The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-28
Peryersion OF the Police.

In another column OF this morning B
6UN there appears letter from Justice
GAYNoR commenting in manner which
events make peculiarly impressive upon
tho: recent manifestation here of police
aukporacy. As though to add weight
toiit, on it's. very.heels came the magni-
fed outrage Of the raids reported in
Yesterdays morning papers, by which
6s3! citizens were subjected to the in
dignity of police seizure, to have tho
authority for action whitfield down by
thA courts until it covered beggarly
eight.
&he facts concerning the raids Of
Friday are that some time previously
Warrants were issued by "a City Mag
istate calling for the arrest of seven
teen men in several places. The names
ofthe men for whom the warrants were
Issued were not given in the complaints,
but in the warrants each man was de-
sciibed with sufficient detail to make
hiki possible by the officers
orHered to execute them.
Several parties II policemen started
on Friday to execute the warrants. On
arriving at the places designated therein
THY were able to identify but eight of the
NTH described These men were taken
inkksaesed1r--{Hss,ts. the police found 5s5
othsscsusu in this company Of the eight
for whom they had warrants. No COM
plants existed against the SIS, and, so
far as the records show, they were not
engaged in any illegal act when the
police cane upon them. In spite Of
this situation, however the 5s5 were
placed under arrest, taken to police
stations, recorded on. the books as
prisoners, and locked up. To the hui
initiation OF arrest was added great
phyAical discomfort due to the fact that
no prober arrangements had been made
by the authorities for caring for such
a large number OF persons. Fortu-
nately for them, the majority were able
to obtain bail and were released on bond
for thy night. ass
In the morning the entire number OF
these arrested men appeared at City
Magistrates Court for a hearing. A
representative OF the District Attorneys
Office announced that arraignment was
unnecessary in the case of all the
prisepeys except thu eight who had
beeh arrested on the warrants. This
news was shouted by court attendants
and volunteer criers to the waiting 5s5.
Protest was made by some Of them, who
demanded warrants for the arrest Of the
policemen who had taken them into
custodypn the previous afternoon. But
in spite Of these appeals, the remarka-
bic course was adopted OF discharging
bs5 prisoners without hearing to de-
termine. their guilt or innocence and
without giving an opportunity to them
to clear their names of the disgrace which
the police had put on them.
The responsibility for these illegal
acts, threatening the rights of every citi-
zen, must go right through the police to
it's highest officers. The Magistrate
by whom the warrants were issued
specifically denies that he had any fore
knowledge of the intention Of the po-
lice to make these wholesale arrests;
he denies emphatically that he issued
what the police called blanket war
rants on the day Of the raid; and he
expressed perfect willingness to enter
tain complaints against law-breaking
policemen at the proper time. Clearly,
the responsibility for these acts rests on
the Department Of Police. The Commits
sioner OF Police is responsible to the
public for the conduct Of the Depart
ment, and man inspired with due
sense Of right and wrong would have
issued the order needed to bring the
Department to It's senses weeks ago.
Jndge GAISoR,s view of the situation
is Of The essence Of that personal liberty
wiichisalwnys regarded in this country
as kmong the most sacred possessions Of
its,pitizens. -.