St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-12-04
He Shows Up the Whited
Sepulehers Of the Boasted
and Bursted Reform
And the Utter Incompeteney
of the Whole Force Of
Detectives.
No Wonder the City Has Been
at the Mercy Of the
LaWleSS.
Assemblyman Daily Declines
to Show His Hand at
This Time.

Owing to the failure of Assemblyman
DAILY to appear with evidence at yester-
days meeting of the assembly COM
mittee on police, to which had been
delegated the duty of an inquisition
into the charges preferred by Mr.. DAILY
against Detective Mason, the probabil-
tiles are that the committee will bring
in report entirely generating Mason.
The readers OF the GLOBE are fully
cOnversant with the charges made in
open council meeting. They were that
Mason, while so drunk that he could
not navigate, had fallen through show
case and smashed it, and furthermore
that the detective is incompetent and
that crime runs rampant i'll the city
without official interruption.
Mr.. Daily did not appear. but he sent
the following communication, which
seems to give pretty adequate excuse
for his course in remaining away from
the investigation.
The communication reads:
l have just been informed that a
meeting of the committee on police has been
called for tomorrow Saturday afternoon. |
beg leave to inform the committee that Sat
urday afternoon is the only one that can
not be absent from my duties. With all due
courtesy to my fellow colleagues in the as
sembly, and particularly to yourself, | deny
the right of your honorable committee to try
me. hold that. as an assemblyman, | am
responsible only to my constituents for my
official actions. In a recent interview with
Mr. Benedict, published in the Dispatch, the
leading Republican paper in the city,
he says that Notwithstanding whatever
action the council may take it won't
prevent suit i'll a civil action against Mr..
DAILY" If such is the case, 1 decline to pro-
duce my testimony. My statements were
based on those of reputable citizens as we'll
as public officials. | desire to say. as have
said before-as an aSsemblyman, elected by
the people-that believe / was right in call
ing in question the direlection of duty on the
part of Mr.. Mason. That privilege | don't
propose to surrender. If have libeled or
slandered Mr.. Mason, the courts of Ramsey
county are open six days i'll the week for the
purpose of adjudcating matters of this char
acter.
Showed UP the Reform.
Still there were mighty interesting
developments. 1t was shown that the
reform" mayor had organized his de-
tective force to pay election debts. 1t
was shown that Chief Mason. early in
his official career, was confronted with
an appalling and discOuraglng state OF
things. He early became satisfied that
effective detective service was an ab-
iect impossibility with the men that had
been appointed to the force for political
reasons by the ''refOrm" mayor. Mr..
Mason laid the matter before Chief
Garvin. He asked for new and compe-
tent men, and then it was taken to the
fountain head-the august mayor.
sIU 80 r.Ia rs.NN
only answer that was given by the
mayor. That distinguished functionary,
given preferment under the shib0Oleth
of reform, could not remove professional
politicians who had contributed their
potent influence to- the mayors election
until the general election should have
been held.
"Wait till after ele ction"
If this admOnition meant anything 1t
meant that the detectives were retained
purely for political reasons. Is it any
wonder that Assemblyman Daily cried
out III disgust,
"Oh! ye reformersW
The committee had a somewhat pro-
tracted session. Lawyer Benedict ap-
peared for the accused. and he was
exceedingly caustic in his handling of
the case. Mr.. Doran, after a few formal
dict to explain his attitude. The latter
read the type written copy of the
charges that had been orally made by
Assemblyman DAILY. The lawyer de-
clared that the defense was
Prepared to Prove
that all the charges were false. The
first charge attacked Mason's character,
but the latter charge attacked his repu-
10 q 6atnofiva and oOupCal pnn-
sidered the latter the more serious.
MI Benedict challenged DAILY to ap-
pear with witnesses and his testimony,
and he would rest his case until an at
tempt should be made to prove the
charges
Mr. Doran here read Mr.. Daly's let
ter, published above, and then Mr..
DOran explained that the committee
was placed in peculiar position. With
out evidence on the one side, the COM
mittee had concluded to permit Mason
and his representatives to proceed as
they saw fit. Therefore Mr.. Benedict
produced letter he had received from
Mr. Daily in reply to request indited
by himself that Mr.. DAILY substantiate
his ch9rgeS or apologize for his assault.
This letter reiterated the charges and
protested that the writer believed the
statements he had made, for his infor-
nation had come from five reputable
citizens. Mr.. Daily wrote that he would
be ready with his witnesses.
"Where is Mr.. DAILY? Where are his
witnesses? They are not here and we
have nothing to defendw cried Mr..
Benedict. I'VE are here with our wit
nesses, and some of them have come
from a distance without subpoena
They have come voluntarily to testify
to Mr.. Mason's character and his repu-
tation as detective. They have come
to show that he is a competent man.
When Mr.. DAILY says Mr.. Mason fell
through a showcase we don't know
what he referred to. We know that it
is not true. We know that Mr.. Mason
has not been drunk. and that he has
committed no disreputable act. Where
is Mr.. DAILY? Has he backed down like
coward ~
1--WE have no evidence before US. Mr..
Benedict" said Mr.. Doran, ''but we are
willing to listen to any testimony you
wish to present"
Detective Mason was then sworn. He
testified that he had
Never Been Drunk
and fallen through a showcase, and
that he had not done any other disrepu-
table act whatever.
Mr.. Bendict then asked that the COM
mittee submit the report to the assem-
bly,, showing that the defense had
proven that the charges were not true.
The accuser had acted cowardly, he
kHar or n co M