i£x ICtbrtfi seymoOr durst ' 'fort nUmu ^TTt^erda-m^ of Je Uanhatan^ i;*rORT NEW AM-STERDAi^ (mew YORK:) , . 1651. "When you leave, please leave this book Because it has been said "Ever'thing comes t' him who waits Except a loaned hook." Avery Afohtical extravagance and corruption and the creation of a horde of dishonest but all-pov^erful office- holders. One zealot of this class in 1843 is reported to have said : '^I'd sooner be robbed and have my throat cut by the thieves, and have the same thing done to my neighbors, than irdj one cent for a d policeman." Despite the antagonism described, the spirit of the age triumphed, as in the long run it is always bound to do, and in 1S50 an admirable police department, based upon the New York system, was established in the City of Churches, which from its inception has been a cause of pleasure, pride and gratitude to all who dwell within its boundaries. CHAPTER TIL From 1850 to 1876. John S. Folk.— The First Police Administration.— Folk's Admir- able Common Sense.— A Quiet Period.— 1857, The Metropolitan Police District Scheme.— A Political Monstrosity.— Why the Job Was Put Up.— Its True Inwardness.— James W. Nye First Commissioner. — Brooklyn Goes to Mulberry Street, New York. — The Old Precincts Renumbered. — Sanitary Squad Created. — Political Results.— James S. T. Stranahana Commissioner. — His Noble Life and Works. — A Typical American Citizen — A Statue IN Prospect Park— I860.— The Old Wards and the New. — Thomas R. B. Stillman, President op the Metropolitan Board. — The Civil War. — New Responsibilities — The Draft Riots. — Economy and Reduction. — Bad Appointments. — Cumbrous Administra- tion. — Rings and Scandals. — 1866 Brings Improvements. — New Headquarters. — Yast Imp^^ovements Projected Everywhere in the City. — Death op Hon. John G. Bergen. — The Bergen Fam- ily. — 1869 — " Tom " Acton Resigns and is Succeeded by " Hank " Smith as President. — Nightly Lodgers. — Once a Blessing ; Now a Curse. — Send Them to Jail. — 1870 Restores Home-rule to Brooklyn. — Daniel D. Briggs and Isaac Yan Anden, Commis- sioners. — Folk Displaced by the Present Chief. — New Head- quarters Again. — The New Force. — Telegraph Improvements. — Their Results. — Fires Inflict Less Injury. — 1872 Sees Briggs, Gen. Jourdan and Kaufman, Commissioners. — Politics Again. — Brooklyn vs. Albany. — Cart-rung Murder. — Officer Donahue Killed by Henry Rodgers. — The Assassin Hung. — 1874, Jourdan AND Jensen. — The Muster-roll op Captains. — 1875 Supplants THE Old Commissioners with Briggs, Pyburn and Hurd. — Stolen Property. — Detectives and Criminals. — More Murders and Convictions. fN 1850 the Brooklyn authorities organized a poHce de- partment upon the system employed by New York. The administration was effected by a superintendent or chief, which position was filled by John S. Folk. Mr. JOHN >s. FOLK. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 37 Folk was a large, muscular, intelligeut and fearless man, who even at that time was feared by roughs and crim- inals, and who in one position or another remained connected with the local force for more than twenty years. The city was divided into districts ; the more important were known as precincts, and the less as sub-precincts. To each precinct were allotted a cap- tain, sergeants, and as many patrolmen as the ter- ritory and population required. The effect of the new system was an enormous increase in the number of arrests, and a great decrease in the number of re- ported crimes and other offences. From the first Folk acted upon the idea that it was better to prevent crimes than to detect the criminal after they had been committed. He declared war against all profes- sional wrong-doers, and was so earnest and zealous in his administration as to inspire all his subordinates with the same feelings. By degrees the crooks and other malefactors Avho prey upon society began to find that the atmosphere of Brooklyn w^as becoming very un- healthf ul, and that New York had a thousand charms to its one. Then resulted a gradual expatriation of ^\Tong- doers which has never ceased since. The early years of the department passed without any noteworthy events. The force became disciphned and trustworthy ; the worthless and incapable weeded out ; the intelligent and clever were brought forward into the more responsible positions. In 1857, thanks to an un- scrupulous and corrupt legislature, everything under- went a change for the worse. At this time political pas- sions were intensely excited, and everything was getting into readiness for the visibly coming war. Politicians of 38 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. the worst type were dominant, who left no stone un- turned to secure every possible advantage for their or- ganization. At such a time and by such men a bill was framed and passed, whereby the policing of New York and its environs was placed in the hands of an irrespon- sible commission of men who, in the main, were no bet- ter than mere ward politicians. How a bill so subversive of the principles of local self-government, so capable of wicked and corrupt use, and so pregnant with danger to the elective franchise and representative government could ever become a law, is a mystery to us to-day. Its object, however, is more tangible now than then. It gave the police