The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-12-23

turns from different cities included in
! the list. The mayor of Mcpherson said
in part:
I'VE beg to acknowledge receipt of
your seasons greetings. Would like to
say that we have always kept fur eyes
hxed on Topeka and in many cases we
nave followed out your plans and or
dinances to a letter-not long ago we
We're guilty of almost bodily stealing
your ordinance which created and pre-
scribed the duties and powers of the
light commission
City Attorney Frank G. Dreaming
left last evening for Wathena where
he will spend the holidays with his
parents-away from the strain and
strife of the strenuous city hall
Almost every day Mayor Green re-
ceives letter from some prohibition
"spotter" in regard to the success of
the enforcement of the prohibitory law
IN Topeka. Invariably these letters
many arrests for drunkenness are made
by your police ferce?''
In some cities it may be advisable
TO ask this question and the prOhibi-
tioniStS and temperance workers NAV
get the necessary information as to the
keeping of the law but in Topeka there
are two broad sides to the answer and
the temperance people are never able to
see both of them at the same time
In spite of the fact that Topeka is
cleaner than in any time in her his
tory, the police force make more ar
rests than any other time in the his
tory of the city. To the temperance
fraternity this looks bad. When they
get this information from Mayor Green
they come back with a singing sarcas-
tic letter mentioning the fact that 'sTo-
peka does not seem to make the records
snow her alleged cleanliness" They
look at the number of arrests for
drunkenness and without thinking any
farther they base their conclusions on
TINS record. As Mayor Green said this
morning: There are two ways of look
ing at this record turned in from the
police force. 1t is either a sign of bad
hquor business or the sign of a good
police department =
The latter sign is accepted When the
police record shows 100 ''drunIxs,, a |
month caught up by the police it is a
plain case of vfgilant duty on the mart
OF the police officers. In former DAYS
Wnen everything was wide open and the
drunks We're as plentiful as the morn
ing dew, there were not nearly as MANY
arrests as at the present time IT is
absurd to think that the arrests could
De taken as sign OF the city's sin. The
whole matter lies with the police force
and they can not be blamed for not
attending to such a strict duty-at that
time plain drunk was not consider
ed detriment to any one except him
self. Chief Eaton with his more exact
ing codes and his efficient force is con-
stantly on the watch for the scattered
''overloads." The city has seen its |
crimes dwindle down to the plain drunk |
stage and without a few of these the |
police force would be useless.
Taken all in all the police force
should be given the credit for the larg-
er number of arrests for drunkenness |
and not the drug stores. In the other |
cities in the state the arrests have de- |
creased and the temperance union has |
spread the news as sign of good |
times but when a city is under the |
control and protection of a reliable po-
lice department the temperance work.