The New York herald., 1921-06-13
800 PER CENT.JUMP
in PISTOL PERMITS,
ENRIGHT TO EXPLAIN
Meyer Committee Will Call
Commissioner in Search
for Reason.
DENIED CRIME WAVE
Rewards Paid for Recovery
of Lost or Stolen Cars
Being Traced.
CHECK TO BE THOROUGH
Legislative Investigators Plan
Wide Police Inquiry When
Public Hearings Open.
CHECK TO BE THOROUGH

The examination of the records of
the Police Department which is being
made by the investigators attached to
the joint legislative committee Of
which Senator Schuyler M. Meyer is
chairman, has developed several in
terestng things about which the COM
mittee expects to question Commits
soner Richard E. Enright closely
when it begins it's public hearings,
probably on June %.
One of these is the fact that during
the year 1920 no less than 24.495 per-
mits to carry firearms, practically all
of them for pistol permits, were
issued to citizens by the Police De-
partment. This extraordinary number
of permits, an increase of almost 800
per cent. over the number issued in
previous years, should be explained,
members OF the committee believe. ana
they know Of nobody who can explain
II better than Commissioner Enright
On January 2. 1920. renewals of ex-
listing permits were taken out by 6,297
uary thereafter many other renewals
were made at the rate often of 800 or
more day. But when all the re-
newals desired had been made the
practice of granting permits Of al
most wholesale fashion continued, and
throughout the year, the records show,
permits we're issued to 100 and more
applicants day after day throughout
the twelve months of 1920. The grand
total at the close of the year showed
that almost 25.oO0 persons not MEM
bers of the Police Department or
otherwise authorized TO carry pistol
had obtained such licenses.
Fee Goes to Pension Fund.
Under the Sullivan act. as It is known,
no person may carry pistol except
officers OF the city, State or Federal
governments duly authorized to do So
without a permit issued by the Police
Department for which a fee Of 81 is
charged. This fee Is turned in to the
Police Pension Fund. During the public
agitation last year over the crime
wave" which Commissioner Enright said
did not exist except in the imagination
OF the newspapers, Mayor Hylan, 1t Is
understood, gave orders that as little red
tape as possible be placed In the way OF
any respectable citizen desiring a pistol
permit. Hundreds of merchants. bank
ing concerns and other firms whose en-
ployees had to carry valuable goods or
large sums OF cash. then applied for per-
mits and they were freely granted.
But that the number of pistol permits
should have risen to the unprecedented
figure OF almost $4,000 is not. in the
opinion of some OF the committees staff
explainable simply by letting down the
bars which had been placed around the
Issuance of these permits. II would ap-
pear as though everybody who thought
he would like to carry n pistol walked
into Police Headquarters. planked down
a dollar bill and walked out with the
treasured bit of paper.
How many men with criminal records
obtained such permits the committees
counsel would like TO know, and what
the real object was in issuing such
wholesale permits If II was because
Commissioner Enright felt there really
was a crime wave" and that IL was
he ought TO be armed, the committee
would like to know that also. and what
other steps the Commissioner took to
suppress the supposed "crime wave"
Rewards Being Traced.
While examining the police records. the
committees investigators also are trac-
ing up the amount OF the rewards"
which we're paid to members OF the de-
la 10 he of
lost or stolen automobiles. This Is a
subject into which Charles S. Whitman.
as a special assistant'to District Attor-
ney Swami, delved deeply, with the as
sistance Of James K. Smith of the Dis
trict Attorneys staff. Now Mr.. Smith
has been detailed to work with the
Meyer committee. and az his forte al
ways has been police matters, the work
OF handling the examination or the de-
partment records has been placed In his
charge
Mr.. Smith. following the instructions
OF Chairman Meyer. refuses to talk about
the progress of his investigation. But
the presence In the committees room at
3s Park Row last week OF George b.
Hawthorne bookkeeper at Police Head
quarters. disclosed the trend of the In
quiry. A tabulation In being made Of
ALL rewards which detectives of the auto
mobile squad and others were allowed
to accept, and comparison IL being made
OF these with the payments made by
check and In cash by various insurance
companies and others who make q busi-
ness of tracing lost automobiles. II is
believed that there were hundreds Of
cases OF rewards paid where no report
was made officially to headquarters by
the officers who received them. and thus
the Police Pension and Police Relief
funds, which should receive 10 and 40
per cent. respectively of all such re-
wards, failed to benefit as they should.
AS the result OF Mr.. Whitman's partial
investigation OF this matter several in
dictments were returned against police
detectives, several members of the auto
mobile squad being involved. The COM
mittee's inquiry will not touch these