5
THE SUNDAY OKKliOiMA, rUKXLAaU, rJEKUCJAKY V, 1913.
ow The Police
And How the "System" Manufactures
Perjured Evidence When a Policeman Is
in Trouble.
TWELVE years ago James McAuliffe.
whose testimony against Edward
F. Glennon, Chief Devery's ward
man, resulted In the conviction of that
policeman for neglect of duty, was
found dying- on Sixth avenue, near Fif
teenth street. Ha died without recov
ering consciousness.
- It was asserted that he had been
truck by a trolley car. The official
records showed that he had been arrest
ed the night before for Intoxication and
thrust Into a cell in the West Forty-seventh-Btreet
police station, and that
the following1 morning he had been dis
charged In the Police Court.
Investigation, however, revealed the
fact that he was never arraigned In the
Police Court, a dummy having been pre
sented to the Magistrate and formally
discharged. In the meanwhile McAu
Ilffe had been beaten nearly to death In
his cell In the police station and then
conveyed In a cab to the spot where he
was shortly afterward found.
Klne years ago William O'Brien, an
ex-convict, testified in open court that
Arthur Mallon, a policeman, had shot
and killed Robert Brennan. On O'Brien's
testimony Mallon was convicted of man
slaughter and sent to Sing Sing for 20
years. Within eight months O'Brien
was found in the Bowery dying from a
hot fired by an unknown assailant.
Witness la Killed.
A couple of years later "Lefty" Boyle,
a pickpocket, confessed that he had
committed many crimes In partnership
with policemen, with whom he had di
vided the proceeds. As a. result of this
confession several policemen were In
dicted. A few days before their trial
was to come up "Lefty" Boyle, an In
dispensable witness against the accused
policemen, was found in the Tenderloin
dying- from a pistol shot.
Only a few months ago Herman Ros
enthal, a gambler. Informed the District
Attorney that he was In partnership
with Lieutenant Becker, of the Strong
Arm Squad. Before Rosenthal could
tell more, as he threatened to do, he
was murdered by thugs hired by Becker.
These cases do not stand alone. They
are mentioned here simply because they
stand out most prominently In the list
f similar outrages perpetrated by the
police system .whenever Its safety har
been endangered.
Thousands of men besides O'Brien.
Boyle and Rosenthal have paid the pen
alty for their rashness In defying the
police system, although not all have
suffered death. In Sing Stag at the
present time there are hundreds of men
Innocent of the crimes of which they
were convicted the victims of police
"frame-ups."
Some of these men. no doubt, were
really criminals, and although convicted
as the result of perjured testimony were
getting no more than their Just deserts.
Others there are, however, whose only
crime was that they had offended the
police system.
Each of the three cases I have re
ferred to at the time made more or less
of a stir, but the facts were soon for
gotten. It Is necessary to consider
many of these cases together to find
out what they really signify.
rurlng my life In the underworld,
covering a period of some 20 years, I
have naturally been a close student of
police conditions. I know that In the
underworld the police system Is feared
not because of Its lawtul powers, but
because of the Illegal powers It exer
cises when it Is offended. It Is not
the lawful arrest but the Illegal
frame-up" that the crook fears, and
he gives up more graft to escape these
frame-ups" than he would ever be
called upon to pay to escape lawful
arrest.
A Typ'cal Frame-lTp.
In the three cases I have mentioned
the police resorted to murder to pro
tect themselves against or to avenge
the attacks of Informers. Most fre
quently, however. It Isn't necessary to
go to such lengths. In the great ma
jority of cases they can protect them
selves sufficiently by sending the cause
of their troubles "up the river."
How the police sent an enemy "up
the river" Is what I Intend to show in
this article.
One of the oldest ruses employed by
them was the one used In the Duffy
case.
In 1907 this boy, George Duffy, was
arrested as a suspicious person, taken
to police headquarters and photo
graphed for the rogues' gallery, and
the next day taken before a magis
trate and discharged. The boy's father
then sought to have the picture re
moved from the rogues' gallery, with
out avail. Judge Gaynor was appealed
to. and he made similar efforts, but the
police commissioner refused to depart
from the rule of the department.
