The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-27
S0uthaii's PaIliation.

Is there nothing in the conditions sur
rounding Southall, and thousands of
| undetected others, and millions of I'M
affected others, to palliate his offenseS
What is the gravamen of his acts? He
has used his position with the govern
ment to obtain money which he had
not earned, for which he gave no COM
pensation. Have no others done this
Are no others doing this today? Is
not the government either tacitly or
actively permitting such use of it's vast
powers as to enable men to get money
they do not earn, for which they give
no compensation? What magic is there
in be it enacted" that can make that
right which, without it, is wrong and
criminal? If it give legal justification
for unjust acts, does it give moral JUS
tificatiOn?
What can Southall urge in extenua-
ton, if not In legal defense? To what
permitted use of the powers of the gov
eminent can he point to palliate his
own use of his position under that gov
eminent? We apprehend he can frame
an ample array of instances They lie
thick all about lis. Southall for years
had to do with the Improvement of
the Mississippi river. What has he
seen done in that work from which he
might draw the vindcation for him
self? What has he seen of money TAX
Ell from private use by taxation, to be
spent by the government for works
that produced only private profits for
individuals? If he has seen this done.
why should he not have argued him
self into a belief that he also might
make use of his position under the gov
eminent to make money for himself?
What has he seen? He has seen over
100000 of taX-derived money spent in
creating and preserving a waterDower
at the falls of st. Anthony, approprf-
ated under the false pretense of i'm
proving navigation above the falls.
where commerce had ceased to exist.
He has seen the power thus created by
public money appropriated by a corpo-
ration and sold to factories and mills
He has seen the same government
wheedled into appropriating another
half million or more dollars to estab-
lish reservoirs at the lakes where the
river sources. For what? Pretentious-
ly to- hold back the spring floods until
the dry season, when the retained
waters are loosed to Improve naviga-
ton of the river below the falls And
he knew, as We all know, that the ex-
penditure was made to keep I'D the
water power supply for this corpora
ton so that their rent rolls would not
suffer. Seeing this, is it to be Won
dered that Southall concluded that he.
too, might make use of his place to
make something for himself?
Nor is this all. No more absurd
proposition was ever submitted than
that for such Improvement of the river
between here and Minneapolis as would
enable boats to reach that city. Steam
boats have practically ceased to be
river carriers; railways parallel the
river and have driven the boats out of
business. There is no more need Of
nav1gable waters to Minneapolis than
there is of Geographic communication
with the moon. And yet the govern
ment has embarked in the absurd and
utterly needless task Dams and locks
are to be constructed, and the begin
y
! diture. And for whom this time? For
some one we may be sure, and for
whom we will find when the dams are
completed. The power created will be
used to put money into some private
purses.
When it became clear that the gov
eminent was to be committed to this
latest job The G l o b demanded that
the scandal be prevented by a proviso
to the clause making the appropriation
for the improvements that the power
created by the dams should be devoted
to such public uses in the cities of st.
Paul and Minnea polls as the authori-
ties Of those cities might determine.
Another paper subsequently assured it's
readers that Senator Davis and Repre-
sentative Kiefer would see that such a
provision was attached to the bill. 1t
never was. Why not? Because there
is a scheme to use the power for pri-
vate benefit. 1t is only another piece
of rank jobbery. Seeing this latest in
stance Of working the government, is
Southall to be greatly blamed If he
| concluded that he also should convert
! his opportunities into cash2 Does the