New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-09-04
CRIMINALS GROW BOLD.
TTIZENS SUFFER FROM POLICE IN
EFFICIENCY.
CORRUPTION AMONG THE OFFICIALS AT
THE TOP HAS DEMoRALIzED THE
FORCE THROUGH AND THROUGH.

Made bold by the widely known sympathy
which the police under Tammany control show
,or all kinds of criminals who are willing to
ivide the profits of their crimes with the alleged
guardians Of the peace, robbers. thugs and in
,endiaries are. in the opinion of many close
observers preying upon the people of this city
It present to extent which has seldom been
.Qualled Day after day the newspapers report
house burglaries, highway robberies. aggravated
assaults and other lawless acts whose perpe-
irators are never caught. Night after night the
policemen who ought to be patrolling their beats
AN be seen standing and talking together or
With citizens on the avenues. close by saloon
or preference. leaving the houses in the darker
streets unmatched and unprotected. an easy
Grey 10 the burglar and the sneak thief. No
fear Of punishment annoys the patrolman II
he roundsman, who finds him talking instead OF
oatroIling should report him to the captain no
punishment would follow. because almost every
Datrolman the force has some sort of a pull
or knows more about the crookedness of his su-
periors than they would like him to tell.
DRUNKENNESS WINKED AT.
Even so gross an offence as being drunk on his
post is winl1ed at: for did not so exalted an Of
fetal as an inspector of police recently club and
pound a lot of peaceable citizens who incurred
his i'll humor outside of Madison Square Garden
not know what he was doing? He got off with
out even a reprinand. Only the other day the
police disgraced this city in the eyes of the
whole world by not only permitting, but actu-
ally encourag ing bloody riot and a wholesale
assault upon lawabiding black men because
single negro had cut of their number
Reused TO indignation by this atrocious con-
duct a reputable physician so far forgets MN
self as to criticise the Chief If the force DeVer!
Not long afterward the physician Is sandbagged
in the street Apparently well founded charges
are made that friends of Devery, instigated by
the Chief. had done this in revenge. Ihese
charges are repeated TO Devery Does he give
them the indignant denial which an innocent
man naturally would? This is what ne says
I don't care to talk about it at ALL
If that does not leave the impression that
Devery did inspire the attack and if it does not
convey a warning 10 all other critics of the
Chief then Devery will be disappointed 1oI
that is the impression he wishes to convey say
many who know him thoroughly
THUGS SURE OF PROTECTION.
Every thug who hears this will say to him
self 'Devery is all right" just as the ponce
went about saying "Devery's heart is in the
right place" when il became reasonably GER
tain that he would defy public opinion and
hiring none of them to 1ustica who had avenged
on many innocent negroes the crime OF the one
black man who stabbed their fellow policeman
And those two towards who sandbagsed DeN-
erv's critic, how boldly they VIII sandbag others
hereafterl Sure Of police protection, they VIII
not stop at anything which promises at hano-
And so it goes on among other lines of crime
The picIIpockets who see the walters at the
Tfvoli and the Pekin and other similar resorts
rObbing the drunken customers whom they eject
and doing il with impUnity as long as Ihey give
up a share Of their staalingS to the police, are
encouraged TO go and pick pockets among the
shopping crowds. relying upon their ability 10
buy immunity if the police catch them. From
pocket picking n HOUSEKEEPING is but step
The policeman VINO will defy the rules Of the
force and stand talking an hour at time at the
extreme end of his beat, just for the pleasure Of
il will combine profit with that pleasure with
out any conjunction, and will agree to stand
there two hours for consideration.
Meanwhile the burglar does his work, and
when the victim complains to the police he is
emphatically almost saVagely, warned not TO
say a word about the robbery to reporters, for
fear Of defeating the plans of the detectives TO
catch the thief" Hundreds and hundreds of
house burglaries in this way are prevented from
reaching the ears Of the public Those which
do leak out are not a tenth part Of the total.
This particular week is especially fruitful of
crimes which could not be kept secret. They
form a striking commentary upon the inefi-
cheney and almost total lack of discipline which
permeates the entire police force under Chet
TgeEerH- he tool OF Richard Croker.