The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-10-31
WHY NOT A POLICE
INVESTIGATIONS?

-. The people OF Rock Island are not satisfied
With the situation in the Rock Island police
department that was created by the sun
mary dismissal Of the board OF fire aid police
commissioners by Mayor II. M. Schriver when
that board was preparing to investigate
charges against Thomas Cox, the suspended
chief of police. Commissioner Martin IT, Rud-
gren at a meeting of the city council yester-
day sought to have the deposed board reinstated
at least long enough to complete the task that
It had assigned to itself, but his effort was
blocked by the mayor
Mayor Schriver has announced that he is
! still seeking three representative men to accept
appointment as members Of the fire and police
commission The Argus has taken the liberty
of informing Mayor Schriver that it doesn't
believe that he will ever be able to secure three
men, acceptable to him, to serve as members
OF his police commission TO take the places Of
the men he dismissed The people of Rock
Island had faith in John T. Fender. Edward
Bakersfield and F. ]. Mueller to deal Justly
with Chief Thomas Cox and members of his
department who had been placed under a cloud
by charges that Cox had entered against them.
There aren't three men in the city of Rock
dictate Thomas Cox in the face Of the incrim-
mating evidence that has been accumulated
against him since he was relieved of the chief
fancy of the Rock Island police department. 1t
is not necessary to proceed farther than cell
No. at the Rock Island police station to prove
that Thomas Cox not enforcing the laws
that he had taken an oath to enforce That
cell Is filled with whisky stills and whisky
seized in raids conducted by policemen that
Cox said had refused to take his alleged orders
to do that same work. II further evidence is
! needed against Cox it will only be necessary to
call in the policemen and have them give a
list of the houses of prostitution and gambling
resorts that were~permitted to publicly faunt
their traffcking in the faces of the law-abiding
citizens of Rock Island And if further evil
dence is needed all that will be necessary is to
summon the men who patrolled Third avenue
betw cen Twentieth and Twenty fourth streets
and have them give list of the white and
black dens that lined that thoroughfare to the
disgust Of the decent citizenship of Rock Island
during the regime Of Thomas Cox.
Mayor Schriver is not counting an investi-
cation of Thomas Cox and the Rock Island
police department such as the public expects
and will insist upon having if he ever succeeds
In inducing three men to accept appointment
as members of his fire and police board The
Argus appreciates that Mayor Schriver is in an
uncomfortable position, but it is of his own
choosing. Today he is accepted by the public
as the defender of the official record of Thomas
Cox, suspended chief Of police. He woulc be
absolutely lacking in the judgment that the
people Of Rock Island believe him to be en-
lowed with were he to attempt to railroad
through whitewash Of Thomas Cox. Cox does
not want an investigation. He has left his
case in the hands of Mayor H. NJ Schriver and
City Attorney John X. Scott. And they are
keeping the faith. For this they are to be ad
mired.
But II It should so happen, between now and
the, end Of Mayor Schrivers administration, he
should be able to induce three new men to ac
cept appointment on his fire and police board
the mayor may as well understand now that III
had better see to it that all the lights are or
and the doors left wide open at the city hal
during any investigation of Thomas Cox and
the police department that is proposed The
public has reason to suspect that not all of the
available evidence is c0ptained in cell No 2 al
police headquarters. In the meantime William
H. FftzsimInons is proving capable chief o.
the Rock Island police department, and the cit,
IL safe and clean. condition that could not b.
boasted at the time the deposed fire and police
Board decided To place Thomas Cox on trial be
cause Of the alleged Generalization of his de