The Portland daily press., 1893-02-23
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND
THUGS.

THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND
Yesterdays Argus contained the reply
which the police department. have to
make to the charge made by the PRESS
that the department is used to shield
disturbers of the peace instead of to
arrest and try them. That reply was
not from George L. SWEET, the City Mar
shall, nor from Chase the Deputy Marshal
1t was from no member Of the force, nor
from any city official. It was not even
on the authority of the Argus itself.
The defender of the police department.
was Dennis MCCARTHY, the tough who
was SO badly handled in the street fight
on Thursday of last week. Credible
witnesses of the affair state that Nc
earthly was picked up after the fight
bruised, bleeding and senseless. Nc
Carthy denies-not that there was fight
on Commercial street in broad day, not
that he was knocked down, not that
Deputy Marshal Chase arrested O'Don-
nell, not that that worthy was let out
the next morning without being brought
before the court.
What does Mccarthy deny? He de-
MES that he was hurt SO badly as the
PRESS represented. Mccarthy is repre-
sented by the Argus as saying:
nell last Thursday night and struck O'Donnell
and O'Donnell struck him and he fell on the
sidewalk, slightly bruising one ear.
This is the defence which the cham
pion of the police department, the tough
Mccarthy, makes in the columns iof the
Argus.
The fight was not at night but about
noon. There was crowd about and
much excitement, so much that the po-
lice were sent for. Considerable uproar
for a slight bruise of the ear caused by
falling over on the sidewalk!
The Argus then goes on to supplement
McCarthy's statement.
Mccarthy says after the set-to he got up and
walked home with friend. Deputy Marshal
Chase was informed that there had been a fight
and following after O'Donnell, arrested him,
next morning oDcnneli was not put before the
court because there was no one to appear
against him. MCCARTHY did not cause his, ar
rest, and none of those who saw the scuffe took
nesses against O'Donnell. Therefore he was
discharged from arrest.
Deputy Marshal Chase has become so
accustomed to letting distubers go that
he allows the Argus to mention per-
Torrance of this sort as one of the sim
plest things in the world.
Yet it was plain violation of his duty
as an officer. Tt is not sufficient excuse
that no one appeared against Mccarthy.
1t was Chase's duty to swear out war
rant, and to put before the court what
ever case he had.
There was one part of the PRESSES ar
ticle that the champion of the police de-
partment did not reply to. It is this:
No better measure of the proportion of this
scandal can be found than the receipts of the
city from the country on account of witness
fees. The witness fees that are earned by po-
lice officers by their testimony in criminal
cases in the municipal court are not paid by the
county to the officers, but to the city. The
city's receipts from this source indicate the
frequency with which officers have been called
as witnesses, and this in turn shows approx
mately how many persons have been before the
court for misdemeanors of various sorts. Last
wear the city's receipts from this source were