and honorable citizen of the United States
must feel for men who can degrade them
selves as did the members of the Minneapolis
police commission i'll lobbying with the city
councilmen and requesting them to petition
the governor for the veto of the bill by which
they, the police commissioners, are. in ac-
cordauce with the wishes OF almost the whole
people, to he relegated TO the obscurity from
which they sprung. Such sight is enough
almost to disgust one with form of
general and local government that
permits of such abuses and such bare faced
opposition to the viii of the people by men
who are supposed to represent the voters
who gave them their places. True, the bill is
bad one, and not framed TO the taste of
many Minneapolitans. But as it removes the
men who have been fastened on the public
by q worse law. it is welcomed as bad
means to good end. But be the law good
or bad, common decency, modesty, yes, even
the feeling of shame would keep most men
from STOPPING to such means to retain their
grip on the rope of public power and influ-
ence. Their action has not even the poor
merit OF being an attempt TO retain an at
tractlye income, unless indeed all the mem
bers share in the corruption money which
Some of them are said to receive. A city
council which does moi crush such move
ment originating from such a source falls
short of the most unpretentiOus ideal of a
representative body, and fails IN its duty.
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Another body of men that seems entirely
Indifferent to the sentiments and wishes of
their constituency is the Hennepin county
delegation in the state legislature, and the
most fragrant abuse of the public confidence
of which they have been guilty the past
H. A.,
urgent and unanimous request of the city
council of Minneapolis, the bill to provide
contingent fund for this municipality. The
only reason ever advanced for killing
the bill when first introduced, was
the satisfaction of sitting on certain
men who favored it, and at that
time there were a few voters in the
city who did not think such a fund neces-
sary. Now, however, there is hardly q tax
payer to oppose it. The whole city desires
TO aid the suffering farmers of Dakota, and
the discovery that under existing circum-
stances this cannot legally be done, has
stirred up the people to request through the
home epresentatiyes-the aldermen-that
the city De empowered to make such appro-
priation. This has been denied them by these
wise men who go to the banquet at night to
get loaded and then vent their i'll humor
of the people.
That kindly old gentleman with a wide
experience in the ice business, Mayor Babb,
and William Bracket the elongated Maine
Ute who presides over the police force, have
Bald that the peace will be preserved That
Is very well as far as ii goes but whether
the peace is preserved or broken lies entirely
with the people. The strikers are too wary
TO injure their own cause by undue violence
or infraction of the laws and the great dan
ger is from the huge mobs of loafers thieves
and buns who gather wherever a car is
moved, and who, having nothing to
lose, delight i'll laWlessness and
disturbance. Enough was seen on
Washington avenue Friday afternoon
TO convince anyone that mob that once got
thoroughly excited would find the Minneap-
oils police force no more of an obstacle than
couple of old ladies with brooms. When
policeman shot a dog near Washington, the
shout went up, "a fghtr' ano men with sui
ien, determined looks began to search about
for bricks, stones and clubs, and very small
Show OF coercion on the part Of the police
would have precipitated disastrous con-
fiict.
There is considerable doubt in the minds
of men of law as to whether Thomas Lowry
will build any cable lines in the city of Min
neapolis or not. an d it seems very Ekeiy that
he Will do nothing of the kind unless it NAV
be in place of the motor, for which he has
authority from the council. The Minneapo-
lis street railway franchise is for horse rail-
ways, and Mr. Lowry has no right, nor is he
liable to obtain a right, to build
any cable or other lines on the
nv
railways. He may not have thought of that
but the fact stares hlm in the face. If he
should be inclined to urge that horse railway
meant street railway he will be met with
decision by Chief Justice Brewer in the case
OF The Omaha Horse Railway Company VS..
The Cable Tramway Company of Omaha, in
which he held that if horse railway be
construed as meaning street railway it could
not be made to cover a cable line, as such a
thing was not known at the time the fran
chise was granted, and the rule of contem-
porary construction would apply, thus max
Ing the laying of a cable line no infringe
ment of an exclusive street railway franchise
granted before the cable line was known.
Another decision in the Iowa supreme court
in October 1888, is to the same effect, and
both would apply in this case.
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T. is scarcely probable that the Judges Of
the municipal court ever intended to have it
known to the attorneys and people of Mime
apolis that the double-action anti-corrosive
liquor ordinance, recently passed by the city
council, was examined by them and received
their written sanction before being passed.
But such is the case. Both Judge Mahoney
and Judge Emery affixed the seal of their
approval to the document before it was taken
before the wise local legislators. This is un-
doubleday unprofessional conduct, and in
Civilized community would scarcely be con-
sidered worthy of public magistrates. but it
is Republican politics, just the same.