New-York tribune., 1873-02-14

SIGNIFICANT FACTS FROM THE CITY
RECORD or CRIME.
DOrman b. Eaton, in an elaborate speech
before the Judiciary Committee the State Legislature
at Albany on the Police Courts OF this city and thor
abuses argues that the question involved is Of prn
ciple and OF persona tho object IN view being to
abolish the demoralzng ~ stem Of electing minor Judi
cal officers who have criminal jurisdiction rather than
to egislate set Of out OF Office and another in
In the course OF his argument for the reform OF police
administration he sketches the principal abuses OF the
present system. The following are extracts from his
speech
VICES or AZ ELECTIVE JUDICIARY.
The facts lndputabe that the public has lost con-
fience IN the primary criminal administration of tho
City Of New York 50 deepseated and general is thls
want Of confidence that the evils resulting from 1t are
almost great IL the justices were proved to be as
ignorant morcenary. fahless. UNJUST and incompetent
as they generally believed TO be. Good men despair
OF securing the conviction Of the guilty aud therefore
fail to make the effort guilty men have htte fear OF
punishment. and crime mutipies all along the line OF
guilt from vagrancy and ntoXicatlon up to theft and
murder
These police court are the gates OF criminal justice,
and the personal safety morality the property and
the general welfare of the people are fet to depend
largely not alone upon character aud ability OF those
who preside over them, but upon the relation those
justices sustain to the criminal classes The conviction
selecting these Justices pOsitOns one OF great peril
but also that We can have and ought at to adopt
better system; that we should at once abandon the
method OF electing these justices.
our vicious and defective system. and the worse ad
minstration unlike the criminal records OF better gov
erned cities fail to supply adequate statistics OF
crime or ita punishment In these particulars well.
the new law will work great reform by enabling the
neopie 10 know how every crime is punished and every
prisoner is disposed OF in these lower courts. Still there
are some statistics and they full OF interesting and
alarming suggestions. II they do not actually prove
they 90 far to make probable the worst that generally
believed Of these tribunals
The reports of the Board OF Police tell us how many
prisoners are annually taken before the police justices
in the City of NewYork IN 1867 there were sO52. or
these 20762 were arrested for dsOrdery conduct 762
for ntoxcaon l2l for gambling l3i for robbery, and
50 for murder. The others were distributed through
all the grades and names OF crime. or the per
sons thus arrested. 58,93 were males, aud the
returns show that 4s,207 OF them were over
20 years OF age The number q years Old and upward Is
net given; but making all reasonable deductions for
those between 20 and 2 may assume that the num-
ber OF those immoral, INSCRIPTIONS voters thus
annually subjected TO the discretion OF partisan.
uneducated judges Is not less than 5000 or
more than a fourth Of all the voters OF the city.
In view of such facts ought TO be surprised at tho
low moral tone the mercenary partisanslup and the
that some OF these are several times arrested 50
that their aggregate number is less than 5000 fear It
may be replied that many OF them vote many times 50
that their relative power the canvass is far IN excess
OF their numbers.
In 1853 the police reports show 736l arrested and
brought before these courts and only 1856 for disor-
dery conduct 1869 only 79Ss brought there. with
only Il 935 for dsorderly conduct; but it would be
great mistake 10 assume that the city becoming
more orderly and Awabiding we approached
the saturnaia OF municipal barbarism aud de-
prsyty which produced the crisis OF 1870. The
deplorable facts are, as 1 believe, that the ell
cheney and hdety OF the Police Department Itself WAS
seriously impaired that arrests were less frequent at
ths very time that crimes Of every grade were neeas
ing What are we 70 say in presence OF the known in
crease OF murders in the city, OF the facts that while rs
are reported arrested for that crime in 1888 and 81
in 1862 only "a reported arrested for murder and
homicide united in 1907
what Of the facts that. while 1ln gamblers were
arrested in 1861 only 2O arrested in 1870 What Of
the facts that while i3 persons arrested for rob
berry IN 1867 132 2l1 1862 only II were arrested
in ls7O-that year in which the Mayor became member
OF the Board OF Police aud the great officers OF the city
freely robbed its treasury or allowed 20 be robbed Ol
tens OF millions!
But there is a secrecy and a dread more significant
than facts so long we had Metropolitan Board Of
Pohce-unt the Police Department was made portion
OF the partisan machinery for ruling the citywe had
annual reports from that Board which shed some light
on its dongs But the 5h OF April 1871, the curtain
was drawn over the dangerous secrets and all the dongs
Of the past year Since that date report Of the Police
Department has been made
single meager document, issued in April 1871 for the
year 1870 contains the only report made Of that and
ominOus City Police Department, which was twin
birth OF the infamous Board OF Audit When the public
will see another mortal can tell believe there are
good men connected with that department. and that il
they speak freely IN relation to this bl they
will disclose facts and opinions which, II uttered now
would give great support
CRIMINAL STATISTICS ASALTzED.
Though as have said, reports from the Police Jus
tees give in any year the secrets OF the disposition
made of the annual thousands adiudged there though
no official documents tell how many arrested in
1871 or 1872 have succeeded in finding some criminal
statistics for 1871 that regard reliable and which
are fearful and suggestive IN the highest degree.
Public feeling demanding vigor in the Po-
lice Department. and 1t was again exhibited in
were brought before our nine Police Justices
in 1871 that $500 to each ustice-amot 80 to each
Justice fOreach day in the year Sundays excepted
and ought to be remembered that these courts do the
largest business on sunday Does 1t not require some
sg sSss Rs 4S WERE TH Sni sSnS IoT T
animation. This committed for examination" is an
ominOus phrase
committed, and may never be again. 1t may be known
how every male n, committed voted intends
to vote No man but p0hce lustce IS wise enough 10
say whom the examinations will ever be made if at all
Our bill strikes at this abuse No less than 25ll Of
these prisoners discharged summarly so IL would
appear; 1920 were bailed; OF 4,5n no knowledge
Of the disposition can be gained; 725 com
mtted for trial; 2,3l6 were sent TO the Commis-
sOners OF Charities and Correction as 10 which
will be said; 3y345 were not holden" but why know
not; LOLA are admitted to have been fined but know
not now many more; few hundred sent 10 varl
Gus institutions GsI are reported as otherwise disposed
Of" and only 81 were committed without bail
Can any read such record without feeling that
independence OF tenure freedom from parlissnship,
and ready learning and high character are de-
manded the bench when such multifarous and mis-
ceaneOus justice injustice is administered Can any
citizen OF NewYOrk perceive without alarm that at least
out Of every eleven Of IT'S entire population Is ann
ally dragged by its police officers as criminal into the
lowest oOurts-int0Ssdch police courts we havef L
haita af no ia IN vail