The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-07-03
MAYOR DAXTER'S REPLY.
The Charges Against Some Of the
Police Force.
THOSE WHO MAKE THEM ARE
INVITED TO GIyEPROOF.

1
the Lava Spirited Defence of the
| foHce-Policeman's Uniform Hampers
| Him in Detecting RumseIIers-Po1ice
Also Have Much Else to Do-Each Off.
Which He Must Preserve Order-If
Premises Where Rum is Sold Could be
Held Responsible, Enforcement Would
| be Easier-other City Government
| Matters.
| The most important bu siness before
| the city government last evening was
an address to the Board of Aldermen bv
Mayor Baxter, on the recent charges
made against the police force and the
mayor in regard to the enforcement of
| the prohlbitory law. Mayor Baxter said:
| gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen
IL becomes my duty to call your atten-
tlon to statements made recently in a
popular pulpit, to the effect that /, as
chief magistrate of Portland, have failed
III my duty to my fellow citizens by not
suppressing the liquor traffic, which, it
IS assumed. have the power to accom-
pllsh. Indeed, it is asserted that if [
mad the will l could close up every place
where liquor is drunk in "A hours
The county sheriffs, especially ap-
pointed to enforce the law, and the city
police have been accused of criminal
colluslon with law-breakers These are
serious charges, and demand serious con-
sideration
When l assumed my official duties, I
understood that prohi hibition sheriff oc-
cupled the sheriff's office, and with
suinclent deputies was enforcing the pro-
laJE 70 tl,a c,n&, ,-f,
who claim to be its special friends, and,
upon conference with him, | found that
experience demonstrated that the most
effective method of securing the enforce
ment OF the law was through division
OF duties, and by the cooperation of the
police with the sheriff's department. 1t
was therefore agreed that the LIQUOR
sheriffs should be supported by the DO
lice when making seizures, and that the
sheriff's department should be furnished
with such information as the police
department should be able to place in
It's possession. This support was pledged
the sheriff, and that all information re-
sspect1ng suspicious places might be OBJ
tanned and made available, every MEM
her of the police force was supplied with
memorandum book, and he was ordered
to note therein everything which be OBJ
served upon his beat of a suspicious ma
tuke.
This arrangement seemed to me to be
the best possible for the efficient enforce
anent OF the law, and believe that no
better can be devised, if both sheriffs
and policemen who form entirely inde-
penoent organizations, acting under
different heads, and under different rules
and regulations, are required to perform
the same work. If both work upon the
same lines they must inevitably come
to cross-purposes, which will result in
confusion.
In my opinion, if sheriffs are to en-
force the law, the duty which l have
spoken of is all that should be required
of the police, and if the law is efficiently
enforced by the sheriffs, such duty will
demand all the time that police force
of our present size can devote to it, with
out neglecting other equally important
duties. Either searches and seizures
should be wholly in the hands of the
sheriff, or wholly in the hands of the
police; and it in the hands of the police.
then in the hands of special officers who
can give their entire time to the busi-
ness.
A good deal of the work is of asde-
teotive nature and requires special tai
elt. The cunning of the law breaker
must be matched by the cunning of the
expert detective. | am satisfied that
the regular, uniformed policeman can
not perform this duty effectualIy enough
tory law. However efficient as an officer,
his~uniform interferes with success by
making him too conspicuous.
That you may well understand what
the action of the police has been, l
should inform you. that early in the past
year, complaints were made that the
liquor Sheriffs were nealecting certain
places, and orders were given the mar
shall to call the attention of the sheritf's
office to such places, and if they were
not attended to to close them up him
self; but to avoid working at cross pur-
poses, not to interfere with work which
he knew that the sheriffs had in charge,
in order that reciprocal relations, so
necessary between the two off ces, might
be preserved. Considerable independent
work has therefore been done by the po-
lice: work which l do not believe they
ought to be called upon to do, if special
liquor sheriffs are continued and paid to
do the work. The difficult nature of
this work is but imperfectly understood
by the public, and while 1 would not
abate one little of what has been said
by those who are championing the
cause of prohi hibition, as to the magni-
tude of the evil of the liquor traffic, or
as to the duties of myself and others
towards its suppression, am aware that
some features OF the traffic are exaggera-
ted, and that much less contra band stuff
is sold than some persons believe. An
enormous quantity of imitation beer of
different kinds, put up in packages to
exactly initiate the genuine, is sold, and |
this is often unloaded at places with ap-
parent secrecy, either for the purpose of |
leading customers to believe that it is
genuine, or perhaps to puzzle the. offic- |
ers or, as have sometimes suspected, to
make the public believe that, they were
derelict to duty, and to increase a some
what prevalent belief that it was impos-
sible to enforce the law, and thus bring |
it into disrepute. OF course under cover
of the sale of this stuff the seller may
carry pocket flask with which to forti-
fly it, and probably often does So Com
plants are often made to me of such
places by persons who loudly complain
that they are not suppressed, and who |
are surprised to learn that they are
well known to the police, and that l |
cannot close them up
If, as is demanded by those who claim |
that the law is laxly administered, the !
entire burden of enforcing the law is |
to be thrown upon the mayor, it is my |
opinion that it Will be necessary TO APP |
point special and expert officers for the |
duty. AT present we have eleven day |
policemen, and upon them would fall |
largely the burden of enforcing the law. |
The city of Portland mbraces an area |