Three months later the boy in the
meantime having become obnoxious to
the police because of the fuss his case
had stirred up he was arrested on a
charge of assault and highway robbery.
Fortunately for the boy, the complain
ant Insisted In the Police Court that
he had been robbed by a man and not
a boy. and that Duffy was not his as
sailant. This arrest was a typical police
frameup." It was brought about in
this way: After the robbery had been
reported the police had taken the com
plainant through the Rogues' Gallery,
pointed out Duffy's picture to him and
convinced him that the photograph
resembled the person who had robbed
him. Upon the strength of that Identi
fication, without the complainant see
ing the boy at all. he had been ar
rested. Very often, of course, the complain
ant Is so impressed by the photograph
he Is shown at police headquarters that
when he is finally confronted with the
man It represents he insists that the
man In question is the person who
robbed or, assaulted him, as the case
may be, and he may be quite sincere
about It ! that.
If It works out that way the police
are enabled to settle a score In a very
simple manner without the slighest
risk of a comeback.
As I have pointed out In a previous
article, many of the central office de
tectives work in cahoots with pick
pockets. If the pickpocket does not
play fair he Is In line for a "frame
up." nd the scheme resorted to in the
Duffy case is the one most frequently
employed. Under the pickpocket law.
of course, all that the offended police
man need do Is to charge the "dtp"
with "Jostling." but for such an of
fense the "dip" would get only six
months on the Island too mild a pun
ishment for the serious crime of "hold-
Ing- out" on a police officer. He must
be sent "up the river" not only as
punishment, but to show others-of his
kind that It Is Just as well to be "on
the square" with the "coppers."
Accordingly the unfortunate "dip"
Is Identified, via the Rogues' Gallery
route, by some complainant whom he
may never even have seen, and when.
In court, he Is Identified in person by
the misguided but sincere complainant,
he Is generally convicted of the crime
of grand larceny or highway robbery
and sent to states prison.
A "frame-up"of this kind would be
difficult perhaps in the case of a man
who had always led a clean life, Bnt
certainly no member of the underworld
Is proof against It.
There Is a different kind of "frame
up" for different kinds of criminals.
If a burglar, for Instance, offends the
police they do not resort to the method
I have Just described. There Is a
simpler way to frame him up. He is
arrested as a suspicious person, and on
the way to the station house a bunch
of skeleton keys Is dropped into his
pocket to be found later on when he
is searched. The charge, as entered
on the blotter, is then converted into
'carrying burglars' tools."
The importance of using the right
kind of "frame-up" In a given case
was well Illustrated recently when a
county detective charged a young man
with whom he had had an altercation
with being a burglar. It seems that
the young man had gotten Into the de
tective's house by mistake. A tussle
followed, and the detective finally ar
rested his antagonist and charged him
1th attempted burglary. He pro
duced a jimmy and a bunch of skeleton
keys, which he claimed he had found
on the landing where he had found, the
prisoner.
The "Bis Jack" Frameup.
At the trial the prisoner's possession
of the Jimmy and skeleton keys was
principally relied upon to establish the
case against him. As It happened.
however, the prisoner was able to
show by reliable witnesses that he was
a man of unimpeachable character, and
he insisted that he had never seen the
burglars' tools produced In evidence
against him. Evidently the Jury be
lieved him, for he was acquitted.
Equally careless were the policemen
accused of 'framing-up" Big Jack
Zelig. This alleged "frame-up," which.
owing to the prominence it received
through the Rosenthal murder case. Is
still fresh in the public mind, was typ
ical of the methods employed by the
police since the passing of the Sullivan
anti-pistol law, which makes the car
rying of a revolver a felony.
Big Jack Zelig was a notorious gun
man and gangster. He was the .close
friend of a well-known East Side gamb
ler whose place was raided by Becker s
squad through the Instrumentality of
rival gamblers. Fearing the vengeance
of Zelig, the gamblers responsible for
the raid made frantic efforts to have
him put away.
Through friendly police officials It
was arranged to "frame-up" Big Jack.
How far the arrangement proceeded
cannot be stated, but one night last
May while seated at a table in a cafe
at No. "6 Second avenue Zelig was ap
proached by two police officers and told
that he was wanted for "robbery."
