Evening star., 1899-04-11
Chief Devery Before the Mazet Inves-
tigating Committee.
GERRY TO INVESTIGATE HIMSELF
More About the Many Coming
Jeffersonian Banquets.
SHEEHAN OUT IN THE COLD
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

| NEW 4ORh, Aprll lo, lSB.
| Mr.. Robert Mazet and the six other MEM
| bers of the Mazet legislative investigating
committee, who are going to turn things
| topsy turvy in the city offices, and particu-
larly In the police department, trooped into
! town on Saturday and began their investi-
cations To say that he had things prac-
| tically his own way Is about expressing the
| situation, for he certainly succeeded in
making 1t clear to every one that he and
| the members of the committee were aware,
| and had been for some time of the fragrant
| and persistent violation of the laws. The
| committee sat in the county court house.
| The opening session was not attended by
! any great crowd of the curious for these
| had no promise of sensational testimony or
| any particularly startling disclosures to ex-
pect. Consequently, they stayed away.
Many witnesses We're put upon the stand
! and a number were called who failed to
| answer to their names. Among the latter
! was Frank Croker. son of Richard Gro
| ker, he of the great influence in Taanmany
| circles. Mrs. Croker appeared and said
| her son was out of the CITY, and conse-
| quently would not be able to give any evil
dence This was something of disap-
pointment, for the audience had expected
| some rather pertinent questions to be asked
| of the young man, because of his fathers
! connections with many of the city's con-
SIS1ClS dIfQ pubic
First Important Witness.
The most important witness of the day
| the beginning OF the attack upon the police
| department-was Chief of Police William S.
Devery. Devery, 1t Is claimed, has run
| things Just to suit his own particular fancy,
and the cfty'S "openneSS'' has so long been
| apparent to even those with little ability
| to see far ahead of them that 1t was openly
asked why some attempt had not been
made to close up places that were running
| in direct violation of the law.
Mr.. Frank Moss, who doing most of
| the cross-examinaion Of the witnesses, did
| not exhibit any tender sympathy in dealing
with the chief of police. He put to him
| many broad and sweeping questions that
perhaps would have confused one who
not thoroughly cool and collected, and who
| did not understand his position well enough
| to resist any attacks. In the first place,
Mr. Moss referred to the old, untried charge
against Devery, which has been standing
| since 1897. Devery waved the pertinent
question aside more or less effectively, but
Moss was equal to the occasion, and inn
mediately announced that he was going to
introduce evidence in three specific charges
against the chief, charges which had been
standing against him for some time and
which had never been satisfactorily dis
posed Of, either by positive proof of inno-
cence or dismissal. These charges included
one of accepting a bribe of S10O. and the
other. and the one which was made the
basis Of much of the questioning that
of gross neglect of duty in failing to close
up disorderly houses.
Devery Taken Aback.
Devery was somewhat taken aback at the
unexpected announcement of these charges
but he tried bravely to meet them with an
air of easy Indifference. Mr.. Moss asked
Mr.. Devery II it was not true that he had
stood for hours just at the corner in the
Upper Broadway district and neglected his
TNni ny11. tiCya oTNT.a
sorts were eourishing within earshot and
just before n eyes Much stress was laid
upon the fact that a certain woman had
been allowed to run a house in the Tender
loin district and had never been interferred
with by the police, although persons of re-
finement and culture who were unfortunate
enough to live in her immediate vicinity
had complained of the existence of the
place many times Devery looked wise and
said that there had never been produced
sufficient evidence against the house to
warrant police Interference to give them
sufficient grounds for closing the place.
Mr.. Moss came out frankly and boldly and
asked Devery if it was not true that the
place had been allowed to flourish simply
because of the political influence welded
by the woman. OF course, Devery denied
this
Much other severe questioning was done
in trying to make Devery admit that houses
Of iii-repute and beer halls and concert
halls and various other styles of lawbreak-
ing places had not been running in full
blast for many months. Devery could not
be cornered He always had a loophole to
work out of, and he worked out so we'll
that Mr.. Moss had to let it go at that
Then the counsel for the committee asked
Devery why 1t was that certain papers
which had their circulation in the Tender
lon districts, and were intended only for
the class of people who frequent such To-
caljty, Were allowed to continue in exist
ence. These papers in some way get on to
all Of the railway elevated stations and
into the ha ndS of nappla hn
otherwise never think of touching such a
publication. The chief said that since mis-
attention had been called to their existence
he had succeeded in toning them down. and
he had called the attention of Anthony
Comstock to them. But the papers still
run and seem to flourish with a certain
class of people whose morbid appetites are
fed on such stuff.
Sheehan Out i'm the Cold.
John c. Sheehan, who was once the hap
py leader Of Tammany Hall, is now a po-
litical outcast, so far as the jefferson din
ners are concerned. Although a member
of the Democratic Club he will not attend
the $40 affair for reasons of his own-and
Richard Crokers. He has so far been ig-
nored by the workingmen's committee, and
the committee of fifteen of the Chicago
platform democracy has voted to strike his
name from-the list of those whom they
would have sit round their festive board
on the occasion of April 10 19-or when
ever they finally decide to hold it.
While the conferences were going on with
Mr. Sheehan and Mr.. Bryan out in the
west a week ago, the dollar diners
decided that Mr. Sheehans views on silver
nd his apparent friendship for Bryan en-
titled him to some consideration at their
hands. The decision was not unanimous,
however for there were several far-seeing
men on the committee who feared that Mr..
Sheehan would act as bond between the
silver men and Tammany, and would, in
tie event of an Independent democratic
movement, officiate as a Judas to betray
the local silverites to Richard Croker. After
peace had been restored between the war
ring factions of the dinner committees sew
eral of the anti-Sheehan men again became
fearful of a plot, and their recent action
| was the result. Mr.. Sheehan however had
| friends at the meeting, and Ii was not until
after long argument and due deliberation
that it was finally resolved to let Mr.. Shee-
han. eeuratively speaking. go dinnerless.
Fifty cents is enough for good Jeffer-
! son democrat to pay for dinner an
nounced "Scotty," the former valet of ex-
Mayor Patrick Battie-Ax Jerome Gleason,