Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-01

imposed by the courts, the question of keep
ing Philadelphia clear and free from tie
presence of crooks would be practically
solved.
Continuous Terms Of Court Needed
1t has always been matter Of regret
10 me that we do not have a continuous term
OF the Criminal Courts during the summer
months. The advantages of such a pro-
cedure are obvious.
In many cases, where immediate ar
rests are made, 1t is possible for the de-
fendant to get bail, even though the amount
OF this bail be considerable, and the cases
are thus, in the summer, delayed for several
months. This is detriment to the interests
Of the public in several ways.
-, One Of the chief troubles is that between
the time OF the arrest and the time of a
delayed trial some Of the witnesses disap-
pear, whereas many Of the witnesses whom
we are able to get at the time of the trial
have forgotten important facts about the
case. A prompt hearing and trial for the
defendant would very materially decrease
the possibility Of lapse of memory on the
part OF some of the witnesses and would
do away almost altogether with the dis
appearance of witnesses, which have set
free SO many criminals who deserved con-
riction.
Still another thing in which the Phila-
delphia police department has made name
for itself is the fact that we never give up
the pursuit of n criminal no matter how long
1t takes nor where we have to 60 to get
him, This is the greatest discouragement
possible for the crooks, and they will think
twice before committing a crime in a city
which has police department with this
reputation. There have been several in
stances In the work Of the Philadelphia
police department where the men have
shown up In wonderful shape In the per-
slstency and the cleverness with which they
pursued and finally landed their man.
Our motto Is safety first and ell tho
officials of the Police Bureau have con-
stantly, In mind that the performance OF
their duties comes first and above every,
thing else no matter what indiyjduals n
interests may be affected by it.
There are In all seven bureaus under the
supervision of the Department of Public
Safety. these being the police, fire. the fire
marshal's office, the Electrical Bureau, ele-
Samn Salpr inspection, inspection, building inspection and
boiler inspection. Each of these depart-
ments is intimately connected with the pub.
lie and we are building up an organization
with the public in mind as the first thing to
be considered and also the interests of the
city. - '''
Now, take as an instance the collapsc
Of that building on Friday. Within n few
minutes of the time of the accident n build
Ing inspector and a photographer were on
the scene, the one investigating the cause
OF the disaster and the other taking photo
graphs of the building as it was Immediately
after the collapse
These photographs are Of value because
they show the building as it was imme-
diatcly after the collapse and 1t is thus made
impossible for any one interested to make
any chanses' Ihey prevent unjust suits for
negligence being brought against the CITY
and we are thus enabled to place the re-.
sponsibiIity for the accident where II be
longs. The same policy Is followed in the
elevator and boiler inspection departments
About year ago building collapsed
and usual the nhotOprap phu
at once. Later it was learned that in nm
effort to avoid or to shift the responsibility
an attempt had been made to get awav with
the debris. The parties who made this ef.
fort were not then aware that the CITY
photographs had been taken, but they learned
this later, when 1t was conclusively shown
that the responsibility rested upon the
builder and not upon the negligence OF the
city inspectors, as had been charged.
During a year we refer many cases to
the city solicitor for action against persons
who do not comply with the safety ordi
nances of the city. In most cases the failure
to do so is due to ignorance Of the require
ments OF the ordinances and the owners
usually make the necessary changes at once.
The Fire Department
Great strides have been made recently
in the reorganization and eQuipment of tho
Fire Bureau. In 1920 we purchased about
twenty five pieces of modern motor an.
paratus and specifications have now been
compiled for about forty five additional
pieces to be bought during the present year
at cost of about $3.50 900
This will motorize the department and.
with the addition of two new steel fire
boats for the De aware River, will provide
an adequate service for the entire CITY and
the riverfront. The boats will cost about
$3.50, 900 and one Of them will be launched
In about ten days"
"