The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-01-29
The MARsHAL'S LETTER.

The STANDARDS special wire brought
the following communication from
Butte last night
n, the Editor If the Standard:
wish Ia call your attention tai several articles
published in the STANDARD in the past few
weeks. all of which, Ia u certain extent, couple
misconduct as officers In Butte city. I have
nothing to say mt this time regarding the duty or
officers now ON the police force. ] desire that
part OF the AFFAIR LEFT to the investigating COM
mittec ar the city council, and the more univer-
sal and direct and general that investigation Is
the better IL will he for me. ] am not ashamed of
my actions, either public ar private. and ]
court the most searching inquiry at once. lf
there has been q wrong committed by any OF the
police officers bet the guilty ones he located and
punished, but il is not fair "a allow the public to
draw upon its imagination and couple innocent
parties with crime, as yOur paper has done. IL
is wrong for the city council or the public tn hold
me responsible ar answerable for the acts Of
n police force when I have not one word
to Gay as to who they shall he. The
police are put ON 10y the council and ] am not re-
sponsible for their character or actions. N the
council would allow me To use my Judgment AS tn
who would he IA police officer, I would then AS
sumo the entire responsibility for their actions.
II you will give the above communication space
i'm your columns, I would feel obliged.
&. y. MCARTHUR.
BUTTE, Jan. %. City Marshal.
The STANDARD has coupled
Marshal McArthur's name with the
misdeeds of any man. 1t has not "a1-
lowed the public to draw upon it's i'm
aginatiOn and couple innocent parties
with crime" 1t is not in that pictur-
esque style of business. This newspa-
per has lone nothing of the sort. 1t has
not taken particular pains to compli-
ment the Marshal's management
because the condition of the
force has not warranted it,. At the
same time the STANDARD is not re-
sponsiDle for any u~nwarranted infer
ences which the Marshal may draw n
apply to himself. lie knows perfectly
well what was lately told to the investi-
eating committee and that il did not
reflect so much rs a whisper on his Of
fetal integrity. Mr.. Macarthur knows
this perfectly well: So does the
STANDARD.
The letter of the marshal is vel
coined mt this office because its closing
sentences show precisely why Butte's
police service is feeble. The city has
no police commission of nOn partisan
makeup. as most well-managed cities
rave. IL has M number of officers who
stay on the force as long as they are
faithful and whose years of continuous
service mak them valuable men. AS
goes Butte's charter election, so goes
it's police force. 1t becomes Il part of
the election material and n potent fac
tor in political machinery: and We're
the Marshal the truest officer that ever
wore "a badge. Butte's police service
will he bad until n radical change is
made i'm the il is created. That
change ought to come speedily. Mar
shall cArthuris comment is the com
plete argument on the question.
Receiving his letter in the spirit
i'm which we assume il was written. the
STANDARD believes that the Marshal
has put i'm "a single sentence IA fatal
failure i'm Butte's organized police.