The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-12-20
A LIVELY STORY
OF CIIY'S SHAME
Nice lures Magazine Publishes a
Graphic History of the Mime
apolis Police Scandals.
Lincoln Steffens, the Author, Says
Hovey Clarke Was Offered
$4,000 to Quit.
Failing in This, Corruptionists Said
to Have Imported a Thug
to Fix" Him.

THE Shame of Minneapolis, is. the
startling subject Of sensational review
by Inv y s. Steffens, in McClure's Mag
azlne fu'' ID. uary, of the recent municipal
scandal .-If'GA - given this city such
ountry. "Ti bla s,'l,c and Redemption of
h -" F RIA Inst inns 2 Out IS the SUBJ
In 3. MIS- says Mr. Steffens, in
his intl4RiL, ~ -, "Colo neh Ed Butler was
the masterpieces urpnTnlrist who handled
the non partisan minority which turned
st. Louis into a Doodle town. In Min
neapolis Doc Arnes was the man."
After analyzing Minneapolis cosmo-
y,elitan makeup and the causes which
gradually combined to make it the me-
tropols of the northwest and the scene Of
one Of the greatest municipal scandals
on record, Mr.. Steffens personifies it as
"a Yankee with small Puritan head, an
open prairie heart and a great, big Scan
dinavian body"
Resenting the sobriety of staid indust-
rious community, and having no Irish to
boss them, the writer says the people Of
Minneapolis delight to follow the jovial
pioneer doctor, Albert Alonzo Ames, the
good fellow-genial, generous repro
bate, who was sunshine not to the sick
and destitute only, but also to the vicious
and depraved, whose loose life brought
disapproval only from good people, so
gradually the doctor came to enjoy best
the society Of the barrocm and the
Streets The article then reviews the
doctors public career, going into many
of the heretofore unpublished and almost
unspeakable details of his private life up
to his last election as mayor when he en-
tered upon career Of corruption which
for deliberateness, invention and aVarice,
has never been equalled.'
Then follows a graphic summary Of the
proceedings leading up to the grand jury
investigation.
Ripping Up the Ames Gang.
A sketch of Hovey c. Clarke is given and
work:
He did not want to be a grand jury
man, he did not want to be foreman;
but since he was both, he wanted to ac-
complish something.
why not rip up the Ames gang?
Heads shook, hands went up; it was USE
less to try. The Encouragement fired
Clarke. That was just what he would do,
he said, and he took stock Of his jury.
Two or three were men with backbone;
that he knew, and he quickly, had them
with him. The rest were all sorts of men.
!,
and interested them all. Then he called
for the county prosecutor. The prose-
cutor was a politician; he knew the Ames
crowd; they were too powerful to attack.
"'You are excused said the foreman.
There was a scene; the prosecutor
knew his rights.
DO you think, Mr.. Clarke he cried
that you can run the grand jury and my
office, too?'
YES said Clarke, T will run your
office if L want to; and I want to. You're
excused
Mr.. Clarke does not talk much about
his doings last summer; he isn't the talk
ing sort. But he does say that all he did
was to apply simple business methods to
his problem. In action, however, these
! turned out to be the most approved police
methods. He hired a lot of local detect
ives who, he knew, would talk about what
they were doing, and thus would be
watched by the police. Having thus
thrown false scent, he hired some other
detectives whom nobody knew about.
This was expensive; SO were many Of the
other things he did; but he was bound to
win, so he paid the price, drawing freey
on his own and his colleagues pockets.
Threats of"VIoIence.
"a prosecutor was needed. The public
first assistant and friend. AL J. Smith,
was taken in hand by Mr.. Clarke. Smith
hestitated; he knew better even than the
foreman the power and resources of the
Ames gang. But he came to belive in
Mr.. Clarke, just as Edwards had; he was
sure the foreman would win; so he went
over to his side, and. having once de-
cfded, he led the open fighting, and, alone
in court. won cases against men who had
the best lawyers in the state defend them
His court record is extra ordinary. More
over, he took over the negotia lions with
criminals for evidence, Messrs. Clarke
Held, Elwood and the other jurors pro-
viding means and moral support. These
were needed. Brides were offered to
Smith; he was threatened; he was called
a fool. But so was Clarke, to whom
$4,000 was offered to quit, and for whose
slaughter a slugger was hired to come
from Chicago. What startled the jury
| most, however. was the character of the
suade them from their course. No re.
form T. ever studied has failed to bring
out this phenomenon of virtuous coward
ice, the baseness Of the decent citizen
Nothing stopped this jury, however
| They had courage. They indicted Gard
ner, Norbeck, Fred Ames and many Jesse,
persons. But the gang had courage, too
| and raised defense fund to fight Clarke
Mayor Ames was defiant. Once, when Mr.
| Clarke called at the city hail. the mayor
met and challenged him. The mayor:
heelers were all about him, but Clarke
! faced him. ..s.-, -..
eyes, Doc. Ames. I'm after you,' h,
! said. I've been in this town for seven
teen years, and all that time you've beer
| a moral leper. hear you were rotte1
! during the ten wears before that Nov