Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-10-12
DEYERY SlDE-LIGHT

81 once had pretty hot experience with
Devery, the paunchy, rumble-voiced,
wealthy and all-powerful deputy commits
sioner, but actual police boss Of the police
of New York, who is the leading issue of
Seth Lows mayoralty campaign against
Tammany this year." said one Of the
Washington correspondents for a New
York newspaper. "And from the pretty
close study of the man that I made at that
| time reached the conclusion that IL ever
man deserved his lifelong reputation for
being as hard as nails and as uncompro-
missing as hammered dynamite, then that
| man was this same Devery.
THE incident happened about ten years
| ago, when Devery was captain Of one OF
| the west side police precincts in New York.
newspaper-not one of the yellews, but
| one of the most conservative sheets on
Manhattan Island, and therefore paper
of vast influence.
The green goods game at that time was
being worked for tens and hundreds of
thousands by a regular organization of ia
nous green goods men; and 1t was openly
limited by most Of the New York papers
that this clique of Swindlers had the pro-
lection of the police. The bulk Of the
green goods men made their headquarters
in Devery's precinct. Everybody knew
that they were working in that precinct,
and the demand upon Devery to wipe them
out was loud. But Devery strenuously de-
MED that there was single green goods
operator in his entire jurisdiction. His de-
malls were so childish in view of the noto
riouS facts that they were calculated to
make one laugh in Devery's face when he
was making them; but there never were
many folks who cared particularly to laugh
in Deverys face. He's too huge and SIREN
uouS.
Finally my city editor took me off every
other kind of work and told me to take the
~, So ha dc Ill to-
precinct and show them up-to force Dew
cry to at least acknowledge that there
might be few of their crooked ilk in his
domain. 1 didn't tackle that job with any
particular relish; but it was not a case Of
what relished but of obeying orders; and
so went on a still hunt for the purveyorS
of the sawdust-filled satchels.
First, 1 dropped in upon Devery-whom
I didn't know very we'll at that time-and
told him that I'd been assigned, in a way,
to his bailiwick and that I'd be greatly
obliged to him If he'd hand over to me
neatly typewriter list of all the green
goods men in his precinct. Well you ought
to've seen him. He was sitting behind his
desk when I blandly sprung that on him.
and l thought that he going to hop
over it and the rail and bite both of my
ears off.
They amt no such people as them in
this precinct! he bawled, bringing his
mighty fist down on his blotting pad with a
tremendous bang. I don't believe there's
any such people anywhere in New York;
never seen one, any way. You go ahead
an dig fr 'em if you want to-; but you
want to hew purity close t. TIL line or
and he glowered at me as if he had half
mind to chuck me into donjop keep right
then on general principles.
Well. l struck pay dirt, as they say.
from the first day and without much
trouble. 1 did a RUDE stunt and wandered
into plant that had been tipped off to me
as hanging-out place for bunch of the
satchel manipulators, and 1 made elabo-
r,fa y,1o,, how \,
papers from one of them. 1 thus got the
names of four of them, their assumed
names. and by comparing these assumed
names with the records Of the rogues' gal
lery-in which all of them had been mug
ged-I traced them out.
Il was blowing around Devery's precinct
for over three weeks in this way, and at
the end of that time l had pretty com
plete list of the green goods workers along
with their addresses, and carefully noted
descriptions of the plants their methods
and manners, together with the names Of
at least fifteen chaps from various rural
sections who had been done by the op-
orators. while 1 was nosing around on their
trail. had more narrow escapes from be-
ing pounded to pulp than I'd ever care to
go through again, and in fact for several
years after that 1 kept strictly away from
the green goods mems section of the city
and went armed when out at work after
dark
with all of this data in hand-the most
convincing array of facts and figures tina.
l ever dressed up before or since-I pre-
scented myself to Devery again.. First, l
passed over to him as he sat writing b.
hind the rail of the station house a two
page typewriter list of the green goods
men in his precinct, with the alias Of each.
Devery's face first went red and then it
assumed purplish, apoplectic nue..
Them peoples all business men O. stan
din in this precinct he shouted at me.
'G'wan an prove that they're not on tn
level-thats all; prove it,
Il calmly intimated to him that I had
the proof and 1 proceeded to set before
him carefully-sketched details of the swim
dies of which had absolute knowledge.
Then Devery dashed himself Into a rage
ing me out of all idea of using my labori-
ously CLEANED material. He jumped up and
frothed at the mouth and pounded his desk
with both fists and roared at me so that he
could have been heard block away.
Everything you've got there is a lier'
he beloved, coming around to the front
Of the rail and towering over me with
clenched paws. Just you use a line of it
just you try that on, that's ALL!
We'll, I've got more than little bit Of
Irish in my frame myself, and 1 didn't in
tend to permit this large, purplish person
to bawl at and threaten me in that style
Devery's about a head and half taller
than 1 am and weighs at least twice as
much; but l was wiling to take hammer
ing, II that was his idea, rather than to
permit him to bullyrag and browbeat me
so insufferably. So-and, say, the memory
of it sort O. makes me feel like running for
1t yeti stuck my countenance within two
inches of his fat, perspiring face and said
l In hiss that must have sounded like the
hiss of the villain in a Bowery melodrama:
You can't bulldoze me, Bill, see? You
can't make it. stick You can't get away
with 1t. You don't draw enough water
You are not toppy enough. You won't do
Don't you make any more cracks like that
to me or something'll happen to you Dive
hear understanding will happen to you!
everything I've got here tapping my bun
die Of material, lis on the dead level and
it's going to be printed tomorrow morning
about two newspaper pages of it; and then
It's going to be right up to you to come to
the front and prove whether you're a crook
or whether you are not a crook. UNDER
stand? and J. moved my face to within
only one inch of his.
well, while 1 was getting that off, and
was mad all over, Devery looked as If
upon the point Of tearing me limb from
limb. Then he caved. chagrined grin
crept over his face. He pretended that he
was grinning over the discrepancy in our
respective sizes. But he wasn't He was
Just caving,, that's all. and 1 saw it and
knew 1t, and for about four minutes more
! said things to Mr.. Devery such as III
bet hat nobody ever said to him before
since, Then T marc parl,;I,x