The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-02-12
MAY Be SHAKEUP
IN n. Y. POLICE
Mayor Is Investigating Charge
That officers Drugged an
Assaulted Woman

New York, Feb. 12.-Commissioner
Baker of the police department left
headquarters today OH ten days
vacation and the air was thick with
rumors that lie will never come back.
Mayor Gaynor denied last night that
the commissioners vacation has any
significance other than what would
appear on It's face. yte mayor de-
clInei tc be quoted directly and he
has an aversion to infarences" M;
at the end of da: OF conferences
and questions. he ccnserted to give
out the following statement:
The mayor stayed until half Fast
SIN before Siatting on his walk h0n,e
after hard day's work. He looked
tired, j. t When the newspaper men
asked hin abour Commission IL Baker
being OH vacation, he laughed and
said:
How would | do for police COM
| missioner myself?'"
Precisely the same question IS what
has been on the tongue of every man
on the street for the last fortnight.
The commissioner of police is one of
the most powerful and is certainly
the most conspicuous OF the MAYORS;
appointees. He rules standing army
of ten thousand and odd men.
But since Mayor Gaynor wcut :rto
! Office. the commissioner has been a
nonenity. More significan, than The
| statement issued from the mayors
! office last night was his casual "eier-
ence to Bakers vacation. NJ. Baker.
said the mayor has asked permission
to take needed rest some time ago,
and until he had called again yester-
/ day for real1irmation of his leave
oil absence, the mayor had supposed
that he was out of town. Ard this IN
period OF stress such as the depart
ment has never known.
I! The mayor in continuing his inves-
tigation OF the assault committed Ivy
two policemen upon a woman whom,
they piled with whiskey. sent for tic
Smiling Dick" Walsh
and the captain in whose district the
assault occurred. The woman had
conveniently disappeared and the
mayor gave the captain and the in
spector the remainder of the day in
which to find her. Failing that. he
added. he had no doubt he would be
able to produce her himself.
Such an ultimatum was against all
we'll ordered traditions of the de-
+; partment. Inspector Walsh left with
out his smile and reappeared at head
quarters with the woman, and the
names OF the officers who have been
accused of sheltcring Patrolmen
WeitZel and Grove, who were sus-
pended yesterday pending trial for
the assault which the mayor says he
is satisfied took place. They are
Patrolmen Blish and Temple and De-
tective Stapleton. All three were sus-
pended last night pending trial on
charges Of snppressing facts which it
was their duty to report
Mayor Gaynor said today that he is
investigating" the police department:
| that he has thus far had but little
more than a month being much occu-
pied with other things to do it in,
and that he could not tell whittier
the path in which he had set foot
might finally take him. The interpre-
tation commonly put upon this some
what delphic utterance is that the
mayor is thus far unable to get the
man he wants for commissioner and
that. until he does find such one.
he will run the department himself.
II Commissioner Baker returns to the
department from his vacation it will
he only to remain temporarily. it is
believed, and then as Il fi2urChcad