St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-17
MINNEAPOLIS.
THE PATROL LIMIT QUESTION.

A delegation of citizens are to meet
the Hennepin county delegation to-day
to lay before that august body their
protest against any extension of the
patrol limits in Minneapolis. The COM
mittee. in making up their list. added
the name of A. T. Ankeny, but that
gentleman, on being notified of his APP
pointment, promptly declined the posi-
ton. He gives his reasons for this
action as follows:
Mr.. Ankeny believes that the whole
matter of the patrol limits belongs eX-
clusively 10 the city council of Mime
apolis and not 10 the state legislature.
The supreme court, he alleges, has twice
decided that 1.-THE city council has the
power to decide where and within what
portions of the city the business of sell
ing and dealing I'D intoxicating liquors
may be carried on" Estate vs.. wilson,
80 Mimi, 145, and State VS.. Kantler,
SO Mimi, Co., Having this power,
and having exercised 1t. 1t
was a gross interference with the right
to regulate our own affairs for the legiS-
lature TO approve and confirm the ac-
ton as it did in 1887. We think the
most the legislature can now properly
do is TO repeal the act of 1887, and
the matter will then be where it prop
erly belongs-with the city council,
which can change the limits or modify
them or extend them, just as it may see
ut.
Concerning the matter of the legisla-
ture interfering with the private affairs
of city, it may be well to recall the
position of the Democracy OF Minneapo,
lis in February, 1887. They then adopted
strong protest against the Legislature
interfering with the private affairs of
the city on the questions of patrol
limits, the establishment of police
sons who were to compose
the court house commission. The
protest was published in the GLOBE at
that time and copy laid upon the desk
of every member of the house and SEN
ate. 1t was unable, however, to check
the rash action of the Republican dele
cation and they put every one Of these
measures through under the party lash
and thus tied up the bands of the
city council until the present. We re-
produce a portion of this remarkable
document and commend it to the legis
lature as being especially applicable to
the present condition OF things.
1t says: "Our chief objection to the patrol
limit bill is that the legislature should not
attempt, by law, TO regulate our munlclpBl
affairs. Ii does not concern the people of
any city or county in what sections or party
of our city the traffic shall exist. Local self
government is is the heritage Of a free peo-
pie. Each municipality may raise its own
taxes, eXpend its own money, establish its
own police regulations and generolly manage
its own affairs. This bill requires these
plain truthes and in effect says that Pipe
stone county or Ramsey county shall regu-
lot bo ofro ire NJ atn 10 81 n
unWarranted interference from winch any
other municipality would recall il the at
tempt were to be made TO force it upon
them. 1t is not legislation for the
stale but for portion OF city. We not re-
mind you that such legislation is simply rev.
olutiOnary in its nature, nor is there any ne
cessty for it. For three years Minneapolis
has had a patrol limit as established by her
own council, and which is to-day in full
force and effect. In the wonderful growth
of The city and the. consequent Shlttng or
business centerS the council has already
found it necessary TO make changes, and that
body may be depended upon to wisely eXer-
else its power in the future. But the present
bill would make the patrol limit irrevocable
and Interchangeable. No matter what may
arise it could pot be enlarged nor diminished.
You will have bound us hand and foot and
made us the slaves of your arbitrary viii"
1t is worthy of remembrance that the
very next election went trlumphantly
Democratic. 1t was from revulSiOn of
such legislation that the Democratic
victory in Minneapolis largely came last
fall. May it not be the best thing to
simply allow local self-gOvernment, or
In other words, home rue. Any other
course is liable to be attended with sim
liar results to those which followed the
arbitrary action of the Republican dele
CATION in the winter of 1856 and 1887.