Rocky Ford enterprise., 1900-09-07
Especial corr-spondence.)


Denver, Colo. Sept. J.
The past week In Denver has been
remarkable for the number OF "ho'h-
ups" and highway robbcrics committed
In this city. Several women have been
assaulted aud badly beaten ana
robbed. and In one case team was
stopped. man and woman taken ou'
Of tho buggy. and both were beaten
and robbed. There have been no mr.
rests Mt the time OF writing this: nnd II
Is not expected that any Will be made.
The natural question. when such
things occur In large and prcsum'
ably civilized city Is. Where were the
policcT'
The answer To that question may b.
found In the Denver Republican OF
las, Thursday. Here II Is:
There were only ten regular police
men OH duty yesterday. All the rest
were doing political work preliminary
to the primaries next Tuesday. ao'h
were drawing pay. There might have
been n scorc Of highway robicrics In
broad daylight on SIxtccnth stree, aud
not nm officer near enough TO blow n
whistle or run around the corner and
come up after II was NIL over TO nsk
wha, had happened. The sixteenth
street policemen were at the court
house. So was nearly every other po-
llccman In the city.
President cR. W. spccr OF the Fir"
and Police Board Is determined 10 roll
up n majority ut the primaries which
will end, he hopes, the political carver
Of r. ]. Ainioncy. who has carried the
last three elections for the Democrats
OF Arapahoc county. Governor Thorn
ns has lcf; Denver for shor; time ana
has left the entire charge Of the local
,lrht In the hands OF Mr.. Spccr."
All this Is part OF the present sys-
TEN OF politics In Denver. by the pres
en-. charter. n large par, Of the cxccu-
tive power Is taken away from the
mayor and other city officials aud
lodged In the hands Of the governor.
lie II Is who appoints the Fire and Po-
lice Board. and the iircmcn and police
men are. OF course, expected to act as
his political hcnchmcn and carry pri-
mnrics for him. and In other ways to
act us his personal agents. II is prob
ably no cxaggcra;lon to say that very
much larger part Of the time OF the
present governor has been taken up by
the local affairs OF the city OF Denver
than by the affairs of the state Mt
large. With n different governor. this
state Of affairs might be somewhat bet
tered. but 80 long as part OF the proper
powers OF the mayor of the city are
delegated to the governor. so long the
governor will be n power. II he chooses
to be. in Denver city politics. md so
long the responsibility for the good
government of the city will be divided.
and the government will &c compara-
lively inefiicien, and wasicful.
1t Is not to be expected that II the
governors nppointecs are hard at
work, the other city oiiicials-thosc who
own allegiance to MIR. Thomas J. Ma
loney, will be entirely idle. II comes
about, therefore, that nearly all the
city and county officers in Denver are
Mt work politically just now, and nee
essarlly are paying but little attention
to the regular duties of their offices.
Further details Of the manner in
which the city and county officials are
kept busy these days are furnished by
the Republican as follows:
The police and the iircmcn have
both been assessed for the Thomas
campaign fund-voluntarily contribu-
tions is what the leaders call 1t. The
gamblers also have been assessed, but
on n larger scalc-voluntary contribu-
tions again.
James Maloney, head of the street
sprinkling department.: Felix O'Neil,
superintendent of street cleaning, and
William Ensminger. city boiler inspec-
tor, were nll called into the mayors Of
fec yesterday and We're told to stop
ncglccting their offices to work for Mr..
Maloney in his tight-for the game IL
played both ways and there are many
departments in which the officials of
city and county are made to work for
the Maloney faction while being paid
by the people. These three officials
said that their designations were ready
whenever they We're demanded, but
that they would support Mr.. Mnloney.
sheriff Robert J. Jones is abso-
lutcly the only official of prominence
who has refused to use his office to aid
one side or the other in this fight. He
is using his personal influence for Mfr.
Maloney. While few of his deputies