New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-01-19
BREAKING TIE EXCISE LAW.
THE FAULT HIGHER THAN Mr.. WALLING.
nrsrrIrs or TILE rXPRRInNCE or D. j. WHITNEY,

d.. Whitney, chairman of the Committee for th'
| Enforcement Of Law of the Society Tor tn'
| Prevention Of Crime, has spoken very freely
70 n TRIBUNE reporter who called on him II
relation to the. great number of eyaslon'
of the Excise law in New-York and the failure Of
the authorities to do their duty in the premises
Mr. Whitney was found reading The TRIBUNE
report Of an interview with superintendent
Wallinc. and said: 1.-THE fault lies higher
than Walling. and it is high time TINS thlnl
was 4aken hold of by the Grand Jury and the
! people. Walling is man. | believe who' u
his hands were not tied would make things
lively for the criminal classes. lie is now
at that time of life when man takes
pride in doing his duty well. AS
he says here, the Commissioners tell HIM to
shut up unlicensed houses but not to arrest
tho proprieors, and that is sheer nonsense.
| The Commissioners are TO blame. why, L
went to one of the Board recently and told nm
that bad called the attention OF the captain oil
| police precinct to a notorious den, ana lie pald
| no attention to me. / asked the COM
missioner TO instruct that captain to make
arrests in that place and he refused, say
| ing he was after bigger fish. Within the
last ten DAYS a number of reputable citiZns caled
on one Of the Commissioners and laid before MN
the affairs of a precinct that is reeklng with crime,
Start your stream in a muddy fountain, and you get
only muddy water
81 tried a case recently before the Police Board
where nv men caught two officers in liquor-'alOon
between ~ and o'clock Monuay morning. one of
them in full uniform The officer on beat also came and
looked IN at the door but made arrests. The case
has not vet been adndicated, and those men are
still doing duty. Mr.. Walhng speaks here a great
deal about the rule OF not arrcstng the proprietors
of unlicensed saloons. | would like to ask the Com
issoners what right they have to pat rtle on their
books contrary TO the law of the state. The law
is mandatory and they have az good right to IN
struct the police not TO make arrest for murder
unless they know that the person sus-
pected is actually the murderer There
is one point in which Walling and his MEN are mt
fault aud that is IN not enforcing The Sunday law.
When o'clock comes and all day
Sunday all liquor saloons. whether licensed
or not. should be closed. Ono SUNDAY
last summer / took walk about the city and
entered sixty-ninc saloons, in which l counted
over one thousand people drinking. or
waiting 10 drink. II the Police Commissioners
are honest in the performance Of duty, why
do they retain in position captains whose precincts
are dangerous and where las y not eutorcedf
Why is it that when ward detectives have the
reputation OF making their weekly rounds for
fees the Commissioners do not change them
abonis have alidavits in ms office Of people who
swear that they have given and do give money con-
finually TO ward detectives. If the Grand jury
would 90 around without previous notice through the
Tenth, Fourth. Eighth, Fifteenth, Twenty NINTH
Twentieth, Seventeenth or Twenty-iirst Precincts,
they would get an the Information they want or
need ON tins subject.
..Thr Mayors NOT free from blame ~ the matter.
.r.. oltn I4fl MuVpr
Cooper gcar ago. and he told me there were
too many adiectives in NV complaint.
changed 10 90 suit his views. and be-
then sad DO was an right and the precautions
would bo made. Nothing ha. get been done. Dr.
Crosby wrote 10 him ard iricd 20 induce him to
bring those charge 10 trial, but be has not done So
say he ougnt c. b, brought Co account.
II do not think / can speak respectfully of the
dxcise Board. Their places should be- filed bY men
who would not license such horrible holes % exist
to-day for instance. IN Chatham-st, the bowcrv
and BaNarl-st-hoics whore life Il NOT safe
And then the failure 90 execute the law Is shown n
the great discrepancy between the figures funi t'cd
mo bv Collector, Of United States Revenue
and the figures given me from tho Office
Of. the Excise Commissioner. The total
number of liquor-,ojliug place, iu Ncw-lork which
paid revenue to the United states aud were licensed
FROM Nav 10 Noycmbcr I. 1870. was o.oG3. The
Gcu.rs furnished from the Office OF The Excise
Board put theuuiubcr of such places between Tie
same dates 40 I.GI3. The discrepancy in figures is
1850. This is q startling showing OF inciiciDn cy.
On December l. 1879 tie ENcise Commits
crs published a report Ia which they sand That
only DOS unlicensed houses existed ~ tie
Cty.' They now say thn. on January l. 1850, the
putnbcr of unlicensed rum SHOPS had been reduced
To- go bat thi, is false. | learned only tiN
evening that Oh. claim IS made by the TX
else Board that more than 1000 licenses
r,r over May !. 1870. and that IN the comparison
have last made their department should be given
credit for that number. Even granting
tbc claim. there remains discrepancy
of over 5000, which can be accounted
lnr IN only one way. The United STATES
Revenue Collectors ore mon VINO Only Aup"
straight line VA their duty, and who permit NO M
fractions of the law. The liquor men know very
well that II they violate the United StaieS Jaw
thrv Wi ID be prosecuted unrcicnlngA ana III cihtt
be sent 10 prison or fined heavily. Hence they pay.
Bat they snap their fingers II the titY authorizes
There Is another instructive discrepancy 10 some on
the igmes furnished me. In tue report OF The
United states officers the number OF licensed
retail malt liquor dealers is given at l,522,
while in that of the Excise Board II Is put ~ DOB
The explanation is found iu the dishonesty OF the
liouor men, who sell spirtuOus liquor under the DIS
gtiisc of selling malt liquor only, They are afraid
of the United States, aud pay their lquur licenses
to Government officers, while they take out malt,
l0uor licenses from the Excise Board and
save the difference between the cost of the two IL
censes The figures given by the Revenue Collectors
do not represent the total number OF places where
liquor Is sold in New-York. You may safely say that
such sales are made in least 1000 5000 houses
of prostitution. II would cost great deal OF money
10 break up these sales and there is no contingent
fluid To be used for such q purpose
TUO POISONING CASES.