The Springfield herald., 1900-09-07
Especial Correspondence
Denver. Colo. Sci

remarkable for the number of hold
ups" and highway robberies committed
in this city Several women have been
assaulted and badly beaten and
robbed. and in one case Il team was
stopped, II man and woman taken out
of the buggy, and both We're beaten
and robbed. There have been no ar
rests mt the time of writing this; and it
is not expected that any will be made.
The natural question. when such
things occur in II large and presum-
ably civilized city il. Where were the
policc:'
The answer to that question may be
found in the Denver Republican of
last Thursday. Here it is:
''rhere were only len regular police
men on duty Yesterday. All the rest
We're doing political work preliminary
to the primaries next Tuesday. Both
We're drawing pay. There might have
been score of highway robberies in
broad daylight OH Sixteenth street and
not an officer near enough TO blow Il
whistle or run around the corner and
come up after il was all over to ask
what had happened. The Sixteenth
street policemen We're ut the court
house. So was nearly every other po-
liceman in the city.
president X. w. Spcer of the Fire
and Police Board is determined TO roll
up majority ut the primaries which
will end. he hopes, the political career
of II. j. Mnloney. who has carried the
last three elections for the Democrats
of Arapahoe county. Governor Thorn
as has left Denver for short time and
has left the entire charge of the local
fight in the hands of Mr.. Speer.'
All this is part Of the present sys-
TEN of politics in Denver. BY the pres
ent charter. II large part of the eNecu-
tive power is taken away from the
mayor and other city officials ana
lodged in the hands of the governor.
He it is who appoints the Fire and 20
lice Board and the iiremen and police
men are. of course. expected to act as
his political henchmen and carry prl-
marjes for him. and in other ways to
act MS his personal agents. 1t is prob
ably no cNaggeration 10 say that II very
much larger part of the time Oh the
present governor has been taken up by
the local affairs of the city Of Denver
than by the affairs of the state ut
large. With different governor, this
state of affairs might be somewhat bet
tered but 50 long as part of the proper
powers of the mayor of the city are
delegated to the governor. so long the
governor will he power, If he chooses
to be. in Denver city politics. ana so
long the responsibility for The good
government of the city will be divided,
and the government will be comparh-
lively inefficient and wasteful.
1t is not to he expected that if the
governors appointees are hard at
work. the other city otiicials-those who
own allegiance TO Mr.. Thomas j. Ma
loney, will be entirely idle. 1t comes
about. therefore, that nearly all the
city and county officers in Denver are
at work politically just now, ana nee
essarily are paying but little attention
TO the regular duties of their Offices.
Further details of The manner i'll
which the city and county officials are
kept busy these days are furnished by
the Republican as follows:
THE police and the tiremen nave
both been assessed for the Thomas
campaign fund-voluntarily contribu-
tons is what the leaders call it. The
gamblers also have been assessed, but
on Il larger scale-voluntary contribu-
lions again.
James Maloney, head of the street
sprinkling departments; Felix O'Neil,
SUPERINTENDENT of street cleaning, and
William Ensmingcr. city boiler inspec-
tor. were all called into the mayors Of
flee yesterday and We're told to stop
nepInctiu. their offices to work for Mr..
Aaloney in his iight-fOr the game is
played both ways and there are many
departments in which the officials of
city and county are made to work FOR
the Maloucy faction while beng paid
hv the people. These three officials
said that their designations We're ready
whenever they were demanded, but
that they would support Nh Maloney
sheriff Robert j. Jones is abso-
lutely the only official Of prominenc"
who has refused to use his office to aid
one side or the other in this light. He
is using his personal influence Tor Mr.
Maloney. While n few of his deputies