Instantly he Jumped up.
"Look here, everybody," he shouted.
lifting hts coat-tails so as to expose
his hip pockets, "I want you to see that
I am unarmed. These cops are going
to frame me I"
Having taken this precaution. Zelig
went with his captors to the police sta
tion. There a charge was made
against him of carrying a concealed
weapon, and a pistol, claimed to have
been found in his right-hand coat
pocket, was produced.
Numerous witnesses or the arrest at
the cafe appeared before the District
Attorney and related the occurrence as
given above, and further investigation
revealed the fact that the coat which
Zelig had worn on the night of his ar
rest was made with patch pocRets, in
none of which was it possible to have
carried the gun in question without It
protruding half way out of the pocket!
Ipon the strength or these disclos
ures the officers who made the arrest
were indicted for perjury, but the death
of Zelig at the hands of "Red Phil"
Davidson some weeks later removed
the principal witness against them.
and they will never be brought to
trial
The ease with which crooked po
licemen can "frame-up" obnoxious gun
men since the Sullivan law came Into
existence has made the way of the
gangster very hard. The gunman Is
now absolutely at the mercy of the
system.
This was well illustrated In the case
of a gunman now in the Tombs await
ing an appeal from a conviction for
carrying a gun.
Vengeance la Sworn.
This gunman was the leader of a
gang believed to have been concerneu
In many of the "stick-ups" to which
East Side stuss dealers had been sub
"Frame Up" People They, want
Get Out Of The m.
LOOK HERE, EVERYBODY." HE SHOUTED, LIFTTSG I P HIS COAT TAILSi
jected. The stuss dealers sought out a
rival gang leader known as "She, and
retained him to avenge the raids.
One of the policemen attached to the
Union Market precinct went aiong wua
"She's" gang to see that the "right"
ones were arcested. In the mix-up
which followed "She" was shot in the
ear. Some said It was the cop who In
his excitement fired the shot, but
"She" insisted that It was one of the
rival gangmen, and he determined to
get even with the leader of the gang.
Two Union Market policemen were
ordered to go out and get the gang
leader. He was arrested on a charge
of carrying concealed weapons, al
though he had a dozen witnesses or
more ready to swear that he was un
armed when taken Into custody.
At the police court these witnesses
appeared In the prisoner's behlaf. but
each was warned by policemen that If
he didn't "beat it" he would be
framed" too.
The prisoner was accordingly held
for "downtown."
When the case came up In General
Sessions the prisoner's friends were
again on .hand to testify in his behalf.
Again they were warned to "beat it"
under threats of being "framed" if
they didn't, and the consequence was
that the gangster was found guilty of
a crime of which he was probably en
tirely Innocent, although, of course, it
Is quite possible that had he been ar
rested a day earlier or a day later suf
ficient evidence would have been
found on him to have warranted his
conviction, for there Is no doubt that
he was a gangster, and a bad one at
that.
The case Illustrates, however, the
power of the system to "frame-up"
those who antagonize It, or who, for
some other reason, they desire to put
out of the way.
How the "frame-up" Is used for
grafting purposes is well shown In the
case of another gangster. The young
fellow had given up his criminal ways,
and had become a chauffeur. He took
a course In a regular school, and be
came an expert at the business. He
bought a big Packard car and had a
stand on Fourteenth street and Irving
place.
He refused to accept the patronage
of his former associates, having re
solved to cut entirely adrift from
them. He was so successful that he
made from $75 to $100 a week.
Police "Get" a Victim.
His success excited the greed of two
policemen who knew of his past record,
and they commenced to blackmail him,
threatening to 'frame" him unless he
"coughed up." The chauffeur refused
to "give up."
Some weeks later he was arrested by
the two cops. He asked what the
charge was.
"You're wanted In connection with
the taxi robbery," he was told.
Thinking that the arrest was an
honest one, although mistaken, the
chauffeur accompanied the policemen.
When they got as far as Thirteenth
street one of them suggested that the
case could be dropped for $300.
"We'll stand for a stake of $150
apiece!" the policemen generously of
fered. The chauffeur refused to listen
to them. On the way to the station
house a gun was planted in the chauf
feur's pocket, and when he arrived at
the station-house not a word was said
by the policemen about a taxi robbery.
One the contrary, the charge against
him was "carrying a concealed weapon."
The chauffeur was held for trial, and
the Indictment is still pending. He Is
out on bail.
Twelve years ago McAuliffe was mur
dered by the "System." Nine years ago
William O'Brien was murdered by the
"System." Seven years ago "Lefty"
Boyle was murdered by the "System."
and less than six months ago Herman
Rosenthal was murdered by the "Sys
tem." In addition to these fearful cases
of police vengeance, hundreds, probably
thousands, of other men have learned
what a dangerous thing it is to attack
the "System." Many of these men are
now in Sing Sing, where they have am
ple opportunity to regret their indis
cretion. During the past year, in fact, ever
since the passing of the Sullivan anti
pistol law, the police have been more
active than ever before In sending away
those who offended them.
All these facts indicate that condi
tions In the Police Department are
worse now than they have ever been.
A McAuliffe case, a "Lefty" Boyle case,
a Herman Rosenthal case, may develop
tomorrow.
In Inspector Byrnes' time the "frame
up" was a recognized piece of police
machinery, but it was used in a legit
imate way, if a trumped-up charge cap
ever be legitimate. I mean by this that
men were not "framed up" simply be
cause they had offended the "System."
Byrnes confined his attentions to crooks
who were known to have committed
particular crimes, but against whom
sufficient legal evidence could not be
obtained to convict them. Then they
were "Jobbed." Byrnes excused this
procedure on the ground that the end
justified the means, and perhaps it did. ,
Such an excuse does not hold with
the kind of "frame-ups" resorted to by
the police at the present time.'
But there Is another phase of the
"Police System" which Is Just as great
an evil as the "frame-up." I refer to
the unwritten law of the department,
which makes of every member of the
force a perjurer when a fellow-member
is In trouble. This unwritten law Is
more Btrictly observed today than It
ever was, and accounts for the diffi
culty experienced by those who are try
ing to reform the department.
Accuse a policeman ef having extort
ed graft from a push-cart peddler at the
corner of Chrystie and Houston streets,
for instance, and a dozen police offi
cials will be produced to swear that at
the time of the alleged extortion the ac
cused policeman was on reserve duty
asleep in the statlen-house.
A Police Burglar.
Any one who has followed police his
tory In New York as I have done will
instantly recall a dozen flagrant cases
of this kind, showing how the "System"
protects its black sheep.
There was a Brooklyn policeman
named George Dawklns. Six years ago
a man named Farley complained that
he had been held up by a policeman in
uniform and anotner man and robbed
of $12. The police of the precinct were
lined up in the station-house and Far
ley picked out Dawklns as the police
man who had robbed him.
Before the Police Magistrate five po
licemen testified that Dawklns was not
at the scene of the robbery at the time
Farley said it had taken place, and
Dawklns was discharged.
Dawklns continued to patrol the
same post. A year later another po
liceman arrested two burglars, Scott
Ryan and Harry Boyd, with booty
which they had obtained from a bard
ware store on Dawklns' post. Boyd
confessed having committed the burg
lary and revealed a conspiracy which
had existed between Ryan, Dawklns
and himself to rob citizens and burg
larize houses and stores. It appeared,
furthermore, that not only had Daw
kins acquiesced in the plan to rob the
hardware store, but had even goaded
the two crooks to commit the crime.
Indeed, clad in his uniform, he had
stood watch while they were at work
to see that they were net molested by
suspicious citizens. But for the alert
ness of the policeman on the adjoining
beat the burglars wenld have escaped
and divided their spoils with their
partner, the policeman.
But the point 1 wish to make is
that this burglar Boyd declared that
he was the man who had assisted Daw
kins to rob Farley a year before.
Upon the Btrength of this testimony
there was a whole lot of talk about In
dicting for perjury the five policemen
who had sworn to an aunt ior ifaw
kins. but it does not appear that any
thing was ever done in the matter.
Dawklns was sentenced to eight years
in . Sing Sing for burglary and grand
larceny, and is now serving his term.
