The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-07
CUTS DOWN The COURT GRAFT.
INSTANCE OF THE GOOD DONE BY
GEN. BINGHAM'S ORDER.

Magistrate CorncIrs Plan OF Sending
women to the WOrkhOuse mas Also RE-
duced the Ndnbcr 81 n Arrests
which Filled thu DoDdsmen's Pockets.
MAGISTRATE Cornell. who sat last week in
theyYorkville poljce court, gave an exhibition
Il wha, . Magistra alta could do in coopera-
ion VITA the police in knocking ont the
professional tondsman's business. Instead
# putting women of the street under bonds
or their good behavior he has sent them
o the workhouse. The result was thet in
he last week there were fewer arrests in
hat district and the streets were cleaner
han in many months past. BY putting the
women under bonds the Magistrate simply
sweils the professional bondsmsn's Golfers.
Sunday was about the busiest day in that
line of court business. The police had
arrested on Saturday about fifteen women.
Of these seven we're sent to the ~workhouse,
a few we're fined S. each and the others dis
charged for lack of evidence. Going to the
w~orkhoise ia serious business. For the
fret ofercs the Imprisonment 10 five days
for the second ten DAYS. for the third twenty
DAYS and so up to six months. These
women dread imprisonment and when they
40 to the worl house no power can get them
ANAL OlI LIG q vi W VIZ wa
Il was Police Commissioner Bingham's
order detaching the plain clothes mon from
the police captains and ~sergeants and put
ting them under the direct control OF the
inspectors that paved the way for the line
of action Magistrate Cornell has taken.
Magistrate Cornell has been one of the police
SQUIRT J ldges who fight the professional
bondsmen. He has tried all he could to
break up that kind Of grating.
Where the smoothly rolling machine has
hoar in oparoft ion uhNrohN NsaTiOllG infprpaf q
are making non ey out Of the arrests OF
these women the usual custom. has been
10 put the women under bonds. The police,
the cler =, the lawyer who was hired and
the bondsman shared in plucking the victim.
1t often cost a woman as much a. SIS to get
away.
It is the general opinion OF those familiar
with the situation that unless these women
are sent to y rison their arrest hccomplshes
nothing. WI en- forty or fifty Of them are
arrested on a single day, they clog tho
court end deInoTalize the police. The
order OF Commissioner Bingham has made
such a change in the grating by tho police
hat a man who knows all about the work
,ngs Of the system said to a SIN reporter:
This move opens the way TO effect a
reform in police grating such as has never
been accomplished by all the reform meas
ures that police commissioners, anti-vioe
1Ocictles aud crusaders generally have
hitherto lone
The plain clothes man was used as a
tool tor the collection of money from those
women, from disorderly places and from
rambling houses. II is common knowledge
hat one precinct uptown has yielded re-
Gently as much as So 900 a month. The
plain clothes men get very little Of this
money. II Is a soft job to avoid patrol work
md most Of them are willing tn tn Ike that
- payment, In many cases the sergeants
10 all the grating and the captains get the
blame.
"Sav. what's the matter with you fellows
getting out on the street and bringing in
some of the women a sergean would
say TO the plain clothes men at night.
Anxious to keep the detail and 10 keep in
with their superiors the men would bring
n two or three dozen victims. The bonds
men would be in the station auu would
collect IS from each of the victims which
vould he whacked up with the sergeant
and with the captain, If the latter happened
20 be a CRATER.
There was more profit when the woman
-eached court, Tor there the fees To the
lawyer engaged ana for the bondsman
,ay on every side. II was because there
7ere so many RI .inclothes men about
int the woman hid 20 have some kim
If protection. This caused her to get a
nan b ngeroni a parasite, to look out for
ner. He tr lied after her on the street
md watched for the plain clothes man, and
sometimes tried to rescue her when she
vas arrested. The police grating brought
bout the necessity Tor these men, who
were good with their fists, ready to swear
20 anything and ashamed OF nothing.
TIN occupation of these men will prob
ably be wired out il the Magistrates follow
he eNCmrle that Me gistrate Cornell has
ret. When the women understand tn {
here are no RI in clothes men Ringing
ground end thot no bondsm ms security
will he accer ted there will he few Of these
women arrested. hereafter uniformed
len will do most Of thus kind OF work.
'ormerly he uniformed men had what
Dractic llv amounted 10 instructions not
10 m ks these srrestS.
Let the women understand that uniformed
yaen are likely to arrest them and that
hen they will be sent To the workhOuse,
and many Of them, according TO h police
court experts, will be driven OF the streets,
Arrests by plain clothes men never kept
them of the streets longer than the time
necessary TO get a bOndsman. In speak
ing of this matter o man whose daily BUSH
less has kept him in the police courts for
several years said to a SUN reporter:
Gen. Bingham's order has restored 10
che Police Department more manhood
han perhaps he is aware Of. The plain
clothes man meant decentralization in the
precincts where disorderly houses, gambling
resorts and street women were common.
The police became collectors and extor-
~ticners, and the testimony in the trial Of
Policeman Harry Morton showed 10 what
limits in ~deDauchery they would 20. II
Magistrate Corr lPs example is followed
the police courts will escape a lot Of I'M
necessary work and certain policemen.
clerks, hondsmen, lawyers and even Others
of high deR rec will Io longer share in the
distribution Of tainted money"