New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-11-06
TAMMANY AND CRIME.
WHAT A WIDE OPEN" TOWN MEANS TO
THE WlGWAM.
FINANCIAL GAINS TO foLiiicA'
SCENES OF THE DAYS BEFORE THE LExo"
,.r-r,,rr ArIoN PIE ENACTED.

Tammany Hall Is intimately alheo Win '"o
or,n,ina, class OF the city. a community or IN
tarest binds them together Each can help tne
other One wants votes and money; the otner
REQUIRES to be let alone in Its VOCATION anu Is
willing to exchange votes and cash LOT tha'
privilege. Lawbreakers OF all xmas nave III .
mast been hand in glove with Tammahy' Inns
relation was closest in the years oeiore VIC
Iexow investigation. After that IL IN measure
,ansed Under the administration OF Wilhelm ~
strong as Mayor and Theodore RooseVet a'
Police Commissioner the usefulness OF the Wig
wan in shielding crime was sadly curtaheo'
The partnership Of politics ana crime WIS III
allegiance.
Rut the election OF Robert A. Van WycK as
Mavor was taken as evidence that New-York
CITY WAS tired OF reform and wanted vice 10
flourish The lawbreaking elements, which TOT
three wears had been comparatively ldie' srao-
ually took up their old activities. Month ai'er
month these circles grew holder and holder, unt
NOW the town Is wide open" OF course. vice IS
profitable. and important percentages or the re-
CENTS from il go to Tammany Hall ano Hs
leaders.
WHERE THE MONEY GOES.
=, -. o,aa, dvs before the era of reform.
large part Of the collections from iaWoreaAe''
ra,nained in the hands OF the police. the cap
tain sent his wardman to collect stipulated sums
each month from liquor-dealers who kcpt ope"
after hours at night and on Sunday from Keep
/ ers OF disorderly houses, dance halls and poor
rooms from green goods men, from poilcy
kings" and from other evildoers. Inc captain
kept most Of this He had paid. In most caseS'
large sum for his promotion ana hau |" e''
that back Tammany Hall itself got little Oh the
money directly But the leaders began 10 see
/ .ho+ thev were losing q golden opportunity.
/ WHY should the police retain all the proceeds OF
blackmail? That departments power was oe-
rived from Tammany Hall, which appointed the
/ Commissioners, who in turn promoted the cap
tains AS Tammany was the source from which
opportunities came for reaping these haINes'S'
II should derive the major part Of the Dement'S
This change began to work some years pelole
the Lexow Committee was appointed There
was q substitution ir some measure, Of the
political for the police collector Or If the ward
man continued TO visit the places owned by Vio-
lators Of the law the money received was turned
over to a representative OF the political machne'
Since the town has become wide open again
this new plan has apparently been carried out.
The money has gone. not to ponce ohlcer' ou'
TO politician. Perhaps some or II was passeu
over TO police hands. II the politician retained
It all for himself and the organization the ponce
MAN would have no recourse II they objected
to tho nlan of distribution they could be trans
ferred over to Queens County or up among the
goats in the borough OF The Bronx 1t Is better
for them to say nothing in the hope OF gathering
in few Independent contributions
THE EAST SIDES PLIGHT
The revelations OF the witnesses before Sena-
tor Iexow and his colleagues came as startins
surprises to many NEWCOMERS. or course
men familiar with public affairs Knew all ABOUT
the system, but apparently many persons ola
not The East Siders. however, seem now 10 o.
thoroughly alive to the situation In the resi-
dence districts uptown one does not come across
evidences Of the wide open town much. There
NAV be few policy shops. but the proceedings
are kept as secret as possible. servants anu
laborers patronize them. over In the region Vi
Essex ST. however people generally are wei
aware of the disregard Of law. vice haunts
Itself in the streets. No one who goes ABOUT
with his eyes and ears open can help seeing IT,
And over there, too, they know why disoroerIy
houses Infamous dance halls. poolrooms ara
other illegal resorts are allowed to keep open
II is known that Tammany receives snare VI
! the ill-gotten gains How general this knoW!-
| edge is was shown at recent meeting
| in Progress Hall. Orchard-st.. formerly known
! as Walhalla Hall. Frank Moss, Police Con-
| missioner was making speech. lie tO!d OF ths
openness with which vice fiourshed; his hearers
| knew that better than he. Then he tod why
the laws were not enforced. This, TOO, was an
open book to his audience. He then asked u
they knew to whom the divekeepers paid their
protection money They did. and a thousand
voices answered his next question py shou'lhS'
Martin Engel."
Engel is a political leader over there. Five or
six years ago the crowd would have named the
police captain 1t is an odd facl that IN .' .ne
lower East Side protected vice pays heavier
tribute than any other part Of the city. precinct
for precinct A decade or two ago the Tender
loin" got it's name from the richness and Juici-
ness of the police captains opportunity. But
the closing Of many OF the gambling houses and
other changes up there reduced the returns. while
on the lower East Side the receipts became
larger and larger. The Eldridge- St precinct
was five or six years ago recognized as the most
remuneratve in the city. All forms Of vice
fiourished there and the residents, poor as they
we're spent more and more OF their earnings In
policy and other illegal amusements. Tam
many's partnership with crime therefore
most injurious among the poorest and most
wretched wage-earners.
POOLROOMs IN FULL BLAST.
1t is familiar to many persons that poolrooms
are now open In this city in considerable num-
bers. over and over again, In past years. the
! police have shown that they could get evidence
agans. these places II they wanted to do so
, II was easy to have a detective obtain access
to such a place and to buy pools on the races
Evidently. however. there IS no desire in Mul
berry-st. TO embarrass these voiators Of the
; law steady stream OF revenue which now
( flows into Tammany Hall would be cut off 4
raids were made on the poolrooms.
In respect TO indecent dance halls and thea
tres, standards in New-York are lower thai
they have been at any time in the last decade
Even in the years Immediately preceding th'
overthrow Of Tammany at the polls public sen
timent was too strong to permit the eAcesses o
the old time dives like Billy" McGlorys. Blu
now the lawbreakers are more impuden. thar
T for years. and giving shows which would
| not have been tolerated when Mr.. Gilroy wa
I | Mayor. This does not mean that standards o
I | decency have declined 1t means that Tam
e many feels so sure OF It's hold the Office
= that It is willing TO permit the most nagran
. exhibitions in order to gather in part o. tn
receipts for itself. Some forms of vice no
60 zenlI nractisnl q theN In Isl.