The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1923-12-26

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the roots and there locate the crea
lures which wax fat on politica
spoils and official inefficiency. One
volley does not win a battle or ever
serve as proof that advances will be
made directly into the camp of the
ringsters. If the Mayor thinks that
the shortcomings of the police de-
partment of Mr.. Sommer's tenure OF
office will be corrected merely by the
appointment of a new Chief of Police
he is mistaken, for it is becoming
more evident each day that conditions
in the police department came to pass
due to underlying situations. The
average policeman will do his duty
providing he is given half a chance
and made to clearly understand that
he will be held responsible in each
and every case of lawlessness that is
not properly managed by him when
it is his duty to be active.
When Public Opinion is Aroused
Whenever the light of publicity re-
veals a "rotten condition" in society,
and public opinion gets aroused to
the point of placing responsibility
where it belongs, and furthermore,
demands immediate action for rem
edy, then we get reaction from GER
tain public officials whose voices be-
come so important that their state
ments have to be printed on the
front page in big type. Their Ian
guage is broadcasted DER the land,
rich in promise, loud in assertiveness,
respecting "What Is About to Be
Accomplished" The public is tempo
rarily appeased, the voice of promise
grows fainter, echoes take the place
of assertions, and not until we get
another "Revelation of Rottenness"
do we get any more important state
ments in big type, concerning "What
Is About to Be Accomplished"
The whole thing is splendid piece
of municipal Comedy" and would
not be half bad as a joke, if the ef-
fects of such stage-play were not so
tragic.
Statements! Statements! Statements! !!
A mere collection of statements
which have been made by prominent
public officials in st. Paul, in connec-
tion with promised action on we'll
established evils these past few years
should at least produce a laugh, or
a feeling of disgust (the former is
the better thing; because a person
does save his own disposition by
laughter; and why waste a good piece
of disgust on comedy?) In the
midst of the law enforcement atmos-
phere that now hangs over St. Paul,
we should be getting something very
specific before very long. High
sounding promises of fullest cooper
alton and unreserved support, to
carry out a splendid program of law
enforcement availeth nothing. If the
average citizen of st. Paul would
just keep on file the number of
"threatened and promised investiga-
Itions" which never investigate, the
number of "cleanups and cleanouts"
which fail to clean anything; the
number of campaigns which have
stayed in camp; the number Of
pledges which outstanding public Off
cials have made and failed to fulfill,
the number of plans submitted in
public (and frustrated or smashed in
private) before they were worked,
such citizens would have some things
to laugh at; and furthermore, such
citizens would know when it was
time to laugh again, because the
"high saunders" can always be heard
whenever suitable public psychology
requires their votes, and they are
ever ready to act, if only the lime
light will fall upon them, their or
ganization, their word, their promi-
nence, their power, but not their
work.
The Ballot Box is Available
1t is unfortunate for such "Munic-
ipal Comedy" that there are enough
folks left who catch on to it's humor
and the ballot box is available as a
means for ringing down the curtain
on too much farce, and upon such
players whose guise is one of either
fooling with or misusing a public
office; and if the job be an appointive
one rather than an elective one, then
public opinion ultimately becomes
stronger than limelight, and the in
sincere or dishonest official receives
his justifiable darkness by expulsion
from public confidence and eventually
from public position, with discredit.
Abraham Lincoln's reputed phrase
on fooling the people-a part, some,
or all the time-is still ingrained in