The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-11-10
WHERE THE BLAME BELONGS
Who Is Responsible for the Failure to
Properly Enforce the Liquor Laws.
Mayor Denny Refuses to Continue Furnishing
Poor Men Arrested for Drunkenness While
Law-Defying Saloon Keepers Escape.

In the City Court yesterday morning, when the
other business had been dispatched, Mayor Dem
ny asked that Pleasant Landers and jacob
Young, two men arrested on Sunday for drunk
enness, be brought il. They were placed in the
prisoners dock
Where is the superintendent of policel" in
quired his Honor. Where ia Captain O'Don-
nell?"
The superintendent had disappeared. He had
been in the room until minute or two before
the inquiry noted was made He, perhaps. sus-
pected that something was about to happen.
II am ready" said the Mayor, "to decide these
eases. / took them under adyisement because
wanted to think about the matter little longer.
/ have, in fact, been thinking on this class of
cases for several weeks. have not been able to
reduce to writing all might say. but have put
on paper my views briefly on the general sub
ject In the views / express here, want all the
subordinate officers of the police force to under
stand there is no criticism on my part against
them" The Mayor then read as follows:
''The defendants are charged with drunk, and
plead guilty. They were found intoxicated on
the public streets Sunday. l do net
remember a single Monday morning in
the ten months l have presided here
when there were not cases before me OF this
kind. Often there are as MANY as eight, ten or
dozen. These men get their liquor in saloons
in this city. and l am told that many saloon
keepers, who have always violated the Sunday
and ii o'clock law, have recently become so bold
and defiant about it that they do with their
| front doors open. For five or six months past
there has not been a single arrest made for a
violation of this law
ION the 25th of March last, the president of
the Police Board, in pubic address, gave to
structions to rigidly enforce this law. and went
so far as to instruct the superintendent to put
the men under him in citizens clothes, il need
be, in order to detect violations Of law. have
been asked many times by the law-abiding cti-
| Zens OF this city since that address was deliv-
cred, why orders then given by the board to the
superintendent have not been carried out, for it
has been matter of public notoriety that little
regard was being paid to this law by a large
majority of saloon keepers of this city During
all that time have been unable to answer these
questions,
II have been told by good citizens that 1t was
my duty to remedy this great wrong to society.
have always told them that was ready TO do
my full duty in that direction, but that had no
power to control the Police Board or the police
force, and that would not be party to putting
spies on the streets to detect violators of the
| law who were to come before me for trial. AS
read the law, l am poweress in this matter
without the assistance of the police authorities.
| The public have right to know who is RESPONSE
| BILE for the present state of affairs For myself,
deny all responsibility for it, and leave all 9TH
ers in authority to speak for themselves, as do
on the subject It has seemed to me to be a
mockery of justice to sit here week after week
| taking the bread out of the mouths Of innocent
women and children by fning men for being
drunk on Sunday, when the guiltier parties who
sell them liquor are not moested.
II shall reserve the right to do as I think
| proper in future cases of this character before
me. But as view the matter now, l feel just
| fed in releasing the defendants on commit
ments, allowing them to return to their families
and their work instead of going to the work
house. as they no doubt would if payment of
| their fines should be enforced. When an effort
shall be made to punish the men who violate the
| law by selling to this class Of unfortunates on
| Sunday then it will look more like doing equal
and exact justice to punish such these before
me for their offenses. You may CO."
| The Mayors address was quite as well relished
| by the officers who heard it as by the prisoners
who were released at its conclusion Two or
three little groups gathered and talked it over.
All were satisfied that his Honor had hit the nail
upon the head. and there little curiosity
expressed as to what Superintendent ODonnell
| would do next.
| Police Commissioner Murphy, when inter
viewed said, "that part of Mayor Denny's ad-
! dress in which he refers to the speech of the
president of the Police Board is correct Such
instructions were given to the men, and IN max
| ing that address was simply instructing the
men to do what the board desired they should
do. It was the action of the board. I have
never changed my mind since one iota The
superintendent has been repeatedly instructed by
the board. and cautioned by me individually. to
enforce the liquor law, both the IL o'clock Law
| 4ba To ~ ha fa;l IL
| it, it is because ne could not do it, had not the
power to do it, or that he was incapable of doing
| it, and the last do not believe. believe him
| to be painstaking, honest, conscientious super.
| intendent.n
Commissioner Schurmann said; IT approve of
all the Mayor has said in this address, except
that do not think the entire blame lies with the
Police Commissioners and the police force ]
distinctly remember Mr.. Murphy's address to
| the force on the 25th of March last and tina,
portion of his remarks concerning the enforce
ment of the liquor law had been talked over in
the board meeting that afternoon. 1 heartily
approved of the idea. and feel now that it was
| the correct thing. Our force has had a very
| discouraging time during the past few months in
enforcing the liquor laws l have made it my
| business, time and again. to attend Mayor Dem
| nv's court and see how he disposed of liquor
| cases. / have always found that where there
was case he would find guilty. Without ex-
ception, appeals were taken from his decisions,
and the cases, taken to the Criminal Court, were
never heard of again. This, of course, has nat
urally emit oldened the liquor men. l have heard
| that liquor men have stepped from their front
| doors Sunday and have threatened policemen
with decapitation if their business was inter
fered with. The seeming ascendency of the
| liquor element during the past few months has
| Oivpn such fhraatS Oraat weipnt and u1ada the
force somewhat timid. personally am for the
| strict enforcement of all laws, whether they may
be to my individual taste or not but it is impos-
sible for any man or any body of men to carry
out laws when their hands are practically tied by
| those higher in authority.
| Meeting Superintendent O'Donnell, the re-
| ported read to him Mayor Dennys remarks. He
/ lost his temper and replied with considerable
warmth: Il think the Mayor ought to attend to
his own business; that's all I've got to say. I