The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-01-23


what they have been earning, he mis-
takes the essence of the industrial
system of Manhattan island Our er-
TOR seems to have lain in the fact that
we didn't do business at the beginning.
Instead of putting policeman into q
position where he would do patrol
duty one-quarter of his time, and make
money in the remainder, we should
have made a fair business proposition
Ito him. We should have said: 1--WE will
give you a commission ON all the
crime which you will suppress. said
commission to be one-eighth Of one
per cent. more than the criminal is
willing to pay for not being sup
pressed" Then we should have no
misdirected activity in the force.
Crime would have been suppressed at
such rate that presently there would
have been demand for corporation
organized under the laws Of New York
for the purpose of guaranteeing sup
ply of crime, and splitting commissions
with the police.
At present the supply is ample. and
the opportunities for revenue are so
many that unless we can convince the
policemen that money is not the real
end and aim of this mortal existence,
we ourselves shall never be able to con-
tinue living on the theory that money
is the end and aim aforesaid, without
being afraid that there is blackmail in
the town. 1t looks like hard job, but
we may find the men who can be con-
WINGED. would hesitate to put limit
on human stupidity.
In spite of these considerations,
which must be patent to everybody,
the chamber OF commerce committee
composed, believe, of gentlemen who
know something about business-sug-
gested that one of the first things to be
done was to cut salaries in the police
There was no hint of
showing the bluecoats way by which
they could make a little more money
need for the other method. Yet the
Lexow investigation had shown what
is necessary to make a really good POI
liceman. Byrnes was the climax of that
affair-the one really excellent man in
every respect from moral char
acter to swinging a night stick.
And why? 1t was shown clearly
enough Because he had made his
money the easiest; because he had
had to do the least work for the biggest
pay; because instead of fooling with
two red-dollar-a-month gamblers
of the second rate, square class, he had
done business with Wall street gam
blers of the first rate, crooked class,
and had reaped in accordance with the
field he had chosen. To censure him
for doing SO would be to knock the
moral legs out from under three
quarters of the successful business men
on this island
As / said at the beginning. it Is
doubtful whether this little spasm in
New York will produce the effect on
the surface of the planet of Neptune
which some of our leading editorial
writers now foresee, but one thing it
will do-indeed, it has done-it has
advertised our business principles; it
has shown our leading merchants as
bribe-givers; It has exhibited the Wall
street gambling game as sure thing;
and just as certainly as we set the
style in derby hats, so we will tend to
set style in these matters. The fact
that we condemn our detected servants
for what they have done is of small
account An observer of average in
telligence will be able to see that we
have made money our religion, and
have pillcried the police for their or
thodoxy.
And, noting how well we seem 20 be
getting along, the observer may lean
toward our faith, which will be pity,
for there isn't nearly as much in it as
one might suppose, viewing il from the
outside, HOWARD FIELDING.