1910, Saloon Cases, Mayor Walters

Stevens Point Daily Journal
23 May 1910
STATEMENT FROM THE MAYOR
His Opinion Regarding Certain Phases of the Clean-up of Stevens Point.

To the Citizens of Stevens Point.--

Owing to the lateness of the closing hour Thursday night [19 May, 1910] I did not make the statement at the council meeting I had stated I would, and am glad I did not for I have changed my mind. When I entered the campaign for the mayorality I stated that I should try and right some of the bad features of this city, such as a few of our saloons that were disgracing us; that the dissolute women would have to be kept out by the proprietors of these bad saloons; the "Black List" observed; the boys kept out and the midnight closing observed. All this I told a member of the W.C.T.U.; also that I should not interfere with the present custom as regards Sunday closing, as the majority of business men did not seem to favor the same; and who says I promised more is misinformed or deliberately misstates.

After election came these trials for "revocation of license." Even if guilty, according to the popular version of the affair, these men were trapped against all the rules of fair play, as matters had been run fast and loose, more loose than otherwise.

According to the above mentioned version, two were trapped by a neighbor's son because they knew he was not addicted to the use of liquor. Two more were caught, after others had failed to bite, by reason of being told an old cripple, whom they had helped keep out of the poor house for years, was sick with cramps and wanted some brandy. Two others were caught or blamed, for both of them positively state they did not sell the boy liquor, by a boy who would pass for twenty-one anywhere, and he has since stated he got the liquor on the south side, but accused these parties because he could remember their names easier than the real culprits.

Seeing that it was going to cause all manner of trouble and hard feelings and as I proposed to personally give attention to righting matters, as sent forth above, I felt I had a right to ask the members of the W.C.T.U. to withdraw the charges and give me a free hand. Their leader sat shaking her head all the while I was talking, and if a person can use their reasoning power while in such an attitude or frame of mind, then I am badly mistaken. I offered to make matters right to suit them, other than the Sunday observance, in ninety days or I would contribute $50 to their fund to get detectives here and clean up the town in such a manner that all wrong doers would be caught and no one could feel that they were trapped and the rest let go.

I also told them of a much less expensive and less troublesome manner in which they could accomplish this than to force the trials already started but their "Legal Advisor" advised it was not a cause for revocation of license, but I respectfully refer him to the Wisconsin Statutes, section and city ordinances, chapter 1558.

However, I had decided that if the testimony would permit to let the matter go to the courts and then no one could say I had acted arbitrarily and then go on with the matter of cleaning up the town as outlined above; but this being damned if you do and a whole lot worse if you don't is too much of a good thing; I have had enough when a man, who could, or did not get within gunshot of the aldermanic chair on a vote of his immediate neighbors, sits in the audience and sneeringly comments on what I do; and another, whom I am creditably informed offered to give $1 to the fund that I offered to give fifty dollars to, goes to a popular loafing place of a certain crowd, that spends their spare time playing cards, and roasts me to a frazzle because I do not act according to his light; and another, who tried to get me to give him inside information that would have enabled him to cut in under competitors' bids to the extent of one hundred and fifty dollars on a public job, also flays me because I spoke disparagingly to the ladies of the W.C.T.U., which I did not do as they had nothing to do with the procuring of information used in these trials and no one had the right to infer that I meant them or that I did not know the party of whom I did speak was not in the room, in view of the fact that my feet had been trampled on in the haste of those getting water for her. I have started out to do what I stated I should in the start, and if anyone thinks I have not the nerve to persist to the bitter end once I make a start, I respectfully refer them to Herr Kobela, late of the Hotel Polski.

