The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1883-11-17
OUR LETTER FROM BROADBRiM.

Another Week of Violence" One of the
Finest"-The Election-Oliver johnson
Non Est-Discord Among the Musicians
ART Notes.
NEW YORK, November TO- 1883.
EDITOR CHIEF:
The week has been exceptionally tur-
bulent and violent, for whatever of evil
there is in men seems to come out about
election time more than at any other sea-
son of the year. The week has been pro-
life of murders, suicides, robberies, elope
ments and runaways, and the worst of it
was that there was little or no relief to the
general evil portents of the time. There Is
much bad whiskey in circulation at cleo
ton time, and regret to add that notwith-
standing the we'll intentioned efforts of
Brother Sawyer, Francis Murphy, and all
the rest of the cold water evangelists, that
bad whiskey drinkers are as numerous as
"the sands on the seashore or the stars in
the milky way"
If you doubt it, all you have to do is to
step into any bar-room, and if there is not
man in sight say, "Come, boys, take q
drink" Instantly, as though the air was
filled with telephones, you will see them
rushing from every quarter. It's wonder
full, very wonderful-like Roderick Dhu's
men, they seem to start from the ground.
Now, whiskey at forty cents gallon is not
q f1rst-class drink, and when an energetic
New York local politician puts himself on
the outside of a quart of it, he generally
wants to fight, and, to the credit of our city
be it recorded, he does not have to hunt
very long before he is accommodated with
all he wants. This at least was the e1pe-
rience of William Conroy-" one of the
finest Whose beat was in the twenty third
precinct. If there is one rule more insisted
on than another by the Police Commission
ers it is that policeman shall not drink
upon his beat. William Conroy had been
disciplined for that very offense only few
weeks before, and had been reprimanded
and mulcted three days pay; more than
that, he had been arrested for robbery once,
and once for murder, but, by hook or by
crook-and I think it was by crook-he
managed to slip through the clutches of
the law. Of course this is exactly the prop
or kind of timber to make policemen of.
One great advantage of selecting this ma
terial is, they know all the thieves, and the
thieves know the police, so that no thief
who has any regard for his professional
standing will attempt to run of with red
hot stove while policeman is around, if
| he can find roll of bank-notes or lot OF
silver spoons. Billy Conroy was a heeler
for Paddy Kinney, the Alderman of the
eighteenth ward, and Paddy had him put
on the police two years ago. It is true the
antecedents of Conroy were rather unsavo-
| ry, but he could serve his friend Paddy,
one of Tammany Halls magnates, better
as policeman than common rough. II
is most excellent custom, and one beyond
all praise, for our Judges Aldermen, and
other public functionaries, about election
times, to leave small sums around at the
different saloons for the boys to take a
drink. This hospitable and excellent GUS
tom is firmly engrafted on our political
system, and our admirable police are neve,
neglected. They generally expect to gel
their nip inside of the storm door, an in
genious addition to every first class saloon
and usually labeled ''Family Entrance, >
for the reason that women and children
| can<there be accommodated without incon
venience or danger. The storm door wa:
Policeman Conroy's stronghold, but wher
the bar-keeper said "Billy Murphy left {
drink for you," he stationed two boys tt
look out for the roundsman and stepped
into the soloon. Then a dispute arose
about matter of thirty cents, and for thi:
sum this model policeman killed man
and that he did not kill half dozen is no
his fault. He did what he could, and th
question that now exercises US is, will Mr.
William Conroy grace the gallows, or receiv
the thanks of the Police Commissioners. Al
jesting aside, it is terrible thing to rehec
that our lives and all we have are at tn
mercy of protectors like these, whose mug
are found in our rogues' galleries, and who
if they had their deserts, would be insid
the walls of our penitentiary or State pris
on. 1t is to be hoped that some effort Wi
be made to sever the connection OF our pc
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