St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-31
Because st. Paul Newspapers
Roasted Him for His Vile
Insinuations.
And He Proceeds to Get Even
in His Own Peculiar
Style.
he Jumps at Conclusions
From Newspaper Building
Returns at Hand.
TntimationS That Certain Ho-
tells and the Union Depot
Are Too Populous.

There was considerable interest, more
Indignation and no excitement at all,
over dispatches from Washington, last
night, giving statements attributed to
Supt. Porter relative to the discovery
of frauds i'll the st. Paul census returns.
Senator Davis called upon Supt. Porter
and protested against the order for a
recount in st. Paul as throwing an un
called-for slur upon its character, and
this conversation is given as the basis
for the revelations alleged to have been
made by Mr.. Porter. Arranged in
condensed and comprehensive form the
statements are as follows:
In fifteen out of twenty St Paul districts
there were evidences of fraud, consisting OF
the fact that the enumerators returned very
many families of exactly ten MEMBERSHIP
exact number of blanks on the schedule,
which Mr.. Porter regards as evidence of
fraud.
In the Globe building seventy-eight per-
sons were enumerated as living, many of the
same names appearing again as servants.
In the Pioneer Press building there were
ninety-one persons enumerated.
At the union depot there were 275 persons
enumerated.
At the Ryan and Merchants hotels each
there were about 500 persons enumerated
This seems to be the substance of Mr..
Porter's alleged charges. and they are
given in full, as there is no desire in st.
Paul to withhold one iota of the facts,
but to meet every issue squarely-clear
away the doubt, if it exists, and punish
the culprit if there has been fraud of
any character. 1t was impossible last
night to find the enumeratorS for the
districts named and attempt a verifica-
tion of the report, but it may be said
that it was generally believed that Mr..
Porter made no such statement, or that
If he did, it was made without entire
foundation in fact. There is strong
current belief in this city that Supt.
Porter is completely under the dOmi-
nation of Minneapolis politicians and is
willingly doing their bidding in this
matter. But beneath >all there is
strong and general sentiment here in
favor of prompt arraignment and trial
and summary punishment of the guilty,
In case it should be shown fraud has
been committed.
In regard to the enumeration of the
Globe building, the facts may be
briefly stated: There was no infOrma-
ton given out by authority, and the
enumerator obtained his data as best
he might, under the hampering and re-
stricting. conditions of the law. How
many of the tenants may sleep in their
offices is matter of conjecture. There
is ge~restaurant on the tenth floor,
the proprietoro which, with his family.
sleeps in the building. How near this
family, the janitors and the tenants may
come to making up the number of sew
enty-eight charged, or how true is the
allegation that such is charged, are
merely cOnjectural.
At the Pioneer Press building 1t was
averred last night that nobody slept on
the premises, and that 10 such enumer-
alton could possibly have been returned.
In the case of both buildings. if the re-
port be true, it may be charged up to
either inefficient enumeratOrs-the re-
suit of the miserablY poor pay allowed
by the government-or the unavoidable
doubling up to a certain extent. In
both buildings the current belief was
that the schedules on file do not make
the showing as alleged.
Careful inquiry at the Merchants and
Ryan hotels leads to the belief that the
figures given may not have been i'm
proper. Each hotel employs nearly 1875
persons, who sleep on the premises and
should be enumerated there. 1t may
have chanced that the enumerators
found there a large class OF transientS
without home, and that these. with the
regular boarding guests, would make
the total given. The fact is that feel
ing is prevalent that Supt. Porter is ar
rayed against st. Paul. and is doing his
utmost to provide evidence and make a
recount Imperative; and. under the cir
cumstanceS, his statements at Washing
ton will be received here with grain
of salt