The San Francisco call., 1906-03-25
Denunciation by Poheim and
O'Grady of Police Board
Met With Well Tempered
Outline of Official Duty
DEPRECATES QUARREL
BUT WILL NOT FLINCH
Gambling Will Be Stopped,
Declares District Attor-
ney, for the Law Reads
Plain What He Must Do

| After having been called SCHOOL
master run amuck" and a Circus raid
er" by Police Commissioners O'Grady
| and Poheim the night before. District
Attorney Langdon was still serene and
unruffied yesterday. He sat in his Of
! fee, putting slowly and regularly at the
| last half of a cigar. his chair back
tilted. his legs spread beatifically be-
| fore him, and on his brow there was
not the suspicion of any petty worry
When reminded of the stormy de-
| nunciation of which he had been rho
object. he merely smiled. smile sucn
as is seen on the indulgent school
teacher at some foolish prank of his
kindergarten. Then. having smiled. he
suddenly stiffened. his eyes, which are
blue, took on a slight green tint, and
very slowly and gravely, pressing
heavily on each word, he said II have
no war on with Mr.. O'Grady or the Po-
lice Department. My only war is with
the violators of the law. and that wa~
l will continue as long as 1 remain In
office" ag
When pressed to define the power he
held over the Police Department in the
matter of the suppression, Of gambling,
he answered: G.,tff
Section S35 of the Penal Code
IS Section 133a of the Penal Code rends.
"Every District Attorney, Sheriff, Con-
stable or police. officer must inform
against md diligently prosecute any
person whom they have reasonable
cause to believe Offenders against the
provisions of This chapter against
Eamblfng) and every such Oficer re-
fusing or neg1ccting to do SO, Is guilty
of misdemeanor.-
LAW ON LANGDON,s SIDE.
Langdon is a reticent man: he never
drops a word until he has fully weighed
1t. And that. answer Section 335 of the
Penal Code may mean great deal
In the first place it means. of course,
that If he himself did not prosecute and
inform against persons whom he has a.
reasonable cause to believe violate the
gambling laws. he would be guilty of
misdemeanor. and he evidently has no
intention of-being found guilty of mis-
demeanOr.. But In the second place it
might also mean that a police officer,
or. even a. Chief of Police. who does not
diligently prosecute persons believed to
be violating the gambling laws, is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
Whether Langdon places such an in
depreciation upon the quoted section
he would not say yesterday, and wheth-
er he does will probably be known only
when he acts.
When asked whether, in case the DO
lice refused to support him sufficiently
in his crusade, he would call upon the
Sheriff for help. he looked up long and
consideringly at the ceiling and when
his eyes had come down again, said.
THAT is a contingency which I refuse
to consider at present"
A few seconds later his eyes were
again directed upward, and 1t was a
long time before they came down. The |
question asked was. rs it not a fact
that you consider that the police,
whatever it's motives may be, is block
ing you in your efforts to suppress
gambling?" His answer was carefully
couched. He said. 1T i'll beseems one
officer to discuss another. We should
be all united in our work.
DRINKHOUsE APPROVES.
Police Commissioner Drinkhouse.
who at the meeting Friday night sup
ported the District Attorney against
the onslaughts of O'Grady and Poheim,
was outspoken. He said that all the
charges made that gambling was going
on and that tribute was being levied
should be investigated There is sell
dom any smoke without fire." he said
II want to see the smoke investigated |
If there is no fire. SO much the better |
But we want be sure about it,"
He thought that the rule made by
the Chief of Police that the District |
Attorney could make acquisitions for |
raids only from the Chief or captains |
of police, to be bad one. TT is ridic- /,
ulous," he said. When the Captain !
of Police Is absent, who is in charge If |
it is not lieutenant, and why could |
not the District Attorney require the ]
lieutenant to raid a suspicious place? !
Why, by the law, any private citizen, |
having reasonable ground to believe |
that gambling is going on has right !
to request any police officer to make an |
Immediately Should the /
District Attorney be deprived of right |
which every citizen has?"
The Commissioners also denounced the |
verbal attacks made upon Langdon by J,
his brother Commissioners. Il don't {
like that sort of thing he said. this |!
talk about 'schoolmasters.' It is no !,
Disgrace to be schoolmaster. Such |
talk is nonsense.
POHEIM STILL CHURLIsH.
Commissioner Poheim, on the other
hand. stuck to the stand taken by him |
and O'Grady at the meeting Friday night.
.We simply resent having Langdon work
py himself and without the police. He is
giving the impression that the police is in
efficient or not to be trusted. Wen do
anything in the world If only he will come
to us. But we cdH nave any p1cayune
person go to the police, demand SQUAD
and raid place that for some mysterious
-ea son has gained his enmity.
This is what occurred in the O'Neil af
'air. For all we know the police that
night was used for purposes. of blackmail
only anarchy can result In the force from
such methods. We want to place the re-
in few men, and then II
anything wrong happens we'll know
whom to punish.