New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-04-23
ABOUT CERTAIN ALLEGED NU1sANCEs

Yes, We may say to the Picayune tina
most of the charges preferred agains
superintendent Loan and the police ar
of the haziest and most unsatisfactory de
scription. The police can only act upol
information of others, except in case
where they actually see offenses commit
ted, when they can appear as prosecuting
witnesses. ia man is aggrieved, robbed
or otherwise annoyed by gamblers, it is
his duty to swear out warrant and have
the offenders arrested and tried HI
should also appear as the chief witness
for the State. Instead of taking this
manly, straightforward course, they gen.
orally sneak into the back room of 9
newspaper Office and tell the editor OF
some eager reporter q narrowing tale oil
how he attempted to make a few dollars
in an honest kind of way on the outside
of bunko and was defeated through the
superior adroitness of his antagonist,
who was intent on the same purpose. All
this is told in the strictest confidence, for
he would not have his name get into
the papers as the victim of such shall
low device for anything. He is a respect
able man and has a family, you know,
and would not have mentioned the SUBJ
ject at all, only for the fact that he hap
pened to lose few dollars when he hoped
to win fortune. Perhaps he goes to the
police Office and enters half complaint.
He relates his disappointment in the mat
ter of the money he hoped to win from
the gambler, but asks as a special favor
that he shall not be called as witness.
The police have no more right to enter
gambling house under the pretense that
the gamblers are about to commit
an unlawful act than they have to
look over the shoulder of the editor
of the Picayune when he is at work, to
see that he does not write treason. A po-
hceman has no judicial powers whatever,
and is no better witness to acts which he
does not see than anybody else. He can
only arrest and lock up suspected per-
sons, and is liable to punishment for false
if he makes mistake. If
men will suffer themselves to be cheated
out of their money and persist in lodging
the affidavit clerk, they are as bad as those
who cheat them. One party breaks the
laws and the other winks at the crime by
it. The same is true of the
woman who permits herself to be insulted
in crowded street, in open day, without
making some sort of an cutlery and en-
to have the offender arrested.
When we hear that the police refuse to
arrest persons on warrants placed in their
hands, or upon any proper demand, we
shall join with their enemies in censuring
hem. But SO long as their duties are de-
lined by law, we shall object to their ar
resting anybody upon the anonymous tes-
imony of those who will not face the
music long enough to testify. We know
7ery little definite about Count Turenne |
md his alleged loss of $4,000 in gam
bling den. But if he will go before the
,rand jury, instead of the newspaper
'fices, to recount the story of his losses,
We shall at least accord him our sympathy
nd respect. And we very much doubt |
vhether the Picay4ne, or the police, or
10Th together, know enough about the
tory of his robbery to make them compe-
ant witnesses. Without testimony such |
8 the law requires the courts can do
othing, and the police have no right OF |
to interfere with anybody, !
kept to . very limited extent, with
ut an order from . court Of
jurisdiction. Doubtless the
y.