The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-11-11
From Saturdays Daily.

From Saturdays Daily
To The Free Press: The under.
signed proprictors of bakeries in the
city of Mankato, wish to speak to
our patrons and the public through
the medium of your paper relative to
certain untrue and slanderous state.
ments made by woman who recently
made tour of certain business places
in MankatO, making so-called Gin
spcction," for the purpose of determin-
ing the sanitary conditions of such
places. We wish to say frankly that
we feel that we were unfairly and
unjustly treated by both this woman
and the persons who brought her here,
and by the daily papers of the city,
i'll throwing out to the public exag.
gerated statements of conditions af-
fecting our places of business without
even conference with US or any of
us or without asking us to make a
word OF explanation contempOraneously
with the publication of said state
ments. When such reports are made
i'll public by one claiming to be in
authority, backed by local persons
claiming to have at heart the sani-
tary conditions of the community, and
published broadcast by papers that
presume TO know whereof they speak,
the public at large is warranted in
accepting such statements to be true,
and acting accordingly. Those respon-
sible for the publishing of these re-.
ports must have known what the eff.
feet of the same would be on our bust
ness. and our reputation as business
people, and should at least have given
us an opportunity at the same time
the statements were declared in pub.
lie to explain them and defend our.
selves.
The professed purpose of the visit of
this woman to the city was to bet
ter sanitary conditions if anything
was found in need of betterment, but
it must appear plain to anyone that
no attempt was made to confer with
the people directly interested with a
view to bringing about speedy and
proper correction of any existing con-
ditions, which the authorities might
desire to have done.
Ammunition for Talk.
1t is also very plain that this wom-
an had but one object in view in her
hasty and superficial examination of
these places of business, and that was
to collect little ammunition upon
which to build a talk for the public
that would give her some notoriety
and applause and would impress the
authorities OF the state with the fact
that she was earning her salary.
If those making this cursory inspec.
ton had wanted to be fair and treat
old residents and taxpayers as they
deserve, they could have brought them
together and conferred with them in
business-like way about what might
appear to them to be conditions that
should be remedied, and if they had
done so there is no question but what
they would have been met with equal
fairness and the undersigned at least
would have cheerfully acceded to any
reasonable request made of them; but
since they saw fit to gather up a
few facts, greatly exaggerate them,
and 20 before large audience in the
principal church in this city, prac-
tically all of whom were patrons OF
the bakeries, and herald these eXag-
gerated statements forth in a way to
SANDER our business, and ourselves,
and so misrepresent us as to create
an instantaneous boycott of our goods,
both in The city of Mankato and at
outside points, We see nothing to do
but take up the cudgel and speak to
the people through the medium Of the