The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-08-18
PUBLIC OPINION
MI. coTiins Explains.

To the Editor of The Gate City:
On the editorial page Of your issue
of the 10th inst, was an article
copied from the Burlington Hawk
Eye criticisins the officials .of this
city because Attorney General Cosson
was induced by some of our citizens
who did not understand the situauol.
to send the state detectives here 20
enforce some new feature OF the re6
light law which went into enect On
July 4, 1915, a copy of which up 10
this time we have never seen, aithougn
we have made repeated euorts 70
secure one for this office On tne
same page was the comment OF
Citizen to the effect. that II the
local authorities had enforced the
law the visit OF these outside officers
would have been unnecessary. A IL
tie bit ,6f unfriendly comment &C
companied this last statement To
one not acquainted with all the facts.
these two articles stand as serious
indictment against an officer who 10
OF the opinion that he is trying TO 90
Just what these detectives came here
to do.
The discussion of this subject, es-I
pecially that part referring TO tue
social evil, is Of such delicate nature
that We have refrained from calling
attention to any policy we may have
adopted for its control. but now that
the subject is open, and to enable my
fellow citizens to Judge correctly
whether as an officer. we have beei
remiss- in our duty in this regard or
any other. we viii ask you to listen
to the following statement, to-wit
On the sixth of April, 1914. when We
assumed the duty of Office, besides
the fourteen licensed saloons and two
reputed wholesale establishments on
/. outh Fifth street, which were anil
are now being conducted under the
shadow OF law. there were reported
some forty-two or three bcotlegginE
Establishments where liquor was opel
ly sold, dozen or more gambling
joints and eighteen houses of Ill re-
quite All these came under my super
vision AT this point it is but just and
fair that we should make 1t plain TO
all, that the licensed saloon keepers
have obeFed the law in every partici-
lar They have given this ONCE no
cause for complaint, nor has one
single complaint of any kind beeE
further the state detectives reported
they never saw saloons better manas-
ed or more orderly. therefore they ar
entirely eliminated from this discus
sion We will now go forward ons.
year and ask you to mark the change.
Some time In March or April, 1915.
Mr.. cosson's men were called here by
some OF our good citizens. After work
ing a few days, employing all the
arts and devices known to the detec-
tive fraternity for ferreting ont crime
and infractions OF the 1aw, Mr.. Bren-
son, the principal officer, came into
the city Office, and after introducing
himself and disclosing his mission.
in the presence OF the mayor, In sub
stance said.
mr.. Collins, want to tell You that
you have the cleanest city in the state
OF Iowa We have been unable ID
find any drug sales or Illegal sales ot
lianor. although we have our suspic-
ions that there is some Of the latter
going on but it Is hard to locate
There is no open gambling, but your
red light district is not in as good
condition. as we would like. even
though no drugs or liquors are being
sold in them"
In regard to the red light distric.
we informed him we had closed mp
twelve of these houses in different
parts OF the city. expelled all tran
sients, arrested numerous new arriv-
ais, all Of whom were compelled to
leave the city on the first out bound
train. In addition We had forbidden
and stopped the sale of drugs and
liquor on lower Main street, forbid
den the visitation OF boys to any of
their places under threat of imme1-