Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-10-02
CAPTAINS ORDERED
TO KEEP DOWN LID
Commissioners Act in COnse.
quence of Justice Gummere's
Charge to Grand Jury.
CHIEF DENIES THAT VICE
IS RAMPANT IN THIS CITY
National Child Labor Bureau
Member Declares Newark
Clean and Decent.


Following Chief Justice Gummere's
charge to the grand jury, in which
he stated that the police force a
responsible for the open violations
of the law and for the existence of
vice in The city, a hasty special meet
ing was called by the Board of Po-
lice Commissioners yesterday after
noon. The meeting was held behind
closed doors.
The chief n the captains of the
six precincts were present and were
closely questioned by the commits
sioners regarding vice conditions in
the city. All the captains, ii is said,
declared that they were doing every
thing in their power to enforce the
law, and that there was no evidence
to substantiate the assertions being
made by Samuel Wilson and others
that vice was rampant.
Chief Corbitt stated hat the places
which had been complained of in
Wilson's letter were being kept under
surveillance, and that the law was
being carried out to the letter. The
commissioners then instructed the
captains to keep up the work of
suppfessins vice. and If they found
ANY violations of the law to act at
once.
says Newark Is Decent.
y letter was received from Edward
II. Brown, of the national child labor
committee of New York, in which he
stated that for a city of its size New
ark was one of the cleanest concern
ing outward order and deeency of
the many he had visited, and was a
much cleaner city than Trenton.
Mr.. Browns statement was the di-
rect result of an Investigation car
ried on in twenty-five states in re-
spect to the night messenger service.
Three separate Investigations were
conducted.
The evidence submitted by Mr..
Brown to the police board showed
that conditions in Newark, as far
as outward appearance goes, at least,
compared very favorably with any
of the larger cities visited.
Captain Peter T.. Christie, Of the
Third precinct, today denied the,
statement made by Samuel Wilson.
the Anti-Saloon League agitator,
that conditions were very bad in the
Ironbound district. In a talk de-
livered before the Interchurch Fed.
Grafton of Essex county Monday
night. Mr.. Wilson characterized the
portion of the Down Neck section
bounded BY the Passaic river and
Ferry street as Beer Island" and
declared that in this small territory
there are 122 saloons, fifteen dance
halls and three gambling resorts.
81 will admit that the dance halls
exist in my precinct said Captain
Christie to al Evening Star reporter
today. but they are conducted in an
orderly manner.
Says There Are No Gambling Resorts.
"As for gambling resorts there is
not a single one in my percinct.
My plainclothesmen have been in
structed to be on the lookout for
such places, and as i hav received
no complaints from them | am con-
fident that none exist. My precinct
is as clean and free from vice as any
precinct in the city," he added.
The captain pointed out a written
statement made by four clergymen
of the Ironbound district, the Very
Rev. Dean Patrick Cody, of st.
James's Catholic Church; the Rev.
George l.. Fitzpatrick, rector of st.
Aloysius's Church; the Rev. Charles
Beach Condit. pastor of Trinity Re
formed Church. and the Rev. Ed
ward Thurman. pastor of the Ger
man United Evangelical Church. to
substantiate what he had said con
corning conditions in the lower Sec
ton of the city.
Letter from Dean Cody.
In his letter Dean Cody says:
"Our part of the city Is morally
clean and needs no settlement house
or help from outside. The foreign
element has its own ways and habits
of drinking beer. etc. Briefly, the
entire social survey of the district
is a libel and Islander on the people
and place as a whole
Father Fitzpatrick reiterates what
Father Cody said, Most of the
people, Father Fitzpatrick says in
his letter, are thrifty. Industrious
and God-fearing. and not ignorant
or immoral"
Speaking of a certain section of
tie district the clergyman declares
there is not now, nor has there been,
one single vice resort in this neigh
borhood. sc it is untrue to say such
a vice has been lessened where it has
not existed"
some Things Might he Better.
MIR. Condit says that to his knowl-
edge the greater part of the residents
of the Ironbound district are moral,
law-abiding citizens.
"Thore arc undoubtedly many