patronage of four counties to one central political authority, enabling the latter to exercise despotic power over three thousand active, intelligent and influ- ential men. It gave them the power to expend at least seven millions of dollars per annum. They could thus control ward organizatioiis and primary elections, and thereby dictate to the people what candidates their con- ventions should nominate. To-day, when home-rule is a watchword that is heard everywhere in the United States and that has crossed the Atlantic Ocean to simul- taneously enter England, Scotland and Ireland, such an assumption of political despotic power seems a monstros- ity which cannot be too vigorously condemned. James W. Nye was appointed President of the new machine, known as the Metropolitan Police Commission- ers. All the old headquarters were blotted out and a new central one established at 300 Mulberry Street in New York City. John S. Folk was appointed deputy- superintendent, with an office in the basement of the Brooklyn City Hall. The old precincts were in the main BROOKT.YX S GUARDIANS. 30 retained, but were re-nurabered so as to be continuous with those of Gotham. In the latter city there were forty, so those of the former were numbered from forty- one to fifty inchisive, with sub-i)recincts of the Forty- third and Forty-ninth. The new force was made up largely from the old, especially so with those whose political tendencies or backing coincided with the com- mission's. A few were dropped for incapacity or dis- ability and some for political reasons. Appointments were made sufficient to fill up the vacancies thus created and to raise the total number to three hundred and sixty eight. Besides these there were fourteen men specially detailed as the '^Atlantic Dock Squad" for the protection of the vast property interests of that famous basin and paid by the Atlantic Dock Company ; a ''Sani- tary Squad *" of eight, including a sergeant, detailed to execute the orders and protect the employees of the Board of Health, and about forty specials, who were appointed at the instance of private citizens and paid by the latter to protect their warehouses or manufactories. Under Superintendent Folk the old discipline was maintained, despite the demoralizing influence of the political agen- cies brought into being by the new law. One effect of the law is still very patent ; it was a potent factor in the formation of the Tammany centralization which cul- minated in the Tweed Ring and in the development of the Republican rings, which at one time dominated that party in both cities and which bore floAver and fruit in the whiskey, custom-house and other disgraceful scandals. 1S58-0 was an uneventful period. James W. Xye was President of the Metro})olitan police. James S. T. Stran- 40 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ahan was the Brooklyn commissionei* and John S. Folk the deputy -superintendent. Business was prosperous and immigration on the increase. This heretofore had been chiefly Irish, with a sprinkling of English and Ger- man. It had slowly changed until the Irish and Ger- man were almost on a par. Political matters were daily more and more involved. The Eepublican party was everywhere developing and the great Democratic organi- zation was being rapidly rent by feuds and factions of the bitterest type. This political belligerency was every- where and notably increased the duties and labors of the •police. The new Brooklyn commissioner, Mr. Strana- han, proved a valuable acquisition to the Board. His thorough knowledge of the two cities, his noteworthy executive ability, his far-sightedness, probity and wis- dom made him a power there as it had and has since done elsewhere. It may be added at this point that Brooklyn has had no more remarkable citizen than James S. T. Stranahan. He was a local power long be- fore the great majority of the readers of these lines were born ; he took an active part in the inception of nearly every local institution of prominence, in the development of the many municipal improvements and in the fur- therance of every patriotic and public- spirited effort. His wonderful power of overcoming apparently insur- mountable difficulties has more than earned him his sobriquet of ^'wizard" and ''magician." If the bene- factors of a community are to receive public recognition, Brooklyn will erect his statue in living bronze upon some knoll in Prospect Park, which he made a reality, looking over the miles of roofs and streets below of the great city he loved so well. Brooklyn's guardians. 