The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-12-22
Commissioners Answering to Charges d
Neglect Of Duty.
A CLOUD OF WITNESSES.
Mayor Ely Decides the Investigation Must
Close by Monday Night
PROTESTS FROM THE COUNSEL.

The trial OF tho Police commissioners before Mayor
Ely was continued yesterday. In view oil tho talented
array OF counsel employed by The accused 1t Is well
understood tia, the Commissioners ,nean light Tor
their places up TO the last moment. fhe Mayors
Office was again crowded upon the occasion win
police captains and politicians interested IN the pro-
cecdings Among Tho spectators was Tho usual
sprnkling oil Aldermen, Assembly men, civil justices
anu others Commissioners Erhardt, Wheeler and
| Nichols were present
THE TESTIMONY.
Rev. Dr.. Howard Crosby and Rev. Dr. Thomas
HvsuDss, lasior vi the Presbyterian church in West
| F,rty-seconu street, were cxtmncd. ~Tncy inought
the removal o; tho Commissioners would DO looked
upon victory Tor the rumseilcrs.
| Vicar General Qunn the next witnesa lilo
Stated that hc knew tho excise troubles only in
general VA. tncro elements in society 10 be
considcrcd; tie action OF ,hc Police Commissioners
was undoubtedly odious oil these elements ;
that one was the liquor selling cemcnt; Otherwise
the people were generally satisfied win The enforce
meut OF the Law; they objected, however arrests
beng made ut night alr Field here informed the
Witness tua tao aw reqarou the arrests to be made
when The police "a" offence con,mlttea; II TINS
were IA he night then the perpetrators we're arrested
III tnr night.
q. When the issue made up between tho enforce
meet oil law icavn. IL 10 broken wnaL
would be the proper course Tor tho authoriticsy A.
thiA hai morally speaking, ali laws ihat are not
sol,cly mora Ia snc.r cnaracter be n orced,
even II usagrecaUic sometimes they
cannot DC enforced. owing W exgcncics.
By the May or--but II ;noy can DO enforced SHOULD
they not be enforced At ali niesy A. DON'T want 10
swear 10 that, Your honor. II you Will relcase mo
from my Data Will argue tue question with you.
would say that all persons VINO appontca undcr
the law Tor the execution VI tho Law should follow IT
out.
Q. They should follow it out Judically according to
the judicial decisions, should they noly A. They
no other course 10 follow.
Q What, our judgment would DO the effect OF the
removal oi Police Commissioners in ,uis crisis
| "A.
Sir, have expressed tuat opinion privntoy-l think
II would not nave q good effect.
Captain Byrnes, OF the Fifteenth precinct testified
that the orders III Regard 70 street Cleaning mad been
moro rigorous dur.ns the past year, and that inc
streets precinct were clcaner than be
fore. He also sand there had been less tho CITY
during the last Two years than Tor many before
Lx-aAYoR wickiiAa OK THE STAND.
EX.Mnyor William IA. " ickham next called. On
taxing The s.anu ne sald:-l nope you don't want me
| Of New YORK are cean.u (Laughter.) HIS cxainna.
tion WAS proceeded with rs Ioiiows:--
sp,lily ii cleaning he streets OF Sow York; 4. |
think the city OF New YORK can be kept clean.
| q. What are the means by winch this can be done?
A. by sufficient lorce " Keep IT. Clean ana
| iorcement VI the ordinances.
| q state what force woulu DO necessary, what would
be tue expense and how The ordnanccs could be en-
iorcedY a. that Is rather vague question; think,
with tho present appropriation Oh 500 0VO 1t would
DO ralher dicult tho appropriation ABOUT 500 900
month, bat NJ least hail oil that Is required Tor
specific purposes, asidc from cleaning the streets;
! costs $50, QUO month to remove tho garbage ana
ashes that accumulate every twenty hours 50
that really there uut $4,000 a month
| lett TO clean the streets with; then there
| aro 800 miles of paved streets, and tnoy
| arc continually being torn up Broadway Is
swept AZ night, but every morning IL open violation
OF tho ordinances sorcKecpcrs sweep the DIRT from
tncir stores the street anu alter eight O'Clock
tho morning broadway looks us tnougn uhad not
been swept for month; the population OF this city
rule mas respect Tor tue CITY ordlnancestLAs
is against the Corporation ordInancesbut II tue police
should attempt to enforce them by nrresting shop
Keepers the Police Commissioners would h1vo worse
bee III their Donne, tnuu they mad from tho
raid; l have no doubt that under separate
management, witn II separate bureau conducted ia
business manner, the work might DO donc more eii
gently; the appropriation Tor cleaning tho streets
about tue same AZ tnat Tor lighting them.
