The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1900-10-19

fund, for this, like the other executive
departments, has been converted into
q cog-wheel of the Lind-Rosing ma
chine. 1t is a notorious fact that this
money has been spent. not for the pro-
lection OF the game and fish, but to
employ "oeputy game wardens" to
travel through their respective coun-
ties, organizing Bryan and Lind clubs.
Besides this, each deputy game ward
en- was assessed part of his monthly
salary to support the reform" press
bureau.
One Republican deputy was retained.
p. o. Stevens of Detroit, Becker coun-
ty. Mr.. Stevens was obliged to con-
tribute a percentage of his salary to
the reform" bureau, to hold his Job,
but when it was demanded Of him, as
a condition of his remaining on the
force, that he get out and poll the
county in the interests of Lind, he re-
signed. Even the employees at the state
fish hatchery, drawing $40 a month
wages, were obliged to assist IN
"greasing the Wheels"
And in return for this expenditure,
what are the benefits derived by the
taxpayer? During the recent CLOSE"
laws were open and fragrant. Every
hotel, and restaurant in st. Paul and
Minneapolis served prairie chickens
during the month Of August. Mayor
Smith Democratic Of st. Paul. stated
that the enforcement of the game law
under the present administration was
rotten" and Uri Lamprey, the well
known Democratic attorney of St.
MI os,@tA 49, 1S
would take ten years time to repair
the mischief for which tho present
game warden is responsible.
But the commission was obliged to
make some showing. On the first day
or the shooting season, Saturday, Sept.
LIST, Rev. Alexander McGregor of st.
Paul went out hunting and. bagged
sixteen prairie chickens. AS they would
spoil If carried until Monday, he sent
them in a satchel, checked as baggage,
to st. Paul. His little son called for
the satchel, and was arrested with 1t
in his possession by an alert" game
warden, and was bound over to the
grand jury on q charge of shipping
chickens contrary to law-an offense
which the law plainly does not con-
template in such a case. The district
court promptly dismissed the case.
A couple of weeks ago an old man. a
Polander ignorant of the laws, Gus
toms and even the language Of the
land, was fishing for bullheads and
catfish, with q net, in the Mississippi
river. Three valiant deputy game
wardens went out in a launch, armed
with shotguns, two cases of beer and
q bottle of cocktails. They confiscat-
ed the old mans net, and when he ex-
postulated he was shot and killed. The
Ramsey county grand jury has in
dicted his slayer, Deputy Game Ward
en- Edward Corbett, for murder in the
first degree.
This. then, is the record of the game
and fish commission under the ere
form" management: Fish, chickens,
deer and moose slaughtered out Of sea-
son: $4,000 Of the peoples money
squandered; a fifteen-year-old boy
wrongfully and Illegally arrested for
carrying some chickens his father had
shot, and an inoffensive old man
killed.
"Don't Go Back of the Red Line"
This remark of Public Examiner
Pope to the expert accountant who
Investigated the books of the city of
Mankato, will pass into history. When
the expert was about to commence his
work, Gen" Pope called him to one
side and said:
"You will find a red line in the
books; don't go back of it, as I, my
self, audited the books up to that date
and found them correct"
But the expert did "go back Of the
red line" Furthermore, he found that
back of the red line" the books
showed a peculiar shortage-$500.OO
was missing from the public library
fund without any record of 1t. An in
vestigation on the outside showed that
1t had been borrowed" by Mr.. Pope,
while he was president Of the library
board, and neither back nor before the
red line was there any record of that
sum having been repaid. In fact, no
one knew of the loan. AS result OF
the experts going back of the red line,
the city attorney of Mankato was d.
rected to commence proceedings
against Mr.. Pope for the recovery of
the $5OO.O0 and interest for the time he
had held it-about five years. Mr..
Pope settled the matter by paying
back the $4,000 with interest. Would
it have been repaid yet If the expert
had not gone back of the red Hne?"
Even the Democratic papers Of Mr.
Pope's town condemned his action as
illegal and peculiar"
Is Still a Vacancy.
The vacancy in the department Of ed
ucation caused by the resignation OF
State Superintendent Prendergast has
not yet been filed. Gov. Lind appoint
ed a gentleman named Lewis-Who had
no other experience than teaching in
q small school-to fill the place, but
county superintendent all over the
state are aware of his incompetence.
This is one of the departments with
which the general public is not brought
in close contact, hence its workings
pass unnoticed, save when some glazing
is made. Mr.. Lewis has dis
tinguished" himself by two of these.
The first was by an effort to hold dis
trict" summer training schools for
teachers. After one trial this was
abandoned and the former plan of
holding them in each county was re-
sumed. His second effort was when he
accused FIVE teachers in Douglas coun-
ty, who were taking examinations for
of Cheating This was
repudiated by the Douglas
county superintendent of schools "a
and Mr.. Lewis very will
ingly dropped the hot end of the poker.
"Remember the Irvine"
But it is in the management of the
state prison binder Irvine factory that
the abuses are the most glaring. Not
only has it been wastefully and almost
criminally extravagantly mismanaged,
but the results are so apparent and so
directly felt by the farmer that they
cannot be concealed or CLOSED over.
Henry Wolfer was superseded as war
den Of the prison by c. McC. Reeve.