New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-27
Thompson Says Police
Methods Have Gone
TGo Far.
ACTIONS MONDAY
MAYOR PROMISES
Will Take Up Clergy's Al
Ieoed Crimes - Phone
Squad Head on Stand.

Governor Whitman will be asked 10
.ppoint special commissioner under
.bs Worelsrd act TO investigate the tap
.;,r of TELEPHONE wires by the police
,r6 private detective agencies.
This is the belief OF Senator Ihomp-
80, who declared last night that the
Evidence ard testimony adduced before
~. committee showed that the police
had zone too far in their wire-tappinE'
y, intimsted that the committee would
ask the Governor 10 act.
senator Thompson said the body
uorld recommend legislation to prevent
.be indiscriminate overlapping Of pri-
vate telephone lines
Sacred by Law. Moss Says
ueand the other members Of the com
,,ittoe we're particularly incensed over
the tapping Of the wires Of lawyers and
ooctors by the police. Members o. the
virc-tapping squad who testified yes
,erday admitted they had listened In
an a. least five lawyers wires recently
and had heard sll the conversations.
conversations between lawyers and
their clients. doctors and their patients
and ministers and members of their
churches are held sacred and conhden-
fsl bv the law" said Frank Moss. coun-
sel 70 the committee. "but the police do
lot so regard them
Wayor Mitchell will to-day or Monday
man close to him declared last nignl'
,cqin criminal action against the
,mall group of Roman Catholic priests
and A few non-Catholics whom ne
charges with interfering with govern
ment. perverting justice and other
crimes.
The accused priests, who testihed on
Thursday before the Thompson COM
r,;ttee. have denied categorically every
charge levelled at them by the Mayor
and in turn accused him Of subvertlns
the truth to his own ends, slandering
the dead. besmirching the Catholic Sis
terboods and being one of conspiracy
10 secularize all charitable institutions.
viii Not Drop Fight.
The wavor contented himself yester-
dsv with reiterating that he had no IN
tentior Of dropping his fight. and re-
peated that the telephone wires or
Norsignor John J. Dunn, Chancellor or
the Archdiocese OF New York, and
Father Joseph Dineen, secretary to
Bishop HAYES, had not been tapped.
This last was provoked by the state
ment Of Alfred ]. Talley, counsel to the
Catholic clergymen, that the priests be-
lieved the wires Of Monsignor Dunn and
Father Dineen had been tapped by the
police
Mr.. Talley first made the charge when
Father Dineen admitted that he had
telephone conversation read by Mayor
Mitchell He insisted however, that he
had the conversation with MonSignor
Dunn, thus implying that his and Mon
signor Dunn's wires were also tapped.
The evidence OF the police and the
list Of tapped telephone wires submit
ted BY the New York Telephone Com
pany 10 the committee are all to the
contrary.
Thompson Inquiry Closes.
he only priests wire which was
tapped, according to the company's rec
ord and Senator Thompson said tho
company had played fair and square
with the committee was Father Far
rells.
And when Senator Thompson an
nounced last night at the close Cf the
days session that the committee had
closed its inquiry into the wire-tapping
situation. the mystery Of this one out
standing telephone conversation re-
NAMED unsolved.
At yesterdays session the witnesses
were Dr. Daniel {. Potter, a Baptist
minister. who has not had a charge Ia
eighteen years; Walter Drummond, son
Of the late Michael j. Drummond, one
Of the leading Catholics of the com
munity; W. K. Weller, a reporter, and
eN-Commissioner Of Charities, and men,
oers Of the police wire-tapping squad.
Plcases Mayors Opponent.
Detective Sergeant Yunge, chief of
'"t WirC-tapplng squad made one ad-
mission that pleased the opponents Of
Mayor Mitchell.
He testified. i'm answer TO a question
Of fra~k Moss. counsel TO the commit
tee that Deputy Police Commissioner
Frank Lord ordered him and the po-
iieemcn who listened in on the wires
Of Father Farrell, Dr. Potter and Rob-
err W Hebberd. TO call on them, so
hat they could identify their voices.
Mr.. Lord" said Yunge, told me TO
60 to see these men and listen 10
them. He said: Get close TO Mr.. Far
rell. y. G. Potter and Mr.. Hebberd,
and he sure and get them. want YOU
% be sure you can conscientiously say
they arc the same men whose voices
you heard"
This was after you had been SUB
Contins@d an nsS~ a ~ni""n