The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-09-14
WHICH Is Q%UALIFIEDY
r. II, u. Wants to Know who IL tho host
Successor to Ell Perkins.

r. II, u. Wants to Know who IL tho Best
Successor to Ell Perkins,
To THE INDEPENDENT: I ace there ia a re-
ply in this mornings Journal, to my
communication which appeared In Thu
INDEPENDENT OF the nth inat., in
which it 10 ~insinuated that I have not told
the truth regarding my arrest and imprison-
ment in the city Jail. 1 will leave II to those
who have read both articles and are familiar
with the facts discussed in them to decide
which one Of us 10 best fitted to succeed Eli
Perkins as the great American preyaricator.
I think the decision will be in favor of the
Journals ANONYMOUS correspondents.
/ raiterate here that the circumstance of
related them in my letter to The ~INpEpEN-
pENr. l deny that my name il Banks. l
was not in jail while that awful gentleman
was there. l do not even know him.
Neither am | acquainted with MIR. Tracy.
Moreover, ! did not write to The INpnpEN-
man. l was u~njustly treated by the police,
as were several Others and | wanted all fair
minded people of Helena to know it, hoping
that it would tend to prevent snch shame
full occurrences in the future. ] must ad-
nit, however, that I did expect to secure
the heartfelt sympathy of the distinguished
editor of the Journal, and believe | have
su oceeded in my designs. He has lately
been in Jail and knows how it is himself.
"A fellow feeling makes us wondrous
A to what I said about the tilthiness of
the Jail / have nothing to take back. 1t
was most certainly in a bad condition while
I was confined in its odoriferous precincts.
Perhaps this could not be helped. There
was never less than twenty prisoners in the
flock up while / was there. They were of
all ages. classes and conditions. Drunken
men were brought in at all hours of the
night. Many of these seemed to grow sick
at the stomach the moment they entered
the room. l do not mean TO say that the
bad air with which the prison was filled
affected thus sought a favorable corner and
added their mite.
The statement that the police do not
drink in public bar-rooms while on duty 10
amusing. The Journals unnamed one may
be right when he hints that the police have
their own private bar-rooms in which they
drink when they are on post, but the reader
see our officers drinking in a public
resort, and that, too, in uniform and while
on duty.
The assertion that the police force of
Helena will compare favorably with that of
any other state ia sheer nonsense. In most
eastern cities applicants for admission to
the force must stand a rigid examination,
both physical and moral, ere they receive
an appointments. This is not the case here.
Besides, Gn0fe ID no OlSClpllne, ana WltnOut
discipline there can be no efficiency. Thu
Helena officer does just about as he pleases.
If he feels tired while on patrol he sits
on a doorstep and rests his weary
limbs. If he is hungry he goes IN eats. If
he likes one part of his beat better than
another he will be generally found at that
spot. There are no rules and regulations
to prevent him from doing SO, or, if there
are such they are never enforced. But let
that pass.
In conclusion I will say that if my advice
were taken and the better dressed class OF
suspicious characters more closely watched
by the police they might possibly catch a
genuine burglar, suoh as made the descent
the house of the Maggie sisters some time
ago. But they follow their own theories,
6upt. Byrnes himself could teach them
nothing, and the result is the jail is packed
men who do not possess stamina
enough to steal a shirt from a clothes line,
less enter a store or dwelling for the
purpose Of robbery. while the sleek, we'll
fed and well-olad crook reaps his harvest
and departs for other fields unchecked.
HELENA, Sept. Il. F. B. B..
BUY your lamps ut The Bee Hive and save 20
per cent.
Crockery. glassware, lamps, tinware, silver
ware and fancy goods. L. j. Edwards, 10 South
Main street.