41 111 1S()0 Brooklyn was still rapidly growing. It had nineteen wards and a population of two hundred and sixty-six thousand. The Tenth Ward included the present Third and Tenth Wards ; the Ninth, the present Ninth, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-first, Twenty- third and Twenty-fifth ; the Seventh, the present Seventh and Twentieth. These new wards that were then thinly- settled farming country are now densely populated and contain at least three hundred and fifty thousand souls. The Pohce Department was still conducted as a part of the Metropolitan police system. Thomas R. B. Still- man was President of the Board, Isaac H. Bailey (Rafter- wards- Collector) a Commissioner, and John S. Folk, Deputy-Superintendent for Kings County. WiUiam H. Folk, at present captain of the Twelfth Precinct, was clerk. The civil war opened a new era for the police as weU as the nation. Many volunteered and made noble records for themselves in the Union armies. Others assisted in the never-to-be-measured work done by the people at home for the success of the troops in the field. The possibility of insurrection in the city, of mutiny in the Navy Yard and the camps and of war with foreign nations, the unrest and uneasiness of the nation, the fictitious luxury and the dissipation and depravity all acted to put the force upon their guard and make them hold themselves in readiness for any emergency. Only once in the long four years of internecine conflict were they called upon to act. That was during the draft riots in July, 1862. The horrors perpetrated in the adjoining city of New York seemed about to be copied in Brook- lyn ; the same ignorant and ruthless elements were ready and eager to break out in . revolution, but the. iron 42 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. determination of Folk and the municipal authorities and above all the superb courage and discipline of the police saved Brooklyn from scenes v^hich baffle all description. The war and the necessity for economy, in order to meet the ever-increasing expenses of the municipality, had cut down the muster-roll of the police, so that in 1864 it amounted to only two hundred and eighty- seven men. The folly and inefficiency of the Metropolitan Police District Law was in the meantime making itself felt. Appointments, which were of the poorest and most objectionable character, were made to the force and charged to Brooklyn, in order to placate or purchase New York and out-of-town politicians. In some instances, these new appointees could scarcely read nor write, had not been in the country long enough to legally vote, and knew nothing of New York law or Brooklyn geography. The administration being across the East Eiver, valuable time of officers and patrolmen was wastefully consumed. The machinery of so cumbrous an organization moved slowly, so that requisitions were a long time in being filled ; improvements and reforms in being acted upon ; supplies in being forwarded ; and information in being afforded to those whom it most concerned. During the thirteen years in which this law was in force, the Brook- lyn civic authorities knew about as much of their own police as they did of those of Chicago or any other dis- tant city. No reports were made to the Mayor, and no local record was either made or preserved. The future historian of that period will find his material not in Brooklyn archives, but in the Mulberry Street headquar- ters or in the musty archives of the Capitol at Albany. Despite the earnest opposition of all good citizens irre- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 48 spective of party lines, the politicians still found the sys- tem of use and continued its existence. Little did Tweed, Callicut and their coparceners dream that the machine they were so carefully tending and strengthen- ing would some day destroy them in its irresistible ac- tion. In 18C)C) the force w^as slightly increased, and many improvements made upon the headquarters and station houses. An appropriate and very handsome building was erected on Gates Avenue, near Marcy, for the Forty- ninth Precinct, and plans and other arrangements made for similar edifices in other parts of the city. In May, the headquarters were moved from the basement of the City "Hall to what is now the Clarendon Hotel, at the corner of Washington and Johnson Streets. These changes were but parts in the great system of. local im- provements, many of which were extravagant, a few dishonest and corrupt, but all of which were necessitated by the wonderful growth of the municipality, and the impoi-tant future near at hand, when Brooklyn should have three-quarters of a million inhabitants. The im- provements contemplated the repairing of the great thor- oughfares with more modern and scientific materials ; the creation and development of Prospect Park ; the ex- tension of the Nassau Water Department ; the sewering of all the streets ; the construction of storm sewers ; the erection of a handsome court house and a larger jail ; the setting apart of a parade and drill-ground ; and the construction of a market in the WaUabout and of elegant armories in different parts of the city. Now after a lapse of twenty years, and after all these changes have been effected, and when the city is fast speeding toward a BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. population of a full million, we can see and appreciate the wisdom and statesmanship of the men by whom they were planned, and the efficiency and good work of the subordinates through whom they were realized. On July IS, 1867, the Hon. John G. Bergen, one of the Metropolitan Police Commissioners, died. He was fifty- three years old, and had occupied his official position the last eight years of his life. His death was mourned by the police, to whom he had always been a kind friend and generous governor, and by the public, of which he had been a good and faithful servant. Mr. Bergen belonged to one of the oldest and best known Knickerbocker families of Long Island, a family that has been prominent in local affairs for more than a century. In more recent years it has been well repre- sented in 23ublic affairs by the late Surrogate Jacob I. Bergen, ex- Judge Garrett C. Bergen, ex- Assemblyman John H. Bergen, Counselors Edgar Bergen, James C. Bergen, Tunis G. Bergen, all talented lawyers, and Cor- nelius Bergen, a retired merchant. The family gives its name to Bergen Street, one of the oldest thoroughfares of South Brooklyn. In 1869 the Board of Metropolitan Police was reor- ganized. Thomas C. Acton resigned the office of Com- missioner on the twenty-ninth of April, and on the same day he was succeeded by Henry Smith, familiarly known in politics as Hank Smith, who was also elected to the position of Treasurer of Police in place of Commissioner Brennan, resigned. Commissioner Joseph S. Bosworth was elected President of the Board. In Brooklyn two sub-precincts, one between the Forty-sixth and Forty- ninth precincts, and the other near the Forty-third pre- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 45 cinct in South Brooklyn, were created, and the police^ force correspondingly increased until it numbered four hundred and forty-six men. A feature of interest that now begins to appear in the police I'eports is the number of nightly lodgers. In the beginning of the practice of giving lodging at the station houses those who applied were workingmen out of a job, the sick, disabled and the indigent aged. So far as these are concerned, the practice was and is a noble charity. But Avith the war everything changed. They diminished in number, while on the other hand a class composed of tramps, drunk- ards, sneak-thieves and vagabonds sprang into being and grew with ominous rapidity. By degrees the lodging- rooms of the station houses became such scenes of filth and horror, such hot-beds of vermin and disease that people with any self-respect or sense of decency left, rather than cross their thresholds, preferred to walk the streets all night, beg for the pittance necessary to secure a cot in some ten-cent hotel," or even to commit some insignificant offence and so be placed in a cell. To-day their inmates are even worse than just after the war-times. They are, as a class, so low and depraved that their proper resort is the workhouse or the peni- tentiary. On the fifth of April, 1870, the State Legislature passed a bill making the Police Department in the city of Brooklyn an independent organization, and on the twenty-eighth of April the Common Council appointed Daniel D. Briggs and Isaac Van Anden, one of the founders of the Eagle, as Police Commissioners. On the first of May following a meeting of the Board of Police was held, and Commissioner Briggs was chosen Presi- 4G BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. dent, and in June John S. Folk, formerly Inspector under the Metropolitan Police system, was superseded by the appointment of Patrick Campbell, ex-Sheriff of Kings County, as Chief of Police. The building on the corner of Washington and Johnson Streets having been found unfit for use, new headquarters were established at Court and Livingston Streets. The vast majority of the police force, composed of men who had been appointed by and had served under the Metropolitan Police Commission, as well as several of the old sergeants and captains, were retained by the Board, regardless of political sentiments, and all the station houses were re-numbered. The fol- lowing year the telegraph department, which was under the direction of George H. Flanley, was greatly im- proved in efficiency and extended so as to cover the en- tire city. Messages could now be sent to one or all the station houses simultaneously, and alarms of fire, re- ported from any police station, w^ere instantaneously communicated to every engine house in the city and to the Fire Commissioners, while at the same time the cap- tain of the precinct in w^hich the conflagration occurred was also notified in order that a reserve force might be in attendance at the fire. As a result of this improve- ment Fire Marshal Thorne said : ^'Its immediate result has been the earlier attack upon the fire by the firemen and before the flames have gained their headway ; bet- ter order of the crowd always attracted on such occa- sions and less interference by them with the firemen,^ police and insurance officials. The secondary results are the speedier extinguishing of the fire, a handsome redu^s- tion in the average loss, far less strain and exhaustion on the part of the firemen and the engines and much ^ BROOKLYN S (U'ARDI AXS. 47 greater security for the city. The only suggestion that can he made in the premises is that the system he ex- tended and, if possible, improved." As Avill he later seen, this has heen accomplished in many and valuable ways. In 1872 the Board of Police was again reorganized. The Mayor reappointed Daniel D. Briggs to the office of Commissioner, and General James Jourdan and Sigis- mund Kaufman were selected by the Comptroller and Auditor for similar positions, thus making an addition of one Commissioner to the Board. This change was also the result of political causes. The Mayor and the Municipal Administration in IS 70 were Democratic, and the Commissioners appointed, Messrs. Briggs and Van Anden, were of the same political faith. In 1872 the Mayoralty was unchanged politically, while the