The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1911-08-18
THE BENllDI DAlLY PloNEE

lature one or more measures are in
troduced, purporting to be intended
for the reform OF the department, in
reality. however, only adding to the
confusion already existing.
Theer are, undoubtedly, men on
the police force who are a. disgrace
to that body, but the majority Of
the men are efficient and honest.
The everlasting criticisms of the
police force by the public officials
and the public press have had the UNI
fortunate effect of undermining the
confidence of the public nthe in
tegrity of the force and have mis-
led the rabble into the belief that the
bluecOats were the natural enemies
of the people and that the latter had
the right to combine against the
police officers. Never before have
policemen found it so difficult to do
their duty and almost daily one or
more policemen are mobbed for no
other reason than that the mobs in
variably side with the Offenders
whom the officers try to arrest.
Manual Martinez, wealthy and
eccentric Spaniard died here the
other day at the Broadway Central
Hotel, where he had lived the life
of hermit for more than thirty
years. A hermit living in hotel on
Broadway! That may seem strange
to many persons who in their minds
have always associated hermits with
caves or solitary novels in the woods
or mountains, yet it is a fact that
Martinez lived in the Broadway hotel
for more than thirty years, as much
a hermit as ever grouched in a cave
He was at one time banker, but re-
tired from business more than 80
years ago. For some reason he de-
veloped strong antipathy against
what he called "a church ridden"
woryd and withdrew from it, seclud-
ing himself with his library of books
on history and philosophy in a room
on the upper floor of the Broadway
Central Hotel. He paid his bills
promptly, but kept strictly to him
self and spoke to no one, not even
to the employees of the hotel. Some
times he did not leave the room for
many months. ~ r.
There are some queer sprigs among
the members of the burglar union.
One of them broke into an apart
ment up town the other night. When
the occupant of the apartment found
the following morning that his fat
had been broken into, he hurriedly
made an inventory of his belongings.
Nothing was missing, but on his
bureau he found new silk tie,
which the burglar had left there with
note pinned to it, bearing the le-
gend, with my compliments. -.
1t was not the chilliness of the air
S -''.'-S =
and water which kept the crowds out
of the water at Long Beach last
week. Two sharks, each about six
feet long, had made their way from
the ocean through Reynolds Channel
during the early part of the week
and remained in the vicinity of the
beach, near enough to scare the
bathers and inducing them to hug
the shore closely. Not only the
bathers were scarce in that locality,
however, but the fish too. They
seemed to realize their danger and
sought safety in fight. The sharks
were quite active, racing with one
another and frequently jumping out
OF the water, furnishing rather in
teresting and unusual spectacle to
the visitors who watched the frolics
of the sharks from the safe vantage
points on the beach and on the piers
Sharks have been quite scarce in that
locality in recent years: