ill. There is no guarantee for its wise and temperate exercise; and a

new Commission, known as the Mazet Commission, presided over by Mr. Moss, has conducted an inquiry which revealed that some of the old evils were again in the ascendant.

Until 1896 the outside public was apt to regard the police of New York as "the best and finest in the world." The eulogistic words are those of its own champions, who claimed for it that "its services have been great, the bravery of some of its members conspicuous in life-saving and yet more in quelling riot and disturbance." It has always been a tradition in America that the police may be trusted with considerable powers; a free people, feeling that law in a new country must sternly check license, has not unwillingly permitted its constituted guardians to use the strong arm on occasion, and in a way that would not be tolerated in slow-going, sober old England. To "loose off his revolver" at the fugitive he cannot catch, or who has slipped through his fingers, is no uncommon practice with the American policeman, what though he may hit the innocent pigeon and miss the offending crow. I can call to mind the summary finish of a prolonged strike of "street-car" employees which I witnessed in one of my various visits to New York. A force of policemen in plain clothes and armed to the teeth were sent "down town" on a street-car with orders to fight their way through, which they did "handsomely." In other words, they shot down all opposition. The number of casualties was never publicly reported.

Let us consider first the constitution of the force. The whole body of police is small compared with that of other large cities, and in proportion to the mixed, turbulent public it controls--only one to 500 souls; it is governed by a Board of four Commissioners appointed by

the Mayor for a term of six years. Particular duties are allocated to the several members of the Board. Thus, the senior Commissioner and president _ex officio_ is entrusted with the higher discipline of the force; he deals with all charges of misconduct, and decides whether offending constables shall or shall not be sent before the public tribunals. Another Commissioner controls repairs and supplies, examining and passing all bills for work done, after satisfying himself that it has been completed. A third supervises the Pension Fund, and disposes of applications for retirement, and also of applications from widows and children of police officers for relief. The fourth Commissioner is the Treasurer of police funds.

Immediately next to the Board stands a Superintendent of Police, who is chief of the executive, the responsible head of the _personnel_, of the rank and file of the force. He is the intermediary between the four Inspectors, who come next in the hierarchy, and the supreme Board, the channel communicating the Board's will and the agent to enforce its execution. The Superintendent holds all the threads of general control, and is responsible for and charged with the enforcement of the law throughout the city. Three Inspectors supervise each a separate district, being responsible for the preservation of the peace within its limits and security to life and limb; the fourth is the head of the detective branch. After the Inspectors rank the Captains of "precincts," of which there were thirty-four previous to the enlargement of the city, each "precinct" being analogous to a French _arrondissement_ or a police "division" in London. The Captain is an officer of great influence and importance in his precinct, which he rules more or less despotically, but nominally in the best interests of the public. He has a large force of men at his disposal, and is expected to use it for the comfort and protection of good citizens, as well as the pursuit and capture of criminals. The rank and file of the force serving under the Captains are classed as follows: first the Sergeants, from whom the Captains are commonly selected; next the Roundsmen; then the Patrolmen, synonymous with our ordinary blue-coated constables; last of all the Doormen, who are out of uniform and employed at stations, lock-ups, and in offices, performing many and various functions of administration.

In theory, to all outward seeming this organisation, so perfect, so symmetrical, so accurately planned, might be supposed to justify the encomiums passed upon it as the best and finest police force in the world. Yet some of those for whose service it existed denounced it as an intolerable tyranny, supported by corruption and wielding arbitrary authority. Revolt was threatened, and it broke out ere long, only to be crushed in its first efforts, but, unabashed by failure, to renew its strenuous efforts. The moving spirit, the apostle of reform, was Dr. Parkhurst, the incumbent of the Madison Square church, who, after ten years of active ministration, began in 1890 to preach against Tammany from his pulpit with a persistent courage that survived every attempt to put him down. He took office next year as president of the Society for the Prevention of Crime, and at once adopted as his watchword the cry of "Down with the police." He denounced the whole administration of law and justice as criminally corrupt; all officers, lawyers, judges depending on Tammany worked hand in hand with crime. "It is simply one solid gang of rascals, half of the gang in office, the other half out, and the two halves steadily catering to each other across the official line."

For this bold language Dr. Parkhurst was summoned before the Grand Jury of New York and solemnly reproved. He was not to be silenced; but, anxious to formulate no fresh attack until he could speak to facts from his own knowledge, he made a sad and weary pilgrimage through the worst purlieus of the city, and obtained abundant proof that the law was continually and flagrantly violated under the eyes of the police, and in collusion and complicity with them. He returned to the charge, inveighing with redoubled vigour against the police, telling how he had "gone down into the disgusting depths of this Tammany-debauched town." He was again summoned before the Grand Jury, but now he had his answer, and so far from rebuking him afresh, the Grand Jury agreed with him as to the corruption of the New York police.

Now the forlorn hope Dr. Parkhurst had led was followed by a strong column of assault, and although Tammany fought hard to shield its creatures, and Dr. Parkhurst was vilified, accused, even arrested and prosecuted upon trumped-up charges, the city rose to back him. A memorial was presented to the State Senate praying for a full public inquiry into the state of the police department. Tammany still fought; its nominee, Governor Flower, Governor of the State of New York, refused to approve the inquiry, on the ground that it was needless. "No city in the State has a lower tax rate than New York," he said; "no city has a better police regulation; no city has a lower ratio of crime; ... a better health department, better parks, better schools, better credit.... No city is so comfortable a place to live in. That bad men sometimes get into office there is true; that ideal municipal government has not yet been attained there is true; but these things are equally true of every city in the world, they are truer of other cities of our State than they are of New York."

Despite all opposition, a Committee was appointed and soon commenced a searching investigation. It was presided over by Senator Lexow, and is still known as the Lexow Commission. How exhaustively it dealt with the business may be seen from the fact that 678 witnesses were examined on oath, that the evidence filled 10,576 pages of printed matter, and that nine months elapsed before it could present its first provisional report.

Immense difficulties were experienced in obtaining evidence. The influence of the police was paramount; and it was, no doubt, in consequence of the reluctance of witnesses to speak against the police that the Lexow Committee reported so strongly. It is necessary to bear this in mind, since it may be that the police prejudiced their own case at this point or at that by efforts to keep back the facts. The Committee found that the witnesses they called before them were subjected to outrage if they dared to state what they knew. "They were abused, clubbed, and imprisoned, even convicted of crimes on false testimony by policemen and their accomplices. Men of business were harassed and annoyed in their affairs ... people of all degrees seemed to feel that to antagonise the police was to call down upon themselves the swift judgment and persecution of an invulnerable force.... The uniform belief was that if they spoke against the police, had helped the Committee, or had given information, their business would be ruined, they would be hounded from the city, and their lives even jeopardised." The Committee therefore came to the conclusion that the police formed a separate and highly privileged class, armed with the authority and the machinery for oppression and punishment, but practically free themselves from the operation of the criminal law.

This indictment was based upon clear proof of the irregularities practised by certain members of the New York police. They may be summarised under four principal heads, with each of which I will deal in turn.

(1) _Blackmail._--A tariff was fixed under which a tax was imposed upon disorderly houses, drinking shops, gambling places, and so forth, and was paid, no doubt cheerfully, for immunity from police interference. This tax varied from twenty dollars (£4) to five hundred dollars (£100) per month. The moneys were collected by detectives and other constables, who received a commission upon the sums raised. These extortions were not limited to the caterers for vice, mostly native American citizens. The poor, ignorant, and friendless foreigner, who was seeking a new home in the New World, was constantly and wantonly plundered. If he dared to protest he was beaten and maltreated. A wretched Italian shoeblack, who had cleaned an officer's boots for a month on credit, was half-killed when he dared to ask for his money. A Russian Jewess who had opened a small tobacco shop got into the black books of certain detectives by refusing to supply them for nothing, was arrested on a false charge, and heavily fined.

(2) _Brutality._--These charges cover a wide range. The Lexow Committee stigmatised the police-stations as "slaughter-houses,"

where "prisoners, in custody of officers of the law and under the law's protection, were brutally kicked and maltreated almost within view of the judge presiding in the court." Numbers of witnesses testified to the severe assaults made upon them at the station-houses. It was a word and a blow with the policeman, often no previous word. A significant story was told to the Committee by Mr. Costello, an Irishman attached to the staff of the _New York Herald_. His work took him much to the police headquarters, and he was apparently on good terms with most of the officers. The experience he thus gained led him to produce a book called "Our Police Protectors," which had a good sale, under the patronage of the police, until one of the officers brought out a book, which drove Costello's out of sale. Costello, accepting his disappointment, produced another book about the Fire Department. Again he met with competition from a man protected by the fire and police authorities. He endeavoured to fight for his own hand, but soon got to loggerheads with the police. He was arrested on a trumped-up charge, and when taken to the station-house was knocked down by an officer--"brass-knuckled," for the ruffian's fist was armed with brass knuckles. Then he was brutally kicked as he lay half-stunned in the muddy gutter. Another still more brutal case was that of a gentleman who interposed in a fight and was attacked by a policeman who rushed into the _mêlée_. The officer, striking out wildly with his club, caught the well-meaning gentleman on the face and knocked his eye out. Another officer attacked a man who was dissatisfied with the shell-fish he bought at an oyster stand, the keeper of which had paid for police protection. The custodian of order forthwith exerted his authority on the side of his friend and smashed in the teeth of the discontented customer. Another witness appeared before the Committee bleeding and disfigured, just as he had come out of police hands. This man had been robbed of four dollars while asleep on a doorstep, and his whole offence was in having appealed to the police for assistance in recovering his money.

In all these and similar cases the victims could not hope for redress. The police were above the law, and were not held responsible for offences, not even for such felonious assaults as those described, which would have entailed upon ordinary citizens a sentence of four or five years' imprisonment. The policeman, even if charged and convicted, was certain to be let off with a small fine. But, as a general rule, the sufferers knew too well that it was useless to take proceedings. Mr. Costello, already mentioned, was asked why he had not done so. In answer he used the well-known saying, "It is no use going to law with the devil when the court is in hell." The gentleman who lost his eye because he was so weak as to interfere in a street fight preferred to pay a lawyer to bribe his assailant not to appear against him, although the boot was entirely on the other leg and the offender was the policeman. In the case of the Italian shoeblack his mates raised money enough to pay a lawyer, but could never get the case brought into court. In considering these charges of brutality, however, it is but fair to bear in mind the dangerous character of certain classes of the population with which the New York police have to deal, and the readiness with which resort is had to lethal weapons. To expect from them the patience and forbearance that we look for from the English police would be obviously unreasonable.

(3) _Collusion with Crime and Criminals._--This was another grave allegation proved against certain of the New York police. It was shown that they were hand-in-glove in one nefarious practice at least--that known as the "green goods trade," a species of confidence trick played upon the unwary fool, and a very profitable game to the side which invariably won. "Green goods" are forged or counterfeit banknotes, passed off as genuine and sold for a song on one of two pretences to those who would buy them. The first, that there had been over-issue of paper currency by the Treasury, and the notes were, therefore at a discount; the second, that the plates from which the notes were struck had been stolen from the Government, hence they could be offered cheap.

The business, which seems to have been invented by one McNally, commonly called "King McNally," was so ingenious that some account of it may be given here. Seven principal actors were needed, and they were:

(i.) The "Backer," or capitalist, who was wanted to supply genuine notes to a large amount, which had to be produced when the swindle was started and the fish was on the hook.

(ii.) The "Writer," who sent out the circulars which constituted the bait.

(iii.) The "Bunco Steerer," who was despatched, often to a considerable distance, to get the nibbling victim in tow.

(iv.) The "Old Man," a personage of benign and most respectable aspect, who had to sit in the room when the fraud was being carried out.

(v.) The "Turner," who did the bargaining and sold the bogus notes.

