The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1912-08-18

the indictment of Police Lieutenant
Charles Becker for first degree murder.
Whitman coura geously drew out the
sordid story of the crime from unwill-
ing witnesses, who were trembling I'M
der the fear of the underwOrld's re,
venge when they got free, and revealed
! the trail Of the system leading from
the grafters lower down to the men
/ higher up" And now there is chance
to break the so called alliance Of the
crooks, the police and those of the poll,
ticians who prey on the Empire City
Of the Empire State.
whitman has always shown distinct
ability in public office in addition to
moral courage. He is d man of IN
swerying convictions, believing that a
public office is a public trust,
1 AS assistant corporation counsel he
showed himself a man of force and
action. AS city magistrate and az
judge of the court Of general sessions
he won a reputation for fairness and
for insistence on the strict enforcement
Of the law.
Z One of his accomplishments as judge
was to break up the so called bail
bond system" which had fastened an
evil grip On the lower courts. This
system" was the making of unwar-
ranted arrests of women of the street
and women alleged to be such by pa
trolmen and detectives SO that profess
sional bondsmen could go bail for them
and derive bonus or commission.
| Vast sums were divided among police
officers. court attendants and bonds
men by this means until Whitman put
a stop to the uncomfortable practice.
AS District Attorney Whitman has
set very high standard of efficiency.
! His percentage of convictions well
substantiates this statement He has
taken the Office out of politics. and the
professional "Mr. Fixits' about the
criminal courts building In the past
| have been driven to pastures new.
His conviction of the members Of the
poultry trust. which controlled and jug
| gled prices in the east. with head
| quarters in New York city. was typi-
| cal example Of the Whitman style of
| serving the public. These men. pow
erful, wealthy. crafty and defended
| by eminent counsel. had taken advan-
tage of certain loophoies in the state
| statutes during their operations. and IT
seemed impossible to convict, them
| They chuckled in their sleeves.
Whitman did not chuckle. He went
! to Albany instead and forced amend
! ments drought the Legislature. against
| strongest opposition. which enabled
him to secure fines and prison sen
| fences against the members of the com
| bine
| Cynical New York smled derisively
| when whitman prosecuted Banker
! Joseph G. Robin. Millionaire William
]. Cummins and President Reichmann
| of the Carnegie Trust company for i'm
| proper financial methods. Surely were
| not these men born to the purple with
| the inaIienable right to do as they
| pleased with other peoples money?
| Robin pleaded guilty. and Cummins
| and Reichmann were convicted of felo-
| MES
| And so the crooks. high and low, are
| shiyering at the possible outcome OF
! the Rosenthal Becker disclosures.
| They know what Whitman is, They
know that they cannot fix things up
| as they used to do, and they hurl BIT
| ter. belated lamentations at the reform
| fusion ticket movement of 1909. which
+! swept him into office.