New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1907-08-21
YOUNG APPLIES The LID
Officially Notifies Mayor Silverson
That Law Must be Enforced.
New Ulm, He Says, Cannot be
Made an Exception to the Rule.
Mayor Promptly Replies, Stating
His Readiness to Yield to
Higher Authority.

The edict has gone forth from the
attorney generals Office that the sd.
looms in New Ulm must be closed on
Sunday, and the edict will be obeyed.
Mayor Silverson has repeatedly
stated that auy direct intimation from
the attorney generals department that
the lid was desired would be respected
by him, and now that the intimation
is in his hands in the form of writ
ten notice he finds no reasonable
grounds for resistance.
For weeks he has held out against
the strict letter of the law in abeyance
to a custom that had been in vogue
here for over half century, and in
this position he has been upheld by an
Z overwhelming majority of the COM
munity.
But there was a minority sentiment,
of course, and this minority sentiment
found expression in Revs. Sauter and
Muehlhausen and Miss Emily Triton
of this city and one DR.. Schmidt of
Sleepy Eye.
These four addressed signed COM
plant to Attorney General Young,
alleging that the Sunday CLOSING law
was not being enforced in New Ulm
and the notice referred to above is the
result.
The exact wording of Attorney
& General Young's letter to Mayor Sill
version is as follows:
II am advised by residents of your
city that the saloons are allowed to
remain open and to carry on their
business on Sunday.
SIT is unnecessary to call your at
tention to the fact that it is your duty
as mayor to cause the laws of the
state relating to the regula alton OF the
liquor traffic to be enforced in your
city. Under the same law it is my
duty to cause the removal and punish
ment of municipal officers who wilfully
neglect to enforce such liquor laws.
st is entirely likely that there are
: d number of good people in your city
who do not regard this law favorably,
! but they must bear in mind that they
: are part Of the state and they should
not permit themselves to be put in a
false light by either encouraging or
countenancing the violation OF valid
state law.
'sIf each community were allowed to
choose which of our state laws it
would obey and which it would vio-
late there would be an end of all
government, and the only safety lies
in the impartial enforcement of all our
state laws, and [ do not believe that
the people of your city want to be
classed amongst those who would
show disrespect for or defy the autho-
rity of the state.
s4The saloons of your city must
close and remain closed on Sunday
I, the same as elsewhere in, the state,
and unless [ am advised that you
caused this to be done henceforward,
I will be compelled to exercise the
power conferred upon this Office in the
premises. Kindly let me hear from
you
Mayor Silverson's answer is
characteristic. 1t was forwarded to
General Young today and is as fol-
lows:
In reply to your esteemed favor, per-
NIT me to saw that removal from the
office of mayor of this city has no ter
rors for me. [ have been twice unani-
mously elected against my wishes. |
have done my duty without fear Or ia
vor. On account of numerous private
interests my time is so taken up that
I should have rendered my resigna-
ton some time ago. However, I did
not care to do so under fire.
Personally [ do not require any sa-
looms open on Sunday and have never
been inside of one on Sunday in the
three and one half years that | have
been mayor.
Our people consist of an overwhelm-
ing German population and they nelth-
err get drunk nor carouse on Sunday
or any other day. Ninety-lve per
cent of the people, believe, are IN
favor of keeping the saloons open on
Sunday, and [ further believe that we
have the most quiet and orderly City
of it's size in this or any other state.
I was under the impression that 1T l
controlled the saloons and restricted
Z them. as they had never been before,
] r would appease the five per cent of
the popul alton who are opposed to the
majority.
on general principles | think it a
mistake to close the saloons here on
SUNDAY and firmly believe there will
he more liquor drank with them closed
than with them open.
But your authority is above mine |
am not an anarchist. but an American
citizen, and / shall therefore issue or
ders to the chief of police TO close all
saloons, and as our saloonkeepers are
law-abiding and respectable men,
have reasons to believe they Will obey
nv orders cheerfully.
Swan Carlson, aged forty years
4 and Peter Almquist, aged fifty years,
], we're drowned in Lake Emily near st.
Peter Monday evening. Both were
married men and both lived in st.
Peter. The former was a saloonkeep-
er.