New-York tribune., 1912-11-24
FEDERAL POLICE CHIEF
IS CRITIC OF BURNS
Colonel Stanton Says Famous
Detective Is Wrong on
Policing Big City.
ADVOCATES THIRD DEGREE
Says Physical Persuasion Is
Sometimes Necessary to Get
Truth from Hardened ~
Criminals.

! Get rid Of the gunmen or every citi-
zen will carry gun.
! "Gunmen should not be tolerated for
! one moment II they are not disarmed
and sent away for long terms the mo-
ment they are found with concealed
/ weapons upon them then the good citl-
zens Of New York will, have right TO
carry guns for protection against the
/ gunmen."
| This was the sentiment expressed
yesterday BY Colonel George r. shan
/ ton, chief OF the insular police OF
! Porto Rico who came here week ago
on business connected with a mine he
recently discovered in Porto Rico.
III the police did here what we have
: done i'm Porto Rico there would be teN
gunmen at large" ne declared. The
police should not alone have the right
J TO search. but should be compelled 10
search every suspicious person, II the!
| had to search the same man ten times
a day. Tf the gunner knew TINS they
would fear TO carry guns. for they
would know that weapon found upon
them would mean positive conviction
and a long term in prison
william J. Burns as detective and
a man stands in high regard with
Colonel stanton, but somehow the ad-
/, vice on police matters given by Mr.
Burns on Friday night at Cooper Union
| does not wholly tally with the IDEAS Il
the Porto Rican chief OF police. He had
read the reports Of Mr.. Burns's address
at Cooper Union, and declared that
while much Of II was good common
sense, there were some ideas WI en-
were wrong and impracticable. yes,
| read what Mr.. Burns had TO say said
Colonel Shanton, but | don't fancy
criticising n man Of the worth cf
, Burns. lie is the greatest detective the
| world has ever produced, but he loud
not run a police department and 10
away with the third degree. Wha; -
more, he could not run a municipal
police force without the stool pigeons.
His special investigators may 'e all
right and perhaps would be sroat and
effective help in getting evidence, tut
even these investigators could not sue
ceed without stool pigeons"
The man who has been a Rough
| Rider and has slept in the same room
with Taft and with Roosevelt during
their visits TO the Canal Zone, and was
responsible for their safety, expressed
himself as strongly opposed to the per-
| manent districts for police captains as
| advocated by Mr. Burns. The per-
mancnt district plan, I believe, is a
mistake" he said. and is not con-
| ducive to emergency efficiency. Every
ofricer. from an inspector down should
| be transferred at moments notice, az
| sudden transfers from district 10 dis
| trict are good for the service.
MIR. Burns says he would have The
| Commissioner appointed for life.
agree with him. and ! think also that
! one-half the men should bs recruited
| from the state and one-half from the
city. Mr.. Burns declares that he would
have a department that would class
with the best armies in the world. This
| | think is absolutely contrary TO good
| police scrvica. Too much military, too
| much parade and too much vying with
militia and regulars would soon spoil
an Organization which should be en-
tirely metropolitan. Burns never said
a truer thing than that deposed po-
| liceman or police officer should never
| be reinstated. His return TO the de-
partment with previous conviction
over his head would have an i'll innu-
ence upon the men under him. Every
| man In the Police Department, from
the Commissioner down to the patrol
| man, should cooperate with every
| court officer, municipal or federal. for
harmony and cooperation with the
courts is the keynote Of success in po-
lice work. We have that in Porto
| Rico. We had IT in the Canal Zone.