The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-12-15
A Monster Mass Meeting Is Held in
Chicago, Now the Out
law City"
Speakers Declare That Present Dis
graceful Conditions Can Be
Tolerated No Longer.
The Police Department Is Stigmatized
as Inefficient, Tho Police
Chief Is There.
Special to The Journal.

special TO Inc journal
Chicago, Dec. 15.-Chicago's citi-
zens to-day took a hand III the sup
preston of the city's reign of crime
and epidemic Of murder that has
spread terror in every section and
earned for Chicago the name Of the
outlaw city
To-day "a great anti-crime mass
meeting was held that tested the ca
pacity of Willard hail. in the Temple
building. Speakers declared the con-
ditions were intolerable, that they had
reached a stage where no Chlcagoan
regarded his life as safe. and where
outsiders have become afraid to visit
the city, fearing that they might be
held up, robbed or murdered. Such
conditions they declared existed in no
other city in the world.
Resolutions were introduced by
William Kent blaming the police force
for it's failure to suppress crime. The
resolutions state in brief: 1.-The po-
lice force is responsible for maintain
ing law and order in Chicago. Law
and order are not being maintained.
Therefore the police service in Chi
cago is inadeQuate.'
Chief of Police O'Neill was present
In person and made a talk defending
the department. In his address chS
present numerical strength Of the po-
lice force was set forth, and an argu-
ment made that it is wholly made
Quate for the amount of work de-
nlanded of it. Chief O'Neill replied to
questions from the audience by which
he hoped to clear his department
from any charges of general incom-
potency.
Other addresses were made by DR..
Emil G. Hirsch. DR.. Cleland B. Nc
ff1,> L.
council graft committee, and Judge
Tuley and Arthur Burrage Farwell of
the Hyde Park Protective association.
Want Fund of 5000.
1t was decided to ask for a work
ing fund of $4,000, as the Citizens
association has consented to take up
. the work and carry 1t to completion.
u that amount is furnished. A commit
tee of citizens will cooperate with the
Citizens association in determining
what is wrong. Having solved this prob
lem, this committee will report it's
findings, and the proposed federation
of civic organizations will bend it's
energies to correcting the weakness.
Judge Richard Tuthill,sa whose expert
ence in juvenile court work has made
him familiar with delinquency in the
young and It's causes presided. ,
Tn my opinion the indeterminate
sentence law not only operates to the
special advantage Of the desperate
criminal who generally has politi-
cal pull but has resulted in swamp
ing the state attorneys office with
more criminal cases than it can easily
handle" said Judge Murray T. Tuley,
at the meeting.
under the old law a defendant
was able to make his plea of guilty
and serve a sentence Of a year or
two, and jury trial was avoided. AS
matters now stand, the criminal is
virtually compelled, to take a jury
trial: he knows there is a chance of
getting free OH a legal technicality,
no matter how strong the evidence
may be, but if he does not go free he
feels that his friends will bring in
f1uence to bear on the state board Of
pardons and help him out Of prison
within the lapse of a year or more.
''These facts will also be consid-
cred by the committee" ,'.