Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1899-01-05
REORgAMNRG POLICE
SYSTEM OF HAVANA
The First Important Reform Thai
Will Be Made in the
Cuban Capital,
RADICAL CHANGES ALREADY MADE
Lax and Arbitrary Spanish ,1etl,ods
Injured the Innocent and
OFTEN Benefited the
Guilty.

Havana. Jan. 5.-Good progress has
been made in the creation OF n Havana
police force. Already several inspcc
Tors have been appointed. aud more
than enough applications arc on file
10 fill the subordinate places ui,d Tie
tanks.
Colonel Moulion. Of Chicago, bfinas
to his hard task of developing Il police
system wide business experience and
great energy. He has made drastic
changes TO help The speedy pnnislment
of crime.
Inspector John McCullagli, y cor
sulting expert. is rendering valuable
service Colonel Molltcfl says:
"McCullagh has been everything
from patrolman to chief. lie knows
his business thoroughly"
lIavana's policing is 10 be modern.
Each of the twelve precinct stations
will be connected with the central OF.
fec by telephone, and New York "hur
~ up" wagons will startlc pcdcs-
trims. TIP to dntr "nippe,s' will dis
,lhce the tightly drawn rope which
now brings tho prisoners elbows pnln
fully together behind the back. Nc
more bleeding men will hc mafcliet as
IL butt of abiisc through the narrow
streets. nor will women offenders he
bound and hustled about as animals.
Who each criminal is. where lie goes,
and what he does will be recorded.
Now either nothing is heard oil Il mani
after he commits a crime or he resumes
his former home With absolutely no
espionage.
Eighteen hundred applicants for po=
lice situations have appeared. lnspcc-
tor McCullagh thinks he cati pick
enough good men to make an effective
force from the start.
There will be $50 policemen. OF whom
100 will be mounted and 100 will be
used i'm, special detail at public build,
hugs, thcaters. ferries. railroads and at
public gatherings. There will be the
chief, Colonel Moulton, one deputy
CHIEF, eight inspectors, twelve captains
and forty-eight lieutcnants. McSul'
lagh has created the latter rank here
because the rank of sergeant, as used
| i'm the United States. really means lieu
tenant. and is officially recognized as
being the equivalent of that grade in
the United States army.
There will be forty-cight scrscanis
as we'll, with a lower order of duties,
and then the palrolmen. The term,
"roundsmnn," MIR. McCullagh consid-
ers obsolete, and he has dropped 1T,
assigning those duties to his ser
gcants. Few American applicants
have appeared one of the require
ments being that future Havana po-
licemen must be able to speak Span
ish. by President McKinlcy's express
desire no account is taken of the III
tionality of amy applicant. Cubans
and Spaniards are treated with abso-
lutte importantly.
Colonel Moulton has recommended
to General Ludlow that experts he
asked to report upon changes in the
methods of procedure in the lower
courts and in tho penal code. Under
Spanish law an accused person, after
being examined i'm the lower courts,
could be kept in prison for three years
awaiting trial in the middle ones.
The power thus to delay trial has
been used often 10y corrupt Spanish
authorities to mulct the prisoner and
his friends if they had money. Even
for minor offenses the prisoner may
he kept seventy-two hours before his
| case is called. Inspector McCullagll
says:
"Thcy put man i'm Jail and then
spend three days finding ont who he
is. If he is anybody, that's time
enough to see what his family and
| friends will do for him" The veteran
| also says:
Talk about your soldier policeman
with rifles. Just give INC the Ncw
| York polcemans club with good
courts behind it and IN guarantee TO
keep Havana the most peaceable city
in the world The people are mild
and easily handled"
Colonel Moulton's future policy as
to the suppression of public immoral
ity, the curse of Cuba, will be as Gen
cral Ludlow may direct. Probably
few changes will be made at present
although the immoral thcaters may
be warned to remove certain features
| Colonel Moulton says: II shall try to
| avoid either extreme and use plain
| common sense in dealing with delicate
| questions and customs of three cen
| turtles growth"
| -e-o-s----
| npIanror nrSsns~0