Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1902-12-09
ANOTHER SENSATIONAL" ARTICLE.

ucCiHCA ~ duFicdDl6 ~ tOuCu upOu Lie
moral condition Of our city He was
impelled to do this from the conclusions
reached by coroner's jury, empaneled
to determine in what manner and by
what means young girl had come to
her death. From the testimony given
by young girl companion of the sui
eide, matters were brought to light
which led the jury to incorporate into
its verdict the following:
From the testimony introduced, we
recommend that more earnest efforts
be made towards safeguarding minors,
in regulating resorts existing about our
city"
That jury was composed of six of our
most honorable, respected and con-
sentative business men, viz
+ l.. Hudson, Chas. j Winton, f. M.
James, VIM. Schoeneberg, Chas. B.
Mayer and Emil " Speer.
That the jury had the courage to
point to the soiled place upon the car
pet, is to its great credit, and it is to
be deplored that every citizen of
our city is not filled with the
same courage which actnated the gen
tlemen on the Odette inquest to do
their lull duty. Still they are told by
one in high authority that that portion
of their verdict was entirely foreign to
the matter which they were investigat-
ing
The testimony of the young girl, as
given at the inquest and before the
County Judge and District Attorney,
and certain members of the police and
fire commission, was enough TO make
the blood boil within the veins of every
law abiding citizen of this country
could he have heard it,
TO think that such things could trans
pire, even in partially well-governed
city, is greatly to be wondered at. That
portion given before the County Judge
was totally unfit for publication and
showed condition of looseness in the
enforcement of our laws which is damn
able, to say the least Therefore, we
say that the PILOT's article was timely,
to the point, and considering all things,
very temperate.
The PILoT's article was the subject of
an open letter by Mayor Marchetti in
the Wausau Record of Wednesday and
an Endorsement of the Mayors posi-
ton by that paper, and the latter de-
cidedly favored what is termed "wide
open" city, which means, literally
translated, disregard of our laws as to
gambling, drinking and their multi
plicity of attendant vices.
Mayor Marchetti stamps the recent
articles, published by the Central and
PILOT, as highly colored and sensa-
.tionaP' and that the testimony given at
the inquest did not justify the publica-
ton of the same. We do not think that
there is one who listened to the sworn
| testimony of that 15-year-old- girl who
will bear the Mayor out in his state
ment. Not one On the contrary we
honestly believe their judgment will
be that not enough was said.
If a young girl (as witness said was
the case) can be pushed down along the
road to ruin by one of the police force,
and that, too, when said policeman was
supposed to be on duty; if, as she says,
she caroused and drank with other
girls, boys and men in the back alley
wine rooms of our city at will, and that
such instances were common, and if
young girls can roam about our streets
nightly, being led into lives of shame,
without hindrance and without one
word of restraint there is nothing too
severe that can be- aid condemning the
laxity of the enforcement of the laws of
our city which will permit of such ac-
tions. Highly colored and sensa-
tional - Why, even if heaven and
earth had to receive shaking up to
put a stop to it, it should be done, and
every self-respecting citizen should be
in the fight for purity and determine
ton to clean out the dark places, which
are a blot on the fair name of our city,
The Mayor wants facts and not
hearsay' as to the statement that there
is more gambling being done now than
ever before in our city. The PILoT only
knows what is the common talk on our
| streets, apd it reasons that where
there is so much smoke there certainly
! must be some fire" Is it necessary for
the Mayor to have more proof than is
in evidence every day upon our streetsg
In other words. Wausau has now good
healthy corps of professional gamblers.
These men do nothing for living but
to gamble. 1t is not necessary to 90
any further than to ask any one police
| man on the force the names of those
professionals; they know them all, as
does almost every man, woman and
child in the city. Now, just so long as
there is one of this class left in the city
there is professional gambling being
| conducted. These men come and go
! according 10 the manner in whichthe
| laws regulating their occupation is en-
! forced If loosely, they flock here in
numbers, and we have wide
/ OPEN town There is no gain-saying
this, and it being a fact, it is not neces-
sary for any intelligent man of our city
to go into a saloon to know that there
is gambling going on, He simply sizes
up the gang.
To sum up the whole situation: Wau-
sau has police force, and it is COM
posed of good men, but the PILoT is
constrained to say that it is altogether
too lenient in enforcing the laws
There is something else for a policeman
to do than 10 simply patrol his beat and
0aall the disturbances which may be
Brought to his notice. He is appointed
20 keep order and enforce the laws. If
our citizens are To be depended on to
/ hunt up 'disorderly places al. make
complaints in order TO stamp out vice,
then the city might as well have no
police force at all The police force is
hired 10 do certain work, and the gen
eral rules for the government of the
same, as compiled by Mayor Mar
chetti, are explicit and TO the point,