The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-12
A WELL GOVERNED CITY.

the question of municipal govern
ment in st. Paul is a question of fact,
and not of sentiment The fact is es-
tablished in the opjuions of all those
who have made any study of municipal
conditions in American cities; and it is
that st. Paul is one Of the best gov
erned cities in this country. No po-
litical bOmbast no hysterical denuncia-
ton, no Grafton by the political heeler
who is himself anxious only to get a
chance to live on the proceeds of Ii
censed crime can shake that unim-
peachabIe testimony.
The friends of a clergyman who dis
cussed these subjects from the partisan
standpoint from his pulpit on Sunday
evening are filled with regret for his
performance. Time and occasion give
Objectionable color to many an incident
or utterance that criticism might other
wise not reach. When a preacher
chooses the opening of a campaign for
this, he puts himself in the roster of
party speakers; and without acquiring
political usefulness discredits his prop
er and sacred function.
What the gentleman in question,
whose zeal had been artfully played
upon by the politicians for their bene-
fit, has to find fault with is the exist
ence of vice in st. Paul. That it does
exist here and in every other city in
the world is true. 1t is also true that
it has existed in this and every other
city under the administration of both
political parties. It is true, probably,
that not every member of the gentle
mans own congregation invariably
makes the golden rule and the sermon
on the mount the regulators Of his
daily business life. II
But that st. Paul is badly governed
is not true. Any assertion to that effect
rests upon deliberate malice, as in the
case of the gentleman's informants, or
upon misinformation, as in his own.
That crime is protected here is not
true. Public gambling, in any proper
sense of that term, does not exist.
Poker and kindred games are played
for a stake, as they are in every city,
town and village in this land. But
public gambling is not tolerated, the
money-paying slot machine has been
barred out, there is no vice f1ourishing
under projection for a percentage of
the returns. Graft does not exist I'M
der the present police administration of
st. Paul.
We need barely refer here to the
practically total elimination of actual
crime, to the absence of offenses against
life and property, to the speedy ap-
prehension and punishment of the Of
fender when such do occur. They are
matters of record, to be known and
read of all men. In it's relation to the
maintenance of law and order, the pres
ent administration Of st. Paul needs no
defense. On the contrary, it bases
upon that record, upon the patent and
palpable facts, it's strongest claim to
the support Of the people.
1t would be infinitely better If all
men were Of high moral conduct, if
there were no vice in the world. But
practical men cannot manage practical
affairs on the assumption that legisla-
ton can do what thousands of years
and the lives Of millions Of sanity men
and women have as yet barely begun.
1t would be well If certain things, I'M
mentiOnable here, could be stamped out
forever. But if they exist, as they do,
in every community, in spite of every
regulation, under every political party
and under every form of policy, then,
though it is still the duty of the pulpit
to denounce them in themselves, it is
making but a sorry show when it at
tempts to hold an individual or a party
responsible for the universal.
Other clergymen, whose opinions also
are public property, have broader
grasp Of the facts. We have already pub
lished the frank and honest opinion of
one of them, who knows more about
the local conditions under discussion
than any other member of his calling in
st. Paul: He tells the truth and the
whole truth when he says: There are
gambling houses, policy shops, crap
games, a large number Of houses of
ill-fame and many roomers. But such
was also true of every previous ad-
ministration for the last twenty years,
no matter on what party ticket the
officials were elected. But / believe
that there are fewer such places and
those that do exist are held to stricter
account than at any previous time in
the twenty years that have kept track
Of such matters. say this knowing
whereof L speak"
Another scientific chap has discov-
cred a method for n1Irifving watar of