New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-11-19
STATE LAWS CORRUPT
CITY, SAYS DR.. HOWE
Director OF Peoples Institute
Asserts That Vices Big Profits
Make SUPPRESSION Difficult.
STATUTES TOO SEVERE
Speaker Tells Members of City
Club a Policy of Control
Is Solution of Civic
Difficulties.

So prosperous has the City Club become
in the last year, with clear profit OF
1882 30, that the trustees at the twentieth
annual meeting, held last night, an
nounced that plans were being made to
enlarge the club building, at No. IS West
4th street, by adding several stories to
the building The civic side of the clubs
activities under President Strong have
been unusually varied and productive Of
, results. notably the work on police af-
! fairs, under Frederick II. Within. in eX-
Fl, tending finger print identification in cases
| of disorderly conduct among women.
! Under the head of schools, increased ap-
proprations have been urged upon the
/ Board of Estimate for handling the prob
lem of the sub-normal child and the pro-
motion OF evening recreation centres dur
ing the summer.
| Frederick c. Howe. director of the
| Peoples Institute, addressed the club last
/ night on The Excise Vice and Gambling
Situation. The Cost of State Control"
! Il believe" said DR.. Howe, the
trouble with the police situation. with
vice. with gambling, lies not so much
with the police, not with Commissioner
| Waldo. not with Mayor Gaynor, as 1t
does with the inflexible state laws which
control the saloon, vice and gambling. |
do not believe that Mayor Gaynor could
| enforce the laws he has sworn to enforce.
! If he could, | doubt whether he woulc
! receive the support of the community IN
1 his efforts. I am certain his administra-
| ton would be broken. that he would De
| discredited and that he would not be re-
/ elected.
/ I'VE ourselves have created condi-
ton which has corrupted the police for
! twenty years The state laws will con-
| tinue to corrupt the police so long as
/ they remain on the statute books. 1t is
! impossible 10 avoid this, for the privl-
! lege OF evading these laws is too valu-
able. It is like smuggling. Even the
rich smuggle. We have tried to stamp
out smuggling for fifty years, and IL
/ goes on just the same. The open sun
day and the other evils we have attempt
] ed by law To extirpate are so valuable
/ that il has been stated that 100000 a
! year are paid for their evasion. Ana
! colossal sums like this will corrupt any
/ police department, just high tarlns
/ always corrupted people and officials
1T is the universal experience Of every
/ age and every country that when the
profits TO be made from lawbreaking are
( sufficiently high men will risk hne, I'M
prisonment, even life. for them.
/ In addition to this. the question of the
! II a.
/ lures the saloon and tins underworld into
! politics They are active in every cleo
! ton: they seek 20 control mayors, judges
| and police appointments Every mayor
( who has tackled this problem has been
! broken by IT, There is apparently no
escape. II we elect reform administra-
/ ton that really enforces the law. the
work Of that administration. even while
/ in cffice. will be wrecked by this ques-
/ ton"
! Dr. Howe said definite programmes FOR
! control of the evils we're not necessary II
/ the city were free TO handle the problems
J at will. He said the excise question
! should be a matter for home rule
IL am sure" he said, "the first thing
/ Mayor would do. had we the freedom in
ence of a score of leading citizens to help
him work out a programme OF control
We would evolve programme OF our own
for the social evil. and probably toward
complete suppression of gambling. We
would work out a saloon programme suit
able to the needs and conditions of
great city, where more than half her In
habtants are foreign born. There would
be no privileges to sell. Only in this way
could graft be wiped out of our police adj
ministration."
The new board OF trustees OF the City
Club includes George w. Alger. Richard
S. Chids Joseph G. Deane, Algernon s.
F'rissell Lincoln Cromwell. Edward X. !
Finch. Homer Folks, A. Ia Gutman |
Frank S. Hastings, Robert T. McGusty,
James c. Meyers and William A. Short. |
All were reelected except Mr. Hastings
He is the retiring commodore of the
seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club