The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-02-17
LETTER FROM DIR. sMYTH.


To Superintendent Wrinn Regarding
the Police Force and Its Work.
Superintendent Wrinn, Of the police
: department, yesterday received the fol-
lowing congratulatory letter from Rev.
Dr. Smyth, which is given out for pub
LEGATION with the consent of Rev. DR..
,Smyth. The letter is as follows:
New Haven, Feb. 16, 1899.
Superintendent James Wrinn:
Dear Sir-I have read with pleasure
your annual report which I find in the
morning papers, and you will allow me
to congratulate you on the excellent
showing which you are able to make for
the police department during the past
year. The new measure of emancipa-
ton from partisan politics, which has
been secured for the police department
under the present city charter, and
through the administration of the pres
ent police commission, with the support
of the mayor, seems to be already justi-
/ LIEU Wy us IL uilS. w HSIl IlilS tillulSl-
patton from politics shall become COM
plete, and the officers and men of the
police department shall We as indepen-
dent in political pulls as regiment of
the regular army, your efforts to bring
the police department to the highest eff
fciency will be still more successful.
But already a good step in advance in
this direction seems to me to have been
taken, and the success Of the first step
may make subsequent progress easier.
| 1t gives me pleasure to endorse those
passages in your report which relate to
the enforcement of the laws pertaining
to the public morals, and to thank you
for your personal faithfulness and eff
cheney, particularly in your efforts to
reduce the policy business in his city to
it's least possible dimensions.
You may be interested to know that
among my stories of miscellaneous in
formation with reference to police mat
tiers, I find a paper containing an ac-
count Of an effort which was made as
far back as the year 1852 with the ac-
tive cooperation of President
Woolsey to rid this commun-
ity of the pest of gambling rooms.
Probaly since that time your depart
ment has never made better record
than 1t has during the past two years
in its pursuit Of professional gamblers.
l presume however, that you will share
with me the regret that it Is practically
impossible for the police to lay hands
upon, and for the courts to expose, the
more respectable political sinners who
for years have invested their capital
and their pulls in the profits and the
protection of policy writing, and its
systematic robbery Of the poor in the
city Allow me to express the hope that
in the coming year you may succeed
in gathering evidence enough against
old offenders in this line sufficient to
justify the courts n inflicting upon them
the Jail penalty which is literally pro-
vided in the statutes of the state
/ appreciate the difficulties, legal, po-
litical and local, which meet you in
your efforts to keep the streets Of the
city free from vice and to close places
of questionable resort; but you can re-
ly uPUfl lllS s5cISLdl ouPpQlt VI tliC Solii-
munity in your plans for the reasonably |
efficient conduct Of the police depart
ment in this matter. As / have found
you always ready to eeeive and to in |
vestiate any complaints Of violations /
Of the laws pertaining to the public |
morals, I would bespeak to you the
aid and the cooperation Of the public
in your work in behalf of the morals
cleanliness of the city. During the pats
few years have myself received scores
of complaints from persons who were
too timid to go directly to police head
quarters or in many cases even to sign
their names to their information. 1t is
due to you personally for m eto say
that / recolect no instance in which /
such information seemed to be proba-
BILE, which you have not been prompt
in investigating and pursuing. l would
heartily endorse also all that you have
to urge with regard to the necessity of
a larger police force and greater vigil
ance on account of our proximity to
New York.
The fact happened to come for in
stance within my knowledge that one
result of Dr. arkhurst's raid upon So
cial infamy within certain precincts in
New York was an increase here in New
Haven of the unfortunate class who
were temporarily driven from shelter
In New York. With increasing emanci-
patton from the curse Of partizan poll
tics in our purely administrative de-
partments and with the courageous and
active support Of the public, l hope that
your laudable ambition may be still
more conspicuously fulfilled to give
New Haven a police force which for
military discipline and efficiency shall
De model for other cities. With con-
sratulations for what you have already
and with good wishes for
your future, I am very truly yours,
NEWMAN SMYTH