The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-12
POLICE INTERFERENCE.
Nc. objec, Lesson or Reform and Economy
fer The Tax Payer.

This is the age OF reform. It is reform
| with vengeance. When refcrmers set
about reforming they never know when TO
stop. And as general thing they do not
stop till an indiguanG public rises up 10
their might and pulls them from the sad
| die and divests them OF their whips aud
spurs. This is also an era OF economy.
Every body almost is economizing. from
the national government down to the
humbiest citizen who labors IN
| the streets The city OF Wichita
is not OVERLOOKING with wealth
any more than any other city. nor have
| the taxpayers any money to throw away
| for nothing. Not SO with the board of
police commissioners. They, 1t appears,
as a BODY have dead coolies of money.
They are so badly encountered with it
| that in order to get rid OF some OF 1t, they
him men to help out the Demo-Pops in
| their campaign.
Mr.. Dickson, Mr. Davis and Mr.. Brown
are men of business aud are in position
to know the condition Of the financial
affairs of the city. and yet they will delib-
erately 90 to work at this time and
| place a man in the city clerks office
| to watch the registration In the
interest of partisan politics and pay this
same man SEQ per month. or course $6o
| is not very much in flush times. but II Is q
whole lot in times like these. when every
| body is ecoaon izing. And the people pay
this. They pay it to aid party that only
| represents small minority of the popula.
| ton of Wichita.
| They say to the Republicans who have
one thousand majority in Wichita, that
! they must put up money for the campaign
expenses of the Demo-Pops, for the man
they have placed at the registration Offices
| is as much a part of the machinery of the
| Demo Pop campaign as the secretary
of the committee is. His duty.
| among other things, is to make q
! record of those who register and those who
| do not for the information OF both the
Democratic county COMMITTEES and the
! Populistic county committee.
Yes, strange and reckless as it may seem,
the board of police com mlssloners have
actually detailed policeman, Officer John
Carney. for the purpose and pays him
with the peoples money. 1t is almost.be-
yond credence but it is fact nevertheless.
| He sits there in the registration Office day
after day with his pollceman's star on and
| ANYBODY who will go to the city clerk s
Office cannot fail to see him. He not only
watches the books in the interest OF the
Demo Pops, but he actually assumes the
right to say who is legitimate voter aud
! who is not.
1t is almost impossible to believe that
men who are supposed to have common
sense enough to hold Office would be so
reckless as to put policeman in the reg
istration office for such u purpose. but the
| fact is all three OF the commissioners vot-
ed unanimously in favor of the PROPOSE
ton. Friday the commissioners met and
called he city clerk into their meeting
and told him what they was going to
do. They said that they intended to send
Mr. Carney up stairs TO help with the reg
istration, which was~very considerable on
| their part, but Mr., Smith told them that
he was not needed, as he had ample help
in his assistant Despite this statement
of Mr. Smith, Mr.. Brown made IA motion
that Nh Carney ne appointed clerk in the
registration Office aud the motion was
seconded and passed unanimously, and
inserted in the minutes of the meeting
Mr.. Smith said he did not think that be
could permit Mr.. Carney in his office FOL
that purpose, and asked an adjourn men;
till next day a. o'clock p. m., which was
granted. In TIE mean time Mr.. Smith
looked up the law and found that the
commissioners had no legal right whatever
to take the steps proposed. At the after
noon meeting he called their attention tc
that law and they then changed their
minds and wiped from the record theI.
action tue day before They then came
down to the level of politicians and did
exactly what political committee would
aud did do and put Mr. Carney In the
registration office purely as a clerk for ths
Demo-Pop campaign committees, but al
the expense of the tax payers instead OF al
the expense OF the committees. LII
other words, :be Demo Pops are dancing
aud the people MS a whole are paying the
piper.
JOHN Carney is not TO blame; be is vel
| versed in the art OF making campaign
books from the registration books aud
doubtless, has just as easy time as az
would have down stairs IN the 9iiice o.
police headquarters. Heretofore FREQ
Schattner had men 10 make out these
books and charged the politicians II d
each for them. bnt since the Office has beer
run by Republican clerk tile politician;
had their own men to make the books aud
It cost the tax payers nothing
The proper question to ask at this time
is Are the police commissioners handling
the money that comes into their hands II
the interest of all the citizens or in The
interest Of the Demo-Pop fusionT They
should be compelled in some way 10 uu
ders,and that if they put man IN the
registration clerks Office in the interest o
q political party he must be private citi
zen ard paid by the political party which
he serves If paid at all.