The herald., 1894-11-22
WHOLESALE BLACKMAIL
DISCLOSURES OF THE LEX0W
COMMITTEE.
Lawyer Gon Describes Tammany's Rule
In New Yerk rs tho Most
DespOtic In the OWL
ized World.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19.-John w. Goff.
the prosecuting attorney for the Lsxow
investigation committee, who is stop.
ping in Washington for a few days. has
given the Evening Star an interesting
interview on the work OF the committee.
"We know positively" said he, 1.-The
police department of New York was eys-
tematically blackmailing all classes Of
citizens.
II speak within the bounds OF my
knowledge when1 say there is not q
business man in New York city who
has not felt the power of police black.
mail. There were perhaps very few
instances where honorable men had re.
fused to give their tithes Of illegal tax to
the police, but almost without excep-
ton these men were forced out Of busi-
ness.
Zone peculiar feature OF the blackmail
was that it spared no one olass, however
obscure its calling. You may be sur
prised when say New York. under the
rule of the police department a. con-
trolled by Tammany hall, was far worse
as regards the individual community OF
citizens than St. Petersburg under its
most violent police regime.
"As an illustration OF the tremendous
powers welded by this organization,
will refer to tie difficulty We had in OBJ
tanning Witnesses to 90 upon the stand
and swear to facts they had brought to
us in private. At fret this applied TO
all classes, both reputable and disreput.
able. When appealed to they would
claim il they should testify the police
would hound them out of the city.
When asked if they could not 60 else.
where and establish themselves in busi-
ness. they would reply the persecu tion
OF the police of New York would
follow them to every city in the country.
and we gradually revealed the astound-
ing fact that the police OF New York not
only dominated every city but every
large community in the county. The
lower classes OF citizens were made to
believe blackmail was lawful and regu.
lar. They came to regard the captain
of their precinct as the source OF all mu-
nicipai authority. In effect he was such
| to them.
"You ask me if I think this power is
now crushed. l do most emphatically.
l think that the public conscience hav'
ing once been aroused, the machinery OF
this nauseous system exposed, it will be
a perpetual bar against the development
OF such an organic alton in the future.
consider that the great danger to oul
form of government lies in the possibility
OF municipal misrule. The tendency is toe
strongly toward the growth of the ur'
ban community at the expense OF the
rural. This feeds the machine, that il
not watched and checked will grew tc
such corrupting influence as that which
we have just destroyed in New York.
Capitalization, believe, as the investl-
CATION has proved, is the danger of the
dav.
"I cannot speak too highly of the COM
position OF the committee which en-
ployed me as its counsel. Though APP
pointed by q Republican senate and
containing a majority OF the members o!
tha body, these men have acted through.
out the investigation like non partisans,
and they have upheld the counsel in
every move that has promised to demon
strate the problem that confronted US.
II cannot answer the question as tc
where the blackmail money went OF
in what proportions it was distributed
for that is q personal matter which
would force me to mention names.
There are still many points to investi
gate, a great deal Of rounding up
finishing up, as it we're. We will try tc
finish the work by the fret of January"