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Show CANNOT DEFEND THE MAYOR. The Editor of the Standard: The Issue Is not my vast ignorance of civic affairs. I- do not protend to omniscience. om-niscience. Nor Is it my faulty logic. The machine works imperfectly. Nor is it the weakness of my arguments from analogy. All arguments from analogy are weak. What comforts us here in Ogden is not tho presence of law breaking but a city protected law breaking. All laws are broken. Tho prohibitory law will be broken if it Is passed. But here we have those in authority shielding and encouraging tho defiance of the laws they are paid to enforce. You say tho police are not responsible. respon-sible. Their defense ought not to proceed pro-ceed upon tho question of my being "Inoculated with the germs of the antl-pollce antl-pollce mania." I might assert that the Standard was bothered with antl-mayoritls. antl-mayoritls. That is simply calling names. The defense of the police should be set down like this: "Elderkin lies when he says the police protect law breakers. They do not They are forever for-ever searching the city to apprehend violators of tho gambling laws. Yesterday Yes-terday they arrested so and so. Today To-day they called the patrol for the same parties. Tomorrow they would do the same if they could. They would persist until they had succeeded if It were not for the mayor. He has Issued Is-sued peremptory orders that gambling is to be permitted." Nor Is that all. Upon the issuance of such treasonable orders, if the police po-lice are men of honor and prize their solemn oath to perform with fidelity the duties of their offices, they would one and all resign, state their reasons publicly and submit the caso to the judgment of the people. The mayor would be ousted from office of-fice as soon as impeachment proceedings proceed-ings could be concluded. If the police have orders to permit law breaking, let them tell where tho orders come from. I deny In the premises prem-ises the right of the mayor or anyono else to instruct tbe police as to what laws may and what may not be enforced, en-forced, if the mayor has placed himself him-self above the law, he needs prompt attention. I am not defending the mayor. He cannot be defended, lie has sworn to sec the laws of the state and tho ordinances or-dinances of the city faithfully executed. exe-cuted. They are not "faithfully executed." exe-cuted." I cannot defend him. You assert the police have orders to tolerate certain forms of law breaking. break-ing. Who issued those orders? That is what Ogden wants to know. That Is what the Standard ought tr want to know. (Signed) Noble S. Elderkin. January 20, 1903. |