a. Is not the removal Of the matter IRON the streets
divided INTO three brancncs-the ashes, The garbage
and tho reIusey A. 30 understand II, SRI am not
familiar Win The working oi The department.
| The exMayor Then refcrred 10 The obstacles to
street cleaning and 90 the diicnties connected with
The dlsposi,o o tho strocs raiusc. lie advertcd
the fact that the Police Board had place dump
except point ABOUT twenty miles out Many
buieings were put up aud large quantities OF sand
were lett on the streets. wncn nGd DO removed by
the street Cleaning Bureau. There was no more dun.
cuity ia cleaning the streets New York than there
was IN cleaning those oil LONDON or Paris; the ail-
cully lay IN removing the refuse after IL was swept u
q. Would hot tho farmers buy IT Tor mauurof A. A
great deal OF 1t Is not III Tor manureou hats, hoop
| skirts, aud old boots mako good
| manure.
q. They would not mako the sands oil Long Island
! iertilcy a. DON'T thiuk they would. Q.ausntcr.l
Dir. Wcshaln coalnund 10 state that anotner reason
| why tho farmers would not buy II VAS because
frcightasc ON carrying II from the city so higl.
There oil IL except present
process oil dumping II at sea, unless tho method
oi cremation should prove available. Tho
might DC used Tor lins N lots, bat II tho garbage
should Used tusrc would DC another Harlem Hat
| nuisance. Tho difference between Now York aud
European cities was that there the ordinances
! observed; here they were rot Tho prceent Police
Board he thought more efficient than any former one.
MIR Wckham then rc.errcu 10 the action OF the Police
Bonrd last regard to the RIOTS and SAID tuat
their lrm ana preparations had prevented riots
here, ana that every city IN The Union indebted
them Tor their conduct III checking disturbances which
IN
| VARIED EVIDENCE,
Mr.. Seth G. HawIoy, the chef clcrk Of the Poiice
Board, then cylicu aud testified that the Police
coula not 40 batter than they had done matter
OF street cleaning with Their limited Appropriation.
They had 2s3 mics oil stress to ccan ana they had
no place which 10 dump tho refuse
John II. hall, The foreman Of the last Grand Jury.
| which made prcscntmcnt against the Excise Com
missoners, testified that he loow ing ct-
ter from tue Mayor asking that tho Excise Counts
sioncrs DC giveu hearing, and no suuscqu emily
called upon the Mayor ana hat u conversation VITA
! HIM
My DEAR SIX Should charges be before Grand
jury ngas the ,seo ~ would sasst ns
IL tneir bcnali Very yours SMITH ..AY, Jr.
! Jous II. HALL, Foreman of Grsnd jury
Mayor Eiy SAID he objected TO any private convcrsa
ton between tho witness and himself beng divuscd,
TOOK place after the Grand jury had closed ltd
labors AIR. Ficia then said no would not press the
matter A WAS here taken Tor haif an hour.
/ AT quarter paat three tho triai was resumed As
sistant District Attorney Rollins ex-upited states
Dstrct Attorney Bliss and othets were present The
| examination oil Mr. Hawicy, the chief clerk of tho
| Police Board, was resumed. He went into details
| tho question OF executing the hNcisc law and the
statutes on the subject winch governed the Board.
| rnc following gentlemen were next examined, and
all testified that present Police Board was more
efficient than any orncr one, both Us regards tho
xcis. matters aud cleaning OF the streets John
i, Green bookkcopar Tor the street Cleaning DEPART
mcnt: Charles r. Mcican OF tho Corporation Counsel
Captain Mccullough OF tho Seventeenth precinct;
Inspectors Dllks. McDcrmott and Murray Captain
Kialca OF the thirty iith precinct; Captains MELON
| mel d oil the Eighth Caiifcy, OF the Four.n; Walsh
Of The rs onty.sxtn, aud Aiaire OF tho Sixteenth.
AN LSgRGErc PROTEST.
II was now Ave O'Clock, anu Mayor Ely suggested
that a recess DO taken TO SIX o'clock when the case
| snouId be resumed Ex-Judgc Fullerton, OF the
counsel for the Police COMMISSIONERS, protested
against going on ut night u tns would prevent them
from properly preparing their Tho Ma, or,
ne said. had maze no specific charges agans.
the Commissioners, therefore they had 10
| range over tho whole fold OF tho COMMISSIONS rs'
duty prove that they had not boon dcrcct any
point The counsel himself had spent two nights ON
the case when His Honor was asleep ought 10 have
! been, aud he dd not wish 10 go on that night. IL
| was unfair, as the Commissioners should have tho
riynt In q Ia "a q