The Duluth Rip-saw prints andcirculates 5,000 copies an issue.Get your name on the 801 l ofHonor, thus helping bring the cir-culation up to 10,000 copies an is-sue. Only $2.00 a year, in advance.

VOLUME 1, NO. 7.

The Duluth Rip-saw.DULUTH, MINNESOTA, SATURDAY, JUNE 23,1917.

HALDEN HANGS HIS HEADBEST CITIZENS CONDEMN “DOOR MATLAR-

law, for the purpose of giving acommission of $3,000 to Fred B.Myers, a chum of auditor Hal-den.

he should have done, therebycompelling said contractor tablow them out with dynamitewhen he came along with hisroad grading operations the nextspring.

CENY” BY COUNTY OFFICIALS.

Up in Northland township,however, they can boast of hav-ing had a Gravel Pit Foremanwho got $3 a dav most of onewhole summer for standing bythe pit. when not busy in hisown field, seeing that the gravelwas not stolen, tampered with orpermitted to roll away into Hell-wick creek.

No Longer Considered Good Form to Work County

Servitors at OfficialResidences —Halden Apol-ogists Plan Comeback on The Rip-saw—lnter-esting Incidents Concerning Miller Trunk RoadWork—Gravel Pit Foreman a Classy Job—Human Landmarks Being Changed in the Hin-terland by Old-fashioned Commissioner.

Very recently, good farmerHarris "was given a job in thesum of SSO to dig a ditch alongthe Harris road. He dug awhileand then wanted to know if thecounty had his money ready forhim. He was informed that themoney wa* ready when the jobwas done. He thought the jobwas fully finished. An engineerwent out to check up and foundthat the ditch was fully a foothigh in the bottom. Anotherfoot in depth had to be dug inthat ditch before farmer Harrisgot his “fifty bones.”

Up around Floodwood, gravelprospecting may be consideredan aristocratic and profitablepursuit but, up in Northlandtownship, Foreman of BrudelGravel Pit, with no work at-tached to the position except useof a sleepy and kindly eye, oncewas considered the very heightof a private snap at publid ex-pense.

• • •

“That’s nothing but plain,common door mat thievery.”

a stump by the tail.The cases of gouging dear

old St. Louis county, as men-tioned in the previous issue ofthe Rip-saw, are entirely separateand different from the timesmentioned by the courthouseapologists.

It would be a pleasure and abenefit to get some of the menwho have sweat in the court-house basement under oath andon the witness stand. Not eventhe hypnotic eye of Konge Odincould keep them from telling thetruth.

•.

Such was the declaration ofmany a citizen of St. Louiscounty when he read in the pre-vious issue of the Rip-saw thesordid facts as to the practice ofcounty au4itor Halden and dep-uty county auditor Walker ofhaving work done at their pri-vate, homes by courthouse em-ployes at county expense.

A door mat thief is one whosteals door mats and is con-sidered the very lowest and mostcontemptible of ail thieves. '

The taxpayers pay ratherhandsome salaries to their serv-ants in the marble-lined court-house and they make wry faceswhen informed that a courthousecarpenter or courthouse janitorshave been employed, on countytime and at county expense, indoing such work as taking offand putting on storm windowsfor auditor Halden; laying hard-wood floors and shingling thekitchen for deputy auditorWalker; or even cleaning a fur-nace, mowing a lawn or spadingup garden ground.

Exposure of such sordid thriftis said to have made the officialshang their heads and their facesregister at least some measure ofshame. Petty grafting, when ex-posed, also may be expected to

cause the culprit to show anger,vindictiveness and desire for re-venge.

Conditions do not seem to beso easy and free up in New In-dependence and Northland asthey once were. In some ways,commissioner Becks is consideredvery old-fashioned.

This Gravel Pit Foreman inhis day was a favorite of Col.Kauppi and Konge Odin. Onone occasion he wr as given a

contract to construct a stretch ofabout 300 feet on the Millertrunk road. He employed two

of his/sons at top wages. Heworked a team or two at $5 aday. ? Two road workers wereboarded, at his rural abode at aprofitable figure. When that lit-tle stretch of road was finished,competent authority declaresthat it cost S3OO, just aboutSI.OO per running* foot.

* # *

A member of one of the oldestand largest firms along Superiorstreet received a tax statement inwhich the amount of taxes hadnot been written, undoubtedly aclerical omission.

