St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-19
ONE OF The FIFTEEN.
Aid. j. c. Haynes Talks Lii
quOr Ordinance to the
Public.
Minnesota Grand Army Men
Elect Officers for Ano Their
Year.
Tim Byrnes Still on the Rack
at the Court
House.
Women and Worlds Fair--A
Reply to Judge j. M.
Shaw.

Col. j. c. Haynes was refused q chance
to speak at the Lyceum last Sunday, as
readers of the GLOBE already know.
Since then he has been asked repeat
eddy to express himself on the liquor
ordinance question. Yesterday he cou-
scented, and said:
Il appreciate the kindness Of my
newspaper friends in requesting me to
state my views concerning the amend
ment to the liquor ordinance, and will
do SO as fully as their space and my
time Will permit.
Il have no apology to offer for my po-
Sition in this matter. | believed at the
time, and still believe, that the action of
the council was III the interest of good
government and tor the welfare of the
city at large.
practical men who have had actual
experience In enforcing police regula-
tons IN large cities recognize the fact
that certain social evils, including that of
drinking, must OF necessity exist in some
from. Sundays as well as other days,
They cannot be absolutely abolished.
Restriction is all that we can expect.
The appetiteS and passions of the aver
age man are no reSpecterS of days. The
best form Tor the evil is that in which it
is most easily controlled and most COM
pletely subject to police surveillance.
As relates to the drinking habit" that
form is the licensed saloon. A strict
and literal enforcement of the Sunday
closing law, as applied to saloons, sim
ply has the tendency and effect to
change the form of the evil, not to abol-
ish it. LII Philadelphia and other large
places where strict enforcement has
been tried, ''bar-kitchenS," iunumera-
bic cheap clubs, blind pigs and other
devices for evading the law have re-
suited, and increased drunkenness have
Invariably followed.
"Since the crusader insists upon
strict enforcement, and since all expert
ence teaches us that such course
would have the effect which / have
stated, was therefore in favor of legis-
latlng the crusader out of Office His
methods are not commended by self
respecting people, because they involve
system of spying and espionage which
is tolerated only in extreme eases where
1t becomes necessary to detect some
grave crime against the person or prop
ertY of the individual citizen. Such
methods should never be resorted to for
the discovery of a technical violation of
a mere police regulation, the whole OBJ
Ject of which is to preserve the public
peace and order-nothing more. When
it has been enforced to this extent it
has served its purpose.
The effect of the provision that
policemen only shall make complaints
for violation of the Sunday closing
clause, is not to deprive the citizens OF
any sacred or inalienable' right what
ever. Should any violation of the ordi-
nance chance to affect him directly and
personally, as well as the general pub
lie, he still has his remedy through the
medium of the state courts, and there
would be the proper tribunal to deter
mine the rights of the parties upon SO
serious charge. On the other hand. If
the Offense is merely against the public
generally. and no one in particular,
some officer chosen by the people and
representing the public at large should
be vested with the discretionary power
| of determining in what instance and to
what extent the ordinance shall be en-
| forced; otherwise the wiseSt policy any
| administration could adopt is liable to
lie disturbed and unsettled and the
courts annoyed by useless prosecution.
1.-The mayor appoints and discharges
| the police, and they are subject to his
orders; consequently the effect of the
amendment is to place the entire re-
| spOnsibility upon the mayor and the adj
ministration. 1t does not give them
| added powers, but it does emphasize
| their authority and duty. There is the
| place for it. Don't allow outsiders to
| interfere with the administration In the
exercise of this duty. If the admins
tration diSregardS the will of the ma
| JOrity, make an issue of the question
and decide it at the polls. No self-con-
stituted guardian of the public wealth
should be allowed to obtrude himself
and to declare in advance W nat the Will
of the people is.
by common consent this matter has
always been left to the discretion of the
mayor and his police in every city in
| the Union. Even here the individual
citizen never thought of the practice of
making such complaints until within
the past year, when the right TO do so
was accidentally discovered.
The assertion that the amendment
will result In wide-open saloon Is pure
buncombe. For years before the cru
sader appeared we had not had wide
open policy, and 1t is well understood by
all classes that such policy will not be
tolerated i'll this community.
'DoubtleSs the people are to blame
for not attending the primaries and
choosing worthy men to represent them.
But there is still deeper reason why
| they fail to secure honest and capable
representatives. Some one said that
There is nothing SO ungrateful as re-
| public The man who made that re.
mark never had investigated a munich
| pality. Our habit of attacking and
abusing our public officials upon every
| provocatioG, either for the purpose OF
serving political ends or because
our peculiar views as to what con.
statutes good morals or correct govern.
ment have been diSregarded, is the one
| great cause which deters many of our
best citizens from accepting public of
flee. They dread to submit to the ordeal
of public abuse and private insinuatior
and suspicion, which they know is sure
to follow. no matter how sincerely they
may discharge their duties.
FINALLY, if majority of the voters
of this city wish to Theoretically seal the
saloons on Sundays. they should be al
lowed to try that policy. But let the
question be determined. as | have al
ready suggested. Do not allow the
| crusaders TO determine it for us in adj
vance. The people prefer to settle the
| question for themselves. 1t is not lone
to wait. The people have managed
! their affairs great many years without
the assistance of the crusader, and,
believe, that they can still continue t
| do So"
|