The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-27

In the recount fight. To be forced TO
put up q million dollars for the pri-
vilege of seeing two candidates fight
over the chief ONCE In his city govern
ment Is an opportunity which hardly
appeals TO Father Knickerbocker: and
II is likely that Il occurrences Of the
situation ever takes place there will
be marked apathy on the part of the
city for the role Of referee.
The police department, whose men,
bers are variously known as the nm
est" or "de cops" according to the part
Of the city in which one lives. is APP
parentIy in for hard summer. Not a
day passes now but some irate citizen
adduces all sorts of alleged evidence OF
police corruption. The whole anair
started by the arraignment of Police
Commissioner Bingham by Justice
Gaynor for the alleged arbitrary meth.
DDS of the police which has acted as
an opening wedge for all sorts Of at
tacks on the police department, many
of which are evidently the result oil
spite, while others are simply ludicrous
Perhaps the strangest of these was re-
Gently made by a pickpocket named
Smith who admitted that he had fol-
lowed the profession for twelve years
against an officer who was sent to De-
troit to bring him back after his ar.
rest there Accordink 20 Smith the Of
officer proposed a game OF cards but al
neither had any money wAth which tt
gamble, the prisoner was turned loose
to go through the train with the re-
suit. that he quickly gathered In $46
dividing equally with the policeman as
ne asserts, is the regular New York
custom. 1t was not until the officer
had won some s106 from Smith, wht
supposedly had only s2s. that the min
ion of the law became suspicious and
accused Smith of holding out more
than his share. According to the pick
pockets story, however, he had merely
been picking the oficer's pocket righ
along and allowing him to win thu
same money over ana over again. TIL,
policeman's distrust SO keenly hurf
Smiths feelings, the latter alleges. tina
he decided to reveal the whole affair
Sad as It is, however, even the keenes
critics OF the police department arr
ready to make Smith a dishonorar,
membe of the Ananias Club.
Lost Pocket Book Decision.
II you want to make money, lose It
or allege that you have lost 1t. While
II hardly sounds reasonable as finan
cial proposition, this dictum is likel,
to become SO popular here this summel
that a regular epidemic of purse los
ing Is looked for by the police. Th'
reason for this unique method of max
ing money. which heretofore has no
been regarded as successful. even II
Wall Street, comes as the result of NJ
less an authority than that of a cour
decision. The case from which THU
new means of acquiring health take
its inception is that OF an italian who
while returning by subway from
Brooklyn dropped the purse just as HI
was leaving the car. that 1t fell JUS
inside the gate where he could no
reach 1t and that upon asking th'
guard for IT he was told he would hav'
TO apply at the main ONCE. At thu
Lost and Found" department, he ties
titled, no pochetbook answering the de
scription had been turned in. HI
therefore brought suit against tn,
company for the sum of $500 which HI
! sal dit contained. In spite of the fac
that the guard in question testified
that no such incident ever occurred
the court awarded $500 damages. Al
a result OF this decision, and bearing
In mind the weight of such a preceden
in the eyes of the law. 1T Is a safe pre-
diction that there will soon be an as
tonishing increase in the number o.
lost pocket books for which indemni
fcation will be asked.