State Government was Republican. To cut off their oppo- nents' use of the patronage of the department and to enjoy it themselves exclusively, was the dream of every Republican politician. A bill was accordingly framed and passed whereby the commission was made three in number, of whom the Mayor (Democrat) appointed one, and the Auditor and Comptroller (Republican in 1872) appointed two. The Board thus formed was Republican in character and action. Justice demands, however, the declaration that the two Republican Commissioners, how- ever partisan in private life, never permitted party lines to interfere with the rightful discharge of their duties. In spite of the threats and denunciations of ward leaders and worthless office-seekers, they conducted the police department so Avisely and well as to gain the approbation of the entire press and the praise and gratitude of all 48 bhooklyn's guardians. good citizens. If there be any two men in the long hne of Brooklyn's public officials who deserve honorable mention for faithfulness and efficiency in municipal work, they are Police Commissioner General James Jourdan and Clerk of the Board, Colonel Samuel Eich- ards. James Jourdan was made president, Daniel D. Briggs, treasurer, and Samuel Richards, chief clerk. Commis- sioner Kaufman resigned on December 31, 1872. On the twenty-seventh of May, Patrick Campbell, though a sturdy Democrat, was reappointed Chief of Police, and John S. Folk was made Inspector. Additions and im- provements were made to the telegraph department, so that direct communications could be had with the head- quarters of the New York City police, and also with all the engine-houses and bell-towers of the fire department of this city. The office of the Department of City Works, their pipe yard, engine-house and reservoir at Ridge- wood, were also j)ut in communication with their central office. The lines used by the department at this date were thirty miles long, and during the year conveyed twenty-five thousand seven hundred and ninety-six mes- sages. The most important event in the year's record was the murder of Patrolman John Donahoe, of the Fifth Precinct Station House, on the night of July Y, by Henry Rodgers. Donahoe left the station on Fourth Street, near North First, shortly after twelve o'clock Saturday night, for patrol duty. On his post was the saloon of Hugh McGoldrick, at 101 North First Street. It was known as Crow's Gin Mill," and bore an unsav- ory reputation. The patrolman on several occasions had arrested some of the frequenters of the place, and was Brooklyn's guardians. 49 well aware that they liad a sj)ite against him, which boded him no good. The ronghs talked the matter over, and agreed to "lay the officer out " at the first opportu- nity. On several evenings they laid in wait for him, but either from the presence of strangers or other police took no action. On the night in question, thirteen of the gang assembled in front of the groggery to wait for the patrolman. Rodgers, who headed the crowd, was armed with a heavy cart-rung. Upon Donahoe's approach the men began singing vulgar songs, and the patrolman coming up, ordered them to cease, as the noise they made disturbed the neighborhood. He then turned to walk away, when Eodgers raised the cart-rung in both hands and brought it down with deadly force on the head of Donahoe, who fell to the sidewalk unconscious. The murderer again struck the prostrate officer another heavy blow, which broke the rung into pieces and ended the life of Donahoe. The patrolman was left lying in the street, and was discovered by Officers Cantrell and Travers, who procured a wagon and brought him to the station. The murderer was in the midst of the crowd that surrounded the wagon on its way to the station- house. His excited actions were noticed, and he was arrested, tried and convicted, and on the sixth of De- cember, the same year, was hanged. In 1874 James Jourdan succeeded himself, and James L. Jensen, a wealthy Williamsbm*g manufacturer, was made associate-commissioner. At this time Joel Smith was captain of the First Precinct. The station house was situated on Washington Street, near Johnson ; Lewis Worth commanded the Second Precinct at York and Jay Streets ; Daniel Ferry the Third, at 19 Butler 50 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Street, near Court ; Eufus W. Crafts the Foiirtn, on the corner of Myrtle and Vanderbilt Avenues ; Cornehus Woglom the Fifth at North First and Fourth Streets ; WiUiam J. Kaiser the Sixth, on the corner of Stagg and Morrell Streets ; George R. Rhodes the Seventh, at Union and Greenpoint Avenues ; John MacKehar the Eighth, at 530 Fifth Avenue, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth Street ; Patrick H. McLaughhn the Ninth, on Gates Avenue near Marcy ; James Campbeh the Tenth, Ber- gen Street and Sixth Avenue ; Thomas J. Cornell the Eleventh, on the corner of Van Brunt and Seibert Streets, and Oliver B. Leich the Twelfth, on Fulton Street near Schenectady Avenue. George Arnold Buckholz was Commanding-Sergeant of the Sixth Sub-Precinct on Flushing Avenue ; Smith Hall at the Eighth Sub on the corner of Third Avenue and Forty-second Street, and Tredwell C. Wilmarth at the Ninth Sub, Green Avenue and Broadway. Of these Daniel Ferry was subsequently elected Justice of the Peace and