But the "system" never worked more
actively in defense of one of its mem
DILLON DREW HIS REVOLVER AXD SHOT THE! LAD."
bers than in the case of another Brook
lyn policeman, a man named James
Dillon, who murdered a 19-year-old
boy, Louis Probber.
Probber was the son of a man who
kept a delicatessen store. Dillon had
been grafting in a small way on the
delicatessen man for weeks. He was
particularly fond of duck eggs. Every
Saturday night he would stp into the
store and carry away a dozen or more
of the eggs. The delicatessen man
gave " up without a word of protest,
under the threat that he would be
arrested for Sunday opening if he
didn't "come across."
One Saturday night Dillon stepped
into the store for his duck eggs and
was told that there was none left: they
had all been sold. He was offered hen
eggs, but wouldn't accept them, declar
ing that he would get even.
The following morning he entered
the store, assaulted Probber, the father,
and when Louis, the son, went to a
telephone and called up police head
quarters, Dillon drew his revolver and
Bhot the lad. The boy died soon after
ward. Of course Dillon was arrested, but
the "system" got at work at once to
build up a case for him. It was con
tended that he had drawn, his re
volver only when he had been attacked
by Mrs. Probber with a cheese knife,
and that when the boy seized the re
volver It was discharged, in the scuffle
and the boy was shot.
In support of this contention at the
trial Dillon's uniform was exhibited
to the jury. The coat was found to
be cut In several places as with a sharp
knife.
This piece of mute evidence might
have saved the day for Dillon but for
the fact that the District Attorney
was able to produce several witnesses
who 'testified that when Dillon was
put under arrest hU uniform was
whole, and, furthermore, that during
the trip in a patrol wagon to the sta
tion house one of the policemen who
arrested Dillon was seen to slit Dil
lon's uniform with a sharp knife.
"The System" In Action.
If Dillon's story was true, of course,
the killing of the boy was justifiable,
or at least excusable. If, on the other
hand, the slits In his uniform were
the work of brother officers acting
under the unwritten law, which or
dains that they shall stop at nothing
when a policeman Is In trouble, then
J Dillon was guilty of homicide.
xne jury iounu uiliuu ruuij m man
slaughter. He got seven years In Sing
Sing.
The "System" worked to better ad
vantage In the case of another Brook
lyn policeman, also accused of murder.
In a shelter house In Irving Square
Park, Brooklyn, used as a rendezvous
by Policeman David Shellard and a
girl named Barbara Relg. The girl
was shot and killed. It was the po
liceman's pistol which fired the fatal
shot. The policeman claimed that the
girl had shot herself with the pistol.
Half a dozen polioemen. more or less
familiar with the facts regarding the
tragedy, were examined as witnesses In
tha murder trial which followed. Very
little could be obtained from them. On
every point on which their evidence
might have been of assistance their
memories strangely failed. The Judge
who tried the case was exasperated,
and scored the "police system," which
was believed to be responsible for this
sort of thing.
It appeared that the pistol In question
was of a kind which was extremely
difficult to fire. It required three fin
gers to press the trigger. It also ap
peared that the girl's fingers were so
crippled as the result of an accident
she had previously sustained that she
couM not bend them.
Despite this strong evidence against
the suicide theory, the evasiveness of
the police witnesses was such that the
jury was unable to agree upon a ver
dict and a mistrial resulted. Shellard
was subsequently released on ball, but
was never again brought to trial. The
District Attorney realized that with
only policemen to testify for the prose
cution the chances of convicting a po
liceman were very Bllm.
The same plan was tried in the trial
of Policeman Arthur J. Mallon for the
murder of Robert Brennan. Mallon
claimed that the murder was In self
defense. It was shown that Brennan
was shot in the back. Several police
men called as wltneses on various
phases of the case proved to be most
unwilling to testify, and were warned
by Recorder Goff.
A big fund was collected for Mallon's
defense. It was said at the time that
every policeman in the department was
assessed $1.
This time the "system" failed to
work. William O'Brien, an ex-convict,
had witnessed the whole affair, and
wasn't afraid to testify that the po
liceman had deliberately shot Brennan
in the back while the latter was flee
ing. Upon the strength of this man's
testimony and In the face of the testi
mony of the defendant's brother offi
cers the jury found Mallon guilty of
manslaughter. He was sentenced to
20 years in Sing Sing.
