The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1911-03-31

The vice syndicate and special
interests want Roys back. They
don't want Fawcett. But a moral
awakening has been caused by
Roys' pandering to vice and I'M
morality and the special interests,
their subsidized organs and the
Royal Arch have combined in a
great crusade for morality" and
are industriously hammering Faw-
cett for the sins of Roys.
This If it wins would be a dou
BILE victory. But it is necessary
to save Roys. If the demand of
the good people OF Tacoma for
better moral conditions can be di-
rected against Faweett the friends
of Roys figure that while the pub
lie may be hammering Fawcett
they will not be hammering Roys.
And furthermore the absolute an
tagonism between Fawcett and
Roys is such that If Fawcett is
ousted and discredited the effect
will be a practical vindication or
Roys. And who could endeavor
to justifiably vindicate Roys?
1t is a shrewd game the politi-
cal crooks and mountebanks are
working.
The Smooth Game.
No vice syndicate could ever
come out boldly before the people
and say 1--WE are for vice, immor-
ality and indecency; elect us to Of
fice." No, they creep under the
cloak of some genteel citizen and
by false pretense deceive the
voter.
No victory for vice and inde-
cency was ever won by a straight,
open fight for it.
So now when the public finds
the Royal Arch and the organs
that always stood with Pete Sand
berg and vice and shared in the
profits of vice in bygone days
bowling about morals" and try
ing to saddle something on May
or Fawcett that belongs to Roys,
they are apt to look below the
surface and ask, WHAT is UP?
OF course broadly the whole
commission is responsible for
moral conditions in Tacoma. But
the commission has only one way
to get results and that is through
the COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC
SAFETY. And anyone who knows
anything about the present official
knows that he at the start gave
notice he would RUN HIS DE-
PARTMENT AND HE DID NOT
WANT ANY INTERFERENCE.
But Mayor Fawcett did try to
remove him. He asked the other
commissioners to vote Roys out
but never could get them all to
agree. It takes full vote of the
other commissioners TO oust Roys
and the mayor could not secure
more than three votes. including
his own.
The same people WHO are howl
ing the loudest now against Faw-
cett on the moral issue are some
Of them who went to the city hall
and demanded that the law be
enforced.
Where did they go, to Fawcett?
No. they did not. They recog-
nized that the responsible man
was Roys. They went TO him.
They demanded that he enforce
the law.
And he told them he would not
do it. He said he would main
tain the restricted district with
the help of God"
But now that Roys is in danger
and the fate of the whole vice sys-
tenn and the special interest rep
resentative as we'll is in the ball
ance. great campaign is being
made and a dust kicked up in an
endeavor to befog the people and
make them believe the mayor is
responsible.
AS matter of fact the mayor,
Free1and. Lawson and Woods are
all In a way responsible for all
conditions hut the commission
plan Of government was adopted
and responsibility put on individ-
|uaI men for specific things for the
very purpose OF getting at them.
This attempt 20 make It appear
that the mayor Is the responsible
head Of the police department il
going against tho whole theory
|of the commission plan and ID