proved an efficient, able and worthy magistrate. In 1875 another change in the heads of the depart- ments was made. Daniel D. Briggs was made Presi- dent of the Board of Commissioners to succeed James Jourdan, and John Pyburn and William B. Hurd were appointed Commissioners in place of James Jourdan and James L. Jensen. A feature of the police reports now begins to attract attention, and that is the large percentage of stolen prop- erty recovered from thieves. In 1875 one hundred and sixty -nine thousand dollars worth is recovered of one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars worth stolen, while in 18 7G ninety-seven thousand dollars is rescued BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 51 from one hundred and two thousand dollars worth re- ported taken. This is less than six per cent, nnrecovered and is a curious commentary upon the skill and system of the police and the detectives and on the ill-success that attaches to crime. Much of it is due to an organic change in the training of detectives. He of the olden time knew criminals as a terrier does a rat, something to be hunted. He of the new school is taught to know them personally, socially, politically and every way in which they can be of use to him. Nothing better illus- trates the new relationship between criminals and the police than the curious features of police work. Whether there are or not any such detectives as Vidocq is a ques- tion, but there is no question that the conditions under which our Vidocqs work are wholly different from the conditions that gave the great Frenchman a chance to display his ability. Xo longer is it the case that the head of a detective force, upon being confronted with a mys- terious crime, picks out a man in his command and says: ' ' Robinson, here is a penknife and a pair of rubbers left by a mysterious murderer ; take them and track him down. That was the old way l^it still is in the country ), and a man had to be a Vidocq to do the work. Persons nowadays who think the romantic detective work of fiction and the stage are like the work of to-day marvel greatly when they see a stupid-looking, coarse, clumsy fellow, such as some Xew York detectives are, and say to themselves : "Is it possible that such a man can play as many parts as a great actor and possesses a mind both broad and subtle, capable of Vidocq-s work C Nonsense ! Xo. It is only once in a while that such a genius is needed, and then if he is not on hand we get along with- 52 Brooklyn's guakdiaxs. out him, and add another crime to the hst of mysteries, a la Burdell, a la Nathan, a la Eoss, and a la Stewart's body. The basis of detective work now is the acquaint- ance of detectives with criminals. Every such fine tooth combing as this one just finished enlarges that acquaint- ance and makes it deeper. It's frightfully dull and pro- saic, but it's found to be practical and reasonably efficient. Thus, for example, a crime is committed on the Heights and reported the next morning to Chief Campbell. He himself is a trained detective, and has a wide knowledge of criminals and their methods. Besides this, he has other and greater powers. He has around him six detec- tives and more than thirty others distributed through the precincts. If he so desires, one tap upon the bell will bring them all before him. All are ambitious. A first- class record means popularity, with probable promotion and possible appointment to higher municipal offices. Frequently it means heavy remuneration from a grateful sufferer, whose property is returned to him. One success means many more. Crooks and malefactors come to have an instinctive terror of famous detectives, and make confessions and do things that seem incredible to private citizens. Chief Campbell thinks the matter over a few minutes, and then summons his lieutenants from the detectives' room. He states the facts briefly, and then says, ' ' Zundt, where is Red Leary now ? Still down at Fort Hamilton ? And what is he doing now " ? ^' About the same old racket, I believe. He was there once last week, but only for a short time. He's stopping at a private boarding-house in Twenty-sixth Street under ^ BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 53 an alias, and has been ratlier lianl up tlie past three weeks." " You'd better go over and see what he's been doing the past ninety-six hours. Mr. Looney, run over and see Draper's woman and the crowd that hangs out there. By the way, where's Cigarette Harry ? " Off my books now for eighteen months. Got two years in Buffalo for shoving the queer. His opium-joint is closed, but the mob has a new one in Baxter Bend, down town, and one in Great Jones Street. Most of them ai'e w(^rking sawdust, under Barney ^laguire. Fat Charlie Johnson and ' the Doctor.' " "All right ; take them in also. Mahoney, report to Inspector Byrnes, ^\ith my compliments, and work Sixth Avenue and Thirty-first Street. Powers, you'll take the sporting houses on the East side." A prodigious amount of knowledge is gained and kept up in this way. Give each man several subjects, as each one has, and the result is that there is not a professional in town who camiot be located in an hour if he is in town, or tracked if out of town. This knowledge embraces a close acquaintance with the habits of the crooks, their mistresses, friends, the