The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-01
THAT BYRNES WAS LET OFF
BECAUSE HE WORKED AGAINST THE
TANINIANY HALL PARTY,
And Also Because He Gave Secret Aid
to Mr.. Gof-The Superintendent
vigorously Condemned.


'In stating my position touching certain
questions now lying before the public mind
a cannot ann EXPRESS myse tat 100 appbeelatXe1g n @
by the Senate committee and its talented
counsel There has been created, through
tory of our city and there has been Sc
cured at the polls municipal revolution
that would have been impossible except
through their agency or agency of a SINH
lar kind. And it is but just that we go
of this connmittea and Of its counsel as
being the influence which is contributing
very largely to similar municipal upheavals
throughout the entire country. Mr. LeXow's
committee, Mr.. Gcff and his associates
do not stand in need Of our commendation,
accord 1t, and II is accorded with earnest
cordiality.
any structures that we may feel it neces-
Sary to pass are prompted by no spirit
ciation of men. The personal element does
not enter into the question with us There
down for itself and particular. ends which
we have been for a considerable time pros
eeuting and in all our efforts personalities
are merely an INCIDENT. II the, readers Of
the statement will put themselves to the
pains of recalling what transpired last
spring they Will remember that at that
time the writer of this statement and a
few associated with him were the only ones
of the Senate commimttee.
The newspapers Were almost a unit in
their conviction that TO rely on Mr.. Lexow
and his colleagues for our municipal de-
lveranee was to lean upon broken reed.
at Albany in the presence of all his as
socrates. that l had just come from New
pervaded with utter disgust of him and all
the members of his committee. L became
cation Viii Mr ny Rradiav and
two or three of their colleagues that the
committee could be counted on to do hon.
est, faithful and thorough work clear up
to. the end. l gave to them my entire con-
fidence.. used my best efforts to break
he of 11ifsi i1a,l
and, in conjunction with the other MEM
bers of the executive committee of the So
the service of the Senators the entire re-
sources of our office. And they have been
to saturday night last We have watched
the actions of the committeeman with keen
bored into the rotten 4 -4r. Of the police
department. with utter Indifference as to the
character, political or otherwise, of what
they. struck Knowing that their report
would have to be rendered the first of the
new new year we did to be sure become
ing sufficient time for examining the higher
officials. but ] supposed they knew what
do ANYTHING that would even look like stop
ing thei~ ---o- Without finishing it,
TIME FRITTERED AWAY
MATTERS had been for so long a time
conducted in entire thoroughness that we
had even forgotten that we had even been
distrustful but late in November the ind-
cations clear that the investigation
not to be pushed to its close in the same
energetic and unsparng manner that had
been followed up to that date. A good
| many days went by in which cases were dis
| cussed which weared the public which
| made substantial addition to knowledge
| already gained, and which were frittering
| away the time that we knew ought to be
expended on the inspectors and superin-
| tendent We know that the character of
| the police force was a reflection from the
| character of its chief executive and his i'm
mediate subordinates and that however
| many captains might be besmirched and
tered. the genius of the matter would not
| be reached till we had arrived at the quail
| ity of the five men who together constitute
| it's executive headship.
"Ln view of all this are justified in
! TO the rack magnifcently through all the
earlier portions OF the investigation, they
rchsa Mn ass at underton le lodg ago as when
| against Mr.. Byrnes in direct manner the
| Investigation committee sprang to Byrnes's
assistance; Now, that is not thing to be
| debated. Their attitude instantly rec
| ognized by those in attendance and distinct
iy stated in the journals of the next morn
| ing. The pursuit of lines that might poss-
| bly, have conducted to the real inwardness
of ByrneS's conduct and character was dis
| couraged-discouraged as it has been dis
| couraged in the case of no other man.
Now, there was reason for that We
| are not saying just yet that there was
! anything that could be proved against Mr.
| Byrnes; we are saying that the committee
! to show that there was something that
| could be proved against Mr.. Byrnes We
| are not saying that there was anything in
| the Marett case that was disereditable to
the superintendent. but saying that
the committee was indisposed to have the
| matter thoroughly ventilated in order to
discover whether there was anything in 1t
| discreditable to the superintendent. Their
| thoroughness broke down at that point
They stumbled just. at the, completion of
| their work The chairman OF the committee
| have used that word advisedly; he will
! recognize what I refer to) that controlled
| him in his handling of Mr.. Byrnes and not
/ desire to act in view of all the probable
| ascertainable facts in Mr.. Byrnes's case
| Now. the presumption is on the side of
! the superintendent being as criminal
any other member of the force. SO that the
| hesitancy to handle him as Williams was
conviction eu Of his innocence. ~ Wherever they they
have stuck in their fork they have found
| rot, and whether Byrnes be rotten or not
and has been the executive head of rot
| for the last two years. The presumption,
therefore, was against him, so that the
| indisposition to handle him thoroughly
| must have been grounded in some other
consideration than that of his presumable
innocence
WORKED AGAINST TAAIAIANY.
| There are two ways in which Mr. Byrnes
| has put the committee under obligations
| and to that degree destroyed their in
| dependence. He put them under obligations
: by consenting to help defeat Tammany Hall
1 anu IL iS lo ut remembered THIS COM
| mittee is first and foremost an anti-Tam-
| many committee and came down here for
| anti-Tammany purposes. We are not say
| ing that it was stipulated that If we would
| secure an honest election it should be re-
| membered in his behalf, but In the very
| nature of the favors have to be re-
! ciprocated. We are not going to disparage
| Mr.. Byrnes's good offices at election only
] it is to be remembered that he did nothing
more than he ought to have done without
being asked TO do, nothing more than he
had the same authority to do in previous
/ elections If he had only had the official
/ courage to use his authority.
'The second way in which the COM
| mittee put themselves under obligations to
| him was by taking him into their con-
/ fidence and allowing him to become con-
! federate with them in breaking down the
| force. To the degree in which they OBJ
tanned help from MIR. Byrnes they put them