Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-09
MUNICIPAL POLITICS
Interest in the New York
Mayoralty.
DIST. ATTY JEROME
MAY BE THE CANDIDATE FOR
EITHER PARTY.
Gossip as to His Preference of Office
What Leader Murphy
May Direct.

| appears to be the key to the political sit
uation as it exists here today. His beck
and nod will go long way toward electing
the next mayor of Greater New York. And
there is a possibility that Mr.. Jerome will
be the next mayor in spite of the enemies
he has made. The district attorney says
that he is not ambitious to become Mayor
McClellan's successor-that he is not anx-
ious to hold public office, but that if he
must remain in public life he prefers the
office of district attorney.
| To the unintiated this may appear to re-
fleet upon Mr.. Jerome's truthfulness But
| those who know the inner workings of
municipal politics-the wheels within wheels
| of the government of great city-are not
surprised. Mr.. Jerome knows that the Office
| Of district attorney of the county of New
| York is one of the most powerful in the
land, II not in the world. Strange as it
may seem to those who have not studied the
| matter, 1t is doubtful whether the mayor
| of Greater New York, the governor of the
state of New York or even the President
| of the United States possesses more real
power over the lives and fortunes of as
many individuals as does District Attorney
Jerome. Men have filled these high offices
who have been mere figureheads for Others
but the district attorney of New York coun-
ty must be the real thing. He must have
character, staying qualities, absolute fear
| lessness. If he hesitates he is lost.
The Bowling Law
! The thing which makes the district attor-
ney of New York county so great power is
the Bowling law. This was law intro
duced into the legsla ture by Senator Victor
]. Bowling, Tammany district leader, now
a judge on the bench, one of Charles F.
Murphy's most intimate friends, it is said,
| at the request of Mr.. Jerome himself. 1t
is drastic and sweeping in it's provisions.
| For instance, 1t allows the district attor-
| ney to send for any man that he has reason
| to believe has been interested In gambling
pool selling, etc. Now these things are not
| done in a corner. murder might be kept
a secret If known to only two or three in
| dlvidualS-they might swear to an alibi
| and deceive even the very elect But the
| quasi public nature of gambling leaves the
gambler at the mercy of his aSSocia tes
Dozens must know the facts that the dis
| trlct attorney is anxious to find out. I'm
| der the Bowling law the man who tries to
| hide these things from the district attorney
| may wake up to find himself indicted and
| on the road to the penitentiary. There may
| be few sporting men who will go to
| prison rather than give away" an asso-
| ciate, but the most of them are cowardly
when cornered. Besides, they reason,
| what's the use? If 1 don't tell ito save my
| bacon" the other fellows will peach on
me-" Under these circumstances it can
| readily be seen that there is not crowd
of so-called sporting men in the city who
| could possibly escape the district attorney.
| For even if some of these men were willing
to suffer indictment and Imprisonment there
| always would be others who would weaken.
So even the strongest-minded gambler, led
| like lamb to the sacrifice, weakens and
says, What's the use?"
| The gamblers contended that the Bowling
| law was unconstitutional, because it did not
give man the opportunity to take refuge
| behind the time-honored provision-as old
| as the common law-that the courts had no
| right to ask man to give evidence which
would have tendency to degrade or in
| criminate. There are good constitutional
| lawyers who still entertain that opinion,
| but the court of appeals, the highest court
! in the state of New York, has ruled that
the bowling law Is constitutional-that
man can be forced to answer the questions
| propounded by the district attorney, even
| though the evidence may tend to "incrimi-
| nate or degrade himself. 1t is needless
| to explain that this is a powerful weapon
in the hands of man like District Attor-
| ney Jerome, and the district attorney has
not hesitated to push things to the last re-
sort. 1t was this law which really brought
| about the closing of high-class gambling
| places like Canfields, since none of the
millionaire patrons of these places like the
| idea of being forced to "squeaf' on the
gamblers; of being obliged to admit that
| they had violated the laws against gam
| bling. And they never could tell at what
day and hour Mr.. Jerome might send for
| them and compel them to make confess
sion duplicating the propretors of the gam
| bling houses and even their friends and
associates or offering them the alternative
| of an indictment, disgrace and possible i'm
priSOnmeQt.
What is Not Known.
| What adds Zest to the present situation Of
which District Attorney Jerome really is
the center is the fact that no man seems
to know what ticket he will run on next
fall, what office he really wants or even
whether he really cares for an office. The
| theory that Leader Charles F. Murphy may
insist upon Jerome being named for district
attorney upon the Tammany ticket prob
ably has its origin in the fact that Tam
| many, through Senator Victor ]. Bowling,
helped him to secure the Bowling law,
and the fact that Leader Murphy has
been known to do unexpected things of this
kind, for example, forcing the fusion nomi-
| nees, Grcut for comptroller and Fornes for
president of the board of aldermen, upon
| the ticket with Representative Mcclellan
when the latter ran for mayor, thus throw
| ing a bombshell into the ranks of the fol-
| lowers of Seth Low who at once retaliated
| by forcing Grout and Fornes off the fusion
| list ticket. Leader Murphy may have a
| similar card up his sleeve this year In the
| person of William Travers Jerome, but If
| he has 1t is safe to say that Mr.. Jerome
will insist upon being allowed to take the
nomination NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. pledges
| just he was allowed to take the fusion
| list nomination six years ago when, despite
| the opposition of United States Senator
iatt anu Tic hSttopoiitdH street halfway
| Company, he ran many thousands of votes
ahead of his republican associates
There is one other thing which seems to
| give color to the theory that Mr.. Jerome
| may have the united support of the fusion
! lists and the democrats for district at
! torney this fall. 1t is the fact that at
' recent dinner in Philadelphia, during an ad-
| dress upon good government, he openly
| apologiZed to Mayor Mcclellan for some
| things which he said in the heat of the
mayoralty campaign of 1903. Before this
campaign Mr. Jerome and Representative
! Mcclellan had been warm friends. Nc
| Clellan did not like some of the assertions
| regarding possibilities of red lights" and
graft and after his election to the office
| of mayor GOODNESS existed between the
| two officials. All of these things were
| however, swept away by Mr.. Jeromes recent
| remarkable apology in Philadelphia In this
| apology he said that the statements had
| been made publicly and 1t was only fair
| that he should state in public that he had
been mistaken as to Mayor Mcclellan and
| the possibilities of his administration.
What makes the district attorney more OF
| an enigma and a puzzle, and aided by his
| remarkable power as an official and man.
gives him additional possibilities for be.
| coming political storm center during the
| next six months Is the fact that thongh