The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-10-05
MISSIVE FROM DR. SMITH.
HE AGAIN ADDRESSES NEW HA-
 VEY,s POLICE BOARD.


 A Few Sample Bottles of whiskey In ES'-
 denoe of Law Violations - Vigorous
 Word. of Arraignment and Various suE-
 gestions.
 s,es New Haven, Conn, oct. |, isst' Tothe Board of Police Commissioners: Gentlemen-we are informed that the communication addressed by us to your board under date of September 20 has been placed by you upon your files. We beg leave to send to you to be placed if you see fit on the same files, together with our charges. a few sample bottles of'whiskey, with labels giving the places and dates where they were purchased, under the eyes and noses of your police in saloons which were open on Sunday contrary to law. We wish also in pre- senting to you these samples of evi- dence to renew in general and in par ticular the allegations of fact, and peti- tions for your action contained In the communication which you have laid away among your archives. We would also state that we have in readiness a supplementary list in addition to the ninety seven places where the law Is violated, which we have already re- ported to you; and, if you desire to add tnfa tn inn we can also inform you as to how only last Sunday in many places the liquor law and the provision of 1t also relating to screens were observed in New Haven. We would also beg leave further to submit either that your board must have failed to appreciate the serious ness of the allegations made in our last communication to you or that we must be obliged to advance to the still fur ther and sweeping charge that, with the knowledge, connivance and consent of police commissioners, laws of the state are habitually and extensively violated, patronage is exchanged for protection, and judgment is perverted in the cases of notorious law-breakers, among whom is one alderman to whom we expressly called your official attention in theletter now reposing on your files, and against whom we ourselves are ready to offer evidence to the prosecuting attorney if your police are not able to obtain it.
 We should not be under the necessity of troubling you with this or any fur ther communication if the statutory law provided, as the next legislature may be asked to provide, general law under which the conduct of any public officials who may be charged with abus- ing a public trust may be subjected to judicial investigation. Were such judi cial process now possible we might bring to searching test reports current in this community, which from time to time have come to us, which duplicate some police commissioners in connection with the protection and information concerning police movements which have been given to saloons doing an H. legal business; and although in some instances we have succeeded in tracing such reports up very close to their sources, we regret that in the absence of such tribunal for judicial investi- gation, we have not been able with our utmost endeavors to vindicate entirely the good names of all the commission CTS from the implications of such com mon fame. We are therefore the more desirous that your commission should at it's own motion institute thorough inquiry into all matters concerning the administration of the police department to which we have respectfully called your attention. That this further re- quest may not be presented to you as a merely formal and general demand to be laid easily upon the table, (the ca pacity of which to hold such complaints would seem already to be overtaxed), we ask leave to suggest the following specifications as to the scope and meth ods of such investigation, having req son from our information to believe that, should an inquiry be made by you in the manner suggested, it would bring these allegations to direct issue, and very probably would serve to let out good part of the truth which the public has right to know.
 We respectfully suggest, therefore, that the scope of the inquiry, which the exigencies of the present situation require, should cover the three follow ing points: () To ascertain the fact whether the liquor law has been and is habitually and extensively violated with the Knowledge of, but without preventive interference from, the police department. @ To ascertain the causes within your Jurisdiction for such non- enforcement of the laws of the state, 50 far as the fact of 1t may be shown. (O To ascertain what measures should be immediately taken to remove such causes of complaint, and to equip the police department for effectua1 ser vice in this direction, as well as for needed enforcement of the laws against policy writing, gambling, swindles, and offenses against the public morals.
 We venture to submit that the police commission owes it to itself, as we'll as to the people who have voted for license, to institute an inquiry of this scope and character, under the repeated charges that the liquor law is not en- forced. In order that such needed in- vestigation may be as thorough and searching as your executive powers rem der possible, we would further sug- gest that according to our best knowl- edge and belief considerable light might be struck out of the darkness if your board would make diligent inquiry in the ways and particulars which you will allow us to indicate as follows: First, We suggest that you should sum- mon the captains of the several, pre- cincts to answer these inquiries, with any other questions pertinent thereto: