The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-27

10 AichhbPoOht 80
acterizcd him rs 1.-THE uufrocked clergy
nan" \ friend Of his wrote TO Mr..
Mitchell about II. he said. and received
In repl, a . of the address the Mayor
had made. Or. Potter said the Mayor
was informed on November Il that he
had made an incorrect statement. but.
said he. 81 suppose he will keep on maxi
ing that statement until he dies
Senator Thompson announced after
Or. Potter had concluded his testimony
that he did not believe Or. Potter had
tried TO evade service OF the Strong
commission. but simply had waited until
the other fellow showed his rand" He
said he thought the whole charity sub
ject ought to be invest gated from
the standpoint OF investigating the whole
subjec, fairly and thoroughly 70 see
whether OF not there is such a thing as
might he called or denomirated a char
ity trust and TO see whether or not they
abuse the power that they have
The committee room was just as
crowded when the afternoon session be-
gan-for the purpose Of examining the
members OF the police wire tapping
SQUAD. Corporation Counsel Hardy OBJ
jected s~trenuously TO al examination OF
the wire tappers about the conversations
recited by the Mayor in the charities
| case ~ Ili' ~ Nil'h vi go 'i'NNF
that IL their own typewriter copies
Of their slate and scrap paper notes
before them. Assistant District Attor-
ney Allen OF Kings county appeared be-
fore the committee TO say that these
original typewriter sheets. which Mr..
Hardy said contained the wire tappers'
Identification marks. were part or the
Kings county Grand Jury minute and
could not be produced except as provided
In the Criminal Code.
Sergt. Yunge's account Of police
wire tapping was one OF the most inter
esting features of tho day. Yunge said
the squad had been in operation for four
years and that he had been at the head
of Il for about two and a half years.
HIS immediate superiors are the Com
missioner. his deputies and Inspectors
Cray and Faurot. He reports regularly
to the Commissioner and the latter gets
a copy of all the conversations that are
taken over the supervised wires. But
neither the Commissioned nor any other
superior officer ever visited the wire
tapping room. according to funge.
did any police officer ~ higher rank
than your own ever listen In on a wire"
asked Mr.. Moss.
NO sir responded Yunge emphatic
ally, The sergeant 'aid the only o
In which a record Of the number super
Nlstu, kllf IhlIl' st..'4 hhb4 = a'ft klN'a
acter Of Information desired is kept is "A
book which he turned ovee TO Deputy
Commissioner Frank Lord about two
weeks ago. He admitted frankly that he
had refused to turn over Il the Strong
commission his personal memorandum
book. in which he keeps certain informa-
ton obtained over the wire which he
thinks may DO of value at some later
time.
Sergeant Yunge also testified, with an
evident amount OF suavity. that he is
the Judge OF what conversations are i'm
portant enough 10 take down and re-
port TO the Commissioner He has been
a member OF the Police Department for
fifteen years and a detective for ter
years. lie said he had never listened II
on any wires that We're not tapped
according to proper ~procedure-on, q
proper form submitted by him, with tht
Commissioners Endorsement to the tele'
phone company. He does not listen &c
everything, he said, only what he thinks
relevant TO the subject on which in
formation Is sought.
ANY man who happens To be listen
ing in" asked Mr.. Moss, "is the judy,
OF what to put down on tie slate
Yes" .aid Yunse. 'Bu ! didn'
listen in on any of this charity work
"He can forget. can't he"
YES any man may forget
YOU don't DO any outside cutting IN
NO, sir"
: 30 yol enter in the hook who CAV,
i you the order to tap a w!re?'
0 Yes. always when I don't know VIII,
3 the wire was ordered tapped"
Would YOU he able To go back I,
> the past two years and point out wh,
J ordered each tap"
r ">cs. from the record in the Sccon'
deputy COMMISSIONER office
y VI this point Corporation Counso
! Hardy renewed his objection TO furthe
o questioning Of Nunge unless the origlna
copies Of tho charities telephone CONVEX
= sations were IN his hands. lie aske,
that ont of fairness To the man. MI
Moss replied by asking II the Mayor
copy Mere not an original copy. MI
r Hardy said no that the originals ha
Q the mems own Identification marks.
. No shorthand Writers.
a Sergeant Yungc then explained tina
. when a tapped wire IL calling or calle,
there Is a buzz In the tappers' room, an
the man at the receiver begins writinI
on HIS slate II the conversation hear
a Is relevant. He devised the slate metho
o BECAUSE Il r. quicker writing. No. h
: said, lone Of the mon is a Shorthan
writer. They Just take a skeleton q
the conversation when the talking |
3 fast, Nil It in OF the scrap paper i'm
mediately afterward and transcribe
r by typewriter when they get time. Thi
= part OF his testimony received n roa
Z from the gallery. II the reported cor
= vrrsatlon Is something urgent 1t may b
r taken right up 10 the COMMISSIONS z
4 onre.
Has this evcr hecm honcr' aske