? * *

Just as sure as the sun risesand sets, Odin Halden is slatedfor exile from the marble-linedpalace which he has dominatedso long.

May 29, two days before theexpiration limit, an‘employe ofthis house called up the court-house to ask what sum was dueand was greatly surprised to beOne reason is that the masses

have turned against him.Another reason is that county

elections now are non-partisanand that the party lash cannotbe used to "whip voters into line.

In still another case that ruralNapoleon of Finance was givena job at gravelling the roadbed.At one point, he put on big rocksinstead of gravel. The road en-

gineer compelled the removal ofthe rocks but the removal wT as

done at the expense of kindlyold St. Louis county, not at theexpense of the man who knewbetter than to put the rocksthere in the first place.

In still another place, theroadbed was ballasted with clayinstead of gravel and when theroad grader came along *itscraped off all the clay. Whetheror not that effective grader wasone of the big batch purchasedby commissioner Penttila, theRip-saw has not been definitelyinformed.

Still another reason is thatmany members of the party towhich Mr. Halden claims to be-long have repudiated him be-cause of ditloyalty to party nomi-nees in the . past.

The Old Spider’s goose iscooked and, ih about. 18 months,all his cunning webs will beswelpt away, to be spun no more.

As a bearer of the double-cross,Odin Halden is credited withbeing in the front rank. If hellis paved with good intentions,then the courthouse yard must bepaved with auditor Halden’sbroken promises.

One former flunkey of KongeOdin declares that his royalhighness can promise more anddo less, and make the victim likeit, than any politician ever in St.Louis county.

Treachery, duplicity, double-dealing, selfishness and similarfaults usually bring their ownpunishment. It often is delayedbut comes all the harder when itfalls.

Many, mapy years ago, a judgeof the district court is creditedwith using courthouse servitorsat his private home. If that becorrect, he changed his habitwhen the fashion in conductingcourthouse business so radicallychanged. Such practice no longeris considered an fait, as the so-ciety editors say, but eountyauditor Halden, speaking charit-ably, may be 25'years behind asto courthouse customs and fash-ions.

• • *

Reports are coming down fromNew Independence and North-land townships that county com-missioner Becks occasionally dis-turbs a human landmark up

there and establishes a new one.

John F.ierem. a scholarly pion-eer, recently was tumbled out ofhis job as road foreman and B.E. Berkland put in his place.

Mr. Fjerem held the positionof road foreman in New Inde-pendence four years. He was afirm friend of former commis-sioner Kauppi, his scholarly at-

tainments fitting in nicely withCol. Kauppi’s “fine personality.”Mr. Fjerem also was a faithfuland effective scatterer of cam-paign cards for his royal high-ness, K'onge Odin.

It is understood that Mr. Fjer-em now will devote all his timeand energy to the pulpwoodbusiness, in which he also hashad special experience.

The Rip-saw is a veritable vademecum, as special county attor-ney Adams would say, when itcomes to courthouse etiquette inthe matter of holding’ office,jdoing business and managing theaffairs of a marble-lined, granitepile.

When a republican beneficiaryand leader iticks the knife inthe back of a fellow republicancandidate; when he takes partin republican councils and thencarries confidences to the demo-cratic camp; when he promisesloaves and fishes in return fordemocratic support; when a mandoes such things, he becomes apolitical traitor.

* • *

Some of the beneficiaries ofand apologists for Konge Odinand Prime Minister Walker arevery busy telling how the Rip-saw will be made to retract itsnarration of petty grafting in theform of employing public serv-ants to do private work. Thesecourthouse apologists admit thatcourthouse servitors have donework at the homes of KongeOdin and Prime Minister Walkerbut they claim that both thoseindividuals paid for the w’ork outof their owm pockets and thatreductions were made frommonthly paychecks of the men soused.

Mr. Halden has, done suchthings and, like curses, they arocoming home to roost. They canbe proven. In due course, theyprobably will be narrated andinteresting reading they willmake. * •

* * The Rip-saw once told thestory about the time Konge Odinand Col. Kauppi went up intoNorthland township in the deer-*hunting season and were enter-tained at the home of good far-mer Harris and how farmer Har-ris shot a deer for his guests.They, in turn, gave him a con-tract to pull stumps to the am-ount of $125. Farmer Harrismade oath a few days later thatthe work wT as completed anddrew his pay from kindly old St.Louis county. Then he pulledthe stumps the next" spring, afterhe had rested up all winter andwhen he was strong and vigor-ous.

