The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-13
CLOSES WITH ARUSH
LAST DAY ON WHICH NATURALIZA-
TION PAPERS CAN BE GOTTEN
FREE.
TWO PACKED COURT ROOMS.
FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY PER-
SONS WE'RE MADE CITIZENS
LAST NIGHT.
MORE DURING THE FORENOON.
Eleven Thousand Persons Have Re-
ceived Their Papers without
Having to Pay for 1t.

Court rooms No. and No. 8 never
before held so many men as crowded
within their walls last night to secure
their patents Of nobility as American
citizens, under the amended constitu-
ton Of the state Of Minnesota. Four
hundred and fifty-three- residents of st.
Paul embraced this last opportunity to
renounce their allegiance to all foreign
king and potentates free of charge and
kings and potentates free of charge and
the United States of America.
1t was cosmopolitan assemblage. 1t
included erstWhile voters from the
First to the Eleventh ward, and they
belong to all the European nations. The
First ward was very prolific. The
Asiatic was conspicuous by his alb
sence, but the African was there, IN
one solitary instance. The spectacle of
a colored man taking the oath of al
legiance to Uncle Sam was the rare
sight witnessed in court room No. 2,
where Judge Brill presided. His name
is Augustus H. Kirtley. Mr.. Kirtley
was born in Canada. His witnesses
vouched for his law abiding character.
Mr.. Kirtley answered the interrogations
Of the court intelligently and signed
applicants made their marks, as they
were in hurry to get home.
With the IT'S male residents who were
naturalized yesterday forenoon by
Judge Brill, the record for the day is
628. There won't be so many today,
for Clerk of Courts Rogers has sus-
pended the free list.
Looked at from a mercenary stand
int !, nct
of dollars since Oct. /. Eleven thou
sand residents of st. Paul have
swarmed around his office and got
their papers for nothing since then.
Heretofore the lowest market price
quoted was 81 per paper. 1t is fair to
estimate that at least half Of these
public spirited voters would have sac
rificed one dollar rather than their
right to vote. Rogers is certainly
$4,000 out by this operation. While
some of his fellow citizens of the same
political persuasion regret his action,
the rank and file of the people approve
1T. The rank and file always did al
ray itself against the Republicans.
The course Mr.. Rogers has pursued
is looked upon by the fair minded citi-
zens of st. Paul as a loyal move in the
interests of the city. That men who
have voted here for years, should be
prevented from casting their votes at
the coming election merely because
they had neglected to comply with the
new law. was contingency that Mr..
Rogers foresaw. AS it is, it is esti-
mated that from 1000 to $500 residents
who have hitherto voted in this city,
will go to the election booths in vain
The vote will be commented upon in
any event, and compared with that of
other cities. Mr.. Rogers remarked tn
other day that he would defie anybody
who chose to scrutinize the aggrega-
lions of applicants for final papers, to
form any well-founded opinion as to
their politics. A horoscope of or at the
crowd that necessitated the raising of
the court room windows last night
would have revealed all kinds of I'M
certainties, from Jerusalem to Kill
kenny.