The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-11-26
Building a Political Machine


 the number patronen police force from and the number of superior officers from 15 to 23 at immediate additional charge o something like $5ooOo annually.
 that it has failed to furnish protection that Bridge port with criminals that the property of the citizens is in unusual jeopardy by of failure in the police.
 that the department is unusually efficient that the city by poice that the of the department for maintenance of order is unusually good.
 So far anything has been said that might to imply the necessity of sweeping police changes has been said in the report of the expert who called into would be acceptable to his employers since this is the of experts and ever has been.
 This expert was from the New York department. A perusa1 of his will convince almost anybody that he had the New York department in mind the ideal which other cities should adopt.
 But New York has ideal police and never had and the New York system not the best that could be devised has proved practice the worst of which the United States has knowledge.
 relationship between the New York police and graft and matter solely from the the condition and itua of the cities New York is not the model that Bridgeport should adopt.
 Bridgeport has its problems but they not the problems of New York.
 The latter has an enormous population of cosmo politics. is port of entry for immigration and the criminals of Europe find there protected abiding place population it is the daily of the tvities of millions who to the metropolis from the outside.
 Not even in comparison with New York may the de mands of the police commissioners Commis
 
 superior officers of the grades of superintendent captain lieutenant and sergeant
 New York in 1911 1,261 officers of these grades and $500 patrolmen which superior officer to each six patrolmen and one half of patrolnan.
 But the Warner administration proposes g superior officers of the grades named and l3o paroen which is one superior officer to each FIVE PATRoLMEN AND SIX TENTHs of patroman, which is certainly going IsoIne. e0 Some pretty conclusive facts warranting these sweeping changes must be offered to offset the public opinion that the thing really sought is powerful political machine composed of office holders owing jobs and featy to one Influential creator. ezsxs These things have been attempted since November 1911:
 The Department of Engineering has been taken by the employment of an out of town man.
 The Charities Department has been taken by the ployment of an out of town
 The attempt make the Board of Education a mere adjunct to the mayor has failed.
 The attempt to displace the fire alarm system with new and costly system has failed
 The attempt to install the Herring system, at lexpense of millions, has failed. @ ~f
 The attempt sell the Public Library succeeded
 The attempt to sell the town farm has failed.
 The attempt to aggrandize and Warnerize the Police tDepartment and to replace Supt. Birning and Capt Arnold will fail.
 But these projects, had they succeeded would have buwarked the strongest political machine construct ed in a New England city
 All of the matters which have been tried the cit same way the police proposals They were not ained by and evidence based upon but by the say of those in power.
 All of these things, taken together and sc1utnized the separate parts of whole program, exlainable only upon theory which has heretofore been advanced
 This theory is that administration real zng it's slender hold the of Bridgeport desired obtain during it's time in office the sible of public patronage, that might spondingly entrenched for the election in 1913.
 Millions debt created provide millions of dol lars for the erection of nproducVe Improvements et might not benefit Bridgeport but they would certainly immediately furnish Mayor Wilson and his sponsors
 with the power over persons and votes which the expen diture of those vast would give.
 And if the administration could thoroughly Warner