The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-11-23
Phase of Municipal Life BY
Link" Steffens.
OPERATION OF A BIG SYSTEM
How The Scheme Was Carried Out IN
New York ely; What's the
Remedy for Evil?
From Tuesdays Daily.

From Tuesdays Daily.
The Citizens lecture course opened
last evening with j. Lincoln Steffens
and his lecture on Graft; What Is 1t,
and What To Do About It." The house
was nearly filled, only 200 seats not
having been purchased for the course,
and many of these being taken for the
evening.
Secretary Gran, before introducing the
lecturer, announced that the next enter
tainment on the course would be held
Jan. Z, when Dr. Edward Burton Me-
Dowell would give his lecture on PAN
anna illustrated with numerous photo
graphic views, including, fifteen moving
pictures.
Mr.. Steffens is not fluent or even in
teresting speaker, but the subject of
which he treated last night was one of
interest to voters especially, and all tax
PAYERS. He has made study of graft
in its various forms, and is an author
itv Oh the subject. He undoubtedly
opened the eyes of his hearers to the ex-
tent of corruption in cities, states and
in large corporations, the same as he
has opened the eyes of the readers of
his articles.
Mr. Steffens said that his experience
began fourteen years ago, when DIR.
Parker was making his crusade in New
York He had been sent to police head
quarters by his paper to report the cru
SADIE and had been surprised to find that
instead of aiding in the crusade against
vice and crime the department was pro-
tecting vice and crime against the cru
sadie and that it fought and hated Park
er. The LeXOw committee was finally
appointed and learned that vice and po-
lice graft were not matter OF men but
a system. The police did not break
the law themselves. but sold to others
the privilege of doing so. There were
fixed prices. so much for conducting a
saloon, so much for a gambling house,
and so on.
When Theodore Roosevelt became
president of the police board he got rid
of those police who were caught, and to
save the rest enforced the law. The OPP
position that he encountered was so
great that it took all the character that
he had and gave him more. Not only
saloon keepers, brewers and others OPP
posed him, but leading citizens advised
him to 90 Slow Police reform only tend
ed to strengthen police crime. Jerome
and Seth Low were only elected by
showing the brass checks that were the
proof of white women slavery.
Mr. Steffens had visited st. Louis, and
Mayor Folk had said that there was
no graft there He had then gone to
Minneapolis, while Bovey Clarke's grand
jury was exposing police graft, which
was organized just the same as in New
York, and conducted by practically the
same men. The effect had been to make
the police department and the city gov
eminent represent vice and crime. The
same opposition that was encountered
in New York was encountered in St.
Louis and Minneapolis. Mr.. Steffens had
gone back to st. Louis and discovered
an organized system of graft there. In
Philadelphia he had found every sort of
corruption that he had ever seen. Chi
cago was having financial reform, but a
bad state of corruption.
In Denver, Judge Lindsey as county
Judge examined the cases of children
that were brought into his court as be-
ing bad They had responded to his
pleadings so wholly that he had thought
that there must be a reason for their
being bad. He had found that their
lives were next to homes of vice. He
asked that the latter be closed, but the
officials said that they could not do it..
They said that the city was a republi-
can city, and that the democrats were