St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-11-24
WHAT WILL THEY DO?
Victims Of the Little Tin
Box" Must Take Some
Action.
A Sudden Spasm Of Reform
on the Part Of the Ad-
miniStration.
Rev. William Wilkinson De-
tends Parnell--Dr. Bur-
rell'S Sermon.
Notes and Gossip About Min
neapolis Men and
Matters.

To-day that paradoXical body of ply
sicaiiy weighty but otherwise light pub
lie officials will meet. Guile will smile
at Gjertsen, Gjertson will leer at Guile,
and both will salaam before the Ice
King. while he will try to look wise,
Maj. Norton meanwhile meditating up
on the sorrowful fate of the sparrow
who found himself homeless in the depth
of winter. Then some one will inquire
shyly, what about the contents
of the little tin box?" Silence
will follow for moment, all. will look
ashamed, and the wheels of the mighty
power which pilots Minneapolis through
the wicked world will be set in motion.
The poor saloOnkeepers who were so
unfortunate as to intruSt several hun
dred dollars to Enoch Ray will undoubt-
eddy be ordered to pay a full 1000 into
the Golfers of the city or be prosecuted.
They have already been notified that
they must pay up OF shut up, but the
enforcement of that order was post
poned until after Ray should have been
tried. The result of the trial is known,
and the dealers in liquid fire will be al
their mOuey. and that is all there is of
it,. 1t is hard upon them, but they must
submit.
However, it is not at all certain that
the saloon men will tamely consent to
swallow their misfortune. They will
probably test this question in the courts.
1t is known that some of them have al
ready retained counsel and prepared to
fight. 1t cannot be denied that they
have excellent grounds for fight in
the courts, at least in equity if not in
law. They were not responsible for the
deposit OF the money in Rays hands, or
i'll the city treasurer's Office, whence it
has so mvsteriously flown. 1t was
part. 1t was done at the sug-
geSti0n of the police department.
Enoch Ray was a Minneapolis police
officer empowered to See that the license
ordinances were enforced. Several Sa-
loonkeepers were unable to pay the
81 200 license fee when demanded by
the city, under the law. Under strict
Interpretation of the statutes, they
would have been forced to go out of
business. But the police department,
suddenly grown magnanimOus, decided
to give the embarrassed liquor sellers a
chance. The license inspector was au-
thorIzed to collect part of the license
money from the delinQuentS, they to be
the balance. Under these orders of his
superiOrs Ray acted. He collected
the money, some several thousand
dollars in all, and attempted
to have it credited to the several per-
SONS paying it, on the city's books. The
municipal bookkeeper refused to sane
ton such action, he declining to take
the responsibility of doing what he be-
lieved TO be illegal. Under those cir
cumstances Ray had to take charge of
the money. The cash has disappeared,
and the saloonkeepers are the losers.
But, it will be argued, Ray acted, while
collecting this money, as agent of the
city. Therefore, the city should be
held responsible for its loss. That
would seem to be but equita-
that. inasmuch as the receipt
of that money in part payment for
licenses was clearly illegal, it being
contrary TO the provisions Of the law,
the city cannot be held for its loss. Ac-
cording to that view of the case, the
whole transaction between Ray. as tine
city'S agent, and the acknowledgements
be void.
Then the question recurs, did Ray
collect this money OH his individual re-
sponsibility? Can he be held for It.?
That must be decided by the courts.
Altogether it is most complex ques-
ton. Justice would seem to demand
that the SalOonkeeperS should be relm-
bursed. But from where? BY whom
That's the rub. The prospects seem
good for interesting litigation as the
outgrowth of the transaction. Civil writs
against Ray by the several losers, or.
perhaps. further prosecution of him on
different line are not imprObabilities.