(vi.) The "Ringer," a sleight-of-hand artist who effected the exchange, at a given moment, between the genuine notes displayed and the shams palmed off on the fool.

(vii.) The "Tailer," a species of bully employed to get rid of any dupe who, having discovered the swindle, returned to expose it.

A first step was to procure directories and lists of addresses, by which means vast numbers of circulars were distributed through the country. It was the business of No. 2, the "writer," a mere clerk, to send these out, enclosing in each envelope forged cuttings from newspapers (printed, of course) which set forth the extraordinary advantages offered by those who had "green goods" for sale. At the same time a slip was inserted giving an address to which anyone might telegraph so as to secure the offer before it was too late. The address was always bogus, some number in a street of a house that did not exist, or an entirely vacant lot of ground. The telegrams were, however, delivered by the telegraph companies to the swindlers in person, a service for which a substantial fee was paid.

It was supposed that as many as 10,000 circulars a day were despatched. One or two at most would meet with a response. Then the "bunco steerer" went off forthwith to bring the victim in; to hand him over to the rogues waiting to despoil him in some low tavern or opium shop where they consorted together, with the direct permission of the police. The "guy," or the "come-on," as the victim was styled in the swindlers' argot, when he appeared was handled in various ways. The first step was to make a price, and that was generally at the rate of 10,000 dollar bills for 650 dollars paid down. Smaller sums were also negotiated, and the process was not always quite the same. Either the good bills were counted over and deposited in a box, which by some sleight-of-hand was exchanged for another filled with waste paper, or the bills were arranged in packages with a good note on top and bottom, the intervening notes being bogus. This latter dodge was used with any suspicious customer, a "hard" victim, as he was called. There was another plan carried out with a private carriage; it was called the "carriage racket," and the transfer was made by means of a couple of bags or satchels. In one the genuine notes were deposited by a confederate, who entered the carriage with the victim, and sat by his side. The worker of the fraud, after filling the satchel, would kindly offer to accompany the victim back to the station, and _en route_ the exchange was made with another--bogus--bag.

In all cases the railway station played a principal part in the fraud; it was essential that the victim should be a stranger who came from a distance, and was returning home after the deal. He was cunningly debarred from examining the box or the satchel, whichever was employed. In the case of the box he was given a key which would not fit the lock; and in the case of the satchel he was told to cut the leather through when he got to his journey's end. The idea in both cases was that he should not detect the fraud before leaving New York; that would, of course, have been inevitable directly he opened the receptacle. As he was doing a shady, fraudulent thing in buying the notes, he would generally fall into the trap, realising the necessity for great caution and secrecy.

Now and again a victim discovered the trick, and refused to leave the city till he had exposed it. This case was met by the "tailer," who was in waiting at the railway station disguised as a policeman. When he came on the scene he met the complaint made with an immediate threat of arrest, and the victim, knowing his intention had been dishonest, was only too glad to get off. But sometimes the "guy" was swindled in a different way. He paid his money, but got no notes. They were to be sent to his address; when they failed to arrive he would come back to inquire, and probably buy more, which were also to follow, but never did. This trick was often carried out three or four times. At last the parcel would be handed into the "express" or parcel office before his eyes, but to a confederate, who, when the notes were missing, was accused of having stolen them, and was not, of course, to be found.

Not only did certain members of the police connive at this nefarious traffic, which flourished exceedingly, but they actually co-operated in it. A police captain provided the "joint" or place of meeting where the thieves beat the victim or swindled him. The proprietor was in the swim, and received his commission, and if superior officials interfered, as sometimes happened, the "joint" was transferred, then and there to a new place. The "green goods" man always had timely notice when any police raid was in contemplation; the police were also most useful in taking charge of the "come-backs," the "guys" or victims who would not submit to extortion, and it was often possible to take them in hand when they applied at the detective bureau so as to nullify their proceedings, or at worst give the hint to the swindlers to make themselves scarce. The police were also kind enough to assist "King McNally" in the discipline of his subjects. Whenever a "writer," who was the medium by which the profits were shared after the first half had been monopolised by the capitalist, was behindhand with his payments, the police were informed, and the defaulter arrested. The profits of this nefarious business were very high. It was said that McNally often took as much as £1,600 in a single day. Some of the capitalists or "backers" made large fortunes, £20,000, £30,000, even £40,000 apiece.

