The Omaha guide., 1933-07-15
EDITORIALS! (
SMARDICK WARNED BY JUDGE

Inspector Robert Smardick was warned of con-
tempt charge by a Municipal Judge in conference a few
days ago, if he did not return slot machines as ordered
by the Court-just another Judge Judging wrong. Smar-
dick knows the underlings in this matter thoroughly. His
10 years OF public life has proved beyond a reasonable
doubt that he is not the man to hold personal grudge, or
has he ever attempted to prosecute an Individual or group
Smardlck knows evidence and knows when the law is be-
ing violated, and stands ready at all times to advise. We
have known him, IN many cases to advise to discontinue
the practice OF violating the law or they would have to
suffer the consequences two or three times before any
action would be taken The Judge may as well awaken
to that fact If Robt. Smardick could get the full COOP
Grafton OF the municipal Judges with the loyal support he
now has with the present city commission, in Is months
ne would be able to make up even the police departments
deficiency without cutting a single mans salary. For 35
years Omaha has had a lot of ~do-nothing political plums
standing around with a badge, a gun and a club on, not
10 protect NE and property, but to persecute law abiding
citizens and to destroy life and property from the chief
down-we should have said from the city commissioners
down.
Why would a Judge force a Police official to re-
turn a slot machine that is solely invented for the pur-
pose of taking ignorant players money away from them;
any more than he would demand a policeman to return a
revolver that a highwayman had used to holdup a travel
er with In our opinion, if a judge was trying to use
good judgement and common sense, he could find a bet
ter excuse for returning the revolver to the highwavman
tnan ne could the slot machine to the Inn keeper, for the
slot machine is a daylight robber and will rob a child as
uickly as 1t will a man, for the slot machine is used solely
for robbery, and a revolver is used once in a while for
other useful purposes.
If Inspector Robert Smardick could win the SIM
port of the Municipal Judges, and the confidence that he
now has with the city commissioners, and the police de-
partment heads in trying to stamp out crime of all nature
in Omaha it would be a God-send to our community. If
our municipal judges are to play the part of protecting
criminals and letting our police be d~estroyers Of property
and life, they may get by with it for a while, but they
ought to be judges enough to Judge that Omaha citizens
showed in the last city election that if the paid officials
didn't Judge for the interest of all and stop judging for
the special privileged few, those officials would be judg-
ed not INT to judge on judgement day, viz. ELECTION
DAY We have some wonderful municipal judges, some
that we all are proud of, and we hope that they will COOP
crate with our present Police department fully when the
department IS rendering a service that will even benefit
the criminal One honest straightforward policeman,
with no strings on him, clean in characteristics kind of
a police officer with the same kind of city officials, with
the same kind of department heads can demand such
respect IN the community tina he may be placed to serve
that ms Influence will be felt in the air, even when he is
absent from his post In other words, a clean character
= policeman that is told to do his duty without fear or fav-
or, and who knows that he will be backed up by his super
ior Officers, viii soon establish a prestige and respect, in
TACT a love from his fellow citizens, to the extent that the
young criminal will be stopped by his older fellow citizen
before ne commits a major crime. This kind of a police