The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-10
%WHATAMGCHTNE JUDGE IS FOR
MAYO OUT OF FAVOR FOR NOT
LETTING O'BRIEN GO.

for the Murder OF Thomas Buchanan
and the Murphy Innuence wanted Him
Turned Loose rt Once-Hs wasn't.
when Magistrate Mayo refused on FRI
dav last 20 allow politics to interfere with
his IDEAS Of judicial propriety and voted
AGAINST the patronage grab scheme to put
100 court attendants III the police courts
n was not the th-st time that he had ignored
the orders Of a political boss. No orders
were sent TO him this time because he had
already incurred the displeasure OF Charles
F. Murphy and notice had been served
on him less b two years ago that he need
expect no favors from the machine.
II was all because he would not at the
p~ersonal request, and practically the de-
mand. OF John j. Murphy, Charles r.
Murphy's brother, discharge a man ar
rented on suspicion Of murder. Magistrate
Wahle's name has been considered FOR the
nomination to the Supreme Court oencn, out
Magistrate Mayo has not been considered
AZ a possibility this time. Those who are
familiar with the facts in this case men
toned il yesterday as a sample OF what
police Magistrates named by the machine
are expected to do when political pressure
IA brought to bear on them, and also what
Judges nominated by che Murphy regime
must expect. IL also rev calls the extent TO
which the Murphy machine will go.
On December IL, 1904, a bartender named
Thomas Buchanan, who had been in the
cstv from his home in Ca NADIA oAly two
weeks. was murdered by a. gang OF toughs
in the Dagmar saloon at 2l3 Third avenue,
In Murphv's district. He h.Gd left his home
at I27 Third avenue at 5 o'clock in the morn
ing to 20 to the saloon to prepare for a
Raines Law hotel business on Sunday.
There was a side entrance to the place lead
ing into n so-called restaur ant. A man
named Mulialy was asleep In the place and a
rang OF Ave men, who had come from a
dance AZ the Teutonia Hall near by; pushed
their way in and began to rob the sleeping
man. Buchanan arrived while they were at
work and interfered. He was shot dead by
one Of the gang. dying almost instantly
from a wound in the abdomen.
The notice arrested three men from
descriptions given by q b~ysuander. One
Of them was Peter j. O'Brien; who kept a
RroRgery at $50 First avenue. He was
charged With tho murder and brought the
next day before Magistrate Pool In the York
vIlIe uolice court. At first Magistrate Pool
declined to admit him TO bail. but finally John
J.Murphy appeared and Pool fixed the bail
AT 1900 to obIige Murphy. O'Bnen was
not even looked up at the East Twenty
second street. station house, but was simply
Detained, special consideration being shown
to him in the Murphy station house. .
The case was set for a hearing the next
dav before Magistrate Mayo, who in the
rotation system succeeded Magistrate Pool.
When Judge Mayo saw the papers he ex-
pressed astonishment that a man accused
Of homicide should have been admitted
- - NI--kAAAA ~ IhGfFRf A.
torney Jerome's ONCE for an assistant TO
come up and take charge OF the case. Mr..
Chadwick Of that of1co responded. The
result Of the hearing was that the case was
adjourned two days by request OF chad
wiok. Lawyer James Nugent was looking
after O'Brien's interests and demanded an
The neTt day after the adjournment
John j. Murphy called on Magistrate Mayo
and said he wanted the man discharged.
He was especially anxious that the case
should not go to the Coroners' ONCE. Magis-
trate Mayo listened 10 Murphy in his private
chamber and heard his intimations that it
would be all right and that O'Brien wa
one of the men that the GA House district
wanted taken care Of. Murphy said:
Hes innocent and we want him dis
charged. We'd like to have you do us
the favor to discharge him. We won't
forget IT,"
crat IN politics and because Tammany rep
resented all the Democratic politics in this
city affiliated with Il as a party man, but
not as a Judge. He was astonished at
Murphy's request and simply. said that II
OTBrien was innocent he would discharge
him as he would any man in such circnm,
stances, but there must be proof offered
and he must be the judge Of it.
On the following day the case came W
another adjournment and o'Brien's lawyer
protested. Magistrate Mayo said thai
the best way to dispose OF the case was t.
send il to the Coroners' office, which M
and the Murphy followers in court. Tina
day John J. Murphy called him up on, th'
telephone and asked him what he had don'
about the case. The Magistrate said he
had sent il TO the Coroner. This was
Murphy's response, according TO those Il
whom the language was repeated at once:
Il thought you would do that. l eX
pected it. l want to say TO you that VI
shall remember you action. Good-5;.".
In few days a messenger anne TO- a
political AnawaDda Club. This na SAID
Murphy is much put out by what yo'
did in the O'Brien case. He Gays you neet
expect no political faVors from him here
after. He's through with you. Pool 10
better Tammany man than you are.
The answer that Magistrate Mayo !
said to have sent back was that when !
came to doing bis sworn uuIy ne khe" NJ
political leader and would continue to knoV
none. No mention Of Mayo for highe
judicial bonors has since been made b.
Murphy. O'Brien was never prosecuted
becauss~the police could not get a POSITIVE
Identification Of him as one OF the gam
of thugs. When Mayo realized the fullimpor
of the scheme TO put 100 political henchmer
in the police courts he set his face agains
il and his voice rang out in denunciation o
the plan at the Magistrates meeting wheI
the thing was killed practically and whei
MAGISTRATE Wahle's judicial aspiration
suffered another severe slump.
Magistrate Mayo gave another exhbi
ton Of judicial Independence last fall jus
after the election. On election day tn
Murphy men arranged to have Specia
Sessions Justice McAvoy sit In jefferson
Market court where Magistrate Whitman
was presiding.
Whitman is a Republican and was thu
only one assigned to sit on election day
The police were instructed not to let Whit
man have the papers in election cases
He was informed Of it by the clerk OF tb'
court, Lawrence v. Conover, Jr. Whitma
sent for the sergeant and read the riot &C
20 hin. The politicians threatened tina
d. they would have Conover transferred a
once. McAvoy came in to sit and Whit
man soon made it plain that he was sittin
there and McAvoy got discouraged an