Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-10-16
ABOUT ACCEPTING BAIL.
THAT Interview With a Police
man Causes a Stir and
Some Feeling.
What Other City Officials
Think About 1.-THE Va
grancy Law.

From Saturdays Daily.
The interview with O policeman, published
IN Yesterdays MINER, created more of a
stir in police circles than the interviewed
officer expected that it would; certainly
more than he intended, for it now appears
that a wholesale Misunderstanding OF the
intent OF the officer in question awakened
snough resentment toprompt his superiors
IN dispense with his services. Fortunately,
rsrbsps. for him, his name is not knewn
ror will it be known. As explained yester.
dav by that same officer, when he realized
that his suggestions had not been received
cordially, his idea vas not to divest any
authorized officer OF the right to accept
ba;l for Migrants and parasites arrested
after the adjournment OF the police court,
Init to secure such legislation as would
preyent those s-upernumerary leeches from
obtaining any bail whatever after night I
fall. He fully expressed his views when he
said that the male deEizens OF houses OF
il.fame and other men OF like kidney cared
nothing for a fine; that imprisonment, if
IOr Only oAO hikhOt ""C "AoO GhCJ AO0AONs l
and that they could not be driven out OF
the city until they were given q smell of
life in the city bastile.
In discussing the unnamed policeman's
suggestions yesterday with q reporter for
TIE MINER, q certain city official who is in
q position to know whereof he speaks said
that il there wal a fault in The method OF
dealing with yagrants and disreputable
men who live ON the bounty OF shameless
women, the fault was not in the law, which
was plain enough on the point. Ordinance
IS, section L, deals with Migrants in the
following terms:
SECTION IA vagrant is hereby defined to be
port, without employment, or any place Of abode;
or every healthy beggar who solicits aims AZ 9
business; or any person who makes Q practice OF
money or other ~articlee, or seeks admission to
such houses on frivolous pretexts; every male
person who loiters sround or lives in or about
s sa,ESss Ct f III fsme; every 1G1i iesd and and dissolute fs-
male person known. as q street walker or COM
mon prostitute who SHALL upon the public
semblsse, or in any saloon, bar-room. cub
room or any other general or public place OF re-
sort for men, or any where within the sight or
OedTluR u 6Ql66 OT Nnx1uI6ut Auu VI boAhFO
herself In an immodest. drunken or indecent,
profane or obscene manner either by language,
action or improper exposure OF her person;
every common drunkard who is in the
habit Of lying around the streets, alleys. side
walks, saloons, bar rooms or other places in q
state Of gross intoxication; every person who is
found trespassing upon the private premises OF
others and not being able to account for his or
her conduct; every person having about his or
Der person any Instruments or things used for
the commission of burglary or picking locks or
pockets, failing to account for such possession;
also all persons who behave or conduct them
selves in an idle or d~issol1te manner. without
clared and ordained that any person or persons
who shall be found guilty Of any Of the acts men.
toned in this section. shall be deemed guilty OF
conviction thereof shall be lined in any sum not
exceeding one hundred dollars.
"The trouble lies with the police them
~selyes,l said the official. ':They accept
cash bail from these persons. In fact they
carry blank bonds about with them and
when they arrest one OF the gentry they
admit him to bail then and there il he has
az much money as his prospective fine
will be, or if he can get some friend to ad-
yante that amount Of money for him. The
systen 10 wrong because not authorized
by law. 1t 10 customary for the police to
do il, however, and has been their custom
for a long time, despite ita irregularity. Ii
the yags were duly arraigned, the law and
the court would be amply able to care Tor
them" :,
Under the prevailing system as outlined
BY the quoted city official, the person who
Qives cash bail t. q police officer shares
with that officer the honor OF assessing and
having the fine in the case. The officer
Axes the amount OF the bond and the pris-
oner forfeits it; this constitutes the fixing
OF the amount OF the fine n the paying
thereof.
City Marshal Macarthur was not inclined
10 regard with any degree OF favor the sug'
eeation that the right to accept bail be cur.
tailed, or that bail be denied to persons OF
the kind at whom the agitation was direct
ed. He denied, in the first place, that any
police officer except the chief OF police &C.
cepted bail as stated by the said city Off
cial, and said that the chief was fully au.
thorissd to take such bonds. The idea OF
having only one person, and that person
the mayor, authorized to accept bail after
or before court hours was impractlcable
and unjust. Discrimination could not be
made made against any one class OF leo
ple, because the constitution OF the coun-
try declared all men free and equal and en-
titled to the same rights. liza law or or
dinance forbade the taking OF bonds by the
chief oil police, a great many persons
would suffer. Neither the mayor mol
police Judge could be expected to
respond TO calls ZOE pah Nv {"
hours OF the night, whereas it
frequently happened that comparatively
harmless men were arrested at night for
trivial o~ffenses that did not merit such
punishment as O s~ojourn in the lookup
would be. Tom, Dick and Harry, who
were respected members OF society, some
times engaged in the pastime OF cHrmtntz
ing the camp, and often were dlsorderiy
enough to merit the reprimand OF q hne;
but their ~ofienses were not heinous enough
TO be treated as unbailable.
Suppose q man is arrested at nlght ioi
yaprancv and admitted to cash bail, winch
he ~forfsits by not appearing in the morning
when can he be arrested for the same Oh
lsnse2" was asked.
"After tw~enty.iour hours have passed,
think. Certainly after ten days" was 'ne
marshal's reply.
Still another gentleman whom the 70
porter approached on the subject OF veg
rancy said that he had no doubt that tn
law was sufficiently strong to crush TN
v~agrants and parasites, and he agreed
With Marshal Macarthur that the rignt Q
bail belonged eqalIy to all men. But. II TN
Migrants and pensioners ON prostltute
were i'm Butte as thick az they were re
ported to be, why were they not drlvel
out2 That was more OF a question 'h@'