The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-09-10
SNtssSE
The Real Issue.

The Real Issue. =. =.
The last week Of the primary cam
paign opens with the question of its
beginning still unanswered. "What
has Mayor Jones done or omitted to
do which makes him, unworthy Of the
customary denomination by his party ?
Has he neglected the duties Of his Of
fce9 Has he committed any crimes
Has he offended against any of. the
canons of society," Has he failed in
any point to be good mayor as far as
he knew his duty7 $500.
These questions are addressed main
ly to republican voters who will soon
. have to pass upon the question of
Mayor Jones' Endorsement or rejection.
What reason does any republican give
for not voting to sustain the present
mayors There are a few who honestly
declare they are against Jones because
he has closed the Sunday saloon. These
few are to commended for their candor
even if their judgment cannot be ap-
plauded.
The man, outside of the saloon bust.
ness, Of course, who opposes Jones on
account of his having closed the Sun
day saloon, does SO in the belief that
the material prosperity Of the city has
been injured. thereby. If this is true
there must be some evidence of it some
where. If the city was being ruined by
the closed saloon it would be known in
the decline in. bank clearings and pos
tai receipts. Ruined people do not do
business on such a large scale as be-
fore ruin overlook them. But the facts
are Minneapolis never was so prosper
GUS. Her vital industries never were
SO busy. The evidences Of prosperity
are heard in every report Of building
permits, real estate sales, wage &C.
counts, savings bank receipts Mime
apolls7 never appeared so attractive to
the outsider as she does today and her
population never before received great
er or more desirable accessions than
today. Minneapolis CLOCKS good' to
the whole world.
But, it is objected, while this may all
be true, we should have all of this and
something more if it were not for the
narrow policy of the mayor, Should
WEI We should note in the first instance
a loss of $4,000 week by the com
putatlon of the saloonkeepers associa-
ton. That sum has been diverted from
the till of the saloon by Sunday clos
ing. 1t the Sunday saloon lis allowed
20 reopen presumably that amount will
go back to it. We can account for
she- present campaign against Jones by
She saloons on no rational grounds other
than that they expect to get that money
back under "a liberal' administration,
From whom would they get it, The
saloonkeepers tell us they would get
1t from St. Paul, where it is going now.
~ This claim has been examined and
round to be false. No such sum Of
money is going to St. Paul, nor any
respectable percentage Of it. It is going
TO the channels Of more legitimate trade
at home. The butchers, the bakers and
the grocers to testify the more prompt
payment of accounts and the more
liberal purchases since Sunday closing.
The only argument Of the saloon men
Is contradicted by the testimony of the
men in other and competing lines of
business. The cold fact is that the Sun
day saloon was about a million-dollar-
a-year tax upon the resources of the
community. One million dollars under
even the increased valuation Of the
city means tax Of nearly six mills.
NOW, any board of tax levy which
could reduce our taxes in this city six
mills would have monument erected
J to Its memory. Such q feat of finance
would stagger belief. Yet the same
thing has been accomplished in another
way by an application of q perfectly
plain statute. And yet we are gravely
debating the question whether we shall
reject MAYOR Jones for having done
this much for the community. The thing
seems so Illogical and absurd that it
is hard to believe in the. reality of the
campaign against him. -: .
But in politics nothing must be TAX
en- for granted because it is logical It
must be further borne in mind that
there is no political campaign so bitter
I as that in which the liquor interests
set out to fight for illegal privileges.
All of their influence is arrayed against
Mayor Jones. They will fight to the
bitter end. They will gather to their
assistance a good many disappointed
office seekers, some mistaken persons
who believe the open saloon is finan-
cial advantage and number Of un-
easy politicians who believe that the
more the local situation is churned the
more likelihood Of their coming to the
top. d..
Against these elements there must be
a solid arraying Of the great body of
republicanism which is not out for Of
fee, which is not concerned in the
churning process, which is not at
tached to any machine in the hope of
dominating the future of the party. In
word this is fight Of disinterested
citizenship against interested citizen.
ship.
Nothing can beat Mayor Jones except
that the better elements Of the com
munity shall permit their minds to be
distracted from the real ISSUE. That
there is this danger is made apparent
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