Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-12-15
MAYOR rLrPrrN's oPrSroS.

MAYOR FLTPPIN's OPINION.
Mayor Plippm, In response to the questions
Of an APPEAL representative yesterday,
stated that the practice Of Juggling persons
without warrant WAS not authorized by him.
As 10 the system of which wa complain, the
mayor said: 1T does not accord with my
idea Of right, justice or wisdom; think the
system wrong and it should be broken up. A
man name should be recorded or entered In
the docket when arrested. To DO otherwise
Is bad policy and susceptible Of sbuse and
oppression
WHENCE THE CUSTOM.
Ex-Recorder Winters being asked his
opinion touching the habit Of arrest, said that
when he was recorder, his advice to the police
was that they had no right to arrest without
a warrant, unless the misdeneanOr was COM
mitted In their presence. The practice Of ar
resting without warrant and confning par
ties in prison without prefering a charge was
in vogue In cases of thieves arrested by de-
tectives He, however, had nothing to 60
with this, as it belonged to the police depart
ment. He never encouraged this practice or
method of arrest.
WHO FEEDS THESE PARTIES
As the parties are arrested and kept in the
statlonhOuse without any ns6E spg made
of the fact. 1t would be well 10 know who
feeds the same, the city or the county? Chief
Athy, IN his official report of the arrests made"
each month, necessarily ignores the names of
those who have been arrested and released in
such manner. According to his report for
last month we find that there were 305 arrests.
of which number there were tried and fined
204, discharged y, State cases o, and one in
continuance. This tallies with the report Of
the recorder, which latter is made on the cases
actually before him. 1t is conclusive, then.
that the chief Of police can take no account Of
parties arrested and held without warrant, on
a charge by the police or detectives. If so,
there would be a corresponding difference in
the number Of persons arrested by the police
and detectives, and the number srragned by
the recorder. According to the report of the
chief of police, the feed Of prisoners for No
vember amounted to $l75 80, this being o
cents per caput for 289 chain-gang prisoners,
making $50 92; and 22 cents per caput for
429 ordinary prisoners, making S94 g. If
parties are not registered, they have no right
to be entered in this list unless the city
wants to establish free boarding house The
system Of arrest and imprisonment is
undeniably wrong, and while the officers
and detectives are actuated by a sense of
duty, yet this must be stopped, and
at once. 1t Is susceptible OF extortion
and oppression, and may lead to serious
trouble. No officer has a right to arrest a
citizen without due process Of law, and all
persons arrested are entitled to speedy tnal.
If detectives and policemen are permitted TO
arrest and keep parties in prison without war
rant, and until they 'adjudge" their guilt or
innocence, why, then no person so arrested
has any chance for speedy trial. On the
contrary, such person is without the benefit
Of a lawyer, and is incarcerated without know
ing the cause of his detention or arrest, and
unable to communicate with any friend. That
this is wrong, no one viii deny. The sooner
this is rectifed the better for the people Of
Memphis. We do not mean to say that the
detectives or police are inclined to arrest at
random, or use this unlawful system for pur-
poses of extortion or oppression. They believe
they have the right to make arrests as indi-
Gated, and IN this respect think they ara do
ing their duty. The city Of Memphis, how
ever, cannot be placed m this improper light
before the public, nor should her citizens
eountenance a method of arrest and incarcer-
alton unknown to civilized communities. No
sheriff dare exercise such authority, and this
nefarious system must be abolished. When
persons are arrested, their names should be
registered and the Ofense stated.