New-York tribune., 1921-12-04
sscuticn and an attempt at intimida-
Dolphin's Removal Urged

Demand was made on Mayor Hy1ar
Yesterday by the American Civil Liber~
ties Union Tor the immediate removal
from Office Of Dolphin. who Is assigned
to Police Headquarters. The formal de-
rnand was In enc form Of long letter
to the Mayor signed by Albert De Sill
YER. associate director of the union.
The letter declared Dolphin tlacks
either the capacity or the courage to
perform his public duties"
The Mayor Is asked also 60 direct
Chief Inspector William J. Lahey to
proceed at once with the investigation
Of the stopping Of the Town Hall meet
ing which was in progress when Mrs.
made to bring IL to an abrupt close.
The letter, after reviewing The events
at Town Hall on the night Of November
IL, when Mrs. Margaret Sanger, birth
control leader, and Miss Mary Wind
sox, speaker, were arrested, reads as
follows.
"The charges against both these de-
fendants wore, of course, dismissed at
once by Magistrate Joseph Corrigan as
being utterly without foundation"
The letter then reviews the petition
Of the Birth Control League and Civil
Liberties Union In demanding an in
Avestigation, and the events UP to and
including the arrest, and arraignment
of Mrs. Rublec. The letter proceeds:
"The arrest Of Mrs. Rublee was
caused by Assistant Corporation Coun-
sci w. Martin Dolphin, who ordered
the arrcsting officer to state that he
made the arrest upon his own responsi-
bility. Mr.. Dolphin declined until later
to divulge HIS identity, evidently be-
cause he feared to take the RESPONSE
bility for his own actions. 1t is hard
TO tell which to condemn most, Mr..
Dclphin's uniustified use Of arbitrary
authority or his attempt to evade re-
aponsibility, In either case one must
conclude that he lacks either the ca
pacity or the courage properly to per-
form his public duties.
Analysis of Hearings
Furthermore, no one who was pres
ent at both hearings could fail to be
impressed by the fact that the chief
inspector made no serious attempt to
fix responsibility for the unlawful &C.
tion Of the police on November IS.
.1n such situation, take the lib
erty Of suggesting that decisive action
by the city's Chief Executive is i'm
perative. Three innocent citizens have
already been arrested and detained
without the slightest justification. Cir
cumstances surrounding the latest OF
these arrests raises an inescapable in
ference that its purpose was TO intimi-
date the victims Of the first two and to
prevent them from pressing their legal
claims for redress and seriously I'M
pugn the good faith of the impending
investigation. If the matter is to be
settled in manner satisfactory to the
nA 80 xoAs - ~ ~
city certain steps are called for ut
once. ! venture to suggest them to
you:
"Mr. Dolphin should be removed
forthwith from his present position.
Further Inquiry Asked
Gin order that the Chief Inspector
motion caused by Mrs. Rublee's arrest
| to delay or drop the pending investiga-
tion, he should be directed to proceed
with it at the earliest possible moment
"The Chief Inspector should be direct
ed to summon to the Investigation all
witnesses whose testimony may tend
| to shed light on the cause of the &C.
| tion Of the police on November l3.
III any member Of the police force
| is found to have exceeded his lawful
authority. proper disciplinary action
should be taken at once.
"There should be formulated and pub.
lished definite regulation governing the
policy of the police in respect to pub
lie meetings, to che end that such @
situation may not be pcrmitte to arise
in the future"
In conclusion, the letter says che
American Civil Liberties Union Is con-
cerned not with furthering the cause
Of birth control, but is interested only
in the question Of lawful assembly and
free speech.