If the full and complete storyof the making of the Millertrunk road could be written itwould be “a terror to snakes”if not educational for the tax-payers. Many a citizen has de-clared that the money expendedon that thoroughfare the past20 years should have built amacadamized highway all theway from Duluth to the Mesabarange. ; Some even believe thatthe entire sum expended to datewould have paid for a concreteroadbed all that distance.

Manv “little stories” comedaily to the Rip-saw as to softsnaps held and money wastedon the Miller trunk road. Theyare not without interest and pro-fit to the taxpayers.

Reference probably is made tothe time w’hen three men wereemployed, one for four days, asecond for. five days and a thirdfor four days, for example. Atthe very low wr age of $3 a day,that wr ould mean work in thevalue of S4O.

Now the facts are* as reliablytold the Rip-saw, that those threemen were paid but $5 each bythe men for whom they did per-sonal work and that but $5 wasdeducted from each monthly pay-check.

That would mean $25 out ofthe pocket of kindly old St. Louiscounty and $25 in the pocket ofthe man for whom the work was

Idone.That smacks a good deal of

[ trying to drag the devil around•

...

’ •* v, v -if “

_

It is stated that farmer Harrishad bought a horse and fromone Goldberg, a Duluth horsemerchant, and was withoutmoney to meet his payment. Thestump contract met his needsvery nicely.

The Duluth-St. Vincent roadcan boast of its gravel pit, un-discovered at a cost of $250 byCol. Hank Johnson. That greathighway No. 4 can -boast of$150,000 worth of bonds sold atpar, unadvertised, contrary to

1 Now comes a road contractorwho declares that farmer Harrisdid not pull all of the stumps

V

; y|i

PERCY GETS PINCHEDtold by the courthouse exchangeoperator that the county treas-urer’s office would not answer;that she could not get a connec-tion.

Surprise was expressed over thewire at such a state of affairsand, finally, the operator said:

“What do you want of thetreasurer’s office?” «

Although not accustomed totelling telephone operators hisprivate business, the business manfinally informed her that hewanted to find out what sum wasdue on taxes, his statement notshowing it.

“Oh, just send them up a signedcheck in blank,” advised theoperator. >•

“They might fill it in for a mil-lion dollars,” wr as the reply, notmade seriously.

“They are honest up there; youcan trust them,” was the re-sponse.

Finally, a member of the firmmade a personal call at the treas-urer’s office to find out what heneeded to know.

The treasurer’s office declaresthat a girl was employed for daysbefore the rush to Ho nothing butanswer calls and that there wasno good reason why a connectionwith the treasurer’s office could'not have been obtained, throughthe exchange, especially two daysbefore the last day of May.

PATRON OF HIGH ART HAULED FROM HISSTUDIO TO POLICE STATION.

Percy the Painter Maintains a Standford White Stu-dio Over the Boston Beanery on the Bowery—Quartette of Famous Broadway Models ImbibeSparkling Wine and Plan to Pose for the Master—Police Rudely Spoil the Soiree and Beauteous

- Maidens Admit Befuddlement.

Percy Christopher, a prominentrestauranteur, is a noted lover ofthe beautiful. He dotes on Art forArt’s Sake. He even maintainshis own private art studio. Thefamous Latin Quartier of Paree,Little Hungary in New York oreven the harems of the Orienthave nothing on Percy and hisatelier over the classic Bostonbeanery.

The police, however, get a sur-feit of the beautiful, thanks to theflocks of half-naked chickens thatswarm up and down the townafter “our dear soldier boys.”The practical police have no greatlove of art for art’s sake. Art isapt to give them a pain.

The inartistic police recentlypinched Peter Christopherson,alias Percy Christopher, aliasPercy the Painter.

Four half-naked, palpitating,passionate goddesses, direct fromBroadway, shrieked when the po-lice pinched Percy for they werepinched at the same time. Inci-dentally, they were very, verymuch overflowing with the spark-ling, bubbling juice of that grapegrown on the hillsides of Cham-pagne, in war-torn France.

Percy the Painter was chargedwith furnishing women liquor andwas released on SIOO bail. Thefour famous Broadway modelswere charged with being drunkand were released on $lO bail,each.

In his student days as a restau-rant cook, Peter Percy revelledin the riot of colorful products ofthe kitchen. Tfye pies, raspberry,blueberry, pumpkin, v lemon andcranberry, fairly screamed to himthe colors that might be used topaint a canvas or even a town. Inparsley he saw Emerald green.The mustarcT of the sandwichmeant amber. Even the hair of thewaitress was a study in Titian red.