If any one thinks this is an easy matter they should have been with Mr. Hafsoos and me one day when we called on Herr K. and gave him fair warning, and with me again one night about 1 a.m. when I again read the "riot act" to him. Then a few nights later when I was called about midnight and informed there had been a fight because of a dissolute woman in the resort; and when I called Mr. Hafsoos and, with the police, made a raid. The police could not have accomplished it alone for there are seven ways to get in this resort and eleven to get out. Then if anyone thinks it a pleasure to find a poor creature in woman form, cowering in a dark place like a hunted animal and when she is led to the light to find she is a poor girl, known to have been a good girl but practically forced to marry before sixteen years of age and know as I did that she was beaten and abused by the wretch her parents forced her to marry and later deserted by him. To know she practically never had a chance to be much but what she is and then have her cry and beg for mercy like a frightened wayward girl and yet know one's feelings must be steeled if anything is to be learned and any good accomplished. Then to go to the jail with a drunken lot and have one of them threatening to kill you if you put him to work on the streets, and finally get to bed about 3 a.m., and I am sure you never would have considered it easy.
Then two days later to have two more wayward women in jail and both crying and begging for mercy and know that one of them was a good girl till the wretch she married practically ruined her and was the direct cause of her forming these habits and know that the other two has two children at home, one only a baby and yet steel your heart because you know they are past the stage of being trusted and that to get testimony against others they must be "sweated" and then go to the home of the one and as she sits with her babe in her arms and the little boys playing about the room and after her defiance is broken down and she is weeping like a child and bemoaning the fate that ever caused her to live and realize that she also had practically never had a chance for her life and has none now with her husband and realize that under the same circumstances you would have been no better and yet persist till she breaks down and tells tales of shame that would put the dives of China Town to shame and makes a sworn statement that would send certain "procurers" in this town to Waupun. I say if one can do this and not have a "lump" come in their throat, meantime, they are harder hearted than I think.

Then a few nights later to get word that Herr Kobela is up to his old tricks and start out and meet a wayward woman and another who has been to the resort after her husband, who was carousing with the woman first mentioned, and place them all in jail, the innocent one as well that she might not by chance let it be known we were out for trouble, meantime hear her sob and plead to be let out that she might go to her baby and steel one's feelings to do what seemed best for law and decency, then go and round up Kobela about midnight and then raid two other resorts before going to bed. If anyone thinks it is easy, try it. The police can't do it alone. Mr. Hafsoos cannot attend to all the real dog scares and family rows and have time to do all this unaided.

Then while most people were in church some of us were "sweating" another wayward one and a good deal the same scenes were enacted. Then the next day or so to have to go [to] the wretched home of a "posted" man and "sweat" him till he finally gives up; all this and much more is what it means to put things in this town right and if anyone thinks I am not just "stubborn" enough to go ahead, once I start, I refer them to our wood haulers.

Had each one of these licenses been revoked, and no one at the head of affairs in this city who would take personal supervision, in less than two months matters would have been at the same old stage. We have a few reckless auto drivers for whose misdeeds the others must also suffer, so among our saloon men are a few reckless ones, and in no time unless there was someone to hold them in check, the others would be obliged to meet this reckless competition to a certain extent.

I had made the above start and considerable more but have had enough and unless the members of the W.C.T.U. have the courage to admit their former leader and her imported legal advisor put them wrong and will call off these cases and give me free hand I am done with the saloon question and shall not concern myself in the least regarding the same any more than to do what little has to be done from my office and devote my energies to cleaning this town up. We have cleared the tin cans as never before and are not through. I shall rule that what is an offense to the sight is a nuisance as much as though an offense to the sense of smell and these old and useless pieces of fences, sheds, dead trees, brush and waste heaps are going to be cleaned out. A special policeman is going to do the posting and anyone not heeding the same will have their places cleared and the same charged to their taxes. We may be beaten on some deals by people who rather fight than clean up but they will have to help the lawyers to live and we will get the cleaning done anyway.

We are also going to keep the streets as clean as possible and also get the ones leading to the country macadamized unless something unforseen happens and thus have it so that if a farmer comes to town and "loads up" he won't have to have assistance to get out of town.

However, if this is not enough I am willing to give a rear[?] approach to a commission form of government in that if the people will get together and appoint anywhere from three to thirty-three of what they feel are the representative people of the city as a commission to advise me I will not make a move contrary to the majority of this commission.--F.A. Walters, mayor.

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Note the May 24-25 editions of the Stevens Point Daily Journal are incomplete and I cannot find the letter from “Anxious Inquirer” that the Mayor is answering in the next piece.

Stevens Point Daily Journal
26 May 1910
MAYOR EXPLAINS
Replies to Anxious Inquirer and Puts Saloon Cases Up to City Attorney and Courts.

Editor Journal.--Replying to "Anxious Inquirer" [I] will say that had he not been so anxious to get into print with his hysterical criticisms he might have take[n] time to noten [sic] the place where I stated that I had concluded that if the testimony would permit that I should pass the matter up to the courts etc. That strikes me as tolerably explicit. As to the "farcical" part of the proceedings or my part in them, if such was the case, I may haveen influenced by the information received from the best of legal advice, as soon as I found these cases were to be passed on to me, that the proceedings on the part of the plaintiff's attorney were the most farcical bit of pettifogging legal work they had ever seen.


