Los Angeles herald., 1892-09-04
LETTER BAG.
MIR. Hardesty's Views.


Mr.. Hardesty's Views.
EDrroRs HERALD: While sitting in
my clientless office, on Wednesday morn
ing of this week, thinking of "cork-
screws, )" "punch- bowls" and 'roller-top
desks.' was approached by member
OF the Union League, who with grand
salaam, in one time and three notions,
in perfect silence delivered to me the
following literary curiosity, to wit:
Los ANGELES, CAL, Aug. 81, 1892.
Jesse Hardesty, Attorney-at-law, Los Angeles,
California:
DEAR SIR: At meeting of the board
of police commissioners of the city OF
Los Angeles, held August 80, 1892, was
instructed to cite you to appear before
the said board at l o'clock pm, Tues
day, September 6, 1892, to give testi-
mony in the matter OF the investigation
of Chinese gambling in this city. Very
respectfully yours.
J. NJ. GLASS, Chief of Police.
While was examing the document,
the Mercury of the board, seeing that
my eyes were off him for the moment,
quietly stole away, and robbed me Of
bis presence. "The robbed that smiles,
steals something from the thief" l
know the fellows face, but am not
certain as to his name he is clerk at
the police station. am informed that
Policeman Glass has been instructed to
cite me to appear before the board OF
police commissioners at l O'Clock pm,
on Tuesday, September 6, 1892, to give
testimony about Chinese gambling.
Now, l can't, for the life of me, see how
I am at all concerned in what the board
of police commissioners instructed Glass
to do.
Why did he not issue the citation,
instead of telling me about his instruc-
tions to issue it? Judging from his size
and the foregoing document, / should
say that Policeman Glass is better quail
fled to move heavy freight than he is
to devise judicial writs. If l have read
the papers correctly, all this trouble
grows out of Mr.. Snyder's suggestion,
that it was being limited that some of
| the police commissioners were receiving
"divy" out of Chinatown. Whether
or not there be any truth in Mr.. Sny-
der's suggestion, it follows that of all
the people on earth the police commits
sioners are most unfit to try that charge.
"No one should be judge in his own
cause" is a maxim of law that even
policemen ought to be familiar
| with. sin the matter of the investiga-
tion of Chinese gambling in this city,"
! quote from the policeman's letter of
advice above set forth. have not seen
or heard it denied, even by the police,
that fam tan, lottery, domino and Chi.
nese pool games ere running in China
town. Mr.. Snyder's suggestion of
"divy" carries with it an admission of
that fact. Men have sworn in the supe-
rior court to having paid money to po-
licemen for running fan tan games, but
of course the policemen denied it under
oath, and it was, after all, only the oath
of a Chinese gambler against the oath of
a policeman alleged to have been bribed,
and, besides, after swearing against the
policeman, the Chinese were promptly
convicted by the testimony of those
same policemen. This matter of the
police commissioners "citing," swear
ing and examining witnesses is all
rot of the worst kind; it is
like District Attorney McLachlan's
calling, swearing and examining the late
| grand jury as to their action in certain
! cases that came before them while they
! were in session. There is no sworn
charge in this case against any one, and
| if there were the police commissioners
| have no authority to examine or try it.
There being no Jurisdiction in the COM
missloners to commit on criminal
charges, the swearing of witnesses would
be nulity, and, ii the witnesses called
before the commissioners, and put
through the form of taking an oath,
should be guilty of lying in every word
spoken by them, they could not be pros
ecuted for perjury. The object of this pre-
tended investigation of Chinese gamb-
ling is, in my opinion, an attempt on the
part OF some OF the police authorities to
find out what Captain Harris, Captain
Darcy, few others, and the writer,
know about Chinese gambling in Los
Angeles, and to put those parties on
trial instead of the commissioners. If
there were grand jury and properly
organized, the commissioners might in
quire into these matters. If the COM
missioners want to know whether there
is Chinese gambling going on, let them
ask the police, and at the same time
guarantee to each policeman perfect i'm
munlty from removal or suspension on
account of his testimony in the matter,
and in my opinion they will confer
great public benefit, and while they are
about it they might ask all the ex-
policemen who have been removed
within the last two years. l think the
experiment is worth trying.
Yours truly, JESSE HARDEsTY.
Everybody is talking about the beautifer