liquor stores and gambling hells they frequent, the fences where they borrow when hard up, and the lines of work on which they operate, as well as the gangs they operate ^\ath. It is said that our city detectives know all this absolutely. Professional crimi- nals are always spoken respectfully of by the police as good men. '* Good men," said Superintendent Campbell, " will do anything rather than shoot when they are cracking a place. They will give up the job, run away, or even take 54 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. a beating before they will pull a trigger. It is only when they are cornered and see a long sentence staring them in the face that they will commit an assault, and then they prefer not to kill. " President Daniel D. Briggs, of the Board of Police Com- missioners, died on the third of July, 1876, and James Jourdan was selected to fill the position. Three days after the death of Mr. Briggs, Patrolman Edward Scott, of the Fourth Precinct, was murdered by a member of the " Jackson Hollow Gang." Jackson Hollow " was the remnant of an old farm in the very heart of the fash- ionable district on the Hill. Through long and tedious litigation, similar to that depicted by Dickens in Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce, it became tied up and useless. Squatters settled upon it, who paid no rent and who defied both the Board of Health and the police. It graduated a numer- ous brood of criminals and fallen women, who made a miserable livelihood by preying upon their respecta'ble neighbors. Their numerous petty crimes and depraved conduct made them a terror to that part of the city. The killing of Officer Scott culminated their infamous career, and terminated it at the same time. Though the actual murderer was not actually ascertained, yet the crime was fastened upon a group who underwent various terms of imprisonment. Their murderous character once estab- lished, they received no mercy from the police. On the slightest pretext they were ari'ested, and as the Courts shared the same feelings, their pettiest offences received the severest penalties allowed by the statutes. Thus they were rapidly decimated and finally driven away. 1876 was marked by blood in many ways. Patrolman Patrick McKeon, attached to the Central (Office Squad, on BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 55 the night of December r)th met his death while endeavor- ing to save hfe at a fire in the Brooklyn Theatre. Officer Lawrence J. Phelan died on Wednesday, December 27th, from injuries received while in the exercise of the functions of his office. The most import- ant case that, came under the notice of the police was tlie murder of Sara Alexander by Pesach N. Rubenstein on December 12, IS 75. Rubenstein escaped after committing the crime, but on the fourth of January following was arrested and arraigned on the charge. On February 12 the murderer was found guilty, and was sentenced to be hanged on the twenty-fourth of March. A stay of pro- ceedings was afterwards granted, but death intervened, and sent the prisoner to a higher tribunal. Following close upon the Alexander murder was that of William W. Simmons, who was killed by Andreas Fuchs. The murder was rendered the more horrible by the fiendish malice of the assassin. After killing Simmons, he cold- bloodedly dissected the corpse, burning some of the pieces, nailing others to the w^alls and ceiling of his cellar, and treating the remainder as so much offal. Fuchs was arrested, tried, found guilty and sentenced April 11 to be hanged on the second day of June. His sentence was afterwards commuted to imprisonment for life. Another crime was the robbery of the Fulton Bank on the tw^en- tieth of March by Beriali P. Rogers. Rogers got as far as Knoxville, Tennessee, where he w^as captured by De- tectives Corwin and Folk, and brought back to justice. The thief was indicted, tried, convicted and sent to the Kings County Penitentiary for a term of years. Dur- ing the month of March, 1876, occurred a case of singular mistaken identification of the body of a drow^ned man. 66 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. It was said to have been Captain Hamlin, of Maine, who had been long missing. Hamlin had a large insurance on his life, and cei'tain parties insisted that the body found was his, going so far as to make af!iidavit to that effect. The police would not believe such was the case, and telegrams were sent all over the country to see if Hamlin could be discovered. He was finally found to be living in California, in good health. The jewelry store of Lewis Bijou, on the thirteenth of March, was robbed of a large amount of valuables. The affair was mysterious, but the thief was finally captured and sent to prison. The keeping track, and final arrest in San Francisco, of Thomas Hallienen, the murderer of William Pursell at Harbeck's stores in June, 1871, is but another evidence of the ability attendant upon the management of the force during the year. CHAFER IV. History from 1877 to 1884. Manufactories Encroach upon Homes Especially in the River- Wards. — The Brooklyn Bank Embezzlement. — A Colossal Bribe. — Two Faithful Detectives. — A Wealthy Suicide. — A Mounted Officer Dies in Doing his Duty. — Heroic Gus Weisman. — Com- missioners Ward and White. — The Deadly Kerosene Lamp. — Bureau of Combustibles. — Brooklyn's Superb Moral Condition in 1878. — A Fire-bug Caught and Caged — Narrow Escape of Work-people. — Two Burglars Attempt to Kill an- Officer. — The Planet Mills Highwaymen put Behind Bars. — A Murder Traced by Pig-iron. — A Blot on the Police-escutcheon. — Bill Blake Hammers the Life Out of Patrick White. — Traced by His Hat.