"The Shame of Minneapolis"
The Minneapolis mayoral election of 1900 was pivotal in the history of our city. At a time when the city was ready to buck the boring old leaders and maybe try someone new, someone popular, an outsider with fresh ideas, they opened the door to a man unfit for office. It ushered in an era of crime that would tarnish Minneapolis’ reputation, cost a fortune, and harmed thousands of people.
Albert Alonzo Ames had already served 3 non-consecutive mayoral terms as a Democrat. He decided to run again, but he knew the odds were against him. He had already switched parties once (from Republican to Democrat) so he took advantage of a new “open primary” law and switched back to the Republican party. He drew enough votes from both parties to land back in office.
His medical training earned him the nickname“Doc” Ames and he was a popular man. He wanted a big inauguration to celebrate with all of his supporters and to rub it in the faces of those who hadn’t back him. His plans were too big for the old city hall, so he pitched a celebration at the Bijou Theater. His plans for a theatrical (and expensive) return to office were vetoed by the previous mayor.
Ames immediately fired a full half of the police department, appointed his brother Chief of Police and made hiring new officers his own personal prerogative. Ames made a lot of cash selling spots on his new police force to men willing to pay.
Next, Ames decreed that “his” police could act as judges. If they arrested someone and the suspect could “clear himself” (that is, pay Ames’ extortion fees) then they could be released without ever appearing before a judge. The actual judges rightfully disagreed. So Ames found a workaround and declared that arrest records were no longer public. Suspects names were recorded in pencil and easily erased if they met Ames’ demands and no one would ever know.
Since Ames loved a big show, especially when he was the center of attention, he required daily assemblies of his newly reinstated mounted police force in downtown to perform maneuvers at his command even though they were a waste of time and money. It also meant that there were hours each day that no one was patrolling the neighborhoods and crime skyrocketed.
No stranger to conspiracy theories, Ames bought into the belief that criminality was caused by a bacteria and hired a specialist to examine the blood of suspected criminals.
Ames didn’t like the way the newspapers criticized him, so he started his own “newsletter” that only shared a positive stance on his administration.
When the convict Cole Younger (of the Younger Gang that robbed banks across the Midwest, including the infamous robbery in Northfield) was granted parole from the Stillwater prison, Ames offered him a position on his police force. Seriously. But in a surprise twist, Younger turned him down.
Ames’ overall philosophy was what was referred to as a ”wide open” policy. He allowed gambling, prostitution and saloons with no limits saying that keeping illegal behavior out in the open allowed for more controls. In reality, this way of operating allowed Ames to extort those businesses for “protection fees”. If they paid up, he would continue to allow them to operate. If they didn’t, his policies might change and close them down or even put them in jail. The more of these “vice” businesses there were, the more money he made. So, brothels, blind pigs and “big mitt joints” took over downtown.
A big mitt joint was a hustle. A recruiter on the street looked for travelers or visitors to Minneapolis that maybe looked like they might be a little naive or lonely and probably had a little cash in his pockets. They struck up a friendship with the traveler and then invited them to a poker game. At the game everyone but the traveler was in on the hustle and they scammed him out of all of his money. Then, a police officer (also in on the scam) would bust in to “break up the illegal gambling”. They’d hustle the traveler to the train station and get him out of town before he could realize what was happening and raise a fuss. Everyone got a cut of the pot, including Doc Ames. Ames was raking in the money and Minneapolis’ reputation was paying the price.
In 1903, a damning expose in the extremely popular McClure’s Magazine called “The Shame of Minneapolis” put Ames’ spectacularly illegal practices on view for the entire country. His crimes couldn’t be swept under the rug anymore.
A grand jury investigation based on a whistleblower complaint by a former police officer built a thorough case against Ames. A courageous grand jury foreman named Hovey Clarke, who didn’t trust anyone in the system, actually hired a private investigator to find the facts and evidence needed to convict everyone involved.As several members of the Ames organization were convicted, the whole system came crashing down
Ames went on the run, but most of Ames’ men turned on him and testified against him to save themselves. He was finally arrested, brought back for trial and convicted on a bribery charge. The appeals process dragged on for years, witnesses died and his co-conspirators served out their sentences but Ames remained a free man. After FOUR trials ending with hung juries and mistrials, the prosecution gave up. The city was ready to just move on and put the whole ugly story behind them.
Ames boldly returned to Minneapolis to continue to practice medicine. He ran for congress and for governor. He would not learn is lesson and he would not give up on regaining the power he once had.
After his death in 1911, Ames suffered the fate that a man like him absolutely can’t stand. He was more or less forgotten.
But forgetting men like Ames is what we cannot do. If we don’t remember the damage he caused and recognize the kind of person who wants to manipulate our citizens and the system for his own personal gain, then we are destined to repeat our mistakes.
