The Mankato free press., 1905-09-01
The Arrest Of Harry Taylor
Stirs Up Wells Paper.
Unfortunate Affair Is Not Help
ed BY The Roast.
Some Misstatements Made BY
The Forum This Week.
From Thursdays Daily

From Thursdays Daily.
Searcasm permeates an article relat-
ing to the arrest of Harry Taylor in The
Wells Forum. That paper goes out of
its way to criticise the police depart
ment of Mankato For the benefit of The
Forum it should be stated that at no
time have the police of this city refus-
ed to arrest people caught in the act OF
committing crime and it was not neces-
sarv for the sheriff of an adjoining coun-
tv to come here to do any arresting that
should be done by the local officers. So
the following paragraph from The Forum
falls of its own weight:
'Some few weeks ago, Mankato off
GERS refused to arrest criminals caught
in the act and the sheriff of an adjoin-
ing county was sent for. Also they let
John B. Ogle get to the Isle of Pines
where he is now one of the -four hun
dred' and regales society with his pro-
fundo basso or his tenor altissimo. But
probably these people did not look like
some cheap forger."
The Forum says that ''no doubt Man
kato is suffering with bad attack of
Mr.. Sherlock Holmes 'NIr. Taylor's
crime consisted in looking like someone
else The latter statement is true.
That Mr. Taylor bore striking resem-
blance to someone else caused the whole
trouble The Forum goes on to say that
the attention of the state board of
health should be called to the condition
of the Mankato city lookup. Well, the
sanitary arrangement of the lookup
could be improved The Free Press will
admit.
In the following paragraphs The Forurs
hurls more sarcasm at Mankato and its
police officials, all of which is uncalled
for:
"After staying in the lookup till late
the next day he was taken to the coun-
ty Jail and his hearing set for Monday.
In the meantime he had been searched
and was found to have five dollar bill
and one dollar bill and some silver
on his person. This nearly sent him to
the penitentiary for eight years. One
dollar, one year. 1t is evidently a
crime for Wells people to 90 to Mankato
with eight dollars in their pockets. But
Mr.. Taylor was getting a salary and he
escaped, if it had been business man,
especially a newspaper man or a preach,
he would have had to hang for it. If
it had been more than So it would have
proven that there were more false
checks; if less, it had been spent. So
it is not safe to have money. Neither
is it safe not to have it. Mankato would
hang man anyway. They hung thr
ty-eight Indians once and got in the
habit. They wanted to hang Koch And
Taylor They celebrate the Indians in
souvenir spoons.
'The police could not help arresting
Mr.. Taylor as four people swore posi-
lively that he was the man who had
passed the check, but his Identification
was so complete, his standing in this
community is so good, and the absolute
wanting of motive on the part of a
young man like Mr.. Taylor, all of
which could be found out in few min
utes over the telephone, there was no
reason for the police to allow the cul-
prits to 60 and not get track of them be
fore they had time to put so much dis
tance between them and Mankato."
Like other "wise" people, the editor
of The Forum has chunks of advice to
give out as to what should have been
done in the premises, but had the Wells
newspaper man been detailed on the case
he would probably have done just about
as the officers in charge did. 1t was un-
fortunate that Mr. Taylor should have
been put to the modification of an ar.
rest and temporary Incarceration and nc
persons regret the occurrence more than
do the Mankato police. But such things
have transpired in other cities-in cities
larger than Mankato and where police
officers have larger opportunity to gair
Taylor's case by roasting Mankato and
its officers.