St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-31
A Fine Tooth-Comb Investi-
cation Fails to Find Aught
Wrong.
Peculiar Methods and Ami
mus SubSepVe a Pub
lie End.

This was the distinguished body OF
prominent cItizens-a solid Republican
phalanX-who ranSacked the Demo-
cratic city and county government with
fine tooth comb and returned tri-
umphant vindication. 1t will be diff
cult matter to make the general public
believe that that grand jury did not
strain every nerve to discover something
wrong in the Democratic Offices
OR even to believe that the
grand jury was not disappointed
in its failure so to find; but it is GER
tainty that had anything been wrong in
those Offices the grand jury, in its per
siStent session of nearly a month, would
have discovered and returned indlct-
ments accordingly. As it is, these prom
inent business men and, incidentally,
good Republicans, have learned that a
balance is due the county from the abb
stract Office, and that Jay Davis forged
jury certificates. Their report, had they
the grace but to say so, is complete
vlndication of the city and county gov
eminent.
The jury, drawn by Judges Brill and
Kelly--the chairman of the county COM
misSioners not having otficiated-and
inspired by a strong charge by Judge
Brill, made a complete and searching
investigation of the Democratic offices
of the city and county. There is no evil
dence, that the public knows, that they
invaded
The Sacred Precincts
of the Republican sheriff's Office. They
fully and finally studied out the en-
gineer's department and found there
was nothing but to commend. The
mayor was not summoned before the
jury, as far as known, and the report
has the grace to commend his action.
AS far, therefore, as the various offices
are concerned, the public has but to ac-
cept the commentator of the jury and
thank it for its very vigilant inveStiga
ton. The fact that on the jury were
such strong partiSanS as Andrew X.
Kiefer, the last defeated candidate for
mayor, and j. j. McCardy, whose antag-
onism to the present administration is
generally understood, and who at
least has had a thorough knowl
edge of the conduct of coun-
.ty Offices, has convinced the
public that the jury went into its III
vestigation determined to find some
thing wrong and expecting to dose, and
that public has construed the jury re-
port almost into a grOwl of angry disap-
pointment that nothing could be found.
And the public would doubtless have
been better pleased if the report had
frankly and manfully announced it's re-
against the defenseless peanut to stand
on the first floor of the city hall.
The Bookkeeping System.
The report makes two points: One is
against the system which permitted of
such frauds as the forging of jury GER
tificateS and the other that retail liquor
licenses are not collected to the letter of
the law on Jan. 1. AS to the first, the
report carefully omits mention of the
fact that these jury certificates were
handled under the same system. though
improved, that obtained when the audi
TORS office was in the Republican hands
of j. j. McCardy and the treasurer's
Office in the Republican hands of F. A.
REM, the improvement being that now
the certificates go through double
registration in the auditors Office. The
report also neglects to say that the GER
tificateS were almost invariably pre-
sented by Republican deputy sheriff,
an officer of the court and the man in
charge of the jurieS, and who is sup
posed to have some knowledge of the
personnel of the jury. Neither does it
show that the treasurer was requested
to furnish the exact change for each
certificate instead of lump sum for the
total of the certificates. In fact, the
report would give the impression that
the Republican sheriff's office had
been entirely overlooked. The public
knows well enough that Sheriff Beau's
Office is above reproach, but it can
scarcely regard it as other than intense
partisan zeal which would so thoroughly
inspect the Democratic offices and so
patiently overlook the one Republican
nook. Sheriff Bean should protest that
he alone is excluded in the general vim
dication.
1t is fact we'll enough known to the
public that the various Offices in the
county building have all been well adj
ministered, their methods and systems
steadily improving with the growth and
volume of the business transacted. No
one will dispute this; and the jury re-
port, in its failure to indict. emphat-
ically proclaims it, though the precise
language seems intended to convey the
opposite impression.
Collection of Licenses.
AS to the liquor license feature of
the report, the jury begins with gross
cIIUI III SIdJlllS UUC HuIuUtT VI SdIOOIlS
licensed at 292 in 1S90-a figure 100 short
of the mark. The fact is that the col
lection of licenses has been conducted
on strictly business basis, which the
result eminently iustifies. With a pop
ulation of 10000 less than Minneapolis,
st. Paul collected $4,000 for licenses as
against S275,000 in Minneapolis, and
more than 100000 more than is col
lected in any city of its size in the
union. The law provides for no partial
payment Of the heavy liquor license,
and the custom has been approved to
collect, when due, in as large amounts
as may be, the Iicensee paying as
rapidly AS possible. Were the strict
letter of the law enforced, three-fourths
of the saloons would be closed up at
/ once, and the city deprived of reve-
nue. of 100000 at time when money is
in the greatest need for municipal pur-
poses, without curtailing the intemper-
ance evil or securing any moral results.
The liquor policy of st. Paul has stood
the test of years. and had the constant
approval Of the people as expressed at
the p0lls-a policy that has steered an
even course between the evils of fanati-
cism on one hand and unbridled license
on the other. 1t is probably the fact
that the jury, misled by false reports,
looked for corruption that did not exist.
and made its report before the mists had
cleared away.