The herald., 1896-12-04
PARSONS PREPARE 1O PURGE IHE CIYOF VICE

The chief declared to me and to others
that it was almost impossible to get
evidence against these places, and that.
when obtained, the courts let offenders
off with such light sentences that it was
scarcely worth while to prosecute them
The chief has force of paid detectives
under him for such uses if he chooses to
so employ them.
THE committee on violations of law
of the little Parkhurst society have
pretty conclusively demonstrated that
the laws are shamefully violated with
out legal hindrance in the matter of
disorderly resorts, and few volunteers
had no difficulty at all in obtaining evil
dence in about 300 cases.
who constituted the committee that
looked up the evdence?" he was asked
1T is standing committee" he re-
piled. provided for by the constitution
of the society,"
How was it appointed?'
| by the president. subject to the ap-
proval of the executive committee or of
! the society. In making this committee
| named DR.. Mclean as chairman and
allowed him to choose his own assist
| ants
Has he reported his work to you. or
did he receive directions from you?"
Neither. He was left to pursue his
own course and has made no report to
! me. When the work was nearly done
he gave me a few hints of what he had
found, but | know OF no Details
What do you think of this way of pro-
| curing evidence?"
| Il have no criticism whatever to make
supon the conduct of my associates in
this society. DR.. Mclean and his COM
| mittea have only done what DR.. Park
hurst himself was compelled to do for
| his own defense in New York. only DR..
| Mclean has had much less difficulty In
| producing his evidence than DR.. Park
hurst did. showing that police supervi-
sion over such places here is much less
rigid than in New York in the worst
! days of Tammany hall.
Here. with the highest toned. most
moral general citizenship in the United
| States. we have, because of an absolute
! ineficiency of police authorities-not to
| charge anything worse-places Of evil
resort running with freedom and open
| ness that | never heard of in New York ="
| But perhaps the authorities know
| nothing OF these things?'
| What are they for if not to know
about such things? When intimated
| to the chief that everybody knew about
| these things but himself, he angrily re-
| Piled that he did know about them, and
| that they were running contrary to law
| He has intimated on more than one Occa-
sion to me and to others that the re-
| sponsibility was with those who were
above him, meaning. as we all under
| stood, the police commissioners If
they have tried to prevent the chief from
doing his duty. had he defied them and
| gone forward he would have been sus-
tained In his defiance by every pulpit
and every good citizen in this city The
good people here have only to know the
| awful depravity openly tolerated in GER
tain parts and spreading all over the
city to settle rightly the question as to
| whether the good or the bad element
shall rule in Los Angeles. They nearly
an think the chief a saint, and are pre-
I M IN
| his efficiency, because he has been a
great improvement over his predeces-
| sors''
What imputation have you to make
| upon him?'
None whatever I leave the burning
facts collected by some of the best citi-
zens of this city to speak for them
selves. When people understand that
| school girls are daily watched for and
| led astray by harpies tCo vile to live and
| when things get so hot that some demon
stration must be made against them
and thus the matter is given away to an
evening paper and the expected raid of
| that night announced, intelligent people
do not need that should draw their in
| ferences for them. One of the eight men
that called at that awful place where
| school girls are ruined was told in the
den that they had gotten word about the
| expected raid and to send the girls away
but they would be back tomorrow night
| and to call them. They noticed two Off
GERS near the dive and inquired of the
madame who they We're She replied:
"Oh. l know them. They are all right"
| do you think the keepers of these
| places are paying for their immunity"
| Il do not know, save that they say they
! are doing so. A gambler told me that
he broke with his partner because he
would not explain who received the
money. He said there were various en-.
! tries of 5000 for merchandise, and when
| he approached his partner and the go
| between and demanded to know the Sc
crets between them, the go-between said
he would have to let all that business
be transacted with Mr.. B., as he would
| not take another into his secrets. The
| same gambler told me that high Off
cial called up on the telephone to know
why his 5000 was notforthcoming. That
| 5000 was to be paid in considera ton of
certain favors received by Them
DO you know the names of the par
ties?"
| Il do 4,
"Wil you give them to us?"
| Not at present"
"Will they come out later, do you
think?''
| Il think so. The same party told me
| that the gambling houses were putting
| up $4,000 per week for the privilege of do
/ ing business and that he was quite sure
| the bagnios were paying an equal
| amount
DO you believe this story?"
| Il certainly do. There is no other
way of understanding the open and
| shameless violations of law and order
| here
| But a place is pulled now and then 2"
| Yes 1 said the same thing to my in
formant, but he laughed heartily and
| said those things were pure fakes and
| we'll understood by the gamblers. He
asked me if in the pulling the parapher-
| MALTA was taken away or the business
| closed. l told him didn't know. He
| said he knew and / might know if
! would take the trouble to go and look
| in"
| "Well what is your own opinion?"
II have none that I wish to express.
| The facts must speak"
What is now the status of the crib
ight?"
II don't know. When I came to this
| city year ago the Ministerial union was
In fight to have them closed. Instead of
closing them, those belonging to GER
tain parties We're enclosed with high
board fences at the expense of the city.
so that they could transact business in
greater privacy than usually belongs to
such an occupation. The fence adver-
| tised them and also the privacy with
! which they might be visited. The fence
| arrangement has proven great spec
ulation to the owners and occupants"
DO you think that was the motive for
! fencing them in?"
|