The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-01
THE pDIICEM EMS PAY.
An Interview with the Mayor and til
Chief Of Police on Police Matters,


| Chief of Police on Police Matters,
We had heard Emusic in the air" for some time
past concerning the fact that the police has not
been paid since the Let Of September, and In
fact some Interested parties had actually com.
plaiaed to Us, anxious to know the why and
wherefore of this delay on the part Of the city in
settling up with the guardians of property and
preservers Of the peace. Exaggera,ive persons
even went 80 far az 10 say that this absence of
pay impaired the efficiency of the police and
cloyed the zeal Of our peelers upon the old estsb
lished theory of "Pas dargent pas de SUSSEX
We know very we'll that meroenary ideas and
hsnkering after the filthy ucre will enter into
most peoples composition and poison the souls
of the best meaning men. especially when the
necessity arises Of having to purchase durnslly
something to eat. We therefore deemed Ii proper
TO see what his honor the Mayor aud Dol. Boylan,
the chief of police, had to cay about the matter,
they being the responsible parties ON each side Of
the question.
Mayor Pllsbury states that he fully appreciates
the urgency of regularly paying the enlisted men
tract entered into by the city with these men,
but for the reason that he well understands how
much privatiou one months waiting for their
small salaries entails upon them. In conse-
the money to pay them IN 10 short time az pos
sble. He lie, however. in that respect, limited in
his powers. If the taxpayers do not come up to
tho mark, aud settle like patriotic citizens, or IT
measures are not taken to coerce the payment oil
the taxes, the Mayor does not see how the police
are to be paid.
We then told the Mavor that 1t was claimed
| that, instead of the buying up of premium bonds
| by the city from the funds derived from he
] winnings OF the city in the scheme, the money
might be better applied to paying off the police.
| THIS Mayor pisbury answered, was beyond pos
slbility. The premium bond law not only for
| babe the diversion OF such moneys from the pre-
MUM bond fund, but besides, the moneys never
| got into the city treasury, but were deposited in
| bank Immediately after each drawing, and that
any diversion of this fund from the purposes
stipulated in the law was penitentiary ottense.
! After this conversation with Mayor Pilsbury we
visited the off 70 of Chief Boylan, who received
| us with his usual courtesy.
| He positively denied that the efficiency Of the
police force mad been in any way impaired by the
delay in paying salaries since the lat OF Septem
| ber 1t is true, he said, that most of the men
suffer by the fact, as they have families to sup
port and must run up accounts with the butchers
and bakers, but the men do their duty neverthe.
less, and though the force is srestly reduced
more work in the detection and arrest Of crimi
male than was ever done before.
The records OF the police courts give historical
data to substantate this statement. The chic
acknowledges, and the policemen generally ad.
nit that the Mayor does all that he can to have
the force paid but he hasn't got ell the say so ir
the matter, and cannot pay where there is nc
money. During the course OF our further con
versation with Col. Boylan, he stated that II any
thing impeded the proper and legitimate working
rules to be governed by. The latest revised com
pllation Of city ordinances are Leovys, and date
from 1870. Since then great number OF thes'
ordinances have been abolished and others en-
acted in their stead.
Many arrests are made that end in naught, be
cause the recorders dismiss the prisoners under
the new statutes, or on account of the abolition
of the old ones. This has a tendency to rende
the policemen timid they Lave in .reality NJ
manual to be governed by. and are 10th to maxi
arrests in cases which they are bound to conside
doub full. Col. Boylan suggests, and we thinl
with good reason, that the city have compiled
book of ordinances, adopted as q whole, tina
could be placed in the hands of every pollcema,
or chief of precinct, to serve as a manual. As mat
ters stand now, it is almost impossible for tn
patrolman to know what he is about in making
an arrest.
The chief considers that he is at disadyau
tage on account of the Smal number on hi
force. There is not cityin the United State
covering so large an area ss New Orleans tina
has not police force double the one that W
have. With the immense suburbs that have to b
patrolled, it is a noticeable fact and great def
| ciency that the re should not be single MOUNTS
policeman or officer in the whole city. Upon in
ouiry as to the actual condition of the city, an
his ability to preserve law and order with tn
force at his disposal, Col. Boylan stated that
could manage to get along toerably we'll if h
only had proper laws to direct his men and protee
the citizens. The city has been lately receivin
a large number of trsmps, mostly all dangerou
men, whom the policemen know, but who csnnt
be ARE sted because there is no law to hold then
One of the many curses inflicted upon our con
munity by Radical rule was the abrogation Of til
vsgrant law. Our chief Of police says that eve
if bis force was trebled it would be very dificu
for him to keep order and protect the cltlzsr
wIthout a law TO back him. One Of the fir
duties Of our Legislature at its coming sessio
should be to psss enactments that would regula
| the stains and movements Of vagrants.
Get your kid gloves at Kreegers.
Il paa.5 Naura,s inuifafion To the China Palace