The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-20
THE SULLIVAN CASE.

It is not within the province of | newspaper to prejudge the case of Po- | lice Commissioner Jeremiah Sullivan, | who is on trial before Mayor Martin for his official head It is, however | within the province of newspaper to 1 comment fearlessly upon such phases of the case as disclose clearly lament able weaknesses in our form of local government, weaknesses which have long been observed and commented government, but weaknesses which have needed striking object lesson to bring them home to the people at large As we look at it that object les son is being impressively taught by the Sullivan investigation and hearing
 Before it is finished we may be well assured that the necessary evidence will be at hand to condemn the police organization of the city of New Haven
 Whether Commissioner Sullivan is guilty of having broken the law in the manner in which he peddled tickets at the election polls will be established, if it is true, in good time. It is of no view whether he peddled Democratic or Republican tickets. The law for bids the peddling of all tickets within certain distance of the polling booths, and those who violate it de- serve to suffer the conseqtshces. Even though it may be true thax Mayor Mar tins motive in prosecuting MT. Sulli- van is to be found in his determina- tion to punish Commissioner Sullivan. a professed Democrat, for peddling ticket Democratic with. life exception of it's head, the violation of the law remains the same and demands ag- gressive consideration. In fact we do not like the motives which appear to have played a part in the transaction from the start, but that has nothing to do with the alleged act of Illegal con- duct, which is thing of itself. What should be generally disliked and con demned is system of political organ ization which suggests to officeholders the advisability and practical value of putting it to a personal use in order to play into the hands of a particular party or faction. That is exactly what the organization of tho police comnis- sion does, and that is exactly what the people of the city should see that it no longer does, Dropping Mayor Martin, Commissioner Sullivan afid the Eighth ward politicians from consideration, il is already apparent in this instance that the game of politics has beer played with deliberate indifference tc the good name of the city.
 At the bottom of the whole trouble lies the organization of the police commission upon a bipartisan basis By forming it with three commission. CTS awarded to each political organiza tion premium is at once put upor political conspiracy. Progress is mani festly impossible unless each commits sipner acts as an individual, which i, never done except in extraordinary instances. or through combination of four of the members of the board such members running The departmen point of view of practical politics. ThI men on the force see this and recog nize it accordingly in shaping thei conduct They would be less than hu man if they did otherwise A police man has already been quoted in tn Sullivan hearing as having smiled a the request of 8 citizen that he plac the police commissioner under arres for violating the law. Only policeman who is far above the fear of beini "broke" for strictly enforcing the law and the laws of human nature forbi his increase and multiplication, can b expected to ignore the attitude of
 police commissioner towards men an institutions enjoying special favors Nine men out of ten, acting upon tn principle of self-preservation, woul act in just that way, whether on tn force or off. That the police force c New Haven has not been completel denoralized is due first 10 the force z public opinion and second to the in tclligent failure of the commissioner to constantly def it. but the organ tzstion of the department has stoo
 =sdv at every moment to aid th
 ssl1issioners in every conceivable CT
 se they could think of to prost
 to the meanest and most cor
 grating tricks This h3
 fact wherever bipartisan
 .een tried, and it will alvay
 because the origin of th