Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-08-04
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HNDbbiVN1 august =
To de Editors Of the Daiiy Press;
am, comparatively, a stranger, hence
beg TO trouble you with the follow
ing query; Have policemen, in this, your
country, authority TO arrest persons (not seen
by them in the act of committing breach of
the peace, and without any thing in the
shape of a magisterial warranty barely on
the representation of complaining party
As we Of the humber classes in England
find il necessary TO watch with the utmost
jealousy the action of policemen and police
magistrates, lest the immense executive
power they possess should be abused, we
think that the citizens of this country should
be equally jealous of their executives. Hu-
man nature is the same every where, and the
abuse of power is as likely TO occur under the
shelter of the American "Declaration of
Rights" as under the "Magna Charta" of
John Bull. But abuses which involve the
less of personal liberty-even for single
day or night-are of that character which
ought to excite the indignation of every in
telligent citizen.
To illustrate: was at q friends house, in
the Seventeenth Ward, on Monday evening
last, and as we sat by the window under the
light of the moon, we heard a woman's abus-
i've voice in the street. On inquiry, we
were informed that she and her two daugh-
| ters kept a house which is deemed offensive
/
heard this lady's tongue, party of gentle
men" frequenters of such houses, paid visit
| 10 the said establishment; while they were
within, few Irishmen (who ought to have
| had better sense) called at the same place.
where some of them had, on former occa-
sons, been made welcome; that the first, or
"gentlemanly" party, insisted on having the
Irishmen expelled; that a scuffle ensued, but
on n very insignificant scale only, it hap
| hot &c fha laI 10
named Gorman) pulled the "calco dress" of
the senior lady of the establishment so as to
| tear it; that she pursued him with stones
and violent tongue (the vilest of all
weaponsl until he took shelter in grocery
kept by a respectable widow lady, where he
sat down TO smooth his ruffled feeling by
| quafng glass or two of honest beer.
The balance of this narrative | was witness
to: Madam, urged by the advice of her
gentlemen" patrons, sent one of her fair
daughters to hunt up policeman. He was
found, and the complaint of the lady poured
into his sympathizing ear-when, without
the least demur, he entered the room where
German was sitting and seized him by the
collar, stating that he was his prisoner. As
/ felt stunned with this act of the baton-bear-
ing official, resolved to see the affair TO its
termination, German refusing to go with
him-offering as much passive resistance as
he could. Baton-man pulled and choked
and threatened, vowing awful vengeance on
the id fellow" for resisting his authority
Executive managed to pull German to the
door several times, but a lot of boys outside
Il was looking on) would pull the door to, Sc
as to prevent the loving couple from emerg
ing into open air. Finally, after much strug
Cling, the pair got out Of the house and baton
man having invoked assistance by few sharI
raps on the pavement bricks, another "ex
ccutive" soon ran up, and as two are better
than one, poor German was dragged off
Hear the conclusion, Mr.. Editor Gormar
was brought before the Police Magistrate
yesterday, aud fined $40 and costs beside
being sent to prison for eight or nine days
Sir let me ask do your laws justify such ar
bitrary, such tyrannical doingS as those o
! the policemen and magistrate above narrated
If so, / don't think much of your boaste'
T liberty. But am inclined TO think that tn
opinion entertained by many persons in til
: Seventeenth Ward offers the true explana
,, ton, viz: the lady and gentlemanly patron
! were "Americans," while poor German wa
''only an Irishman." May the system, or tn
:. prejudice which thus peryerts justice, an
e tramples "fair play" beneath the feet, peris
e before the growing indignation of the ever
d enlarging foreign population" of thi
country! Dare a policeman in Englan
arrest man, no matter how plausible migf
. be the complaint, unless he was forearme
with warrant, or was witness to th
: accused's violence He dare not. Remen
! Der, sir, ''the price of liberty is eternal Wig
I lance" Your constant reader ' i'
s l. A FOREIGN-BORN CITIZEN. ).