The defense fund collected In his be
half enabled him to appeal to the high
er court. The conviction was sustained.
A further appeal was prosecuted to
the highest court In the state, and
the conviction was again confirmed.
Mallon had to serve his term.
Eight months later "William O'Brien
was found dying In the Bowery, shot
"by a person unknown." Another
squealer had paid the penalty of his
rashness!
Protection From the "Sywtem."
A remarkable case typical, however,
of the way the "system" works, was
that of Policeman Leander Terhune.
Terhune and another policeman named
Edward A. Kearney testified In the
trial of Charles Smith for burglary,
that while walking together along Ter.
hune's post they had observed Smith
tampering wth the till of a candy
store. Upon this testimony Smith was
convicted. While awaiting sentence
he complained to the District Attorney
that his arrest had been a "frame-up"
arranged by Terhune, who had a
grudge against him.
An Investigation followed, and then
Policeman Kearney, upon a promise of
immunity, admitted that he had per'
jured himself to help out Terhune, up
on whose post the "burglary" had been
committed. At the time, however, Ter
hune was off post, and to save him
from trouble Kearney had agreed to
swear that Terhuno was with him
when the "burglary" was discovered.
This was an unusual state of affairs.
The "system" was aroused at Kearney's
nerve, and the men of his precinct pro
ceeded to pound him for "squealing"
on a member of the force. It would,
no doubt, have gone hard with the
policeman had not Commissioner Bing
ham taken him In charge.
Terhune was discharged from the
force for perjury, but Kearney was
transferred to police headquarters,
where he would be comparatively safe
from the treatment which Bingham
fully expected the "system" to accord
him.
Cases of this kind are naturally very
rare. A policeman who perjures him
self for his brother officer usually
"goes through with it." Kearney is the
one bright exception.
The power of the police "system'1 to
protect Its friends as well as to
"pound" Its enemies was never better
illustrated than in the case of "Kid"
Regan. Regan committed a murder,
but because of the fact that he was
the brother of a policeman. Lieutenant
Martin Regan, he remained at large for
over five years, and, when finally
brought to trial. Instead of being sent
to the chair, he got off with a short
term In prison.
Regan's crime took place In the
Spring of 1905 in a resort known as
"The Barrel," located In the basement
of a building at Broadway and Thirty
first street. The place was frequented
by members of the underworld.
Somebody threw a glass at a woman.
A free-for-all fight started. The pro
prietor locked the doors to keep the
police out of It. Regan, 19 years old,
was a typical gangster and was In the
very thick of the fight.
Roy Joyce, a bartender, tried to stop
the scrap, and Regan stabbed him half
a dozen times with a knife. Bernard
Doyle, one of the owners of the joint,
tried to hold Regan, and he got cut
for his pains. Eddie Weston, a singer,
didn't get out of the way quick enough,
and he was badly slashed, too. Joyce
died, the other two recovered.
At least a dozen witnesses who had
seen the whole affray and were ready
to testify that Regan had committed
the murder and the assaults were
taken Into custody, but as soon as it
became known that the murderer was a
brother of Martin Regan, a police lieu
tenant, one by one the witnesses were
released.
Regan traveled around the country
for a while, visiting the city occasion
ally, but although he was known to
hundreds of policemen, he was never
arrested. k
Down In New Orleans the police, not
being in sympathy with the "system"
here, arrested Regan, and the New
York police were notified that the man
they wanted for manslaughter, for
which crime Regan had been indicted,
could be had for the sending. Again
the "system" got In Its fine work and
dllly dallied so long that by the time
they got a man down South to bring
the murderer back, the New Orleans
authorities had had to release him.
Belated Arrest Is Made.
In the meantime Frank Peabody, a
Central Office detective, who had been
assigned by Commissioner McAdoo to
get Regan, and who had been accused
of "falling down" on the case because
of the "system's" friendly Interest In
the murderer, was discharged from the
force for some other matter.
