Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1907-07-06
JUDGE DAN FINN.
A Square Deal and Another
Chance Makes World
Better.

There is a warm-hearted, blue-eyed
dapper little Irishman in New York
City with an acting motto that If
followed by mankind in general would
pave the way to the millennium. And
IL is to be expected that man whose
motto is "a Square Deal and Another
Chance" would be best known by an
affectionate nickname. Thus Daniel
Finn, Police Judge of the First AS
sembly district, is known to every
inhabitant of that district as "Bat-
tery DAN" and is uniformly pro-
nounced in variety of polygot
tongues as "good huff for u.s." Just
prior to Judge Firms recent de-
parture for Southern trip the
lieutenants of the First-one of the
biggest Democratic districts in this
democratic country gave their CHER
farewell dinner. at which nearly
every race under the sun was repre-
scented. During an interview regard
ing this dinner Judge Finn remarked:
Eyes, that was a great send-off for
my little trip which | am taking
merely for rest and recreation and
in order to be all the gladder to get
back to old New York again"
"You are pleased with New York
and the conditions here, then, are
you?" asked his questioner.
"Well, I'm an optimist," replied
Battery Dan" with a chuckle, "and
though. being a Police Judge, I see
much wickedness and suffering / de-
cline to take a pessmistic view of
things. 1 have lived in New York
for many years, have seen much
growth and many changes in the city
and / contend that it is better today
than it ever was. Morally, consider
ing its size. New York is the best city
in the world. And yet lot of folks
howl about it continually. I admire
a reformer who is genuinely DESTROYS
of lettering conditions, but bowler
about conditions that exist only in
his own evil mind l detest
"Now, at the dinner the boys gave
me the other night" he continued,
"where could another nation show
such scene? l am Tammany leader
for a district in which / think every
nation under the sun is represented,
and among the district Captains are
Italians, Syrians, Greeks, Jews, Irish
and Germans, and there we sat, men
from all corners of the earth arr all
Americans.
mo need of worrying over a coun-
try that gives every citizen such
equal liberty and chance. And 1t is
perhaps this spirit of liberty that
makes me dislike spurious reformers.
They want none to have a chance
but themselves and seek to deny 9th
ers personal liberty. l hear they are
even trying to make it a crime for
people to have recreation on the Sab
bath, wanting boys arrested whose
only recreation from work is going
to the country and playing baseball.
No one dislilSes a BLACKBOARD, loafer
or thug more than I do. but when
young fellows are arrested for horse
play, a little fighting or violating
minor rules, I can not be too hard
on them. Age makes us sage but
when we are young arrest is usually
punishment enough. Why put a
stigma on them with which they are
tainted for the rest of their lives
If they are sent to jail? want boys
to know they have a friend in me
and I am going to give them a square
deal and another chance if I think
they deserve it, And I think most
of them do. If we look back on all
the foolish things we did in our
youth we will realize that they might
have turned out most seriously for
us. maybe in everlasting disgrace"
And so on his last court day before
starting on his rest trim Battery
Dan" gave the benefit of the doubt
to the poor and unfortunate, calling
each prisoner up before him and let
ting him speak for himself freely and
without fear. And to young and old,
poor and friendless, this big-hearted
Irish Tammany politician with kindly
and painstaling care sought to give
to each and every unfortunate
square deal and another chance"
that in some cases will mean new
and better life for wrong doors.