New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-06-10
BRIBERY AND BLACKMAIL.
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ROTTEN TO
THE CORE WITH THEM.

TIE LAST wEEK-A LITTLE OF WHAT THE
LExow COMMITTEE HAS ACCOMPLISHED
MAKING READY TO PROBE DEEPER
IL THE COMING EXAMINATIONS.
The developments in the investigation II '"e
Lexow Committee have been crowding one
another with such rapdity that 1t may be d'fri-
cult. without reviewing the facts. to appreciate
their number and Importance. Scores OF crimes
have been testified 20. the recital OF each OF
which would have caused great stir SIX tlohths
ago. Now the sensational disclosures have III
measure overshadowed the smaller ones. 1t
would be difficult to give even a summary OF
the evidence Of the last half a dozen sessions OF
the committee without devoting columns OF space
to It, The inquiry has gone In several lines
one was the levyng Of backma from keepers
OF disorderly houses. Apparently. the police oo-
tanned their biggest sums from this source. Then
came the collecting Of money from liquor sellers
for allowing them to violate the laws by Keeping
their places open all night and on sunday. Inc
returns from this came in smaller sums Dut inc
victims were far more numerous thah were
those OF inc preceding class. The East SIDE
! cafes which sold wine and beer without having
excise licenses formed a third fruitful field
There were two hundred Of these in the Eleventh
Precinct alone one witness. dealer In bottled
beer named a score Of such places to which ne
sold his wares. Every understood that each
proprietor paid the police for protection. Indeed
on no other theory can it be explained why they
were allowed 10 do this Illegal business Inc
patrolmen certainly must have known uhat Deer
! and liquors were sold there.
BAD FOR THE TAMMANY LEADERS
A similar offence was condoned for cash when
the concert hall in Eighth-avc, afiervard Known
! as Warren Lewiss Alhambra. was allowed 70 re-
main OPEN in spite Of having NJ concert hall
license Still another field of inquiry was the re-
! lation between Tammany Hall ami the police.
| George r. Roesch and John j. RYAN were the
two district leaders who hay5 been most be-
snirched by testimony relating u this Il has
been further shown how applicants for places on
! the police force were made - come down with
money.
The committee has. perhaps. made only sood
beginning In the work Of revealing the iniqui'y
! Of the police yet may already form some iAea
as to the amount Of money which these forms
! Of blackmall yielded. There was always regu-
! lar schedule OF payments. and there was no
cutting" Of these prices II the unfortunate VIC
! tim had not the money on the appointed DAY ne
or she had 10 get Il somehow quit business
Most OF the testimony OF this Kind came fo'"
| rersons who lived IN the Eleventh Precinct. the
ar more ago Dr. Parkhurst directed the attention
, hts agcnts IN this precinct as the worst In the
CITY No, only were the disordery houses hu-
,,erous. I'm, the vice was particularly open. the
| AGENTS ~ the Society for the Prevention OF Crime
mad. OH; a list Of three or four score OF such
| ,,,ces I'm the precinct. but Captain DeVery ana
| bls superiors laughed at their statements.
prOOD SUCKING POLICE CAPTAINS.
Ut, A., -a,ay ., helieve that those
bo,ses were open a, the time Each keeper Oh
such a place had t. pay 500 an initiation Ice
,h., a nc,y captain was appointed there. ana
| .-o cach month The changes In commanding
| ccers wore frequent there, and the wretcnes
| were '.b!ei" at an awful rate Doubtless inc w.
tectives Of the Parkhurst society fa'ied 10 us
| cover many such places which were known u tue
| ,,ord man The income here must therefore nave
| he..n eporrnous The facts about these payments
| mora toil not BIZ one witness merely. Dut py Se'
eral a,,o,
So far little time has been given 70 the s"oJe.
~ the bla ,knail Of liguor-seilers II ~ wv "'
f. make detailed statements about 'h'S. i"e '"''
,.,,,,rd.d monthly by the ward men from these
persons was g. 50 far az the ''S'''.'o"'
| ,,rr This Is probably the minimum hguFe anu
,vo. maid bv those who kept respec'd"e pa
and sold little beer. etc. on Sunday. Inc "Fe'
| -, ba,e Welded much better returns.
1-,ore ,vos also n fixed scale Of assessmen's ior
.,,o ITO an the East side. The amount varied
,,h tho character ~ the place ana the prom -
made for its owner. one witness paIt 80 80
! month but she kept an entlreiy I'p"'"u,' 49,
| ,n,rant except that the Excise Ia" was ''u 49,.
| 49, Nh, ~ these cafes were merely naSN'
W., S,sorJerly houses and such had 70 manu- ooc'
go a month These 200 resorts must !" '''' 40
J grevate have yielded a pretty penny
THE FIX THAT ROEScH Is IN
thA
C,vu Justice Roesch made OF himself one OF inc
-. ,r,eresting figures which have nlied the VIII
| 80. chair IN this entire investigation Ills co"-
| ,osaons reelected not only on himself Ou' 'neS
| -avoaled the code OF morals OF the i"li''''""y
leader lie did not merely admit that he Hiu
police sergeant transferred 20 max -' dc and
friend but proclaimed the iac. prouuaS It'll
ej In lis proving his efficiency as poiiticaI
| teolar His denial 10 reporters that ne Knew
| ~, rhurnw and had received 500 from IT,.
W -, her disorderly house from RAID 10y
~ pnoice was In the light Of his subsequent al
,'Ission that she paid him the money az " .h"
| yer n falseho0d which cannot DE- eAp'a'"eu """''
CAPTAINS DNTANGLpD IN THE NET.
,.o,,e who knew In a general way that there
uos weli-establlshed system OF extortlns money
| from, Leeners OF dlsordery houses, thought t"a'
| q youId be impossible 10 fasten such crime vi
| q cantain 1t was understood mat the "a'u
| man was always the collector. 1t would De haru
| enough to prove his CUNT ANU eNe" Il '
| nos,lble how could II be shown that he gave the
| money 10 his superior? From the testimony De
fore the Iexow Committee however u ne u .
VA, the CAPTAINS were not always AZ cautious az
| ,hev might have been. one witness sWoIe '' ~
IN ,wn occasions she gave Captain Doherty 10
| a., t,, s,ation Another had herself paid cap
I -, IT, Mi .ouehlln Cross and Devery $500 each
~hen they In succession took charge OF the
Eldridge-st precinct. ,,,o,,,,
Others testified that while they had NOT acIually
given cash - the captains. they had consulted
,vith them In connection with payments 10 ware
men. Captain Price referred the owner o. d
drinking place III Eighth-ave; To ms ware ae
toctIve Wagner who received the cash. zap
tain SIeber thrice told Mrs Lena Conen ina
she could REOPEN her house after April l. She
had paid $50 monthly 70 his ward men, bIen'ia"