The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1917-06-09

Back in 1915, or thereabouts,
all Duluth seemed to yearn for a
Zoo. The owners of automobiles,
patrons of the trolley cars and
even the plodding plebians who
hoof it to and from their pleas
ures, were almost feverish for a
Zoo, if the temperature around
the city hall proved anything.
The idea was to enclose a con-
siderable area and, therein, have
original editions of the whang-
doodle, the gyasticutus, the side
hill winder the highbehind, the
jigaroo, the big black bear, the
little brown bear, the deodorized
skunk, the fox, wolf and wildcat,
that monarch of the forest, the
mighty moose, the timid red deer
and, in honor Of lawyer Samuel
son, now city attorney, the B. P.
O. E. proposed to have some
really and truly like elk.
Enthusiasm waxed warm. Col.
H. j. Huber promised to furnish
the wire to enclose the Zoo, he
being a loud mouthpiece for the
B. P. O. E. The late John Millen
offered to donate the poles and
posts to hold up the wire and he
kept his word. The poles and
posts are on the ground and a
fine lot of kindling wood they
would make. ~
.--~H Hhe bencvoientep d-city was ex::
pected to dig the postholes, find
the furry, feathery and finny in
mates for the animal "funny
house." The generous old city ac-
cordingly dug the postholes but
never set the posts nor strung the
restraining wire because Colonel
Huber proved to be a man of
words and not of deeds-he
never delivered the wire. Wild
subjects for admission to the zoo
retired to the innermost recesses
Of the wilderness and avoided any
rush to secure commitment to its
restricted precincts.
One NANCY, aenemic, feeble
minded little red fox did get into
the tolls of the city in some way
but, in default of Colonel Huber
in the matter Of the wire, Rey-
nard was domiciled and fed at
the old Armory.
Some Of the boys who "boosted
Bert and Bernard" into office
had their hearts filled with hope
for they saw a possibility of get
ting appointments under the
city's civil service rules as Feed
ers of the Fox" For some rea-
son, those hopes never were full
filled.
Feeding the fox became ar
duous without any salary attach
ment and, finally, the poor little
creature either shuffled off vol
UNFAIRLY or was quietly bumped
off. It is a sad fact that, today,
the great city of Duluth no longer
owns its own fox, which may be
considered a severe blow against
the grand and progressive prin-
cipal of municipal ownership of
Public Futilities. "a,
The Zoo may be said 70 have
died before it really existed.
There is a fine lot Of vacant post
holes out there but no wire on
them and no wild animals be-
hind the wire and no place to
take your best girl on Sunday
where you can hold her hand
while she feeds peanuts to- the
bears. sGEt
Those holes and a few Incl
dentals, such as the purchase of
spring chicken and tenderloin
steak for the dainty appetite of
the municipal fox, set the treas
ury back about $500. At present,
neither dividends nor salvage
seem possible from those post.
holes. Mr.
At about the same time as the
feverish ferment for Zoo, the
liberal old city invested some.
thing like $500 in a dinkey en-.
gine and a job lot Of dump cars
Theoretically, the dinkey engine
and its harem Of dump cars were
considered a sweet boon, a sine
qua non, as City Attorney Sam.