Evening journal., 1897-09-13
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
THE POLICE AND THE STREET
MARKETS.

MARKETS.
To the Editor of the Evening Journal.
Sir: / see by the papers Of recent
date that the chief of police has given
strict orders to have all the farmers re
moved off the streets on market days
at o'clock, on the complaint of per-
sons who are not fully cognizant of the
interests of the masses OF our people.
| desire to call your attention to the
fact that all law in our city ordinace
defines this market to be a farmers
market, to supply fresh products of the
farm to our city people, which. in my
opinion, is right The ordinance goes
on i'm detail to show how the markets
ought to be conducted in order that JUS
tice may be meted out to all concerned.
The clerk of the market is supposed
to carry out the ordinances, he having
taken an oath to do so, but as he has
utterly ignored his duty in this respect
there is no other alternative than to ap-
peal to the police. They got their inn
perative orders to remove the farmers
strictly at o'clock, but not a single
word about the army of peddlers, trad
ers or hucksters who infest our mar
kets and streets six days in the week
to the detriment of all the legitimate
tradesmen of our city, who are amongst
the highest taxpayers in paying license,
high rent and commercial tax of one
dollar per thousand while this army
of squatters pays nothing, only pit
tance of 10 or % cents for the benefit
of only one mantle clerk of the mar
ket-and to the detriment of all the le
gitimate tradesmen OF our city. Take,
for instance, the eighty peddler wagons
in our city, and only twenty pay the Ii
cense of S25. Three hundred per cent.
go scot free.
Where is the justice or protection in
that? Why not make them all pay or
abolish the law and let them do as they
please? The laws ought to be enforced
for the benefit of all or be abolished.
The clerk of the market and the police
ought to be instructed to demand these
peddlers' licenses once every week and
protect the honest men who pay their
license
This mandate, if enforced, putting
the farmers off the street at p. m. will
give this army of unlicensed peddlers
the opportunity of buying up all the
farm products that are left at their
own price or the farmer must take it
home and lose it.
This mandate, or order, reminds me
Of one similar about year ago, when
Messr. Witsil and McVey arrested
some Of the butchers in their own
stores on King street, for selling meats
off a stand in front of their stores
while the simmer was allowed to erect
stand on the curbstone opposite the
mans store who was arrested, and
which the grand jury utterly ignored
and would not even listen TO the case,
which was right.
This street market will never be right
in the interest OF anybody until you put
man i'm as clerk who knows what
equity and justice means in carrying
out the laws The clerk of the market
ought to be elected by the people, and
not as now, by City Council. 1t is no
political office to inspect and regulate
the food products to be used by all our
people.
The markets as they are carried on
now are nothing but confusion, Every
one who stands in them makes law to
suit his own convenience. The Consti-
tutions. both the Federal and State,
give the man who has a house, whether
he rents it or owns it, the right of in
| gress and egress, and no act of Council
or Legislature can take that inherent
right from him, because it is uncOnsti-
| tutional. No storekeeper or huckster
| has any right to put out a permanent
bench in front of his premises, as it is
a menace and public nuisance. The or
dinance calls for showing your goods
from a four-foot board, not to sell only
inside the store. Under a fine of So the
ordinance prohibits booths or stands in
the streets, lanes or alleys of our city
yet every one of these is a dead letter
Is prohibits awnings hanging dowr
lower than seven feet, yet there are por
tions of King street enclosed in TO pro
tect their goods from the weather
Boxes, barrels, filled with decaye6
truck, empty wagons sometimes stand
ing across the street, in fact, it's
veritable barnyard, and all connected
with it growing and discontented, an'
the officials stand by and look on sc
renely. CITIZEN.