As to the "pity and contempt" etc., it strikes me that we would have been much more to be pitied had we disregarded the legal aspect, vide Mr. Owen's article, of which we had been advised, and simply decided on the merits of sentiment. As to "insulting the ladies," it takes quite a stretch of imagination to declare I insulted the members of the W.C.T.U. and as for the other statement I stand ready to back it in the courts if any one wishes to be vindictive.

As to my not doing a "self-respecting judge credit" I plead "extenuating circumstances," for I am sure no judge was ever placed as I was. The latter would have known that he was expected to act along the lines of the legality of the proceedings and that he would not be criticised for not acting according to the sentiment of the plaintiffs. In passing let us look at this. The case up for writ of mandamus is on the strength of our overruling the plaintiff's demurrer as to letting the accused testify. The law says they shall be summoned and show cause why their license shall not be revoked. What chance have they to show this and what is the use of summoning them if they are not allowed to testify?
The "seven line paragraph" he alludes to expressed my sentiment, which happened to be the opposite to his and thus displeasing to him, and had nothing to do with my decision in passing it up to the courts. In this I chose to take the less dangerous stand as regards my own trouble in case of being on the wrong side of the legal aspect of the case.

I do not feel I have upheld the "bad" but protected myself and am sure if I am wrong the court's decision will answer just as well in satisfying the law and punishing the guilty as though coming a bit earlier. At any rate I did not see fit to lay myself liable for the sake of making it cost the defendants a few week's business, as the sentiment of the plaintiffs seemed to demand.

As to the "rambling," etc., it took a little rambling to do what was described and naturally the description would be somewhat of the same order.

As to being on "earth" I have been here with both feet firmly planted and doing work all the time, even to the extent of putting two of our worst "bads" out of business and in such a manner there is no possibility of a legal quibble embarassing [sic] the situation, at least so the defendants' attorney has advised them.

As this is positively my last appearance in print in this matter, out of pity for a long suffering public, I shall have to ask "Anxious" to come from the protecting care of his nom de plume, that I may call in person, if the above does not satisfyl. Respectfully Yours—F.A.Walters.

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Stevens Point Daily Journal
May 26, 1910
GIVE SECURITY FOR COSTS.
W.C.T.U. Women Forced to Give a $250 Bond in License Cases.

The W.C.T.U., through one of its individual representatives, has been compelled by the saloon interests to furnish security for costs in the revocation case. The order was secured from Judge Murat by Sicklesteel & Pfiffner, attorneys for Klish Bros. A bond of $250 was requested and the same will be filed tomorrow probably by Mrs. Carrie I. Howard, personally backed by the Union. The women are game and evidently mean business for sure in these cases, and it is understood that it is not the women alone but that they are backed by some of the leading citizens in this movement.

In this connection, it might be appropriate at this time to explain, there is nothing personal in this case so far as the W.C.T.U. is concerned. It is entirely a matter of principle and the particular principle just now is that the sale of liquor to minors and posted persons in Stevens Point must stop. There have been various prosecutions in the courts on various occasions but the proprietors came into court, paid their little fines and the sale went merrily on. It paid better to pay fines than to obey the law. There came a time when it seemed no longer good policy to put off revocation proceedings until "next time".

The claim that these cases were "underhanded snap proceedings" is wholly untrue, except in possibly one case. On the morning of [Wednesday] Feb. 2, A. H.[?] MacMillan, a posted person, took his own life while terribly drunk. In the death notice, the personal feelings of his family were thrust aside and the truth was stated plainly, stated so plainly that several saloon keepers "stopped their paper" and it was certainly apparent to all that there was to be a "hereafter." The virst violations after that in these alleged "snap cases" came on [Tuesday] Feb. 8 and the others followed after from day to day. The ladies of the W.C.T.U. have been criticised for securing an outside attorney. The ladies claim they visited several local attorneys and met with such indifference, so much cold water, such parleying with the main issue, and such a dearth of pointed advice that they were afraid to trust the cases in local hands. It may have been the result of a wrong impression but that is the reason Mr. Smith of Madison was engaged.

The ladies are free to admit that Mayor Walters interviewed them before and after election in an effort to have the cases quashed, but they were in the fight, not for political reasons, but to stop an illicit business which in their opinion, had already been tolerated too long in Stevens Point, and they failed to see why the mayor should interest himself, personally, on the negative side of an important moral problem. They declined to be cajoled into dropping the cases.