The San Francisco call., 1910-09-16

Sept. 10, l91O.
To the Members of the Honor
able Board of Police Commission
ers, 64 Eddy street, San Fran
cisco-Gentlemen Ii becomes my
duty at his time to again invite
the attention of your honorable
board 10 the conditions existing
in the department over which
you have control, and to other
conditions throughout the city
which are consequent upon the
evident laxity on the part of
day of April, 1910, l addressed a
communication to your honorable
board in which l called atten-
tion to the pledges made TO the
people by the union labor party
prior to the election held in No
nation at that time to correct
Irregularities that were found in
the police department when the
union labor nominees took Office
in January last, and l desire at
this time, with renewed and in
creased emphasis. TO call these
matters to mind, in order that
the police department shall be
brought to the highest possible
standard of efficiencq and SO that
the taXpaying public may receive
a maximum of benefit through
the faithful vindication of prom
ises made by the union labor
party.
Since last addressing you on
the vital subject of the efficiency
of the police department, l have,
as a result of earevul and con-
tinued personal investiga
been Imposed with the fact that
the department is not organized
or operated on the proper and
practical basis which alone can
insure the highest degree or
efficiency from each and every
subordinate. The party that |
represent in ofIlce is especially
rights to all and special prigi-
leges to none" but 1t is, never
thelesS, obvious that special
privileges have been extended
through the agency of your sub
ordinates, from time to time,
which practice must instantly
cease. l have in mind the ten
dency of various cafes in the dis
trict centering at Eddy and
Mason streets to take every pos
sible advantage of the police and
of the law. and thereby to estab-
lish conditions which make the
wisdom of their further existence
in this community matter of
grave doubt.
1 am by no means satisfied, as
mayor. with the recent apparent
activities of professional Grim
inals such as pickpockets, hotel
thieves, providers, buncomen, etc,
who have come TO this city in the
ordinary course of events, and
who should have been eliminated
from this community with a
promptness and expediency that
"a 41,1 IA of
cheney on the part OF your detec-
tive bureau. | have been in the
past, and am now, absolutely de-
termined that criminals, large or
small. in whatever branch of
their unlawful craft they may
engage. shall not exist within the
city and county of San Francisco
so long as ! am mayor, and | am
satisfied that, with a proper man
agement Of your department.
these lawbreakers can be effectu
ally banished from our gates.
/ do not advance the untenable
thought that all crimes and law
breaking in this city or in any
other great city can be absolute
ly anticipated or prevented. / do,
however assert with complete
earnestness that the same can,
with proper mana cement, be
minirnize6 so that the community
shall feel that il is receiving a
maximum of protection from all
violators of the law.
The foregoing lapses are ac-
counta BILE, in my estimation, TO a
lack of proper discipline in the
police department. If any officer.
patro,man or employe in your de-
partment feels that he is not
properly rewarded by the COM
pensation given him under the
charter it is his plain duty to