Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-29
TIE POLICE IN PnLIrrcs.

An unnamed contributor to n local
m%ercenary sheet endeavors to con.
done the attempt Of the sham reform
police commission to dominate Omaha
politics by giving currency to reminis.
cent mislnformatiOn. Admitting that
there Is considerable merit in the com.
plants launched against the bogus re.
formers, the apologist for the Baldwin
commission declares that:
The Impression prevails in the minds OF
many well posted people that il was Rose
water himself who many years ago went
down to Lincoln to boost a fire and police
commission bill to give him and his allies
control Of the city. Ever since that
eventful period the sentiment Of that gen
tleman and all OF his followers on the
question OF a fire and police commission
has depended wholly upon whether or not
the existing commission we're one whiCSl
he owned. II It were such a one, he was
always disposed to believe a fire and police
commission "a bully boy with a glass eye
II it we're one which was disposed to thrust
the pruning hooks into him and his polit-
ical side partners, he has been a violent
and unrelenting advocate Of home rule.
That well-defined impression bears the
earmarks of the "w~ell-defined rumOrs'
that were circulated for campaign con-
sumption eighteen months ago but have
since beer e%ffectually punctured. The
Omaha police and fire commission had
its origin in the popular demand for
taking the police out Of politics and not
into politics. The first police commits
sion bill was enacted by the Legislature
I'm the winter of 1887, when William ].
Broatch was serving his first term as
mayor Of Omaha and John NJ. Thayer
was entering on his first term as gov
ernOr.
There was not the remotest expect
ancy that the police commission to be
appointed by Governor Thayer would
play into the hands of any political
faction and the experience with the
commission during the first four years
fully justified the expectations of the
men who desired to divorce the police
from politics. The first Omaha police
commission was selected by General
Thayer without political pressure from
any faction or individual. 1t consisted
of l.. NJ. Bennett, George l. Gilbert.
Christian Hartman and Howard b.
Smith. The only survivor of that COM
mission, Mr.. Howard b. Smith, will,
we feel sure, testify that during his in
cumbency nobody attempted to project
the police into politics. For the first
SIX years after the creation of the com
mission the police and fire departments
remained absolutely divorced from all
politics, and every police officer, from
the chief to patrolman, exercised his
rights as a citizen at the primaries and
elections without restraint.
This policy was pursued strictly under
the administration Of George p. Bemis
as mayor of Omaha from 1892 to 1896.
BY that time the powers of the police
commission had been enlarged so as 70
include control of the police and fire le-
partments as well ss the functions of a
liquor licensing board.
AC NSSNiCl atAOh VI ~ OIldud DtIICc
commissions into political machines
dates from the perversion of the orig
inal law through the RUSSELL Churchill
board, which was created expressly for
the ~subiugation of Omaha by the use of
the police club welded by. appointed cor
pOration tools as commissioners.
1t was this fragrant perversion of the
spirit of the law by the BrOatch-Van-
dervOort commission that inspired the
popular demand for home rule either by
police boards directly appointed by the
mayor and council or elected by the
people. Had the corporation managers
kept their hands OFF and allowed the
governors to exercise their privilege ac-
cording to their best judgment, Omaha
would probably have escaped the scan
dals of a police force demoralized by
political contention and fractional strife.