The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-03-27

AS the forthcoming municipal cam
paign progresses, it will be necessary for
the public enlightenment that the vot-
ers shall be fully appraised of the char
acter of the city administration of which
F. B. Doran was the head.
the knowledge is general, of course,
that that administration was attended
! during its existence by total insecurity
of life and property. Crimes of violence
were of daily and often of hourly hap
/ pening. Collision between criminals
and officials was generally recognized;
and even highwaymen were operating
not only with the knowledge of police
officers, but as their agents and COM
merciaI partners.
To some extent all this may be forgot
ten. But popular recollection can be
easily refreshed on that general line of
information.
! 1t is in the direction Of the prevalence
Of those forms of evil which spring
/ from the relation of the sexes, during
Mayor Doran's administration, that T e
/ G be wants now to direct passing
attention 1t is probably necessary to do
SO as a reminder, since, no doubt, it is
! to the refined and socially well situated
/ classes that the appeal will be made
/ especially by our old friend and contem-
porary, the Pioneer Press, in favor of the
election Of the Republican candidate for
mayor.
Politics should be allowed no place in
considering the conduct of municipal
officials when the morals of society are
involved and the purity of growing youth
endangered through official action or in
action
There was not, for instance, any poll
ties whatever involved in the action Of
that admirable body, the Christian Citi-
%enship league, when it made its several
reports, along in February, 1898, concern
ing the social and moral conditions which
it found in existence under the then city
administration. There could not have
been. Such men as Prof G. S. Innis cat
present. if we are not mistaken, a Re
publican candidate for election to the as
! sembiy on the Republican ticket, Mr..
H. C.. McNair, Mr. T. G. Walther and
other prominent Republicans, were ac-
tive in its work
Reading over the reports made by that
body at this distance of time, it seems
incredible that such conditions could
have been allowed to exist for a single
day in any civilized community what
| ever. Yet when those reports were made
Mayor Doran's administration was really
drawing to its close. Public resorts were,
according to those reports, allowed to
remain in open operation in which scenes
were nightly witnessed hardly less dis
gushing than those assigned to Old Rome,
Tyre and Sodom." Indeed the reader can
only comprehend what a state of social
| abandonment prevailed in this city in
those days by reading that report.
So that, at this time, some correct I'M
| derstanding of the public displays of
moral debasement which prevailed NAV
be had, 7 h e Clio e, in preliminary
way quotes from the report of the Chris,
tian Citizenship league the following
language:
After having witnessed them one feels
| like praying that he might be thrown I'M
| der some mighty Niagara, that could by
| It's waters and roar remove forever the
me (lllI~ mi VI
| ment cannot, or, at least, ought not 20
! be ignorant of such a terrible state of
analrs. They not only conniVe at such
! violations of law, but deliberately warn
| the management of such places of any
! contemplated investigation or raid The
| NloIators of law are warned to get out be-
| cause a raid on their places of business
| is contemplated. Your committee is of
! the opinion that such a condition ought
| not TO exist and that it will not if the
/ TIgnteous sentiment of our municipality
| Will take to heart our city'S good
| The righteous sentiment of the com
munity did take to heart the lesson read
to them by the Christian Citizenship
League, and elected Mayor Smith. No
Republican politician or newspaper dares
to deny that all the shameful conditions
complained of found speedy remedy.
or that the morals, the persons and the
property of the people have since been
| protected against the assaults on them
that were of daily and nightly occurrence
during the administration as mayor OF
Frank B. Doran.
The people of st. Paul are now asked
to return after the first Tuesday of June
next to the same degraded and danger
Gus conditions which prevailed from
June 1896 to May 1898.
The Coliseum's roll of honor. when com.
pleted, should be broad enough and long
enough to cover the whole city.