New-York tribune., 1921-05-13
Mrs. Loft Gets
Ellen O'Grady's :
Old Police Job
Wife of Candy Manufacturers
TO Begin New Duties as
Special Deputy Police
Commissioners ON Monday
Works for Dollar a Year
Will Give Up Social Activi-
ties to Devote Entire Time
TO Position and TO Charity

Stepping into the shoes of Mrs. Ell
len a. O'Grady, who resigned from the
Police Department six months ago, Mrs.
George w. Loft, wife of the millionaire
candy manufacturer and ex-Congress-
man, was yesterday formally sworn in
as Special Deputy Police Commissioner
She will have charge of the special
duty division and the womens pre-
einct at A37 West Thirty-seventh
Street. Upon taking the oath of office
she went to the precinct, where she
was warmly welcomed by her new staff.
Beginning Monday she will be at her
desk from to 5 o'clock and will come
in daily from her country estate at
Baldwin, L. |.
$t-a-Year Worker
Mrs. Loft is giving up her social
worker for the city. Her predecessor
earned $4,000 9 year. A scheme of
action has already been outlined with
some radical departures from the ex-
listing order of things. Under Mrs.
Lofts direction first offenders will be
kept at the women's precinct until
positions are found for them, to save
them from going to houses of correc-
tion, where they are liable to encounter
evil influences. Furthermore, she in
tends to pursue Mrs. O'Grady's policy
of keeping vigilant watch on moving
picture houses, dance halls and bathing
beaches. She will have staff of sixty
police sergeants and lieutenants and
twenty eight policewomen for welfare
work. A personal survey of the pic
ture houses and dance halls will be
one of her first official acts. Mrs.
Mary Hamilton, who has been super
vising the welfare work along with
Third Deputy Commissioner Joseph A.
Faurot, will be Mrs. Lofts assistant.
The appointment came as complete
surprise to the new Deputy Police Com
missioner, she said yesterday in her
husbands Office. Mayor Hylan picked
her out of number of women who
were mentioned as suitable for the post
She served as treasurer of the Mayors
Committee of Women on Reconstruc-
tion and Relief and is a patroness of
the Big Sister and Big Brothers socie-
ties. Her private charities have in
cluded welfare work among the en-
ployees of her husbands candy factory.
Hopes to Save Girls
II am glad to give up everything ex-
cept my charities II am gong to do
some good in this position" said Mrs.
Loft yesterday. II have always been
keenly interested in children and way
ward girls, and it seems TO me there
are many forward steps we might take
in handling them. My job is only
honorary in name, for expect to work
hard and keep regular business hours.
want to give as much individual at
tention as possible to the girls. Not
nearly enough is done to save the youth
fui offender from going down. Many
girls who are detained for night or
two for some trivial offense, come in
contact with oldtimers who plant seeds
of evil in their minds. hope to be able
to keep twenty-five girls in our dormi-
tories at the precinct. They will be
prisoners, of course, but will be free
from contamination, and we shall see
that they are started on the right road
upon their release"
Mrs. O'Grady, who was the first
woman to serve in similar capacity in
New York, broke away from the Police
Department six months ago, declaring
that she found it impossible to work
under existing conditions.