New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-14
POLICE AGAIN DEFENDED
cavnor and Waldo Praise Force
to Columbia Men.
.GABBY FELLOWS BAD SORT
MAYOR Also Warns Students
Against Becoming "Blather-
es"-Light on Lincoln.

Mayor Gaynor and commissioner
v..,do told the members Of the Politics
FIN, or Columbia University last night
.scir ideas of the city's police troubles.
A. usual they deprecated the wholesale
.,,scls upon the force because it con-
...,sf % Few grafters i'm its ranks. Tho
vsvor even limited the grafters among
.s. roli.c to "a few sections of Manhat-
,or whore. ne said. gamblers and prost-
,,,es amt cyndocr~ i'm general had been
,,or, for years % foreeathcr to break tho
JAYS.
.Vrat of BrooNlyu." he asked. with
,,s population of almost two millions and
oyeers aud The Bronx and Richmond?
.rbare is no graft among the police in
,hoso boroughs. except. perhaps. i'm an
.soiato4 instance here and there. where an
o+rer takes dollar or so for some
petty favor. Some people seem To think
that Manhattan is the whole city and
,bev forget the thousands Of police faith
srrv doing their duty every day and
every richt an over this greater city
few years ago. he thought there had
bccn many graftcrs in the Police Depart
,rret. bur their number had been greatly
re5vcod during tho administrations ~
Paker. Cropscy and Waldo. Inspectors
uore i'm the habit of retiring millionaircs
in those old DAYS No one heard Of their
doing go since Waldo took charge. nc
yenturcd In fact. tho Police Department
had never been IN better shape than UNI
dor Commissioner Waldo. he contended.
eyokirg some applause from the polite
Young men who made M the audience fac
ing the Commissioner.
All ~ this the Mayor interpolated into
the advice no had been asked 10 give 20
voIng men upon the occasion Of their on
,er1ur POLITICS lie pointed out TO his
hearers that the entire agitation AZ pres
ont involving the police had grown out
~ two cases. that Of Rosenthal and that
n Sipp Rosenthal. he said. had opened
twelve gambling houses. every one Of
which had been closed by the police.
owing 20 the efficiency Of the organization
which he Gavnor. had insisted upon. And
In the prosecutions that followed Rosen-
,bal-s murder the Police Department fur
nished tho witnesses that made conyic-
tons possible
yet some people would have YOU he
reve that the Police Department was
hent upon obstructing Justice. That S
rolifics but IL isn't the sort ~ politics
that 7 would advise YOU young men TO
enter Keep out Of that kind Of politics
and vorU come ont better in the end"
.Srn kept different kind OF a house"
p. y.,r. ON. "a horrible kind Of a house
wouldn't attempt 10 describe II even
AMONG mer And when the police made
t.. warm for him Doe testified that he
I.. r.. Some patrolman for immunity
. I. skipped ont Of town and We
I...eIt .m back And yet some people
.... ...-ur,d mc for bringing him back
rt $500 show you the temper of the
.r.- .. which We ,ry go do our duty
w 1ator paid nis respects 90 the iu-
...tl.tors being conducted into police
.r... ana 90 the many divergent views
It'd forth REGARDING the sort Of reform
....,I hs the police. Albany, he said
I.a .,ut down an investigating commit
t.. ,,ith "a view 10 framing laws TO deal
u.th the situation. "as IL a policeman who
wanted to graft could be stopped 10y law
Punishment end patient preventive ad-
m.uistratiou Werc the ONLY remedies posi-
.Ia. IN his mind.
con- Tire subject ~ a political career
,r. MAYOR warned his audience against
becoming "sabby fellows or "blather-
su-os' instead Of "self-cOniained' public
men anxious to help the community in
stead Of themselves. lie warned them
against confusing oratory with rhetoric
lie told them 10 be sure OF the holiness
Of their motives. TO those who intended
entering the law ne suggested that they
cease 10 believe such tales as that lAn-
coin accepted only good cases.
That's nonsense said the Mayor
Lincoln accepted both good and bad
cases, as was his duty. He was counsel
FOR the Illinois Central Railroad and de-
Tended damage suits against poor fellows
VINO had lost an arm or a lex. Things
would come 20 pretty pass IL lawyers
took 10 refusing cases because they didnt
think them good"
Commissioner Waldo outlined in woids
Of one syllable the duties Of the police
lie said II was impossible 10 gather ten
thousand men together without getting a
few grafters in the number. The Mayor
he went on. had been criticised for eXer-
cising a supervisory control over the de-
partment. although as MAJOR ne had been
placed at the head Of 1t. As for the
charge that the Mayor intcrfered with the
details Of its administration. that was
preposterous said the Commissioner.