The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-01-02
NO EXPENSE MON
Police Efforts to Arrest Crimi-
nails Crippled.
BURGLARS Walk Out of Town Because
Officers Cannot Procure liv-
cry Teams.

of the right to hire teams or send out
postal cards or to send telephone or
telegraph messages at pnblic expense
in the effort to catch thieves is not
having good results. AS the law now
stands, the police can do none of these
things except at their own expense,
which they are not apt to do with the
princely salaries which they receive
and the cost of living as high as 1t is.
An instance of this occurred the
morning after F. j. Neubefs hard
ware store was robbed, some ten days
ago. Officer Kluhgertz learned that
two suspicious looking characters
were seen short time before walking
east on the Chicago & North Western
railway track, near Mankato juno
ton, carrying pack. He reported
the matter at headquarters. with his
suspicious that these parties were the
thieves. There was no authority to
hire livery rig, as neither the coun-
Gil nor county board could paw the
bill. The matter was reported to
Deputy Sheriff Gerlich, who did not
act, as there were no fees in it. No
postal cards could be sent out to ada
cent towns, asking the authorities to
look out for parties who offered the
stolen goods for sale. Little or nothing
was done to apprehend the thieves.
Saturday afternoon Mr.. Wauderson,
who has farm at the north end of
Eagle Lake, reported to the police
that the day after the robbery two
men with pack came to his place
and offered to sell some goods similar
to that which was stolen from Mr..
Neubel's store,
Had the police or sheriff started out
with teams as soon as Officer Klu
ghertz made his report, there is little
doubt but that the robbers would have
been landed in the county Jail, to the
credit of whoevere made the capture.
Before the law was passed, the po-
lice hired livery rigs and sent out
postal cards, and arrests were fire.
quently made and convictions secured.
When the council fix salaries next
spring, it could accomplish some
thing if it would make an etxra al
lowance to the chief of police for the
use of his horse by the police in the
pursuit of criminals.
The law is intended to protect prop
erty owners in the peaceable possession
of their property, and police system
is provided at no small expense.
Why should that system be paralyzed
by the want of means to carry out the
purposes for which 1t was established?
1t would seem that here was an OPP
portunity for the Blue Earth county
delegation in the Legislature to accom-
plish some good, by getting cities of
the size of Mankato excepted from
the operation of the law, which may
be all right for large cities where
abuses are more likely to occur.
Another matter which the police
complain of is the fact that they can
get no fees when acting as witnesses
before the grand jury or in the courts
in criminal cases. In recent case
Officer Kelly, who is employed nights,
spent two days working up case
against man who was sent to the
penitentiary largely through the Off
GERS industry in ferriting out the
parties who were witnesses. The
officer worked day and night, yet did
not even get witness fee for his
extra trouble. The night men are the
ones generally called as witnesses,
and are summoned to testify in the
day time. when they would otherwise
be asleep The police believe that the
law should be amended so that they
can receive witness fees. the same as
other citizens
The law depri wing police officers of
witness fees was passed, it is said, on
account of the abuse of its provisions
in the larger cities, where score or
more of officers would be sworn in a
single Case. where two or three would
do. merely to obtain fees. If this was
why the law was passed, then there is
little reason why the smaller cities
should not be excepted from its pro-
Visions