Sore on the "system," and believing
that he might be reinstated If he suc
ceeded in getting Regan, Peabody de
voted all his time and spent a lot of
his money in an effort to get the mur
derer. After months of work Peabody
obtained Information from one of his
former stool pigeons that Regan was
in Los Angeles. The information was
conveVed to police headquarters In
such a way that the "system" could not
afford to ignore it, a detective who
knew Regan was sent to California,
and the fugitive murderer was brought
to New York, five years after his
crime had been committed.
The direct result of this long delay
in the making of the arrest was to
weaken the case against Regan to such
an extent that the District Attorney
realized he would never be able to se
cure a conviction of murder upon the
meager evidence he had In hand, wit
nesses whose testimony would have
sent Kegan to the chair had been spir
ited away, and those who remained
had been so Intimidated by the knowl
edge that the "system" was behind
Regan that their memories of the trag
edy had grown very dim.
In this condition of affairs the Dis
trict Attorney was very glad to accept
a plea of guilty from Regan to a charge
of assault, although he had been rein
dicted for murder in the first degree,
and thus this murderer, a friend of the
"system," got off with the mild sentence
of not less than one year nor more than
seven.
"Jew Dora" Havens, a woman of the
Tenderloin, who corroborated "Lefty"
Boyle when she told District Attorney
Jerome how she and a policeman had
robbed an intoxicated farmer of $2500,
although she did not suffer the penalty
meted out to Boyle, who, as I have al
ready told, was shot to death, lived to
regret her rashness in attacking the
"system."
This unfortunate woman was never
able to walk the streets again without
being arrested on one charge or anoth
er by her enemies, the police. Thanks
to the fact that the District Attorney's
office was familiar with the "system's"
motive for pounding the woman, she
was never railroaded to Sing Sing, but
her life was made a burden to her nev
ertheless. The underworld never forgets these
cases. There are crooks who live in con
stant fear of being "framed."
There was a pickpocket known as
"Yaller" Ben. This boy had served a
term in Elmira, where life was made
miserable for him by his fellow pris
oners because on one occasion he had
"snitched" on a fellow prisoner who
had committed some minor prison of
fense. Not only was he beaten by the
other prisoners whenever they got the
chance to slug him, but his personal
belongings were stolen from him.
As a result of this persecution "Yal
ler" completely lost his nerve, and
when he was released and got back
to "work" in New York, his "yellow,
o
streak" and the constant fear he had
of being sent back to prison soon be
came known to the police. He was
regarded as good pickings for the
grafters.
"Splitting" With the Police.
One central office man In particular
worked this knowledge to such good
advantage that it was commonly re
ported that "Yaller" was giving up
no less than 80 per cent of his "loot"
to the "bull."
When "Yaller" started work ho
worked on the usual 60-50 basis with
the cops. Then, when they learned of
his fear of prison, they demanded a
better division and got 60 per cent.
Finally the copper I have referred to
demanded SO per cent, and "Yaller"
rebelled.
That night "Yaller" was pinched for
"jostling." On the way to the station
house he was given another chance to
"come across," and as the vision of an
other term in prison loomed up before
him, he capitulated. From that time on
"Yaller" got Just 20 per cent of his
"boosts." I shouldn't be surprised If he
is working for nothing by this time,
or perhaps be Is paying the "cops" to
let him work for them.
When the three central office de-.
tcctives who, as I have told In a prev
ious article, were known In the under
world as "The Three Guardsmen," be
cause they stuck together so well,
were detailed to watch the crosstown
streetcars for pickpockets, a number
of of the "dips" left the city rather
than submit to the extortion they
knew they would be subjected to by
those policemen.
They were willing to submit to a
fair division of the spoils, but these
policemen were not always satisfied
with 50 per cent and threatened a'.l
kinds of frame-ups If a larger shave
was not forthcoming. The "guns" real
ized the power of these cops and knew
that one would stand by the other In
support of any "frame-up" they might
engineer. With three policemen
against a single, unsupported pick
pocket, there was no doubt as to the
outcome of the case, and it was there
fore a case of "give up" or "get out,"
and many of the wiser crooks decided
to "get out."
