The Indianapolis journal., 1892-12-10
Superintendent Of Police Byrnes Ridiculed and
Denounced for His Method Of Repressing
the Social Evil in the City Of Gotham.
Warned to Let the Gospel Alone and At
tend to WIping 0ns the Brothels.
A Preacher Causes Sensational Scene in Court
BY Abjectly Apologizing for Slandering q
Judge and Chief Of Police at Auburn.
PARKHURsT'S TURN.

The New York Divine Replies to superin-
tendent OF Police Byrnes.
NEW YORK, Dec. 9.-The clash between
the Rev. Dr.. Parkhurst, president of the
Society for the Suppression of Vice, and
Superintendent of Police Byrnes has
worked itself down TO an open and de-
cidedly wrathy debate on the proper
method of dealing with the social evil, and
as the debate proceeds each contestant
seems to be striving to overwhelm the
other by vilificasion and abuse. In answer
to Superintendent Byrnes's letter of yes
terday. DR.. Parkhurst gave out the follow
ing caustic reply tonight.
''In his new statement Mr.. Byrnesjumps
from vltuperati0n to theology. If possible
he is q worse theologian than he is police
superintendent. There is such thing as
the gospel, and there is such thing as the
law. Both are good when kept distinct,
but both are spoiled by being mixed. The
gospel requires us to deal lenlently with
sinners. Mr.. Byrnes deals leniently with
sin, which IS quito another matter. His
business Is to take inIauity and make it
execrabie in the public estimation, which
is exactly what he is not doing and has
not the remotest intention of doing.
He says he has raided and closed 40
houses of i'll fame. Granted: and yet he
knows there mover has been time during
the past ten months when the social vice
was practiced more hagrantly than 1t was
three weeks subsequent TO the November
election. If / were superintendent of po-
lice. and had closed 40 houses of i'll fame
without producing o tincture of impress
sion on the dirty criminals by whom these
houses are run. should be burnIngly as
shamed to the last drop of my blood. 1t Is
not the closing of house that tells. 1t IL the
moral purpose it is done with. and that IS
exactly what MIR. Byrnes has not got. His
business is TO make law majestic. and he
does not. He makes it contemplate. and
unless the March grand jury were utterly
at fault he stands at the head of q depart
ment that coins wealth out of the very
vices that it Is constituted to suppress We
cannot have an effective department. till
the animatIng head Of it is moral inspira-
ti0n to the force.
Just try to conceive now of Mr. Byrnes
as Q moral inspiration. lie says: Hide
the evil from public view, where it cannot
corrupt the morals of the growing youth
Why does he not hide it from the public
view, thenf 1t was only fifteen minutes
ago that reporter of one of our most
estimable journals said to me: L live In o
respectable part of the town. and yet
cannot 60 q block and q half from my own
home without meeting half dozen prostl-
tutes ana being solicited by at least half of
them. In the evening troops of them are
moving MP and down my block How is
He says that i have found crime and
that any one will find it who seeks it long
and persistently enough In the midn tyht
hours when good citizens should be in bed.
What do We have o night police for if IL is
not to seek it out and find IL when re-
spectacle people are in bedf would go
further and say that respectable people
have no business to go to bed when they
know that the superintendent of police ls
letting the city go to the devil when they
had uo ha hoy
trodden path that leads from the very door
of my church, as il were. to O brOthel hard
" q gunshot away. YOu acknowledge
then. do you, Mr.. Byrnes, that there is a
brothel near my church that You know OF.
and that you know that young men In
great numbers are hocking to itl How is
that for moral purpose!
"You threw it in my face, in your previous
statement. that was making accusations
against you without proof. Accept my
thanks for this new item of proof that
can put along side of what l have already.
/ am obliged tOyou for your unsolicited
confession. loathe the man with unut-
terable contempt who, occupying the posi-
tI0n of splendid authority that Mr.. Byrnes
does. dares to come out and publicly con-
fess that he 10 permitting-which is an
other way of say ing that he Is sustaining
one of these hell holes into which no say 8
he knows that young men are being en-
ticed
I'm the name OF the 2s2d section of the
act of consolidation. and in the name of
the wretched young men of my conarega-
ton, whom that accursed den under your
protection is bliRhting and running. de-
mand of you. Mr. Byrnes, that you put
your official hand on that brothel and
crush it.
For the Lords sake. Mr.. Byrnes when
you quote don't eulogize the gospel IN the
same vile breeth In which yon make that
damning self-incrimination. Year case Is
strongest when you saw least. Ton had
better quit the homily business and attend
to your legitimate concerns."