New-York tribune., 1910-09-23
BAKER PUTS SITUATION
Up TO MAYOR GAYNOR
Tells Grand Jury He Knows OF
Prevalence of Vice, but Has No
Power Now to Check 1t.
NEEDS PLAINCLOTHES MEN
Had No Hand in Their Abolition,
He Says, and Is Unable to
Close Up Poolrooms with
Uniformed Men.

Police Commissioner Baker put the is
sue in the grand jury investigation OF
gambling and disorderly houses and Of
the police attitude thereto sduareiy up
to Mayor Gaynor yesterday He was the
only witness ar the days session OF the
grand iUrv. For two hours and a half
he was i'm the jury room. during WHICH
If Is understood. he answered questions
f,,uv and gave the jurors a complete IN
sic,b+ into noIfce conditions in New York
as he has found them. 1t was learned
that the impression created by MN
among the jurors was decidedly favor
able.
After the grand jury had adjourned Tor
the day it filed into Part 1 of General
Sessions and reported indictments
against four individuals connected as
employees with an alleged poolroom on
Rroa adwav. in the heart of the Tender
Ioin. Names or a more definite location
were not made public because the men
we're not under arrest
Indictments Cause No Surprise
The indictments had been expected,
having been ordered by the grand jury
the day before The place in question Is
over a we'll known cafe. owned by two
men prominent in local sporting circles.
neither of whom. however. is mentioned
in the indictments.
When Commissioner Baker left tne
grand Jury room he refused to talk 20
the newspaper men who were Waiting
outside. His face wore a satisfied smile
and he did not appear have had an
UNPLEASANT experience His appearance
before the grand jury had been brought
about by hims> E. because he volunteered
to appear as witness
When he entered the room he carried
with him the lists of suspected gambling
places and disorderly houses which Act
ing Mayor Mitchell had directed him 10
send to the District Attorney. The lists
however. were retained by him One OF
them was we'll thumbed, as if 1t had
seen long service in the department.
HeJpIess Without Plain Clothes.
Il was reported that Commissioner
Raker did not attempt TO deny the
sn-4Tp
houses and disorderly houses were being
conducted in the city. But he frankly
declared that he was powerless. II was
said. 10 cope with the situation without
plafncIothes men.
ON TOP of this, report had IL. COM
missioner Baker pointed out that ne had
not abolished the plainclothes men OF MS
own volftion. on the contrary, he pro-
dnced the order from Mayor GaynoF in
which he was directed TO place all pa
trolmen at the time acting as plain
clothes men in uniform
Give me back plainclothes men and
will close up the places complained or
was the substance of his argument TO
the grand jury
It was said that the Commissioner eX-
nIaiued to the jurors-all of them men
who. in their ordinary walks of life. had
no opportunity to learn the inside facts
of conditions in the districts complained
of-the difficulty of obtaining legal evil
dence against alleged gambling estab-
lshments and disorderly places.
The necessity of a prosecutor being In
nossession of legal evidence in order TO
secure a conviction was emphasized
Many incidents which might he observed
bv a detective. especially in the case of
q suspected disorderly house. might con-
firm suspicious and still be useless in
court of law TO obtain conviction of the
person conducting the place.
When he left the grand jury room
Commissioner Baker went to the office
of District Attorney Whitman He was
with Mr. Whitman for about ten min
utes. Neither would discuss the sub
ject of the conference