The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-05-07
The Matter of police Matron.

some years ago, as mas already been said,
a number of Portland ladies, members of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, ask
ed the City Council to allow them to station
at the police office woman TO be selected by
them ana to be known as police matron, to
have a certain amount Of charge of female
offenders brought there. These ladies were
engaged in a reform work of great value to
the public, and they made the request largely
because they believed that the information
obtained through this matron who would
have an opportunity to learn the names OF
unf0rtnnates brought to the station, their
circumstances and the causes of their fall
would greatly facilitate their work. The
actual service she could render at the police
station, important as that would
sometimes be, was regarded by the
Union as but small and comparative
ly insignificant part of her mission
The City Council granted the request and
the experiment was tried solely at the ex-
pense of the ladies. 1t worked so well and
so general was the conviction of its value
that a succeeding city council contributed
something toward the expense and sub
sequent council increased the contribution.
The present Board Of Aldermen, however,
without, so far as has appeared, request
from any one, without any hearing, and
without making public any reason for their
action whatever at special meeting has
seen fit to summarily lop off what was con-
sidered by its originators the most important
part of the mission of the police ma
tron by ignoring entirely the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union through
which alone that part of her mis-
sion can be successfully fulfilled. A
large number of citizens, including many of
the most prominent and influential, and
among them several ex-mayors, who have
been personally familiar with the benefits
that have flowed from the arrangement that
existed previous to the last meeting Of the
Board of Aldermen, have united in petit
ton asking the Board to reconsider their ac-
ton, at least to the extent of giving the la
dies a hearing The request is a reasonable
one and it comes from sources that surely
deserve respectful attention. The petition
asks for the appointment of no particular
person. it asks that nobody shall be turned
out. 1t simply prays that an arrangement
which has existed for several years and
which has been productive of such good re-
suits as to receive the endorsement of half
score of Boards of Aldermen and
five or six mayors, shall be restored.
We have assumed that the only interest of
the Board in the matter was TO do what ap-
peared to them to be for tie best interest of
of tn. public. We have assumed that they
had no prejudice in the matter which would
prevent their fairly weighing whatever argu-
ments might be submitted to them and cor
recting their mistake, if it should appear
that they had made mistake. The Alder
man from Ward 3, however, yesterday avail
ed himself Of the Sunday papers to inform
the public that the correctness of these as
sumptions was as far as he is concerned.
is open to grave doubt, by virtually asserting
over his own signature that the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union, an association
laboring necessarily to assist unfortunate
women by every method which the in
gennity Of woman can devise, was engaged
in crusade against a soldiers widow,
and that some two hundred of the
most intelligent citizens of Portland with
Gen. Francis Fessenden at their head were
in great danger of being dragooned by this
lntrcucSs Udnu ol Woihen Iuto asking tHe
Board of Aldermen ito take bread from a
true woman whose husband contracted dis
ease while in his country's service which
cost him his life." 1t is needless to say
that the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union is engaged in no such crusade. Some
prejudice has distorted the vision of the gen.
tleman from Ward 3. 1t is devoutly to be
hoped that the remainder of the board have
not formed any erroneous opinions that will
prevent their diseernsing precisely what the
question is and considering it OH its merits.