The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-07-09
THE POLICE INVESTIGATION
ASSISTANT CITY ATTY HALL ON THE STAND.

Duties-PoIitics Alleged to be Fac
 tor-captain cowles and Detective
 McGrath Heard Anthony Carroll
 Taken Out of Room-AdjOurnment
 Tin 9 o'clock Monday Morning.
 The fourth hearing by the police in vestigating commission began last night in rather dramatic manner and somewhat similar to the first. Shortly after Judge Harrison called the session to order and stated that Assistant City Attorney Hall and the four accused po- licemen were to be heard in particular Anthony Carroll jumped to his feet and demanded that he be heard with reference to the matter in question. He asked why his written statement submitted to the commission some time previous had not been given due con sideration, and why he was not to be heard. Judge Harrison told him that his paper had no bearing on the case in question. This aroused MT. Carroll to the utmost and he demanded that he be heard, wEereupon Judge Harri- son asked him to sit down and keep quiet This was not sufficient for MT. Carroll and Judge Harrison was com |pelled to ask Officers Curran and Coo nan to keep MT. Carroll quiet. Their |efforts were unavailing and MT. Carroll would not keep quiet. It became neces- |sary to remove MT. Carroll from the room. He struggled against this, what he termed a violation of his rights as |citizen, and he and the officers had a lively tussle, which resulted in Mr
 Carroll falling to the floor and he was literally dragged from the room to the Ihall. MT Carroll kept up a harangue throughout the episode. which disturb led the commission and amused the room full of spectators. Mir. Carroll was finally quieted. and after promis- ling to refrain from any further dis turbance he was permitted to occupy a seat In the rear of the room. He, in fact, kept quiet during the rest of the evenings session
 After quiet was restored Attorney William H. Ely, who was present to represent Professor Henderson, who [ filed the complaints of ineff1ciency |against the several officers, stated very forcibiy that he did not think. the chair man of the commission had acted fair Ily in refusing to hear any citizen who desired to speak
 Assistant City Attorney George Hall twas called upon. and he occupied the
 witness stand for more than two hours.
 During this time he made very thor ough resume Of his connection with the McGovern policy case, concerning which there had been an imputation that he was derelict of his duty. His Istatement fully exonerated him from Iany wrong, and, as stated by the chair man of the commission. put him in the proper light before the community.
 This was followed with a very lengthy statement of his department lsince in the office of the city attorney.
 MT. Rogers, of the commission, asked If, in the opinion of Mir. Hall, there was lever any tipping off" so-called. by members of the department when a lraid was to be made on an illegal place of any nature. MT Hall stated that he iQiu SO, anu WACLL dSh6u TUT
 stances named one or two wherein eer- tain places which were in full operation on stated occasions were shut tight
 when the officers appeared at the ap- pointed hour. Tn one case in particu-
 lar, that of the arrest of McGovern for running a policy shop 1t Is said that
 some of the regular customers appeared
 ready to play, but McGovern told them there would be no more playing be- icause he had been fooled. This was as much as to say that he had been in
 formed in advance of g plan to arrest
 him and he was preparing to defeat the
 plan. Another instance was that of where d certain resident complained of icockhghts. This complaint was made
 in the city attorneys office when an
 officer of the city was present. This
 cockfght was called off at the last mo-
 ment, and the circumstances were such as to cause an inference that the prin- lcipals had been informed that the po- lice were wise. When pressed for the name of the officer Attorney Hall said
 that it was Captain Cowles, of the de- ltective bureau He did not impute the leaking of the information to Captain Cowles, but simply said that the coin lcidenoe was q singular one. This later lcaused a rather lively tilt between Cap ltain CoWles and Prosecutor Hall.
 Another question by MT. Rogers was
 whether or not this city is as well pro- tected as other cities of the size in the
 country and especially with reference \ to the liauor laws. Mr. Hall said on one Sunday a certain man visited thirty- three saloons in the city and obtained
 an admission without much difficulty.
 As concerning the possibility of there being political protection or po- Elitics entering into the government of the police force and the protection of !, the alleged violators of the law MT. Hall
 said that 1t was his opinion that there
 was political protection and cited sey- eral instances where certain policemen Iwere said to have been exerting them
 selves very strongly for certain mem lbers of the police commission who be- llonged to a so-called ring. He thought there was discrimination shown in the matter of the protection or prosecution MT. Rogers asked if there was har- mony between the police and detective departments and MT. Hall stated that
 there was a certain amount of friction las he had heard many things which would incline anyone to that belief. He lrelated several pertinent remarks. He ksaid point blank that he considered the