Peter Percy cooked not becauseof epicurean tastes but as a meansto get money that he might buythe sparkling diamond, the ancienttapestry, the Moorish mosaic, theDutch tile, the prized paintings,the sculpture in Italian and Gre-cian marble, the sparkling, bub-bling wines of sunny France andthe choicest, most beautiful edi-tions of the human form divine, —

pink, palpitating, passionatehuman volumes, bound in velvety,milk-white leather.

Pearl Fuller, Catherine Avery,May Baxter and Irene Hope. Hesought an audience and effectedan engagement with the famousquartette, in his atelier, down onthe Bowery, over the Boston bean-ery, where they proposed to poseand where he planned to makedivers studies, from life, of thehuman female form divine. '

Peter Percy’s bank accountprospered. Over the Boston bean-ery on the Bowery, he establisheda study, studio, atelier, whateverthe name, surpassing in 'someways, that of Stanford White,whom Harry Thaw so suddenlyand insanely slew.

When the show was over, thepulchritudinous quartette foundthe Johnnies crowded out of thealley back of the Lyceum by PeterPercy’s powerful Limousine. Hebundled th<?m in, scorched a fewturns up and down the WhiteWay and then escorted them to hisstudy, studio, atelier, joint, denor harem, whatever the propername may be.

Percy the Painter seated him-self on a raised daias, like Bacchuson a beer keg. (Sparkling winefreely flowed. The four famousmodels were priming themselves toproperly pose in full dress, halfdress or no dress, as necessity re-quired, so that the Master couldmake liis studies. In the mean-time, he unconventionally lecturedon high lights, high spots, feelingand impression, all the timesmacking his lips over artistic de-lights to come.

The goddesses shrieked, as pre-viously stated. Through the studiodoor came officers Leßeau, Etf*bert and Grinager.

“Uncle Bob wants to see you upat his atelier,” they said.

Percy the Painter and the fourfamous models went to the un-soulful police station. There, theamateur Master of Art wascharged with furnishing womenliquor, contrary to the edict ofthe Minnesota safety commission.He was released on SIOO cash bail.Pearl Fuller, Catherine Avery,May Baxter and Irene Hope werecharged with being drunk. Theylooked the part, but were re-leased on $lO bail, each.

Peter Christopherson, aliasPercy Christopher, alias Percythe Painter, employed ThomasJefferson McKeon, a clever law-yer, who satisfied the Court thathis client was arrested just oneday too soon to come under theedict of the safety commission.The accused was acquitted.

The four famous models fromBroadway admitted that theywere drunk when arrested and,on advice, forfeited their cashbail.

One cultured Hibernihn flatfootcalled it a “joint.” Anothertermed it a “den.” A dreamyTurk might have considered it a“harem.” Whatever the propername may have been, the place iscredited with making Dr. Salterand Sergeant Englert Very, veryjealous.

• There, when not dispensing theBoston baked bean, the ham sand-wich and the lemon cream pie,Peter Christopherson, alias PercyChristopher, alias Percy thePainter, chased Art to the limit.He lectured on the differentschools of painting, the Flemish,Florentine, Byzantine, Au ElFresco and even the Goulash.Often a tribute to Bacchusgtwasoffered by pouring out libationsof sparkling, bubbling wine. Noth-ing but wine ever was allowed inthat atelier.

JAIL GRUB COSTS MORE.

Tffe high cost of living hasstruck the county jail. Startingwith June 1, 11 cent meals cameto an end and, by authority ofthe county commissioners, sheriffMeining will receive 14 cents foreach and every meal he feeds theprisoners. Had this raise notbeen allowed, Mr. Meining wouldhave gone out of the boardinghouse business and permitted thekindly old county to feed its ownprisoners.

The recent arrest of Percy thePainter was due to his love andzeal for Art.

HUNTING THE BLIND PIGS.

Sheriff John R. Meining isturning his eagle eye towards theblind pigs out in the hinterland,tributary to the county roads.Several were recently taken intocustody. Sheriff Meining will behighly commended if he extermin-ates these grunters, thereby cre-ating respect for the law andmaking it safer for everyone hav-ing occasion to journey near thenests of the bristly animals. OnkelBernard, perhaps, can get someinformation from the sheriff asto proper ways and means forhunting down the city blind pigs.

