The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1928-11-07
MAKE MINNESOTA "HOSTILE'

MAKE MINNESOTA HOSTILE"
NJ OF for long time have seen in our
VI state as many crooks of all classes there
are at the present time" says Charles D.
Brown of the Minnesota Bankers Association, in
a warning to bankers to be on their guard.
Bank robber gangs, he says, no longer 60 on
forays out of the larger cities, but float around
in automobiles among the smaller towns, posing
as tourists
The situation points, of course, to Mime
sofas crying need of a State Constabulary, mo-
bile force of hgh-speed policemen who be
scattered over the whole state, or concentrated
at specific points of attack, at will
But the situation points to another need
that of arresting these known crooks before
they have chance to rob banks. Mr. Brown
says his operatives, cooperating with local
deputy sheriffs have in single week, picked up
some twenty of these criminals and held them
briefly for investigation.
Why briefly? Why not Jail them, not for
days, but for months, on vagrancy convictions?
Surely the courts would cooperate in cleanup
of known crooks. Surely possession of "roll"
need not be looked upon as visible means of sup
port, when the suspected vagrant has criminal
record, and frequently pistol we'll.
an ordinary tin-can tourist, or professional hitch
hker without criminal record, did occasionally
get caught? These hoboes of the highway GER
tainly are entitled to no more consideration than
is accorded the hoboes of the railroad yards and
river bank jungles.
And if existing penalties for vagrancy are
not sufficiently severe, perhaps the Legislature
can be persuaded to make them so.
If Minnesota is filling up with floating
crooks, that is pretty good evidence that word
has gone to the far corners of the underworld
that Minnesota is "easy." Proper cooperation
here at home can swiftly change Minnesota's
reputation to that of "hostile" state, which the
known crook invades at the peril of a long Jail
term. Give to Minnesota such name, and these
pseudo-tourists will promptly "take it on the
lam.'-Minneapolis Journal.
WHAT OF 1882?
4 S we write these columns Election Day is
~ still three days ahead of us-and it's any
bodys election! BY the time these col
umns are read election will be two days in the
rear and the name of the next president of the
United States will have been broadcast and en-
blazoned from end of this country to the
other.
Also the next campaign, four years away
will be starting the active minds of politicians
sitting useable material from the unuseable,
laying plans for return of victory or the turn
ing of defeat into victory as the case may be.
Several days ago the Mankato Free Press
asked itself "What of 1892" and then answered
itself as follows Whatever may happen on the
day midway between the writing of this and the
reading of it, the comment of the Press is inter-
esting
What of the presidential race in 1892
-four years from now? Will the ma
ton face again the same candidates and
the same issues now-or will they be
definitely and decisively decided on
November 6 The question is an inter-
esting one. Discussing the subject,
Clinton w. Gilbert, eastern political OBJ
server, analyses Governor Smiths
chances of running again as follows:
Of course, one cannot leave Govern
Smith out of the list of democratic
possibilities for the nomination in 1882,
even if he should, as now seems probable,
be defeated in this election. good
deal is going to depend upon the show.
ing the governor makes on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in Nov
ember. If the governor should be badly
defeated-and that is possible-if he
should run not much better than his two
predecessors, Cox and Davis, then he
may be regarded as eliminated in 1882.
The elements which opposed him this
time but reluctantly accepted his nomin-
alton would resist him successfully in
the next democratic national convention,
even if he should not take this years
verdict at the polls as final.
But if he should make strong show
ing in November-whch seems fairly
ikely-he might be very formidable
candidate in 1882. And to make good
showing it is not necessary that he
should receive nearly one-half of the