The Minneapolis journal., 1902-07-14
THE PoT TURNS

These be the days when the "hireling
press of st. Louis, New York and other
American cities famed for putrescent
government, arise in the blackness Of the
kettle and call the pot blacker. Their
pot is Minneapolis.
The New York World says that the
Minneapolis police situation surpasses
that of New York, 'tin that the trains
have to be watched lest the force run
away The st. Louis Star says that
in police corruption minneapolis can give
st. Louis cards and spades and yet win
the game. The New York Times talks
patronizingly of the unJustifed assump-
tion by the smaller cities OF superiority
In municipal government to New York,
and proceeds: -,---.-.,
New York never presented a. spectacle
quite so bad-its criminalityA never spread SO
far over the official circle; never involved so
many men supposed to be respectable. Our
villains usually have at least the poor virtue
Of audacity, and make no serious pretenses of
being honest men. We are not exuiting over
the humiliation Of Minneapolis, or limiting
that all American cities permeated with
corruption; We are only calling attention to
the fact that human vices, like human vir-
tues, are not bounded by geographical lines,
and gently intimating that the methods of
Talrmany Hall are known, and at times prac-
ticed In regions considerably removed from
Manhattan Island. Before Minneapolis finds
fault with New York again, let her treat her
ow:4 thieves and blackmailers as severely as
Z we have treated ours.
The New York Commercial Advertiser
leads off column editorial on 'T1ne Min
neapolis Scandal with this paragraph:
Even in New York, where our experience
Of municipal corruption has not been lin
tied, it is difficult to realize the extent OF
the .rottenness of Minneapolis as revealed by
the investigation which has been going on
before grand jury In that city for the last
two months. The amounts involved are in
significant and do not compare with those
4 in the Tweed scandal; nor can 1t be said that
the revelations match those OF the Lexow
committee. But New York has never had
scandal which so directly involved the
whcle city government from the mayor to the
3 humblesl policeman.
Tue Advertiser Is kinder than our
other critics, for 1t concludes that after
the grand jury gets through the city will
be fairly clean.
& We like to see Minneapolis mentioned
editoriaAy in the influential journals o'
other cities, and we profoundly appreei'
ate such crumbs of mention as fall to us
from the rich tables OF the metropolitan
press But we don't value these com
ments highly and we suppose that thu
amiatble gentlemen of good intentions bu
distorted ideas Of a business admins.
tration'' who voted for Ames will like
them even less than we do. This kint
I OF advertising is unpleasant, but it tool
mo great shakes Of q prophet to fore
see that we would get It, Tor every cool
thoughtful citizen must have known TIVE
years ago that the chances were that th'
Ames administration would give us !,
scandal. Considering the nature Of tn
mayor, it could hardly be otherwise.
But there Is one thing that our sweet
tempered charitable critics do not as 1
rule pay much attention to. They dwell
on the loathsome malady from which Min
neapolis is suffering, but they do not ex
plain that it is what the doctors call
local trouble and they do not pay mucl
~ attention to the heroic remedy now bein,
administered We are not so sure tina
E New York never presented quite SO bad
spectacle. There have been times II
New York when careely department
Of the city government was clean. w
wish to remind the Times that it is onl,
the mayor and his police force that ar
affected in Minneapolis, that the variou
other city offices and departments ar
generally strong and clean and not in tn
least affected by the exposures OF in
iuuity among the police. We would re
x,ind the ST. Louis critics of this fact, too
We have lest no public funds here throug
malversation or malfeasance. Our coun
Gil Is not corrupt. The city government
is administered with fair degree Of econ
any Even the police scandal, black an