St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-11-24
LOCAL TOPICS.

One of the oldest and most respected
members of the Hennepin county bar
expressed himself in vigorous terms
yesterday on the practice of certain
Minneapolis newspapers of discussing
cases which are on trial in the courts.
He said: ~ remember the time, and it
was not very long ago, when such
thing as the discussion of the merits of
q pending trial in a newspaper would
not be permitted, and the editor guilty
of it would be hauled up for contempt
of court. 1t is not right, because it has
a tendency 10 prejudice the rights OF the
parties to the case and prevent the pos
sibility of receiving fair trial. All
that a newspaper should have to do
with q trial in the courts is to report the
progress of the case in fair and impair
tai manner. When it goes outside of
this it transcends its duty and shows
that it is controlled by man who does
not understand what a newspaper
should be-"
It does not require a very extended
tour in the vicinity of the union depot
to show that there are more Swindlers
in full blast in that locality to the square
inch than has ever been known before
in Minneapolis. Bogus auction stores
and swindling employment agencies
are thick and not day passes in which
numbers of unSuSpecting cOuntrymeD
are not fleeeed by these sharpers. The
business must be immensely profitable.
judging by the swarm of ''capperS" that
congregate around the jewelry auction
stores. Apparently, these are all under
one management, for the "capper", in
his search for suckers. seems to be just
as much at home in one as he is in the
other. The police say that they have
complaints made to them daily by men
who have been swindled in these places,
but that they are pOwerleSS to do any
thing because, as a rule, the victim is
the only person in the place, aside from
those interested in the game. when the
swindle is perpetrated, SO that the cir
cumStances of the purchase and the guar
antee of the salesman cannot be proven.
One day this week a cOuntryman, pass
ing place of this kind, was attracted
by the rich baritone voice of an auction
eer crying out 81 am offered SIS for this
magnificent gold watch. stem-winder,
stem-setter, and warranted for FIVE
years. Who will give me sic? If there
was anything that this cOuntryman
wanted, and wanted badly. it was gold
watch, so he stepped in and bid SIG. A
''capper" raised it to SIS, another to s19.
and the cOuntTyman, fearful that he
was going to lose it, made a desperate
bid Of $25. He was little surprised at
the SuddenneSs with which it was
knocked off to him, but he paid over his
money, took the watch, and joyfullY de-
parted. The watch was the brassiest
sort of a brass affair. worth about Is
cents. Such scenes are Of daily occur
nd ho inf
Gus. but redress is never obtained.
The police say that they are over
whelmed with complaints about en-
plOyment agencies. also. Some of these
concerns make a regular business of
sending men off on Tom fool errands
after work where there is none, after
having taken 81 from each applicant.
It would seem that the present "re-
form" administration whichis in charge
of the destinieS of this city, might find
here field for the exercise of its spare
energies. If it doesn't do it there will
be loud suspicion that somebody is
getting rake OFF, for protection.
In this connection the Register saws a
pretty good thing about the way police
affairs are administered by the reform
administration. The paper remarks
Ihe case or Sawyer, VINO kept wine
room in connection with his saloon,
seems unnecessarily severe as compared
with the punishment of others for SIM
liar offenses. No one pretends that his
place is as bad as even dozens of others
that are protected by the police. But he
''sassed' the policeman that arrested
him, and is made to feel the arm of the
law with double force. 1t is another
such case as that of the keeper of a
ba gnio who ''sassed" the officer when
he ordered her to prevent the hacks of
her visitors from standing in front of
his premises opposite. She was pulled.
not for keeping a notorious house of
il-fame, but for talking back to an Off
Ger. Her little indiseretion cost her
800. She was no better Lor worse than
before. She had carried Oh her bust
ness right under the nose of this officer
for two years undisturbed. But " hen
she forgot herself so far as to make the
officer "mad," she was yanked up be-
fore the judge, and outraged Justice
assessed her 500 and sent her back to
make it up with more discreet tongue
u her head.