New-York tribune., 1903-01-03
BLOW AT BLACKMAIL.
W4RDMEN LOSE JOBS.
Gen Greene Remands All to Patrol
Dutu-Transters Them.

and plain Clothes man, and transferring them
to new precincts. and that there might be no
mistake TO the meaning of the order he said
after IL was issued:
Some Of the wardmen have notoriously been the
there are many honest among them, yet, in the
e n @ IL was n9t POSSIBLE 10 go % 'e he
upright and efficient from those who are believed TO
every one OF them without exception back to patrol
duty and TO make them ineligible for detail of any
men specially qualified for this class of duty, and
there viii he an opportnnitv to restore them in
case later on * should be deemed best to do so In
duty and transferring them different precincts
il is believed that corrupt connections now ex-
before making this order 1 consulted not not only only
Inspector Cortright, in order to be sure that the
%na 5ot IN an Wsv cppIe or ebarrass the de-
partrnent interfere with fits practical adminlstra
1nspectof Il CeTtris that it viii not have such effect;
and in this opinion both Deputy commissioners
concur.
records of the department he had ascertained
that many of the wardmen had been holding
such favored places for twenty years, and that
was too long a time in his judgment, for any
policeman TO hold such desirable detail BY
sonfe circumstance. about the time General
Greene was formulating his order. Controller
Grout was advising such action in an interview
yyifh {
ferring TO General Greene's auspicious begin
ming as Police Commissioner. said:
THE next good thing for the Commissioner
20 do is to abolish the precinct wardfnan, put
him in uniform and make him do patrol duty
II the department needs detective work by
plain clothes men, have the plain clothes men
report to headquarters. but not to the captain
Did any one ever hear Of a case OF biackmail
or corruption of any kind in this city without
the wardman being mixed up in it? / never
have. The records of the Lexow investigation
show that the wardnan invariably was in the
crooked deals In fact. the wardman is the
keystone of the whole situation. He should be
abolished. ard that right speedily
General Greene's order. No. 3. contained
among others the following paragraphs:
All precinct detectives and patrolmen doing duty
tn plain clothes whether in the districts or in the
Police Commissioner or by the inspectors Of dis
trtcts or the captains OF precincts are hereby re-
q. m. on Wednesday. January Z. and they will not
be eligible for details of any kind during ninety
Captains OF precincts and sergeants temporarily
@ s ~ recinct etectiVes and plain Clothes
illt tn 1a Ist To he arranged in order of pref
erences and TO be equal in number 10 twice the
Police Commissioner will make selections and as
signments TO duty as precinct detectives and plain
District inspectors VIII similarly submit lists Of
as plain clothes men at the once OF the district
inspectors from which lists selections and assign
fnents will be made by the Police Commissioner
Attention is called to the order Of April H. a. lse2.
graph. as amended viii be strictly observed here.
after and no details to duty in plain clothes VIII
q term longer than herein stated. without the
Written au5ry % & of the ar onR whes are now be-
Ing worked up by precinct detectives VIII be imme
headquarters. the branch detective bureau in
Brooklyn.
The order mentioned the names of nearly three
hundred men who transferred from the pre-
cincts in which they have been serving as ward
r1en or plain clothes men, to patrol duty in
other precincts The paragraph Of Rule 26 re-
fers TO the detailing Of patrolmen for detective
duty in emergency cases. not to exceed forty
eight hours without authority of the Commis-
eIoner.
General Greene said yesterday that he wanted
TO establish telephone system by which police
r1en post could keep in closer touch with
the police stations and get assistance quicker
sn case of trouble. He had talk with Super
sntendent Brennan, of the telegraph bureau, on
that subject, and asked for estimate of cost
of telephone system for the department Last
year it was estimated that if would cost S150,Ooo
TO install such a system in Manhattan south of
Fourteenth-st. General Greene would prefer TO
have the experiment tried in the section between
Fourteenth-st and Forty-second-st. Police Com
snissioners have been commenting police sig
nal systems for years, hut the Board of Esti-
mate and Apportionment has refused appropria-
tions.
The order Of Commissioner Greene to have
headquarters for all district inspectors estab-
iished in the districts made a moving day at
Police Headquarters yesterday The only in
epectors who will have Offices in the building
hereafter are Chief Inspector Cortright and In
srector Brooks.
There was some renewal of talk yesterday
about coming changes in the detective bureau
but General Greene would not give information
on the subject. Some OF the officials at Police
Headquarters said they believed Captain Titus
would remain at the head Of the bureau for
tome months longer. and possibly during Cen
eral Greene's term. They said General Greene
eas believed 10 have confidence in Captain Titus
and was disposed to give him fair trial Elihu
Root, the Secretary of War. it was said. was
one of General Greene's friends who recon-
rnended the promotion Of Titus. and had regard
for him and confidence in his ability and in
fegrity as a chief of detectives.
Captain Theron S. Copeland was retired on a
pension his own application yesterday He
was transferred from the City Hall 10 East
Thrty-fifth-et a few days ago. Last Monday,
with Inspector Thompson and several captains.
Copeland appeared before the Board Of Police
Surgeons for examination to his ability TO
remain in active duty He passed the examina-
zion with flying colors."
Captain Miles o'Reilly did not spend much
time in the Tenderloin yesterday. and he was
not disposed 10 talk much about his work there.
when he walked into the police station in West
aThirtieth-st in the morning, he found a scrub
woman busy at work In his office, and he said:
isThat's right. I like 10 have things clean.
The reulars was regarded as significant, but
when newspaper men %an'ea tne ao, 10 's,. e
put them Of saying: II am a stranger in the
precinct Come back in six months, and IL m
here then III tell you what I've done
+t,o anita