The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-01-05

| The fact that our citizens have been
saved from innumerable burglaries and
robberies is due rather to good luck and
| to the excellent class of men comprising
| the department, than to sufficient num-
| bers. The unfortunate circumstances
compelling your honorable board to lay
| off thrty-two men daily for about six
| teen weeks made extraordinary de-
mands upon the department which
were met and discharged by the officers
| and patrolmen in such manner as to
| afford all good citizens of New Haven
profound satisfaction and challenge
the economiums of the press upon the
conduct of the department. 1t has re-
CURED the utmost vigilance and activity
| on the part of every officer and patrol
man in this department to have caused
that feeling of security which pervades
the whole community at present, both
by day and by night.
The close proximity of the city Of
! New Haven to the Greater City of New
| York requires constant vigilance on the
| part of the police department Of our
| city, not only to prevent criminals from
coming into the city, but also to appre-
| bend them upon attempting to leave
This is line of work with which more
inland cities are not familiar and are
not required to guard against, and
which enables them to get along with a
considerably less number of policemen
than city situated as New Haven is.
This fact is stated because of the dispo-
sition to compare the size of New Ha-
| ven's police force with those of other
cities of like population.
I respectfully urge that your honora-
BILE body will cause the statute to be re-
| enacted, or some ordinance created,
compelling peddlers of small wares,
such as SOAP matches, thread, pencils
and articles of very little value, to take
| out a license. Those peddlers come in
large numbers from New York, Brook
Ign, Boston, Philadelphia and other
large cities, plying their vocation here.
| To such people or their agents we at
| tribute the many sneak thefts and rob-
| berries that have occurred in this city
during the year. This ought to be
stopped, or at least limited. Such peo-
pie are a detriment to our tradespeo-
| pie who live here and pay heavy rents
! and taxes. These robberies and sneak
thefts are not due to any lack of vigil
lance on the part of the police, as they
are most anxious to suppress this an
moving business, but it is one of the
hardest crimes to detect that the police
| of any city have to contend against.
Many of the people thus robbed are
| very careless themselves in allowing
their apartments to be left unprotect-
ed during the day, and large number
of our best citizens leave their houses
unoccupied during the summer and at
other seasons without giving the police
department any notice of such vacan-
cy, thus giving thieves an opportunity
to do their work without interference
on the part of the police. very bad
custom followed by large number OF
citizens. particularly by that portion of
them who can afford to spend the sum-
| mer at the shore or at other fashlona-
BILE resorts, is to have their names APP
| per in the newspapers, the number OF
| their house, the length Of time absent.
| the place they have gone to, thus CIV
| ing the very best information possible
| to evil-disposed persons to plumber such
| residences at will and probably without
| interference by the police. 1t Is not to
1 be wondered at that thieves, knowing
| the fact, by publication, that such
| places are vacant and unprotected,
seize the opportunity to steal whatever
goods they can find and take away from
the premises. The police in a great
many instances of this kind have no
knowledge of such places being vacant
or unprotected until the return of the
| owners at the end of the summer vaca-
ton, thus giving the thieves all the OPP
portunity they wish to dispose of the
goods and make their escape. / am in
hopes that our citizens will realize the
fact that such publications are danger
Gus not only to themselves, but have a
bad effect on the whole community as
we'll as on the police department.
would suggest to all such citizens when
about to vacate their houses for any
length of time to notify the police de-
partment of such intention. Then spe-
cial attention will be paid to their prem
Uses until their return thus saving their
property and in many cases cause the
arrest of the thieves who may be found
in the act of stealing.
The local evils that exist in every city
| of this size have been and are well con-
trolled and the results will compare ia
vorably with the conditions of any 9TH
err city Of it's size in this country or
| elsewhere.
I would respectfully suggest and rec
ommend that an ordinance be passed
that will require so-called lodging
houses to be licensed. Such an ordi-
nance would place the business under
the supervision of the police; incompe-
tent and unreliable persons could be
prevented from opening up in the bust
ness, and the character Of applicants
for license could be thoroughly investi-
gated.
This department has been called to
mourn the death of one of it's Oldest
and most respected officers, Detective
Sergeant Philip Reilly, who Joined the
force August rs, 1861. He died July 80,
1897, after a service of thirty-six years.
Sergeant Reilly was a jealous and eff
cient officer in every position in which
he had been placed by his superiors
and by the exigencies of the service.
Alert and active in the performance of
all duties required of him or assigned
to him, and invariably successful in his
efforts to bring criminals to justice, his
services in this department illustrate
an exemplification of those sterling
qualities of character and disposition
-, e.,