Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1920-09-11

deem Louisville and Kentucky for
Democracy and the white people.
The city and county employees have
been making precinct canvasses
the past two weeks to find out Just
how many women will vote, and
they have discovered that the
negro women's votes will be more
than offset by the white women who
will vote in large numbers this fan
and in larger numbers next fall to
prove that the Hert-Searcy- Chiffon
machine can not turn our city and
State over to its negro supporters.
Incidentally the city and county en-
ployes making these precinct can
vases are doing so at the expense
OF the taxpayers, but don't tell near
Mayor Smith, the Board of Safety
or the Mems Federation that these
men are cheating the city and the
taxpayers by working for the Re-
publican machine. These gentlemen
might not like 1t, as they are all
great opponents of reform and this
is reform" administration.
Say what you win about Sheriff
Will Ross, but you'll have to agree
that he is an observing cuss. Fol-
lowing his run-in with the Keystone
police the other day II developed
that Sheriff Ross told the police
''that they ought to be driving street
cars" The Sheriff knows some
thing. Five captains, nine lieuten-
ants, eight sergeants, including both
traffic sergeants and over half the
rank and file of our police were
former street car bell-clangers and
rope-pullers. 1t need not be told
that the street car company policy
for the past fifty years has been to
hire nothing but hicks from the
backwoods and the greener the bet
ter. That policy has been carried
out to the letter, and at that the
public has not kicked. But when the
same policy has been transferred to
the police department that is an
other matter. You can not expect
hicks" who only knew their way
around town by following the car
tracks to become expert crook catch
ers. Well, the world knows by this
time that they haven't and the
fame of our police as Keystoners
has become nationwide. Four and
five robberies nightly are the rec
ord, without even clue and there's
a colony of burglars in our midst
that are making a steady living
fooling the Keystoners and they are
not working overtime to do that.
An automobile bandit who was cap
tured the other day in Ohio had no
trouble in getting through the lines
here, although every road was clut-
tered up with the famous rifle
squad the overseas (Jeffersonville)
squad and other Keystoners. But
well have to agree that the bandit
took an unfair advantage of our
police. He disguised himself as a
farmer and IL was pretty hard for
the Keystoners TO tell him from one
of their own number.
The Board of Safety, Chief Petty
and Tobe Hert, Ches Searcy and
Matt Chiffon just des9ise Sheriff
Ross for bringing the Keystone POI
lice In the limelight. These gentle
men know that in the street car
boys they haven't real police, but
they are easy to collect from. Then
again they don't bother protected
crap games or any other games for
that matter. Sheriff Ross found out
that they follow orders blindly If
not intelligently. During the Elks'
parade one of the KeystOners at
Preston and Broadway stopped all
street cars, vehicles and pedestrians
long before the parade had even
formed in line. His corner was a
maze of cars, people, autos, wagons
and even baby buggies. To all pro
tests he'd "Gol flap it, I'm not gOin'
to let any of you by till the perade
comes" People told him that the
"perade" wouldn't be by for an hour
yet, but that made no difference to
the Keystoner. Finally the Chiefs
office was appealed to and a detach-
ment had to be sent up there to
loosen up the traffic. The Keystoner
was little miffed, and he said lit
was golderned funny that they told
him one thing and then skin it back,
by heck"
It does seem that Chief Petty OF
the Keystoners and Chief Neunsch-
wander of the fire department ought
to furnish guides, or better, sign
posts for their men. Recently the
fire department in answering an
alarm on West Broadway ran into a
blind street, and before they could
entangle themselves out of the
dilemma the fire had gained big
Roadway. There's where q guide or
city map would have come In handy.
Thursday morning one of our eff
cient police officers was Lost at
Fourth and Park avenue. In a city
''flivver," No. 125, there was our
hero stopping pedestrians to find
out where the Girls High School
was located. We don't know wheth-
or Col. Petty sent him on his errand,
or whether It was an emergency call
or whether he was sent by Acting
Chief Jimmy Carroll But 1T does
seem unreasonable TO send a
stranger ON an errand like that.
Night Chief Bell would have real
lied the officers difficulty, as he
was registered voter in ShelHyville
three years ago, not even appearing
in the City Directory when appointed
on the police force. Reward OF
merit, but that's not what Sheriff
Ross would term it.