The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1917-06-04
Last Thing a City Should
Want Is a Commissioners
Popular With Crooks

The issue which caused the run-in be
tween Police Justice Sellers and PolFc@
Commissioner Couzens, and which result
ed in the latter official being run IN 10y
order of the former, is that OF ball
whether the police are compelled 10 hon
or the release forms used by the police
justices, anywhere they may happen TO
be, on any day or at any noun Of the
night
Commissioner Couzens could not, par
ticularly if advised by legal counsel Tor
the department, refuse to honor the re-
lease order of any police justice without
taking the position that the jurisdiction
of the justice is confined 20 The walls of
his court room.
But the commissioners case becomes
rather shaky at this point by reason Of
the fact that he singled out the releases
issued by Justice Sellers, ordering his
ssaa1Ss..1ates not q. fecognize thepi. 5at
is t5ntnue to. honor tire Nyaers OF The
other two police justices.
If the police justice catch-him-where-
neutrality-suspicious. release is Illegal as
every decent citizen of Detroit has rea-
son TO hope it TO be, il follows naturally,
that it would be illegal In Commissioner
GeHzeHs hef4ef Il Il fif-e,f44 t+re justices
while refusing to honor it from third.
Presumably, the police justice release
is legal and presumably the police COM
missioner is in contempt of court for
having failed to honor release signed
by Justice Sellers.
At any rate, the commissioner is in
contempt at this writing. because he has
been duly found to be in contempt.
And quite naturally, there has TO be
somebody in authority over police COM
missioner, whose duties are defined.
When he has made an arrest and de-
livercd his prisoner over to a court. he
has met his full responsibility and his
obligation to everybody ends there.
The court Immediately becomes re-
sponsible from that point, and therein
lies tie justification claimed for the re-
leases.
Although they may be signed in blank.
rs has been the case, the responsibility
rests with the justice, who takes the
ground that he, alone, need be satisfied.
1t looks to be plainly the case that
Police Commissioner Couzens has tres
passed somewhat upon the powers Of the
police court, or of one particular justice's
court
He is left to plead that the end JUS
tifes the means and no small part of the
populace will agree with him, but it hap
pens, rather unfortunately for this the
DRY, that the sole judge is the court Of
fetal aggrieved, who refuses TO accept
the theory or to indorse the means.
What the commissioner is up against
is the LAW.
The law is a very flexible thing for
those who break it.
1t can be extended, widened or warped
to overlook a multitude of sins and free
a multitude of sinners, but if police Of
fetal seeking to do his duty happens to
transgress an iota, that becomes a diff
ferent matter.
Commissioner Couzens is endeavoring
to clean up Detroit.
He has made the saloons obey the laws
to letter and that is something his pre-
decessor never did, principally because he
didn't want to do it.
Couzens has driven the gamblers out
of town.
He is cleaning up the red light dis
tricts and is endeavoring to rid the
streets of the women driven out of the
disorderly houses.
He is having anything but an easy Job
of it, principally because he is hampered
in the very sources that ought 70 be CIV
ing hin cooperation.
There was a whole lot of JOY for GER
tain Of our citizens when it was learned
Police Commissioner Couzens had been
fined for contempt and sent to Jail when
he refused TO pay the fine
The commissioner may accept the SAT-
isfaction of those whom the news salts
fed as the strongest kind of a testi-
monial