The Mankato free press., 1904-02-05
the council sustains him in his attempt
to hold them to the law.


Rev. Z. L. Heermance next took the
floor and said that he would like to
protest against the restoration of the
license on legal and moral grounds. d..
j. Brown had taken out the Tivoli license
in his own name and was personally re-
! sponsible for the conduct of the place.
When complaints were made that the
law was being violated, the mayor had
no option but to revoke the license. The
council can reinstate the license, but if
it does so on any other grounds than
| that the grounds for the revocation of
| the license were untrue, it will be acting
contrary to the spirit of the law. No
one will pretend in this case that the
grounds are untrue. 1t makes no diff
ference what Mr.. Brown says he will
| do in the future, and it makes no diff
| ference that he had several other sa
looms and could not give the Tivoli his
personal attention. Mr.. Heermance said
that he did not see how the council
could reinstate the license. 1t would be
just as well to let off other law break
ers, burglars and murderers, because af-
ter they had committed their crimes they
had become frightened and promised to
reform. Where was the encouragement
to the other saloon keepers to obey the
law if the law was not enforced. Such
decision by the council would lead the
way to wide open town. He pleaded in
the name of law and decency that the
license be not reinstated !.
W. A. Funk said that the ma For had
erred ON the side of mercy in this case,
if at all, as he has big, generous heart.
The saloon keeper has his rights, but
when he violates the law he should not
be allowed to escape punishment If the
law, such as is reported to have been
the case, it had demoralizing effect
both on the public and upon the saloon
business itself If men are allowed to
conduct such places in manner to draw
crowds and deBauch those who go there,
the other saloon keepers are compelled
to do the same thing in order to meet
the competition, the same as in other
lines of business, and the tendency is to
sink still lower. The speaker would not
say that Others had done this, but that
this is the general tendency. If Mr..
Brown has so many saloons that he can
not look after them, the best way to
reduce the number is to sustain the
mayor. Personally, Mr.. Funk said he
knew nothing of the Tivoli, but as the
head of family and as citizen, with
the welfare of the people at heart, he
would protest against the reinstatement
if what he had heard is true, and he
was willing to rely upon the Judgment
of the mayor as to this.
DR.. j. w. Andrews said that he wish
ed to endorse most of what had been
said While in the council, he had cast
his vote to grant liquor licenses, and had
voted against an application for the re-
: instatement of license that had been
revoked by the mayor, because he
thought that the mayor had grounds for
revoking the license. Never in the his
tory of the city has license been re-
voked, but what the council has rein
stated it. Mayor Taylor is giving us, a
good, wholesome, business administra-
ton, and he honored him for it. While
he did not vote for Mr.. Taylor, he pro-
posed to stand by him. If the average
citizen violates the law, he is brought
to account for it. He had never been in
to the Tivoh, but he had heard that there
had been most scandalous doings there,
that women had been stripped perfectly
naked and had danced before boys and
young men. He would leave it to the
council whether it could afford to restore
the license to such place.
d. j. Brown, in whose name the Tivoli
license was issued, stood up in the cen
ter of the audience and spoke warmly.
He said that he had never stated that he
had too many saloons to take care of,
and any man that said so he branded as
liar. He had done all that he could to
run the place right, and had now cut the
show out, and proposed to have the
stage removed, and he had asked only
to- be allowed to conduct saloon. 1t
was not justice to say such things as
had been said. He would not belong to
a congregation where preacher would
not give a sinner chance to repent.
Other saloons had been run wide open,
and it was shame to hold him up as a
cut throat. "All they want is to get
the $780," declared Mr. Brown with
some heat. He had already been loser
to the extent of $500, and they wanted
to get the other $500. There ought to be
no objection to saloon if it is run
right. Mr.. Brown disclaimed that things
had been as bad as had been stated.
Mr.. Funk arose to answer Mr.. Brown,
and said that he wanted to refute the
imputation that all they wanted was to
get his money. eff I was on the coun-
cil," declared Mr.. Funk emphatically,
'I would not vote for license for that
man for $4,000, nor for $4,000" Zap