New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-02-16

nor is ex-ofiicio president thereof, five polio
commissioners are appointed BY the Cover
nor, with the advice and consent of tn
Senate tho city Administrator Of Police
cx-officiO q member of the board. Thut
We have q tribunal of seven persons, VIII
are clothed with absolute powers as to az
pOintments on the police; the Disbursement
of. immense sums of money; the enactIn
Of rules and regulations for the government
| Of the force, fce of whom are executlv
| appointments, whose term OF office Is &C
extensive with that of the Governor VIII
appoints them. With this summary state
ment, let US examine into the manifold de
fects Of the law, and the oppressive abuse
flowing therefrom:
| That the Lieutenant Governor OF tn
State should be the actual head of the pc
lice is patent wrong upon our mpnlc'Pa
| franchises, which is aggravated when tn
| Lieutenant Governor happens to be a resi-
dent Of Caddc, the extreme north westsrl
| parish of our State. A resident of tn
metropolitan police district could not fai
to be far more efficient, especially, if to thu
advantage of actual residence, he ioinet
that of possessing an average amount o
capacity.
We have seen that the Governor appoints
five Of the members of the board-mort
than majority. The power of removal al
Will u60 U0e II dEIUkdtCu CACAACAy w NAS
present executive, in disregard OF section
four of act No. 81 of 1869. and in direct
contravention of the repeated decisions OF
our Supreme Court, shat an appointment
and commission by the Governor of per.
son to an Oifice which has been legally filed,
without q vacancy being first decl AIRED &C.
cOrding to law. ia an absolute nullity." Our
Supreme and district courts have decided,
moreover, that the power to appoint does
not include the power to remove in the
Governor of the State. In the removal Of
appointment of V. A. Ryan IN his stead,
your committee find Governor w. P. KEEL
lOgg guilty of clear violation of law.
This arrogated power If removal at will
gives the executive q CONT Oiling voice in
the management of the police, which fact
must be recognized as fraught with danger,
and as an outrage upon civil liberty. Your
committee are of opinion that the Governor
is in great measure responsible for the
many abuses and crimes which this report
recites; for through this usurped power of
removal he keeps in fear and trembling
more than a majority of the board, who
dare not disobey his behests.
Another abuse which Affects the cOmmu-
nifty more Immediately is the custom which
obtains in the board of subdividing the
Metropolitan districts among the individ-
ual membeIs of the said board. giving to
each member the supervision of ore subdi-
vision. and allowing him through 'cour-
tesy" the absolute power of filling vacan-
cies therein, which, to quote from Major
w. H. Robinson's testimony, ''gives him
In that case he appoints them
without regard to their efficiency or
usefulness" Superintendent Loan says.
in this connection: There are some (menj
that we're placed on the roll through pOliti-
cal influence. They are not of much use
to me. don't know that could specify
names. though should cav, in round num-
bers, there are about $50 that are valueless
to me-"
Here We have the evidence of two ex-
perienced gentlemen, one an ex member of
the board, the other the present superin-
teudent, to prove that the courtesy" among
members of the board renders more than
one-third of our police force perfectly worth
less. The evidence before your committee
of Major Robinson is replete with matter
bearing upon such facts as are established
above. We quote this forclble passage:
The question of color has been a very
delicate one. A good many men (colored)
were put on who could neither read nor
write, who, therefore, were utterly worth
less and incompetent. These men, most of
them, were appointed through political in
fuence."
We have shown how V. A. Ryan is an
illegal member of the board. Your COM
mittee find that, under the provisions of
article 2239 of the Revised Statutes, as also
under article III of the constitution Of our
State, Mr.. James Lewis is likewise an lille
gal police commissioner. Being jury COM
missioner, he sits on the Metropolitan Police
Board in direct violation Of law.
Governor Kellogg made both the above
appointments, and in both he has violated
the law knowingly.
The mayor of Kenner. city within the
Metropolitan police district, testified nnder
oath before your committee, that in the APP
uOrtiOnmenr of last year, made by the
board, the city of Kenner was formally
commanded to levy tax of $3.50 as her
share of the said appOrtiDnment. The mat
ter was referred to the courts. Since over
two months the city of Kenner, with front
of over three-quarters Of q mile and extend
ing back to the lake, with q population OF
about 1850 inhabitants, has not had q single
police officer within her limits. Previously
the city had been guarded by . single
patrolmap, of whom the mayor says:
stated to the board thar it was utterly i'm
possible to get any warrants served, as this
man Pig9ot 1.-THE solitary patrolman) posi-
lively refused to do 90. l sent notice OF
this in writing to the board and they did
not take any action in the matter. The
citizens of Kenner also petitioned the board
to remove that man." Your committee will
add that this model police officer left only
when bis pay was far in arrears. Starva-
ton, not the board, delivered the good PEG.
pie of kenner from him.
The Board provide twenty meu tor the
policing of the the seventh precinct, which
extends from Toledano to Camp Parapet, a
distance of some fifteen or six cen miles
one beat of which extends from Carrolton
to Kennerville. Of this heat, the officer in
command, Sergeant AucOin, says: Il sup
pose the whole distance is at least ten miles
we have no man up there now; we can not
get a man to 90 up there; for that reason
1.-THE immensely of the beat) they always
ask to be transferred, or they ask the
superintendent for a leave of absence"
We deem all comments unnecessary
As to the disposition of the funds, We
find among other matters. that the board
appropriates monthly q sum of from $1,000
to $500 az q contingent fund.- which il
placed in the absolute control of the super
intendent. Your committee believe that q
portion perhaps, of the many reports as ia
what is called dead hea is" on the police
force, spring from the disposition Of this
large sum Of money, which the superinten.
dent Informs US he es for secret service
He has q separate roll, he can not tell nance
nor what duties they perform. He would
not tell the Governor, Lieutenant Governor
nor even the board" No we'll authenti
Gated instances of suppositious names ap
pesring on the pay rolls, we're established be
fore your committee The presumption, how
ever, is very great that such custom pre-
walls with the board, a. the record
accompanying this report will show. and
out of which we quote from Mr.. David
Noises deposition: Il was told by members
Of the board that there was dead head
list. They offered to put me on 1t, and
refused to accept their offer. Their names
ara GAudAt LaHis and l WAS told 40 1.-THE