Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-06-28
DRY FORT Smith,
Once BAD Town,
HASEMPTY JAIL
With Banishment of Liquor and
Gambling, Police Force
is Reduced Half

] FORT SMITH, Ark-Since Fort
/ Smith became dry, August /, the Grim
| inal business Of the administration
| has been declining until the police
men are securing the suburbs in order
to find enough TO do to hold their
! Jobs.
The city Jail is empty and the night
| jailer has been discharged. The 9TH,
Ter day Mayor Henry C. Reed made
| the statement that with the closing
OF the saloons and the general effort
| TO clean up the town. his admins
tration was about out OF a job. s:....
| Reports Jail Empty. - --.-.
Chief of Police MARITIME Theurer
appeared before the mayor, who is
also police judge, one morning last
week and reported that there was
no one in the Jail . feed" and the
mayor remarked that business was
exceedingly dull in his court; that
he had not had q case that had pro
duced any revenue for the past six
days. ..'
Between the commission form of
government ana the dry town, Fort
Smith as border city" Is a marvel
of the police force has been dis
charged since the city went dry and
other expenses have been so reduced
that the police force is having hard
time to find occasion. to arrest man.
The ioffenses are minor in the ex-
IRENE, such as violation OF the traffic
ordinance. a few fights, one or two
Migrants. ~@.- ;.
BIG Police Force Busy in Old Days.
The present police force aggregates
Is, including the chief of police, day
jailer, two depot policemen and desk
sergeant A year ago the force num-
bered % and they were kept busy day
and night. ? -.
In November, 1913, there were a
total of 522 cases, and during the
wet" days in Fort Smith town
DRINKS were not arrested unless they
became unruly. The chief always sent
them to their homes. SO that the
number of possible cases would have
aggregated nearer 1000 than the
above number. In November, this
year, the total number of cases aggre-
gated but 207, and most of these We're
minor cases, including every drunk,
whether he was resident or non-res-
ident. During the first four days of
December 1913, there we're 26 drunks
arrested; the first four days of De-
cember, this year, netted but one
drunk. e.. *:...>..E
Bad Mans Town, Now Good.
Fort Smith is the border city" OF
the state, with the ChoctaW Nation
on the left, and ct the right the Chero-
kee nation, and heretofore the riff
raft, going into Oklahoma and west
ern states, have passed through this
way. With every possible avenue for
crime the present situation is almost
unbelievable. Since Chief Of Police
Theurer's administration began, two |
years ago, gambling has been entire
ly stamped out, and now even the
pullboards and ether petty gambling |
devices are being removed from the |
cigar stands, pool halls and drug |
stores by Prosecuting Attorney SIM
ons and Juvenile Officer George w.
Moss. ls> Il. =. ~: F..
Another contributing factor to the |
splendid financial condition of Fort
Smith is the fact that commission |
form Of government YVES adopted two
years ago, and the first year, ending |
March 81, 1913, showed a decrease in |
expenses of running the city amount
ing to $4,000. A better showing will |
be made at the end of next March. |
Commission form of government has |
been most heartily Endorsed by Fort |
Smiths best citizenship, and the old |
aldermanic form of government is q |
thing of the past. .-...... ..*
The following figures are interest
ing: 1921 .>-
The total Indebtedness of the city |
is S22, 900, and city script is worth 100 |
cents on the dollar More improve |
ments have been made in the past |
two years than in any previous time |
of the same duration. With the elm |
ination of saloons other evils have |
been lessened. "..
Jail Costs Reduced. ~
Although the Jail has not been |
empty all the time since saloons were |
voted out, comparison of it's busl-
ness for August, September and Oc-
tober-the first three months of pro-
hibition-with the corresponding |
months of 1912 and 1913, makes a fa<
vorable showing for present condi- |
lions. A total of 17S prisoners COM
mitted to Jail in these three months |
this year were fed at a cost OF $1S890. |
In the same months last year 36S cost |
for feeding $4692S, and the 1913 rec
ord for these three months was SIS /
prisoners at a cost of $1,000 &c ....:.