The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-11-23
Council Takes Action on
License Matter.
NEW ORDINANCE IN VIEW
Will Provide for Equitable Rates;
Give All a Square Deal; Alder
matte lOoings Last Eve. See,
From Saturdays Daily.

From Saturdays Daily.
The council devoted a good share of
its meeting last night to the considera-
ton OF the unpaid licenses of various
concerns that ought to be licensed if the
provisions of the ordinances were COM
the duty of the city recorder to see that
the licenses are paid, but in view of the
fact that there is much inequality in the
fees it was decided to have an entirely
new ordinance prepared, to cover every
thing that ought to be licensed
AID. Atchison took a prominent part
in the discussion. favorng the collec-
ton of license fees from all, and agree
ING to paw the back fees on his hacks if
the owners of other hacks doing bust
ness at the depots will do the same. He
feels that it was not brought out plain
" enough by the Free Press last night
that he is not the only hack man who
owes the city back fees. Eugene Coy is
owing from last August on two hacks,
and James Laird is owing from some
time in the past on one hack.
Aid. Heinze brought the matter up by
saving that he considered it unfair to
charge license fees from some who are
engaged in a business and let the others
escape There is an ordinance that re-
quires the owners of billiard and pool
tables to take out licenses. If the license
fee is too high it should be cut down.
If the fee for licensing roller skating
Kinks is too high it should be cut down.
Chris DanielsOn, proprietor of the rink,
thinks that $50 Il year Is to much, al
though the fee at present is $3.50. Those
who patronize the rink say that there is
a good attendance. and think that Mr..
Danielson ought to be able to stand $40
n month or $50 year. The MankatO
theatre also ought to be licensed. The
Majestic theatre was asked to pay a
license, and IAN ordinance ought to be
passed to require the bigger theatre to
pay proportionate amount. Only one
OF the hack lines is working under a
license at present. The nickle init e-slot
machines, if permitted to run, should be
required to pay license. The alderman
said that in some places he had been in
formed that the machines in the saloons
more than pay for the saloon license. If
this is so in Mankato it means that
$4,000 is being annually taken out of
the pockets of young men of the city
who play the machines. Older people
the machines.
Playing For Money.
Mayor Taylor said that he thought
that the machines in Mankato are only
playing for gum, cigars, etc., and asked
Aid. Heinze whether he thought that
any of them were playing for money.
Aid. Heinze replied that they were
practically playing for money. The chips
that are used are sold for money. He
had seen young men play 50 and So
worth at time. He had recently seen
ar intimate friend OF ms stand ana
elbow inn $ll in two and half hours
with one of the machines. He was buy
ing chips and playing them. He recon-
mended that the committee on ordi-
nances frame up an ordinance to cover
all of the things that he had mentioned
theatres, roller Kinks, hacks, billiard and
pool tables, etc.
Aid. Atchison said that he was like
anybody else who accused others of be-
ing derelict in duty, failing, to do his
duty himself. He had been in the hack
business in Mankato for ten years, and
had never been asked to pay license
fee, but had gone up and paid it
promptly until the last time, and then
he didn't know that he was so far back
or he would have paid the whole
amount. When he saw the license stubs
and saw that nobody else had paid for