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

The Mayor of St. Paul, Mr.. Mel
son, seems to be having one heck of
a time getting reports from the Chief
of Police, Mr.. Sommer, pertaining to
the vice conditions of the Insanity
City. Why the Chief of Police should
withhold reports requested by the
Mayor is beyond understanding, but
what will the Mayor do with the re-
ports when he gets them? We will
wager an oriental duck-footed bull
frog against a fur-lined bathtub,
that the reports which the Chief
might eventually submit to the Mayor
will read like a soused sailors mid
night call, Thirteen bells and al's
WELL" 1t is natural to expect that
Chief Sommer will give St. Paul a
clean bill of health and possibly even
point out that st. Paul is as free from
vice as a baby's cradle, but every
citizen of the capital city who has
made any effort to learn true condi-
tions understands to some extent
that st. Paul is anything but free
from preventable vice conditions.
Your Honor Mr.. Nelson, we suggest
that you make a direct investigation
and not bother with the Central Po-
lice Station. 1t would be well to start
off this investigation with one Ma
dame Clifford's joint, that is located
within stones throw from the
Chiefs Office. Then continue along
the line and look into the many third
grade hotels operating under a cloud
At the same time, do not overlook
the "mule-holes" that do a flourish
ing business. When you conduct this
investigation do not close your eyes
to the big guns and jump only on the
little fellows. There are a number
of back-alley dogs doing business and
apprehended from time to time with
big flourish of publicity. How
ever, we rarely hear about the ar
rest of Black Marias in business ON
large scale. We understand why
the big birds get away so easily. If
the present police administration
can't clean up st. Paul, make a clean
sweep of that administration, so as
to make possible the installation of
an administration which has the
ability to bring about the necessary
results.
The Call of the North appeals to
the better elements Of St. Paul, urg-
Fing a keener interest in the moral
welfare of our city. st. Paul is not
safe place in which to raise a fam
lily, in that temptations are so nu-
merous as to make it difficult for the
young folks to withstand them. You
can't walk down the streets of st.
Paul in the downtown section at the
midnight hour without encountering
a large number of young folks under
the influence of liquor. In the wee
hours of the morning you see girls
in their early teens wandering around
with fellows loud-mouthed and low
charactered. What are the good peo-
pie of St. Paul thinking of, anyway,
sitting silently and indifferently when
there is so much work demanding
their attention? Let every pulpit de-
liver sledge-hammer blows at the
powers waxing fat on commercial
lied vice. Not long ago raid was
made on slot-machines operating in
St. Paul. Yet todayEl slot-machines
are found in many places. We un-
derstand that the slot-machines raid
ed belong to group of men who are
not citizens of St. Paul. Someone has
called our attention to a current ru-
NOR, pointing out that the slot-ma-
chimes now in operation are owned
by local men. We would like to
know if inside men get a permit to
operate their slot-machines. We
would like to know, who grants these
permits and. under what conditions,
facts show that some slot
"rings" may operate in St.
Paul and some may not. \ /
Not infrequently we get requests
from people of St. Paul, asking that
we turn the searchlight of publicity
upon conditions prevailing within
the city. When we approach indi-
viduals demanding publicity request
ing that they take a stand with the
Call of the North and help US SUBJ
stantiate the reports they turn in,
there is a scurry for the tall timbers.
The old excuse we hear over and over
again, stating, "Here are the facts,
but for goodness sake keep US out
of it." We have no time for the yell
low-livered individuals who haven't