The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-01-18
GRAND IURY'S
REPORT WILL
Be PASSED UP
Commissioner Miller Says He
Is Doing All That He Can
to Stop the Liquor Traffic
in Memphis.


1.-THE report OF the grand jury Friday
was a sweeping general one, good IN
some respects and bad In others. The
grand jury states that condition eX-
lists in the police department that should
be remedied, but gives no remedy TO
better the conditions" This statement
was made Saturday by G. w. Miller,
commissioner of fire and police, in
answer to the charge in the grand jury
report that the police department Is in
efficient and corrupt; and that some
of the members of the force are in the
pay Of liquor organizations to protect
them and aid in the violation OF the
llquor laws,
Il am working II to is hours a day
trying to handle the police department,
enforce the law and make the depart
ment efficient, That is all man can
do. | have gone before the grand Jury
on four occasions and have procured
the indictment Of two patrolmen on
charges Of eompoundipg crime ! no.
worked at night on the case and got
up all the evidence myself
Whisky is being sold In Memphis,
yes; and 1t always will to certain az
tent. Right now, however, II is higher
in price than ever before and scarcer'
Washington Is Worse.
II read recently where hootleggers
even sought to sell Red Cross officials
in uniform whisky on the streets OF
Washington, the national capital. That
is a condition worse than anything
which has ever happened in Memphis
in respect 10 liquor law violations.
II know that some OF our men on
the force are inefficient and also
know that some are good men, as good
as you will find anywhere in the coun.
try, but ! can not fire them out indis-
oriminatey until ! get the goods on
shtScan1 then. sSyS sS no right 70 discharge t AZ
.s5'say for aSS-fhSs ara doing he very
| best | can and will continue TO do 80.
AS for any special investigation Of the
department | can do no more than 4
have been doing all the time.
Mayors Faith in Miller.
Mayor Monteverde was loath to have
anything to say,
II would prefer for you to see Mr..
Miller, the commissioner of fire and
police, as | do rot care to give out
anything in his department until we are
together.
II know this to be true, Mr. Miller
has been trying hard TO weed out the
patrOlmen who are not doing their full
duty and ! am satisfied that he will
not permit men to stay on the depart
ment who are protecting bootleggers
Mr. Miller let out Patrolman 3. D,
Northcutt when that officer was ar
rested on a charge of bringing an au-
tomoblle load of whisky into Memphis
and he went before the grand jury
with charges of compounding crime
against Potrolmen lowers and Dowdy,
procuring an Indictment against the
two, A number of men have been
dropped from the force by Mr.. Miller
because they failed to enforce the law
While we have been wedding out
the undesirables from the department,
there may still be others; they too will
be dropped when we are positive they
are not doing their full duty.
Perry Asks Information.
Sheriff Perry declared that he had
not been informed by the grand jury
| or anyone else that his men were not
enforcing the law and mad no intlma-
| ton that any of them were protecting
| or seeking TO protect bootleggers and
| law violators.
II want to say this: am going be-
| fore the members of this grand jury
and ask them TO point out specific in
stances, Of where my men have leagued
| themselves with booteggers or a gang
Of them and protected them. II find
| from the investigation that | hope to
make n thorough one IN my departS
| ment that any Of my deputies have In
any way protected bootleggers J am 60
| lUR 10 llFP lnttH uul VI my OlllSV
| aid in their prosecution.
81 WAS elected to enforce the law
and that Is what | am trying to do
and welcome any aid can get from
| the grand jures the law enforcing
mowers and especially the general pub
| lie"
The grand jury report urges thor
ough Investigation and overhauling of
| the police and sheriff's departments
and that the sheriff and police. com
missioners can and should remedy the
shameful conditions prevailing making
a direct charge that police officially
| protect bootleEgers,
1t is charged that while there have
been numerous arrests for violating the
| liquor laws, in nearly every instance
| they are small half pint whisky ped
dlers, who could not exist II it were
not foE~the big law violators who bring
LIQUOR into the town and who are get
| ting by through official protection,
| The report also gives a tip. to the
United States marshal that liquor Is
being sold in Shelby county without
| federal licenses on big scale,