Another species of illegitimate revenue was that drawn from the gaming houses, the policy shops and pool rooms which are apparently very numerous in New York. This particular traffic appears to have originated the slang epithet "pantata," which was the familiar title for the police official who gave his

countenance to vice and crime. Its derivation is said to be Bohemian, and the word was originally used in Austro-Hungary, where the Emperor-King Francis Joseph was called the "Pantata of his people." The exact meaning of the word is father-in-law, and the New York pantata was thus esteemed the head of the criminal family. It was proved before the Lexow Commission that there were at that time no less than six hundred policy shops in active operation in the city working openly under police protection, and that they paid a fixed tariff of fifteen dollars per shop per month. The number of pool rooms was still larger, and they remained unmolested in consideration of payments amounting to a total of some three hundred dollars a month. The gaming that went on in the pool rooms appears to have been much akin to the Continental lottery system, and any sum could be staked, from one cent upwards. Another form of revenue raised by dishonest members of the police force was in levying commission upon the owners of property who had been robbed of valuables and were willing to pay to have them restored. The practice which obtained in this country during the earlier part of the present century is still in force in New York; it is possible to come upon the track of stolen property, and pawnbrokers or "fences" are prepared to hand it over on repayment of the advances made on it. But in carrying out the arrangements the police, of course, took toll, and were paid either commission or substantial gratuities by the owners they obliged.

4. Yet another indictment brought against the New York police was that of _active interference with the purity of election_. It was alleged to be the agent of a political party, its duty being to secure the return of the proper candidates, those of Tammany Hall. In carrying this out members of the force sometimes arrested and ill-treated the opposition voters; they canvassed for their own side, and, neglecting their proper functions as guardians of the peace, they became the agents of Tammany Hall. The ballot boxes were tampered with, and such frauds as personation and the repeated appearance of the same voter were winked at.

It was little likely that a force recruited and administered as regards promotion on corrupt lines would act otherwise than as has been set forth. In early days first appointments were not to be purchased for money, but the practice soon became general, and no one could be appointed a constable unless he paid for it, or had political friends. One Commissioner admitted that from 85 to 90 per cent. of all the appointments he made were at the instance of Tammany Hall. Yet there was at this time a Civil Service rule that all officers were to be appointed by open competition. It came to be a custom at last that every candidate should produce 300 dollars to a go-between, who passed it on to the police authorities; after this payment the examinations were made easy. The same rule as to payment was enforced for promotion. It cost 1,600 dollars to become a sergeant, and for a captaincy 15,000 dollars were paid. One witness, who was a police sergeant, told a remarkable story of his examination for one of these latter appointments. He had passed the prescribed examination three times in succession, and yet was no nearer nomination. His friends told him that this was simply waste of time, but he persisted for four years, trusting that his merits would be recognised, still steadfastly declining to bribe his superiors. Finally he consented, and was told that his promotion could be had for 12,000 dols. This money was subscribed by his friends, but then the price was raised to 15,000 dollars. Again it was subscribed, but became a bone of contention amongst the officials. At one time it looked as though even bribery would fail to secure the promotion, but they appeared at last to have divided the plunder to their mutual satisfaction, and the witness now became a captain.

It is only fair to the police of New York to credit them with considerable success in dealing with crime. Whatever suspicion may have rested on their good faith where offenders have been able to purchase their connivance, there is no doubt that a large number of crimes have always been detected and avenged in New York. They have to deal with cosmopolitan rogues drawn to the happy hunting ground of the New World, and with a large mass of indigenous crime of the most serious kind. The unlawful taking of life is very prevalent in the United States, where the percentage of murders is larger than anywhere in the world, but these crimes do not go largely unpunished. Again, the American "crook," the bank robber, the burglar, the counterfeit-money maker, and the wholesale forger are to be met with in large numbers across the Atlantic, and the warfare against them is unceasing. It is true that the detective forces of the country are very much in private hands: agencies like Pinkerton's have a fine record; the triumphs achieved by the breaking up of some of the Secret Societies in the south, such as the Molly McGuire and the Kluklux clans, are feats deserving the warmest recognition. At the same time, the detective bureau, composed of officers of Mulberry Street, has done excellent service, and Inspector Byrnes, its chief, has earned a high reputation in thief-taking.

