The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-04-05
WILL GO SLOW.
MayOr=Elect Petersen's Policy
Regarding Appointments.
Will Give the Saloon Keepers no Privi.
leges, But Will Show Them
Some LenienCy.

Mayor Elect Petersen was seen at his
Office this afternoon by Free Press
reporter. During the campaign the
coming mayor got somewhat behind
in his Office work, but his attempts to
catch up have been made futile by
Office seekers taking up his time. Of
these he has already received calls
from a number. They include appli-
cants for chief of police, street COM
missioner and other more or less juicy
plums. A good many people are
anxious to serve the city in some
capacity where they can draw fat
salaries.
Mr.. Petersen states that he will go
slow about making appointments. He
will receive applications from all who
want to put them in, but when it
comes to making appointments to the
offices at his disposal he will use his
own Judgment For awhile there will
be no changes made. 81 made no prom
Uses to anyone before election, said
since. 7 shall take my time and look
around.
Mr. Petersen has his mind made up
on one point, and that is that the
police officers must be constantly pa
trolling their beats, day and night.
He does not propose that they shall
spend their time at the city hall. He
has not decided whether to have one
man constantly at the city hall. He
expects the chief of police to be active
and wide awake in the discharge of
his duty, and to follow the wishes of
the mayor. He does not want law
breakers to slip through the fingers of
the police, and if crime is committed
he wants the violators of the law pun
ished whether they have money to
pay fines or not.
In regard to his policy toward the
saloons, Mr.. Petersen states that he
will give the saloon keepers no privi
leges, but will treat them leniently to
a certain degree. He will not send
policemen through the alleys to spy
around to see whether the side and
rear doors of the saloons are closed on
Sundays. He will require that the
front doors be locked and the curtains
down, and will demand that no noise
issue onto the street from within. If
people visit the saloons on Sundays,
they must be quiet and not disturb
passersby. No drunkenness will be al
lowed on the streets. If DRINKS are
found, they are to be sent home if this
is practicable or else locked up. No
brawling is to be permitted on the
streets. The saloons are expected to
close up at midnight, as Mr.. Petersen
considers that this is long enough for
them to hold open. If there is crowd
in a saloon at midnight, he expects the
saloon keeper to cause them to leave
within five or ten minutes after the
hour Of course, when there is some
convention or large gathering in the
city, the new mayor will not insist
that the saloons close at midnight.
Said Mr.. Petersen 81 do not in
tend that the saloons shall run wide
open. like the policy foil owed in
European cities, where they are wide
open, but the people of this country
are different and it would not do here.
A good many people would object to
it from principle, and there is class
of hoodlums that think they must get
drunk and fight every time they have
chance to drink liquor. I shall not
allow the saloons to run any more
wide open than they have been the last
six weeks, or than they have been I'M
der administrations previous to Mayor
Currier' -
Mr.. Petersen is opposed to females
being allowed in the booths in the
rear of saloons, and does not think that
they are SO allowed in more than one
of the saloons at present.
Mr.. Petersen will not have an office
at the city hail., but will see people on
city business at his Office in the bottl-
ing works on North Front street. He
will be there forenoons and part of
the time in the afternoons.
The mayor-elect states that he will
be very glad when the pulling and
hauling over the Offices at his dis
posal is over.