The Washington herald., 1915-08-06
NEW NAMES ON GRAFT
LIST OF POLICE PROBE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE,

examined pages of testimony. represent
| ing only a portion OF the evidence"
gathered by Assistant United States At
| torney Hawken.
After the conference Commissioner
\ Newman announced that Mai Pullman
| would at once begin an investigation
| within the police department. Later
Commissioner Newman was reported as
having ordered an immediate investiga-
| ton Of graft charges" Still later Mai
! Pullman issued his statement showing
| that no investigation within the depart
ment had been started or was contem-
plated.
Commissioner Newman last night was
asked by The Washington Herald to ex-
plain the contradictory statements. He
| said:
Il was misunderstood. I used the word
| Investigation in a broader sense than
1t was taken to mean. Maj. Pullman
will go ahead with a quiet, Informal in
quiry of his own that will be wholly CO.
| ordinate with and supplemental to the
| formal official investigation being made
by the United States attorney.
I'm other words. there are some loose
ends to Mr.. Hawken's evidence that
| need to be gathered in, and Maj. Pull
man will seek to do so by questioning
one or two policemen in his own office
in an informal way. / have not ordered
an investigation. and 1 am quite certain
that the whole inquiry will be continued
by the United States attorney, by whom
it was initiated"
Panic in Fourth Precinct.
There was CONSERVATION in the Fourth
police precinct yesterday. This precinct
covers a large part of the territory in
Southwest Washington and embraces the
sections formerly known as the red-light
district. 1t was in this precinct that
Detective Ray kliendienst, recently con-
victed of immoral relations with Mrs.
Margaret Stout, formerly did duty, and it
was in this precinct that Mrs. Stout
formerly lived. The graft charges are
not confined to this precinct however.
The excitement came when Assistant
United States Attorney Hawken yester-
day summoned to his office Capt. Will
Jams, who commands the Fourth pre-
cinct. Capt. Williams was closeted with
Mr.. Hawken and Mrs. Stout nearly all
the afternoon. and the word at once
went out that some of the men guilty of
the graft charges are attached to the
Fourth precinct. Efforts to corroborate
this rumor We're fruitless.
Impetus will be given to the investiga-
ton this morning when United States
District Attorney John E Laskey returns
to his desk at City Hall. MIR. Laskey
has been out of town several days on
official business. 1t is probable that Mr..
Laskey. Mr.. Hawken. Commissioner
Newman and Maj. Pullman will hold a
conference early today. The outcome of
this conference probably will be most i'm
portant.
''No Wholesale Craft
Street rumors that more than two
score of policemen and two police cap
tains had been revealed as graft, s were
denied yesterday in a formal statement
issued by Mr.. Hawken. He said:
I'VE have rapidly and thoroughly in
vestigated the charges made Monday last
by Margaret Stout, that members of the
police department had been guilty of
taking graft
The testimony given shows that there
has not been any wholesale graft in the
District. The graft that has existed in
the District has been of petty char |
acter and has been confined to a small
number of men. Mrs. Stout is the only |
person shown so far by the investigation
to have paid money for protection.
Until Mrs. Stout made her statement |
10 me Monday last neither Maj. Pullman |
nor this office had received any informa- |
ton that any policeman involved in her
statement had been guilty of taking |
graft.
LAS soon as the investigation is COM |
pleted, appropriate action will be taken |
to bring the guilty parties to justice.
I'VE delayed making any statements |
respecting the matter until the investi. |
cation corroborated the charges of Mrs. |
Sfout