The Detroit times., 1909-03-11
THIEVES PLUMBER
PLACESNEAR POLICE
CHIEFS HOME.
FORMER POLICE HEAD DECLARES
ORGANIZED THIEVES KEEP HIS
AND sINoHAM's NEloHHoRs IN
TERROR.

NEW YORK, March ll.-An organ.
lied gang OF roof thieves, operating
from common headquarters. has
picked out the block wherein dwells
Police Commissioner Bingham as its
principal seat of operations, accord
Ing TO ex-Police Commissioner William
McAdoo. who Is Gen. Bingham's neigh
Dor at the Hotel Patterson. in Forty
sixth-st
The zone OF thievlsh activity takes
In the territory in which are many
hotels, and where are many residents
possessed OF enough OF this worlds
goods 10 make the footing attractive.
There can be no doubt" the for
mer police commissioner said. that
the wave or crime, the number OF
offenses against the person and prop
erty, has grown recently To an alarm
ing extent IL is a situation that calls
for some intelligent thought and ac-
ton.
Il am satisfied that in the case OF
my own immediate neighborhood, the
predatory excursions come from one
common headquarters. The band evil
IDENTIFY operates from place where
II Is safe. and by means of fire es-
capes, after having gained the roof OF
building. have not personally eX-
amined the roofs, or the fire escapes.
but there is little doubt that the rob
bers may cover large area from "A
common base, possibly extending to
Fifth-aye.
solution is Difficult.
1t would seem To be the logical
no ri ~
burglars and TO stamp out the trouble
al its source; but | would not care to
make any personal criticism OF my
friends on the police force. or OF those
whom | 10 not like. who are ineit'
cient-or worse.
No man can answer the question
categorically as 10 what Is the remedy.
The answer would involve a study of
many things, among them the new
charter prov ision that Is suggested
with reference to he police depart
ment Any man who says he can aG-
swer the question as TO the remedy
offhand Is merely making bluff
For one thing. | think that the
mendicant squad should be continued.
Now when policeman brings In a
man. he perhaps has never seen him
before aud knows nothing of his rec.
ord. Wnen the policemen were detail.
ed under the supervision of the charity
organization dealing with mendicantS
the squad a thorough line on the
men they brought in. and could
tell the entire record from their fin-
gers ends. so that II John Smith
were brought In the policemen would
know that for forty years he had been
mendicant, a CRATER. or whatever
might be his specially. In this way a
dragnet was constantly out FOR those
who might commit crime
But any criticism that might come
from me as the former head OF the
department would be misconstrued.
People would say that we had crime
when McAdoc was in. which is true.
II H. also true that the crime calendar
has been swelled and that the time rs
ripe for some reform.
In our own case, We never leave
our property unprotected. and my fam
lly has not been robbed. Those peo-
ple who have been and there have
. been many. have not asked my advice
an the subject We never leave our
department without protection. When
we 90 away we leave the maid 70 sleep
I'm the apartment. and We have Yale
locks on all OF our possessions. rms
sort OF personal protection has served
to keep our property from thieves. nut
the frequency and extent OF the hotel
roberies In the neighborhood may not
be disguised II Is a glaring TACT.
"The horoscopes have made the
work OF the roof character or robbery
comparatively easy, and think II
will be found that this Is the chlef
mode OF access used. but by system
atically organized gang, and not by
predatory individuals
. The total Of depredations reported
I'm the last six weeks has reached
800 900 The Hotel Patterson. FOLLOW
ing it's $4,000 contribution to the goo J
OF the order OF thieves, has stationed
a Waterman on the roof armed for
burglars. The Algonquin gave mp $40
200 10 the fund. Thieves got $1,000 III
Jewels from John +. Deems, railroad
man. The Hotel Hawthorne. in west
Forty-ninth-st; the Woodstock. IN
west Forty-third-st. the woodward
Fiftysixth-st. and Broadway, and the
81. Hubert. in Fifty -seventh-st.. have
all suffered from the visits OF the band.