The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1924-08-05
BY RUTH FINNEY

PHILADELPHIA Aug Stu
dents of human nature who
IL contend there is no such
thing as honest law enforcement
look with skepticism upon the claim
of Gen. Smedley Butler, Philadelphia
director Of public safety, that he has
some 1900 policemen under him
who are not taking brides and who
are actually enforcing the laws.
Butler is no evangelist and he has
worked no amazing conversions in
the rank and file of the Philadelphia
police force. Nevertheless his men
are doing what he tells them and
this is the way he accomplished it.
When he COOK office last January
he gave orders for Cleanup" The
men tho~sht he meant it to just the
extent all his predecessors had
meant it. They were wrong.
Men Are Shifted
When no results were forthcom-
ing, Butler denoted men and shifted
their beats. Still they didn't obey
him to any noticeable extent be-
cause they figured if he didn't mean
il. they would get in trouble, and If
he did mean what he said, he
couldn't possibly last long, and it
was wisest to stand in with those
who always had been bosses and
who would be again.
Finally he denoted a police lieu.
D xrrI,D ng
man Wares closest henchmen. The
man boosted he would be back in
a day or two. But nothing Of the
sort happened. Then some Of the
men in the department began to be-
lieve Butler might survive, after
all 1t appeared to them a wise
thing to obey this new leader Grad
Tally about a third Of the police
force began to feel that way about
1t and carried out Buffers orders.
Beats Are Changed
This one-third is the backbone Of
Buffers force The other two-thirds
Of the men are kept moving rapidly
from beat to beat until they shall
become converted, going at such a
rate that they have no time TO es
:abIsh connections and find neat
AID easy sources from which to en-
hance their incomes. Butler on
rightly surprise rounds" IS watch
ing he whole crowd, and by his
new exploits Is keeping them con
WINGED that loyalty TO him Is not en-
dangeIing the seh-interest of any
man There you have the whole
secret OF the thing.
With his converted one-third
Butler started his crusade against
viz Since the first Of the year. his
Tnep have made 3,255 liquor raids
hive seized 500 stills and lao. 900
gallons Of alcohol. beer and mash.
and lave closed every one of the
thir' y-two breweries operating IN
the city six months ago.
Where there were thirty-two dis
orderly houses raided in June Of last
year, there were fifty-flve raided this
June under Buffers orders. Where
eighteen "speakeasies' fell before
the law last June, there were 220
casualties this corresponding month
Those are just examples from a long
List
Removes Politics
With the internal reform and the
vice crusade web under way, But
Ter took his next step, redistricting,
which is designed to divorce his de
partment from political control
Under the old plan, police districts
and wards had Identical boundaries.
Ward leaders who wished to help a
friend in trouble had only to speak
to their magistrate
Now each police district includes
all or parts of at least three wards.
Thus there are many magistrates in
g. district and an offending brother is
just as apt-more so in fact-to be
taken before a magistrate from an
other ward who hasn't the slightest
interest in what the ward colleagues
Of the accused man may think of his
sentence. And with that condition
prevailing. ward bosses have just
about as much power as they would
have If deposited suddenly In Mars.
The law giving Butler power to do
this has been on the statute books
since 1857, but this is the first time
It occurred to any one to enforce 1t.
EN