The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
OF NATION ARE
At STAKE, INSISTS WOODS
Police Commissioner Issues Formal Reply to Criticisms
by Senator Thompson-Mayor Says Opposition to
Telephone Supervision Is Downright Treason

Government are vitality concerned I'm
these cases OF telephone supervision
That warning / myself supplemented
IN an interview with Senator Thomson
about week ago and again yesterday,
and pointed out to him that these cases
handled by the local police force In many
instances have this national Significance
Now treason to "A Government is de-
fined in the law as giving aid and COM
fort to the enemies of Government or
nation. To deliberately destroy one
Of the most powerful weapons in the
hands of Government to detect and pre-
vent the operations OF public enemies
brand as treachery. Every repetition
of these attempts to disclose the opera
tions OF the city police force and OF the
Government. made In the interest Of
self-advertisement, constitutes cunu-
lative act OF treachery toward the United
States"
Senator Thompson came out Of one oc
his committees executive sessions to
make a re;ort 10 the Mayor. II was
this: when the Mayor Of the village
OF Middleport gets into nasty quarrel
he hires a hall and tells them about
it, He does not call upon the national
Government to divert attention or 20
fight his quarrel for him"
Mddleport is the Senator's home town
hut that did not finish the Mayor !
remarks. standing in the reporters
room in City Hall AZ noon the Mayor
added
The Thompson committee has been
going along batantly for several months
assuming that it is the only agency by
which the truth can be disclosed. They
have been demanding that all the facts
be made known. Now here is "A case
where we are willing to have them made
known and they shut the door, But Il
Will come out, II not through one door
then through another"
Did you mean senator Thompson In
your remarks about treachery9" the
Mayor was asked, and he replied
Il will he more direct, Any one who
continually asseverat.s that the national
Government IA not involved. after he had
been warned by me "A week ago that ma
ttonal interests We're involved. and after
the Government itself had warned him..
makes IT increasingly difficult for the
Government to act. The Government
warned him on its own initiative, and
asked me- to do SO. though that wasn't
necessary. Continued discussion of these
the difficulty Of the Government and
the city in detecting crime.
This whole thing began with a cer-
tain small group of people who con-
tended that their privacy was invaded,
! They made this muss. just as Seymour
did on the stand. when he made II APP
pear that the only motive for super
vising his telephone could havr been a
commercial motive, These people made
| II appear too that supervision was not
justified. hut that II was a case OF crime
in each instance, The Seymour case has
been cleared up The facts in the other
! case have never been made known tn
the public. They will come out, howover
! when ! go on the stand on Tucsdl" :"
/ II they don't come out before the Thomp-
son committee they will come ont some
| other way"
! Some one told the Mayor al this point
! that senator Thompson had remarked
! the night before last. "Well, ! am back
/ on the front page The Mayors com
! ment on this was
There are great many ways OF get
! ting on the front page. You can stand
out there in City Hall Park and l"'
people throw rotten tomatoes al YOU
that's one way"