The New York herald., 1921-06-11
PrObers Hear of 500 Bills
Given to Cops-Crooked
Taxi Men Sought.
INVADE LICENSE BUREAU
Searchers Seek Information on
Issue of Permits to Men of
Criminal Habits.

\ leSlSidtlNe lnNcsllSdllIlS cOIIiIllillet mas
received since ii began its proceedings
! in camera. examining witnesses under
oath before subcommittee" consist
ing sometimes of only one member
was received yesterday when Supreme
1 Court Justice Edward G. Whitaker de-
cided that John A. Leach. acting Police
Commissioner, was within his rights
in declining to answer questions put
TO him by such a subcommittee con-
sisting only Of Senator Schuyler NJ.
Meyer. chairman of the committee.
This decision will have a material
influence upon the proceedings of the
committee. but when the decision was
announced it was too late to obtain
from Chairman Meyer or his associates
a forecast of just what the result of
the decision would be.
Ex-senator Elon r. Brown, chief
counsel for the committee. had depended
upon this small subcommittee scheme
for examining witnesses privately and
thus laying foundation for the public
| hearings to begin toward the end OF this
month. Mr. Brown ciamped down the
/ silence lid before he left town Thursday
and enjoined the necessity for strict ad-
\ herence to the secret subcommittee plan
OF examining witnesses.
Mum was the password all day at 3s
Park row and among the various coun-
sci of the committee. but ii was learned
! that a start was made upon the Depart
ment of Licenses, of which John F. Gil
christ is Commissioner. Subp9nas call
ing for the production of all records re-
lating to the revocation of licenses. the
refusal to issue them. and particularly
the issuance of all licenses to taxicab
chauffeurs. were served upon Gilchrist
and investigators for the committee set
to work upon these records Immediately.
Looking for Tnxicab Pirates.
Chief Magistrate McAdoo, Judge Ro-
salsky in General Sessions and other
judicial officers have made severe strict
ures recently upon the manner of issu-
| ing taxicab licenses asserting that
| chauffeurs with known criminal records
\ had been licensed and had robbed and
beaten their fares.
Commissioner Gilchrist replying to
these charges. has maintained that in all
| such cases the chauffeur. IL operating
1 n
fraud. under an alias or from some other
| license holder. and that in fact the men
| charged with such crimes were generally
/ found to be driving without any license.
| Commissioner Glchrist established the
finger print system of Identifying all ap
| plicants for taxicab licenses more than
| year ago. and before granting any
| such license now the application is sent
| to the finger print bureau at Police
4 Fz~ .tx,a fava A
| returned with record" showing that
| the applicant had been convicted of
crime, the application is refused.
But there are other reasons. II Is un-
| dcrstood, for the Meyer committees in
| terest in the license department. Among
| the many classes OF licenses issued are
! those TO proprietors OF massage parlors
and to operators in such establishments.
The parlors carry a $40 license and each
operator pays SO for the privilege.
Ii is known that information has been
furnished to the committee through one
! of its assistant counsel, who is said to
| have talked the matter over with Sen
ator Brown. to the effect that police Of
| fcers, both In plain clothes and in uni
\ form, have grated upon the proprietors
and operators In massage parlors. The
practice. as alleged to the committee,
/ has been for a police officer to inspect
Z
prietor 10 court for an alleged violation
Of city ordinances, such. for instance. as
failure TO exhibit properly the necessary
| license So far the action OF the police
officer may be looked upon as quite
/ lawful
But when the proprietress of the masZ
sage parlor--most Of them are women
| found herself confronted with the neces-
sity OF appearing in court. she usually
~r1 NyfRf
for a 500 bill folded inside the summons
and handed back TO the officer.
II she didn't scare. so the committee
IL Informed, her case was called and ad-
journed a few times. on one pretext or
| another, until in sheer weariness at los
ing so much time away from her busi-
ness. together with the knowledge that
another summons probably would be
forthcoming very soon, she would accede
to the suggestion and give UP a sum
running generally from $50 to $3.50, ac-
cording TO the needs OF the officer and
the financial condition OF the victim.
Frnmeups Against Kickers.
II any real fight developed against the
system, II Is explained. the summons
complaint would be dropped and a
framed-up or real case OF unlawful use
OF the massage parlor made the subject
OF a more serious charge.
Ex-senator Brown is said TO have
been deeply interested in the recital OF
how this alleged graft system is worked.
as indicating n deep seated evil condition
in the Police Department. IL Is said that
bad givers uD" arcong the massage par
lor p'cs,,s. svrs have found their licenses
revoked upon police allegations which
they had no opportunity to refute. The
committee will make an extensive in
auiry into this alleged system. Il Is said.
Before Justice whitskers decision be-
came known. Chairman Meyer and Cor
poratIon Counsel o'Brien had another OF
their typewriter tiffs. The chairman an
nounced that In future no assistants OF
Mr.. O'Brien would be permitted to at
tend any Of the subcommittee hearings.
which had been allowed in some cases
where city officials or employees were
being examined. Senator Meyer said
that the presence Of the assistants TO tho
CORPORATION Counsel had been allowed as
a courtesy TO Mr.. O'Brien but as they
had shown themselves on several occa-
sions to be merely "obstructionists" II
: had been decided henceforth to exclude
them.
, The Corporation Counsel said that he
2 was not surprised that the committee
, was going to make ''its illegal sub
: committee hearings still more Illegal by
] refusing witnesses the privilege Of coun-