The Detective Bureau of New York "has attained national importance," says a writer who knows it and its services well. He instances especially the protection given to the great business centre of Wall Street at the time when the "down town" district was specially favoured of thieves and depredators. Robbery from the person, burglarious entrance to banking and other premises, the abstraction of money, bonds, and valuable papers used to be of constant occurrence. More recently the presence of a "crook" below a line drawn, say, through Fulton Street was _primâ facie_ evidence against him, and he was then and there arrested, and called upon to give account of himself. Unless he could show good cause for venturing within the peculiar precincts of finance and commerce he was relegated to gaol. The detectives are always "on the spot," ever keen and active in coping with the evil-doer. A dozen are always on duty at the Stock Exchange, where it is boasted that not a ten cent stamp has been stolen by a professional thief for years.

The ways of the New York detective are like those of the famous Ah Sing, "childlike and bland," but no less astute and successful. They aim at prevention, and trust to it even more than to the pursuit subsequent to the commission of crime. It is an axiom with them to know their game by heart; they study the thoughts and idiosyncrasies, the plans and proceedings, of the criminal classes so closely that they can predicate what will be done under any particular circumstances, how the thief will act when planning, when executing, and, above all, when covering up his tracks after he has made his _coup_. One method followed with marked success is to keep their spies and assistants in the heart of the enemy's camp. It is well known that criminals have little or no fidelity to each other, that "honour among thieves" is a mendacious adage provided any of them can see substantial profit in betraying his associates. The best officers make a point of keeping in touch with the "crooks," visiting them frequently in their favourite resorts, and hearing all the movements and the news. Matters in progress, the activity or otherwise of well-known practitioners, are thus ascertained, for the high-flyer in crime generally knows what others of his class are about, and is willing to pass it on for a consideration, or to stand well with the police.

New York possesses its Black Museum, its treasure-house of criminal relics akin to that which may be viewed at the headquarters

of our Metropolitan Police at New Scotland Yard. A brief summary of the exhibits in this strange depository is, in its way, an epitome of contemporary crime. Every item, even the most insignificant, tells of some flagitious act. The sledge hammers, drills, jemmies, masks, and powder flasks tell their own story, so do the marvellously ingenious burglar's implements manufactured by high-class mechanical skill, and hired out to executive agents on a percentage of results. Here are the bogus gold bricks of some famous confidence trick, the well-named _vol à l'Americain_, lithographic stones from which thousands and thousands of counterfeit notes have been struck off, the curious devices used for opening combination locks, the rope ladders, lanterns, revolvers that have figured in various notable operations.

Another branch well worked by the New York police is its identification department, which is now fully served by the Bertillon method of measurement, and it has always been rich in photographic portraiture. The famous "Rogues' Gallery," which forms the basis of Mr. Inspector Byrnes' book on American criminals, is a marvellous record of rascality. Each picture is backed with a brief history of ancestry and antecedents, so that the influences at work, whether congenital or accidental, evil traits transmitted from parents, or the growth of bad example acting on weak moral fibre, may be seen at once. As has been said, the United States offers many attractions to wrong-doers, and in this police gallery will be found the portraits of such great criminal practitioners as "Hungry Joe," the ex-Governor of South Carolina; Franklin J. Moses, "Big Bertha," Annie Riley, an accomplished linguist; Max Shinburn, and the rest.

It is a part of the case against the New York police that it fails to control crime effectively, but it can nevertheless show results at least as good under this head as those achieved in European countries. In some respects indeed its operations are marked by a cleverness and smartness which it would be hard to match in the best of the police forces of the Old World.