The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-07

our Christianity demands that we give our
attention to it. The Christian citizen has
no right to surrender himself complete
ly to his business interests, or to his social
and domestic pleasures. that he does not
practically help to overcome the vicious
and unpatriotic elements of society. The
good citizen has no right to be at ease
in our municipal Zion while gamblers and
procurers and boodlers and saloonkeepers
and unpatriotic office seekers are busy PLAN
ming to capture the whole machinery of city
government This remark Is not designed
to characterize all who are prominently
active in municipal campaigns, but to call
attention to a very influential and very
bad element in municipal politics. l say it
is crime from the standpoint of patriot
ism for the good citizen to be Indifferent or
inactive at such a time. Through such in
difference. the ordinarily good citizen be-
comes in very important sense bad cit
izen. He helps to perpetuate bad govern
eminent And this bad government means
waste and extravaganza, unjust privileges
to some. unjust burdens upon others, too
much money spent upon some things, not
money enough on other and better things;
1t means collision of city officials with
criminals, so that society is unprotected,
and lawleSSness grows.
/ wish it to be understood, while | empha-
size the duty of good citizens to check in
temperance and the social evil by a more
strict enforcement of laws that | am not
Indifferent to other economic and business
aspects OF city government. But l hold
thdl we are not likely to nave our city gov
eminent run in a proper business way until
we put men into Office who will have con-
science and Christian sensibility enough to
put forth a mighty effort to suppress the
lawleSsness of the saloon and other evils
which most conspicuously prey upon the
welfare of society.
l desire now to call your attention to
matters which should receive the careful
attention OF every patriotic citizen. In a
formal way, the Christian Citizenship
league has brought certain aspects of our
municipal life to the attention of the
clergy of the city and | think il our duty
to ask Christian people generally to con-
slider the same.
In the first place. our attention is called
TO the fact that there are in law. time
limits and territorial limits to the liquor
traffic in this city, which are to a great
extent disregarded.
No saloon can lawfully do business on
Sunday. 1t is we'll known however. that
the city authorities have made no attempt
to restrain the Sunday liquor traffic There
is no question about the existence and
eonsutut1onality of the law 1t must be
ciear 10 all who recognize the evils of the
liquor traffic that it would be a great value
TO the city if the law were enforced
, Iheh thefe is the territorial limit to the
liquor law. which is largely disregarded
through what are called blind pigs"
we are informed by the Christian Citizens
league that the police and detective systems
OF the city are not intelligently applied to
the work of hunting out and SURPRISING
these nuisances
The liquor dens on the Interurban line.
at Union Park are an offense to the whole
midway district. The sale of liquor is so
nearly public that nobody has any doubt
about 1t at all. 1t would be an easy mat
ter for the chief Of police through his de-
tectives to procure all the evidence needed
to prosecute the offenders but he does not
do it. If anything is done in that line pri-
Vate citizens must do it at much cost and
trouble to themselves.
We are informed by the Citizens league
no no ian irf,~r
operate in the work of suppressing laWIess-
ness They will not adequately punish the
Offenders when their guilt is proven. In
the use OF their discretion. they decline to
inlet penalties severe enough to interruDt
the criminal career OF the Illicit liquor
dealer.
Our attention has been called to certain
places in which there is combination of
the liquor traffic, the social evil and the
vilest theatrical performances. We are cred
IDLY informed that the performances here
witnessed from night to night are too vile
for description in public discourse or pub
lie print; that the whole combination ca
tiers to and consists of the vilest debauch-
cry. We are informed that the attention of
the city government has been repeatedly
called to these places and that our authori-
ties have with an unholy persistency per-
mitted them to go on in their business.
1t is said that young people of both sexes
witness these performances, and that the
proprietors have themselves confessed that
they cannot carry on the liquor traffic in
these places and make it pay without the
use of immoral women, and that our au-
thorties, who are aware of these facts do
not try to put a stop to it. We are told
that one of the most prominent and sup
posedly genteel of all the saloons in the
city adds to the attraction of its female
theatricals the crime of selling liquor to
beardless youths, who are permitted to stay
there
Our informants tell us that the police
are the protectors of these immoralities.
wha hau ,oIlxy
investigated these places and then re-
ported them to the authorities, and these
have been constrained to make an Off
cial investigation, the criminals are notified
of the proposed investigation and so es-
cape arrest. They tell of one individual.
nicknamed mayor" account Of his re-
lations to the city government especially
the police, whose place they have found
through Investigations which have been
made to be exceedingly vile, as bad if not
worse than the place which has made an ex-
alderman infamous, and which has the pro-
lection of the police. observe that this man
has been indicted by the grand jury during
the last week.
1t would seem from the report of the
city fathers have not done their whole
duty in relation to these matters They
have in few instances shown too little
Willingness to protect the public against
immoral eliquor dealers. Three parties who
had been convicted within year of vio-
lating the liquor laws applied for licenses
1t was unlawful to grant licenses to these
parties. yet the city fathers did it. and did
it before the expiration Of the period which
the law prescribes for the investigation of
applications and the hearing of objections.
They thus violated the law in two respects.
They did their bad work with unnecessary
haste, abridging In this way the opportunity
Of citizens to make objections. They granted
licenses to persons legally disqualified to
receive them. They thus violated the law
themselves. and did it in the interest of
persons upon record in the courts as con-
victed criminals.
The city attorney was also at fault in this
matter; for he told them that there was no
legal objection to giving these parties IL
censes
In certain other cases the council refused
to hear the evidence which members of the
Citizens league had to present against GER