An alldfeed theatrical amuse-ment was holding the boards atthe Lyceum. Percy the Painterlearned that four famous Broad-way models were with the show—

The people around Pike Laketalk of presenting Col. Fitzger-ald, the great fire fighter, withan asbestos suit and an oxygenhelmet. .-y -1 fffiL-:

VALIANTFIRE FIGHTERRETURNS TO PIKE LAKE

Turkish Baths and Classy Trained Nurse RapidlyHeal Blind Pig 1 Bites Recently Received

*By Col. Chas. W. Fitzgerald.

CANOSIA, June 22.—(Specialto the Rip-saw)—Col. CharlesW. Fitzgerald, recently bitten by

a blind pig that roams the woodsin this vicinity, has so far re-covered from his injuries as tobe able to return to his summercabin on Pike Lake.

great lover of nature and thequiet, simple life, but he is agreat favorite with the summercampers out here, especially theelderly set. When he is in theirmidst, dull care must chase awayand hide itself.

There is great rejoicing thatpermanent disability did not fol-low the poisonous bites of thenotorious blind pig. The sum-mer campers now talk of holdingfestivities in honor of Col. Fitz-gerald’s narrow escape and re-covery as soon as * his trainednurse returns to Duluthr A bigpicnic supper, with dandelionwine and raspberry shrub asmoisteners, may be given.Speeches, dancing and even awater fete on classic Pike Lakemay be collateral features.

After his injuries receivedwhile valiantly fighting forestfires in this neighborhood, Col.Fitzgerald was taken to Duluthwhere he took a series of Turkishbaths to eliminate any blind pigvirus that remained in his sys-tem. After that regimen, fullyconvalescent, the Colonel in-sisted on returning here, accom-panied by a trained nurse, one ofthe classiest nurses seen out herefor some time.

Some of the young ladies ofj Duluth’s Smart Set, with Red

I Cross inclinations, would haveI been delighted to have nursed Col.I Fitzgerald through his convales-! cence but both he and his physi-j cians preferred professional tal-

! ent.

When ‘‘Uncle Bob” McKerch-er has time to practice up a biton hunting down blind pigs inDuluth, the resorters out hereplan to. have him come out inhis Marmon car and hunt downthe blind pig that bit a scion ofthe house of Fighting Fitzger-alds.Col. Fitzgerald not only is a

DOUBLE-BARRELLED BOYS

Boiler Inspector Bishop Accusedof Belonging to That

Greedy Class.

Complaint is made that thedouble-barrelled boys are so thickthat pedestrians stumble overthem, no matter what walk inlife they are following. Adouble-barrelled boy is a chapwho holds two public jobs at oneand the same time and draws thesalaries concurrently, like thesentences of a complacent judge.

To a man up a tree, it looks asif James W. Bishop is one of thedouble-barrelled boys. He isdeputy state boiler inspector inthis neck o’ the itods and fre-quently issues licenses to en-gineers and firemen who have tohandle boilers.

C.ol. Bishop also is creditedwith practical operafTon of Du-luth’s rickety old incinerator, ata salary of SIOO a month. Themore boilers he inspects at $3each, or two boilers for $5, themore fees he makes, all withoutharm, hurt or injury to amonthly salary from the kindlyold city of Duluth.,

_

HARVEST TIME FOR TOIL-ERS.

A Duluth employment agencyrecently received an order for asubstantial number of men forsurface work at the Stevensoniron mine at Hibbing a flatrate of 40 cents an hour, boardand lodging S3O-a month. Fora 10-hour day,-this meant $4 aday, or a net return of at least$75 a month. The job also hadpossibilities for Sunday workand overtime, if desired. To getand hold such a job a manneeded only his bare hands anda willingness to use them. Onlytwo men responded to the call,although Michigan street wascrowded with idle men. Whena common laborer can get $4 aday, present high cost of livingis not so formidable as it mightbe. Hands are worth more thanbrains these days.

The city commissioners mightadvertise for bids as a means ofselling S6OO worth of uselessZoo postholes.

Where most people are com-pelled to put rear lights on theirtin Lizzies, one family in townuses a little batch of SilbersteinPrestige. A

i

: ivjtfwf

vV \40T' TV

The Duluth Rip-saw is here tostay. It willbe printed every twoweeks until patronage makes aweekly publication profitable.Subscription rate are S2A)O a year,in advance. Subscribe now.

PRICE 5 CENTS.