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

| ties are va iously construed, as for instance
Commissioner Bray vice president of tn,
, board, says he employees detective ia
watch over the force in his special dis riot,
who is to report to him daily rs to the dis
} cipline, efficiency and faithfulness of bOtf
officers and privates.
Commissioner Murdoch, treasurer of the
board, employs three detectives. Says
Commissioner Murdoch: "They only fur
} nish me such information as l want, more
particularly in egsrd to gambling. Still
} never could get to the place that l wanted
to 60 to-"
Here we see police commissioner EN-
ploying three detectives to take him to some
gambling place, land he never can get to
the place he wants to 60 to-" Commits
sioner Murdoch further says: II presume il
is under the authority of q resolution pass
ed by the board. l employ three special
detectives. l found the system in vogue
when l went there and adopted it," Your
committee can not find the authority even
of simple resolution for the employment
Of three detectives by q single commissioner.
But gambling houses are 80 difficult of de-
lection that the Jealous Mr.. Murdoch tells
us even his three detectives can not find one.
Lieutenant Governor C. c. Antoine in-
genuOusly informed your committee that
he also employs special detective to watch
over the efficiency Of the force; said detec.
|
| plOys an officer who acts as sort
of body-guard;" and another otfi-
Ger, who is q night-watchmsn at my
resdence-rOund about my residence,
sir" says the Lieutenant Governor who
thus costs the State in person IL guardian
ship something near $500.
The other commissioners have each
special detectives. In word, your com
| mittee find that the board appropriates
regularly the sum of $4,000 per annum for
detectives to watch over a police force
which has cost on an average of $7sO,000 q
year for the last seven years. Your COM
mittee must state that they we're not able
to establish the bona tide' employment of
such detectives, the commissioners peremp-
torily refusing to give names for fear Of
impsiring the usefulness of their respective
misunderstanding their usefulness in
watching over the efficiency of force which,
according to Superintendent Loans own
estimate is nearly one-.hird "gOod for
nothing" Your committee have in the
record accompanying this peport, q tab
ulated estimate made by Superintendent
Loan. Oac Of a force of 1876 privates he
marks ll6 N G. mot goodl, and yet all the
detectives of all the commissioners are
watching night and day over that force.
which still remains unchanged. Ard for
that secret service we pay $4,000.
Your committee fluid that Governor w.
P. Kellogg did, on the - day of July,
| 1875, commission one H. S. Armstrong, as
sociate editor of the New Orleans Times, as
assistant clerk in the First Metropolitan
Police Court, at q salary Of $500 per an-
mum. Said Armstrong, by authority of the
Governor, and with his consent employed
| q substitutes mere vOuth-at q salary of
$40 per month to fill said position at said
court. Mr.. Armstrong; name being borne on
| the pay rolls of said court, and he, with
| Jealous regularity has drawn and is still
| drawing the full salary attached to said
clerkship.
At the same court. and under like condi-
tions, Mr.. w. II. Moon, clerk at the St.
| James Hotel, was commissioned by Cover
nor Kellogg. Mr. Moons substitute is paid
| $50 per month: the full ealary attached to
$1,000 per annum. (See dispositions of
the two above named gentlemen, which are
| of record.)
In these two peculiar transactions the
| Governor was fully aware of the sinecures
| he was creating, and gave his full consent
| thereto. And these acts, your committee
are of opinion, are misdemeanors in Office,
and the Judge who allowed such peculiar
| transactions is, to say the least, very COM
PLEASANT.
Your committee were struck at the very
| threshold of their Investigations with the
exceeding prevalence of that crying evil,
| bunko. The daily newspapers teemed with
editorial complaints and emphatic protests
| from citizens against this infamous practice.
and yet the Superintendent of Police and
| the captain of the precinct to which the
evil was VIGOROUSLY confined remained in
| complete indifference until the curious mi
tiative taken by Police Commissioner Ryan
led to trial before the Metropolitan Board
| of Superintendent w. F. Loan, which, as is
| we'll known, eliminated in his acquittal
| Your committee prose cuted with vigOr an in
yestigation Of this mat ter, and we have DELHI
erately concluded that the Metropolitan
| Police Board themselves are primarily re-
sponsible for the existence and immunity Of
bunko. Each member of the board, as we
have said, employs special detective,
| whose sole duty it is to make reports
| to his employer upon all matters of
police, and more especially is he to report
as to the discipline, efficiency and general
good conduct of the police force itself. Sec
ton forty three of act No. g., session of
1869. providee: That upon the report in
writing of any member of the Metropolitan
| force that there are good grounds for be-
| lieving any premises or rooms within the
Metropolitan district to be kept or used as
| q common gaming house, etc., it shall be
lawful for theiboard of commissioners to au.
thorize, in writing, any member or MEM
bers of the police force to enter the same,
who may forthwith arrest all persons there
found offending against the law, etc. After
examining host Of witnesses. your commit
| tee have failed to find single instance in
which either the board, the superintendent,
or the captains Of precincts have acted
| under that section of the law. We find, on
| the contrary, a strange and absolute apathy
extending throughout the entire police
force. We do not hesitate to attribute the
| same to the sOpOriic virtues OF money
Your committee do say that a regular sys-
TEN Of blackmail is levied by the Metro
| po!itan Police authorities upon the gam
bling establishments, extending from the
board themselves down to and inclusive OF
| CAPTAINS Your committee have been at
great difficulties in obtaining positive and
direct testimony on that score, yet we have
established it beyond peradventure in the
testimony of certain DR.. Griffin,
professional gambler, who. TOR a
term of years. has served as Intermediary
between the police authorities and the gam
blers in the Second District. and
also in the evidence of Mr.. Daniel Will
son proprietor of gambling establishment
MI. Daniel Wilson, in his testimony,
under oath, says he keeps gambling in
suitution on Royal street, near Canal; that
this DR.. Griffin visits him regularly twice a
month to levy blackmall in the sum of $50
| each time, or say |IUU per mOntn. Lux
money Wilson pays with the clear under
standing "that he is not to be troubled by
the police" Mr.. Wilson says: II first made
lis (Grifin's) acquaintance about three
years ago; think had some business with
him about three years ago for short time
had place then on Canal street; he came
to me and represented himself as the party
that transacted that kind Of business; Of
course that was all satisfactory to me; he
has been in the habit of visiting me regu
larly about one year.
l hot mi nf tho 0On0i