Just at this time the "system" is
under fire again. Men and women from
whom they have been extorting graft,
either forgetful or unmindful of the
fate of other "squealers," are bodily
"exposing" the crookedness of the po
lice, trusting to the protection the
District Attorney Is extending to them.
"System" Is Vengeful.
Although the "system" Is working
night and day to Intimidate these wit
nesses, it has not as yet resorted to
more violent measures to protect Itself
against their attacks. There can be no
doubt, I am afraid, that, driven to des
peration, the powerful "system," how
ever, will soon begin to strike back, and
then let the "squealers" beware.
Public sentiment Is, of course, in fa
vor of the "squealer," but public senti
ment did not save McAuliffe. Jerome
took "Lefty" Boyle under his protecting
wing, but the power of the District At
torney's office could not stop the as
sassin's bullet that ended that unfor
tunate's life. No one troubled himself
about O'Brien, the ex-convict, who sent
Policeman Mallon to prison, and he
proved an easy victim for the offended
"system." And Herman Rosenthal was
shot down while practically on his way
to District Attorney Whitman's office!
I do not wish to scare off anyone
who has anything to say that may lead
to the betterment of police conditions
in New York, but it is perhaps Just as
well to sound the warning that the
"police system," when assailed, has al
ways proceeded upon the principle that
"dead men tell no tales." Let the
squealer, then, bewarel
Air Eats Iron and Stone
jjiTS no wonder that so many for
X eigners who come to London to
live break down In health," said an
English engineer, "for they come, most
ly, from cities where the air Is compara
tively wholesome, to tho most destruc
tive atmosphere In the world an at
mosphere under whose Influence stone
disintegrates, and that even eats up
iron."
"It is because of the atmosphere of
London that the new front of Buck
ingham Palace is to be of Portland
stone instead of the Caen variety, as it
is at present. The latter, we have found,
crumbles away so quickly under the
London air that it is almost always
In the hands of restorers and painters,
whereas Portland stone is less sus
ceptible to the atmosphere and accord
ingly is almost always chosen now
adays for any new public building.
"The properties of the London air
are really amazing. It is a blend of
smoke and soot there are 6000 tons
of soot hanging over London every
day which contain lots of sulphur.
and this sulphur, when it meets cer
tain substances, forms sulphuric acid
or vitriol.
"It was the vitriol In tho atmos
phere that brought the big roof of
Charing Cross Station down with a
crash, a few years ago. The smoke
from the locomotives had eaten away
the iron, which was not sufilciently
painted. Some years ago, too, before
the London underground railway was
electrified. It was a favorite pastime
at Gower-street station for passengers
to go and poke umbrellas Into a cer
tain Iron girder, which at one point
was almost as soft as putty.
"In such cases, paint Is the engi
neer's great standby. In some ways
it is mere powerful than Iron. Many
London buildings, in fact, may be said
to be- practically held together by
paint, especially railway stations.
Since the Charing Cross disaster, all
the big London termini are In the
painters' hands practically all the time.
Since the Forth bridge was finished
the painters have never stopped work
ing on it- But for a skin of paint the
vitriol In the engine smoke might rot
tho bridge.
"It is this substance, too, that has
made Cleopatra's Needle, on the Em
bankment, show greater signs of as
since it came to London, 40 years ago,
than it did after 2000 years In the clear
air of Egypt. Probably the difference
In the twin obelisk that stands in Cen
tral Park, New York, In a correspond
ing time. Is so slight as to be hardly
noticeable."
Offhand, one would say that every
building of any age here was of the
grayest' granite obtainable, yet when
one of them is cleaned, as a few have
been lately, it proves that they orig
inally were - almost white, and the
transformation is a bit startling. In
a dissecting room they always can tell
whether a patient is a Londoner or a
countryman, for. whereas the lungs of
the latter are the natural color, pink.
Uiose of the former are Jet black.
The London soot covers one's face
with smudges, and, if you leave any
white material in front of an open
window for an hour or so, vhen you
come back you will find it Uttered
with' "blacks," as they are locally
termed. The soot kills vegetation, too,
unless it Is tended most carefully. In
the garden Inside the Bank of Eng
land the leaves are washed every
week with soap and water. London
Correspondence.