The sun., 1900-12-30
SHERIFF FASHEAD PURIFIER.
rgs FIFTEEN MAY CALL 0N HfA AS
THE GOVERNOR DID.
n n. Take. to Rsid'ns Gambling Rooms VINO
shall Say Him Nay' Ills Powers. Some.
time. Forgotten in These DAYS Are Believed
:. n. Annie when Police Dony Act.


time. Forg gotten in These Dsys. Are Delisvsd
10 lie Ample when Police DonS Act
sberiY Grell ia CO ncernsd In the roeramme
Of the Committee OF Fifteen Tor cleaning
I'm the cltv No secret Las been made of
tho fact 90 the committee was going hrst
q, ali to mat tho responsibility for neglect
NJ duty on the part Of public officials on
Mayor Van Wyck. and make formal de-
mand OF him that no compel ohicials who
are ncglc gent either to see that the law Is
enforced or to got out II MAYOR Nan WycR
doe. not act promptly. and tho conditions
that are complained OF lrevdH atter formal
complaint has been made 10 him. the Com
,,ittse or Fifteen will go straight to Sheriff
Orel and demand that he as peace officer
anda constitutional officer. with unquestoncd
po,yer under the common law. call to his aid
the forces that the law gives him the right
10 call on. in cases OF emergency. and close
I'D the gambling houses. poo!rooms and
dsorde-ly resorts.
This will be a radical departure from the
line. along which other reform committees
have worked. No communications have
as vet passed between the committee and
the sheriff Even the Sheriff had no Idea
yestof day that he might be called upon to
descend on the fashionable gambling houses
AMI downtown. and clean them out. and the
news was not pleasant for him to hear. The
Sheriff. like his predecessors In Office, has
left the policing OF the city strictly to the
police The idea OF conductin. series
OF raids for the elevation OF the moral tone
Of the county has never occurred to him.
and the idea that the Sheriff would interfere
In the duties they have believed to be ex-
clusvely their own has certainly not oc-
CURED to the police. But whether 1t has
occurred 70 them or not. the fact remains
that the Sheriff has the power TO see that
the laws are enforced He can call on tbs
police 10 help him. he can call on any male
citizen. II the police force won't help him.
he can arrest the police force. II a citizen
declines TO get in the game at the SheriH's
,rder. the citizen can bs locked UP and pun
ished for misdemeanor.
The Committee OF Fifteen have been look
Ing into this matter thoroughly and are con-
vlnced that the man for them is the Sheriff.
1t makes no difference to them that the pres
ent incumbent Of the SheriGs Office is mem
Der OF the political organization which domi-
uates the Police Department, and which
has been accused OF beng responsible for
the conditions all over the city that are ow
complained OF by respectable people He
is tho Sheriff and the committee figures that
he has no alternative but 10 act as chief peace
ofhcer when called upon.
OF the committee before the present commit
Tee. was created, Il was when Coy. E2ose;-
district Attorney Gardner and sheriff Greli''
warning them 10 do their full duty on cleo
9n day to dSsPe % the Gead55y 5yy n cTder hsY sY.
cry. The Governors message to the Sheriff
was, particulary, emphatic, 1t told Mr..
was eni orced and that the election proceed
in an, orderly way. and i stated that the
dv and Sr s an i4Gs on hs nab +. 70 fS a1 aT ,a
Saeyy = dPe 'ieGd hSsed around ali hight on the the
night that he got the Governors message,
and that ne was considerably agitaJed over
position. or AL tho oficials who got similar
warnings from the Governor. no one was
apparently 20 anxious as the Shsrin TO gave
evidence OF his entire Willingness 10 do his
duty.
the sherin's rronrtne,s and conselentious-
ness In this matter and the members have
lpadr NJ their minds that he + the very man
that will close up tho evil resorts OF the town,
X the police continue TO refuse 70 Go IT,. And
:? they have made up their mlnds to call upon
him, From time TO time in the past few
days Chairman Baldwin. la speaking Of the
Irggramme Of the Committee Of Fifteen has
d SS, gRds Sn se1's Scs Would ia Id Sr
against them To the Governor and an attempt
made 10 have them removed FROM Office. ilo
taken by tie committee. though. formal
demand would 10 made on such officials that
Mr. Baldwin had in mind VAS sheriff Gr.ll
Hlthough he never mentioned hi, name.
shSr. Grsll has been partticSarly ~ con, con,
over ne election matter had subsid,u he had
one of hi, counsel, Charlie, +. Well. look UP
Gs hs sS Se n esTd M iIs %sas an @ fae.
study OF the matter and COMPLIED briei
from which v; THE sGT printed extracts on
The terms OF the Charter are SO broad in
scope and emphatic IN their demands a. to
that the lntention Is uhniitahaDle TO mahn
the Police Department and force primarily
liable Tor the detection and arrests OF criminal,
ana the enforcement OF all laws agGinsl crime
within the clty's limits. 1hls has been. both
under this ana the preceding Charter OF the
and their advisers as the law governing the
territory covered by the city. and when the
city and county were coextensye the sheriff
OF the county ceased TO engaae in the detec-
ton OF crime ana apprehension or criminals,
aud also ceased the execution Of criminal
process except in certain Instances, and IL
cases where the sheriff has been specially
commanded to execute such process az =
Is the chief conservator OF the peace and tho
Immediate onioer OF every court of record
from such emergencies il will be hard TO tnd
case where the Sheriff OF New York county
should do police W9rE r IN The attempt TO ae
he sees crime or attempted crime arc defined
in those prescribed Tor peace officers. IL ho
New York county-and need have "A care only
TO execute promptly and faithfully such
warrants or other process as he C'lyes
In making this brief Mr.. Wells had IN mind
the Sheriff. duties as police officer in cases
OF election troubles or street riots. lie has
not gone into the subject OF the Shcrin ;
rights as n police officer to raid gambling
houses and other illegal resorts. when called
upon to do so. but the right OF the Sherif to
do this is not doubted by anybody. Philip
Britt the Sheriff counsel was told yesterday
that the Committee OF Fifteen was conten-
plating calling on Sherlh prell TO enforce
The law against disorderly. places IN case the
police refused to do So, Mr.. Britt was sur
priscd, h,,t said that under the law there was
authority FOR the Sheriff to close Illegal re-
sorts u called upon. but that Will" tho Charter
of the city alter consolidation did not repeal
the old law in SO many words, II was gem
orally reCarded as superseding II in so Tar
ls the policing OF tho city is concerned.
The Charter il so definite on this point,
said Mr.. Britt, that few VII be found VINO
will question tho solo right Of the police to
do pol icc work in the city II Is certainly no
nerlect OF duty for the sheriff not To look up
evidence against disordery places. That Is
police function. II j. not the duty OF the Shcr-
iT to take the ini'I'tive In matters of thot
kind Al | can say at the present tiuc -
that from INV knowledge of sheriff Gr"ll
! have no hesitation IN stating that II amy
citizen or body OF citizens comes To him with
a complaint Of conditions that he has lrgGl
ri,ht 10 remedy, he viii act with the greatest