Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-19
DEVERY IN POLITICS
Efforts to Become Tammany
District Leader.
Elk CHIEF OF POLICE
NEW YORK PEOPLE INHUMANE
TO THEIR PETS.
Leave Them to Starve in Streets
Trolley Excursions to Bos-
ton q Fad.
Elk -CHIEF OF POLICE
Special Correspondence OF The Evening Star.

NEW YORK, July IS. 1902
Deyery. ex-chief of police and masterful
man despite his illiteracy. is again under
| the limelight. He has gone into politics. Il
| may seem anomalous to say that Devery
| has just gone into politics." since he was
a political policeman, from patrolman to
chief, from his early manhood. and perhaps
knows more of the kinks of New York city
politics than any ten iaymen OF the town
not directly connected with the game Now.
however, Devery, a civilian and. "a rich man
"a citizen with splendid New York home
and a superb villa by the seals after a
Tammany district leadership. Men who
have gained their regulations as prognosti-
Gators say that the chances are easily ten
to one that he will win. His method, as
usual, is out-and-out. He is going to drive
the present leader of the district out of his
job This sort of thing is perfectly legiti-
mate within Tammany. No less than twen-
ty.one districts are going to be fought for
TINS fail The process is simple. The leader
what Is is opposed by a man who thinks
that he has an equal right to be leader of
the district. They muster their friends. the
contestant invariably getting all of the
indictments of the district under his ban
ner, and perhaps good many of the reign
ing leaders friends, according to the size
OF MS barrel and his chances of success
tn n
clinch. " :"
Iammany itself an organization, does
not interfere. II the reigning leader wins
OUT IL Is all right-the contestant shakes
hands with him in token of renewed feaItv
and fights as hard against the common
enemy as he did before his ambition for
the leadership began to seethe If the con-
testant dlsiodges the old leader the latter
smoothing out the wrinkles made by cha
grin. reports at the new mans headouar-
ters. takes the VOW of allegiance and goes
u work IN the ranks. When the elections
come around all hands within the organiza-
tlon are together, shoulder to shoulder
against the "rayformers"
Many Similar Fights.
These fights within Tammany for leader
snip go on year after year without at
tracing much attention. Deverv's fight
iio"eFer' attracts heap of attention on
account or Devery's personality. There is
10 uooslhg the fact that he is very strong
man. He has ideas that are rich i'm ,oaat
but his lack of education comnels hin, 70
frame these ideas in a patois of his own
mingled with the language of tho dav
ms IS why Devery's remarks are reported
ana quoted. He can sum up a situstto,
ana blast 1t. in an Incredibly short SEW
tehce. sentence epigrammatic notwith-
standing its Vulgarity and slanginess
a. WINE ago. feeling perfectly inGepen-
dent as he may well feel, considering his
circumstances. and inclined to talk as. he
sat on the portico of his beautiful Rock-
away ava home. he gave the triumvirs of Gro
her-Murphy, Haffen and McMahon-who
succeeded nominally after the short reign.
II reign it could be called of the silk
stocking Lewis NiXon-titles that will
suck to them as long as they are in active
polltics. He swept Murphy away with the
good-natured declaration that he was
simply sport" Mcmahon he called a
two-spot:" Haffen he characterized as a
Joke" The beautiful aptness of these m
ms Ia tha
sons familiar with the records of the triIIm-
virate of politicians. From the hour that
ne dubbed them as he did not man Of
them has been taken seriously Their
power might really have grown. But n
was permanently dwarfed when Deyery
sitting on his porch and twisting a big ci-
gar in his mouth, threw these barbs of ridi-
cule at them.
Devery has held the imagination of New
York for long time. and if Big Tim Sulli-
van were not in the way there are those
who say that he could easily aspire to the
Tammany leadership.
Tammany's Chances Next Fall.
The most ardent and optimistic republ-
cans in New York are now freely conceding
that Tammany has an excellent chance To
win back its power at the next election
despite Tammany's present state of dis
organization. The republican and independ-
ent newspapers that enthusiastically SIM
ported Low and his reform ticket are now
sneering a t the reform administration The
mayor is being attacked for his general
Sinking of the reform platform and the
chief of police. who was to do so much to
correct New York is being pounded on all
sides for what his former supporters do
not hesitate to term his incompetency and
listlessness Everybody knows that thus
far the So-cailed reform administration of
Greater New York has been a rank failure
In no single department has any radical re-
form been instituted. nor are there the
slightest indications that any reforms are
going to be instituted in the future. The
Wide-openneSS of the vicious regions of
Manhattan is perfectly patent as to be
undeniable. Crimes of violence are actually
three times more frequent according to
plain police statistics. than they ever were
under the most corrupt of Tammany police
chiefs. Burglary has become the pursuit
of the merest amateurs, and they are not
apprehended. So frequent are the burg
laries in Brooklyn that the citizens are at
tending mass meetings. demanding relief
and the language employed by the i'm
promptu orators at these meetings is the
language of despair. Hold-ups are becom-
ing as common they always have been
in Chicago. which is sufficient indictment
of the condition here. Street murders are
almost of nightly occurrence and yet only a
small percentage of the murderers are
taken, even when they are known. The
other night a well-known real estate man
was foully killed at the corner of Broadway
and 42d street, under the glare of LOCO
electric lamps. The man who killed him
is a sport a gambler. perfectly WELL
known to the police. and it is said with
greatest confidence by reliable men that
this sport murderer is now in New York
and that the police know that he is in New
York-he was seen enjoying cigar in Har
lem a few days after the crime.
Cause of the Condition.
In so far as the police department is con-
cerned there Is, of course, one explanation.
and a very good and plausible one. of its
laxress. The department is composed in
great bulk of Tammany men. and it is not
unreasonable to suppose that they arc, by
their studied ineffectiveneSs. endeavoring
to create capital for Tammany at the next
election. This is the theory of students of
the situation with anti-Tammany bias.
These same men, however. disgustedly say
that If there were an actual reform chief
of police at the head of the department il
would be impossible for the present admin
istration to DE thus undermined by the de-
liberate donothingness of police interiors.
The police chief, in fact. is being caricatur-
ed in newspapers that were formerly friend
ly to him as a grandmother employed at
her knitting.
And there are many minor dissatisfac-