— Pyburn and Leich Assume the Purple.— ^Ieyners Assassinates Patrick INIcDermott. — Tarantino Carves Mattino with a Razor. — Two Gangs Broken Up. — Steers and Colell, the New Commissioners. — The Murder of Officer Stone. — Oster- meyer Hacks his Wife. — Killed by a Billiard-cue. — James Walsh Crazed with Love and Liquor Kills his Sweetheart and is Hung. — Detective Chambers Nearly Killed. — Becker the Queer. — Lauer and Evans Come into Power, — A Child Kid- napped. — Kenny Kills Lennon. — Assorted Murders. — The Nar- row Escape of Brave Detectives Looney and Carr. EFORE THE '' Seventies," Brooklyn was essentially a city of homes. What little business it did was supphed by retail stores, breweries, a few factories and storehouses. The crowding of Manhattan Island and the consequent excessive appreciation of value of real estate soon called attention to the sparsely-populated giant sub- urb, and notably to the latter's low rents and superb ac- commodations. As a result, population and capital began to flow across the river in ever-growing amounts. 58 Brooklyn's guardians. Building was done upon a large scale, and all along the extended water-front and the banks of Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal, were started new manufactories, warehouses and wholesale places of business. The in- crease of commercial and municipal activity was accom- panied by a corresponding increase of crime and crim- inals. From now on increased work is thrown upon the police ; from time to time accessions are made to the force, and new precincts and sub -precincts established ; but each increase soon proves inadequate to meet the growing demand of the municipality. On March 22, 1877, a report was received at head- quarters that an embezzlement had occurred at the Brooklyn Bank. Detectives David H. Corwin and Ed- ward Looney, two of the best men in the department, were detailed on the case. On the next morning all the clues had been followed out and the alleged embezzler was arrested. When the detectives were taking him to the station house he offered them the contents of a small valise, which he carried in his hand, if they would per- mit him to j)roceed unmolested. The bag contained the sum of one hundred and twenty-five thousand three hundred dollars and sixty-two cents, but the officers refused the bribe. When the prisoner was brought to headquarters he informed the Superintendent that another small valise, containing moie money, could be found at the Van Dyke House on the Bowery, New York. The Superintendent immediately dispatched the detectives to the place indicated. The valise was secured, and upon examination of its contents the sum of twenty-eight thousand seven hundred and fifty-six dollars was found, making the aggregate BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 59 amount recovered one hundred and fifty-four thousand and fifty-six dollars and sixty-two cents. The hank lost only ten dollars, and, it is said, paid a very handsome reward to the two officers. On the seventh of April, 1877, Patrolman James Hogan, of the Second Precinct, found the body of James Howie floating in the East River. In the pockets of the drowned man was the sum of six thous- and forty-four dollars and sixty-two cents, which w^as delivered to the official authorized to receive the same. How death was caused, whether by accident or suicide, was never determined by the authorities. Officer John Thompson, of the mounted squad, on December IS, 1877, was killed while in pursuit of a runaway horse, attached to a grocer's wagon, on Bedford Avenue. The officer succeeded in getting in front of the runaway and endeav( .red to turn its course by heroically facing the in- furiated horse ; but, instead of shying, the steed kept right on, and the officer's horse, not being able to get out of the way, was struck in the flank by the shaft of the wagon with such force that it entered to the depth of eight inches, the shock throwing both horse and rider to the ground, killing the animal and crushing the man. Officer Thompson was taken to the City Hospital in an unconscious condition and died shortly afterwards. Officer Gustavus A. Weismann, of the same squad, stopped a runaway horse at the corner of Bedford Ave- nue and Wilson Street on the twenty-sixth day of May, the same year, and saved the lives of three children who were in the wagon attached to the frightened horse. The deed required courage, address and great strength, and wrenched the officer's arm so severely that he was inca- pacitated for many days. For this lieoric act Weismann 00 Brooklyn's guardians. was presented with a hancTsome medal by the Pohce Commissioners. On the first day of November, 1877, Eodney C. Ward and Thomas P. White were nominated for the office of Pohce and Excise Commissioners to fill the i^laces of John Pyburn and William B. Hurd, whose terms of office had expired. A new source of trouble was added to the dangers of civil Hfe and the labors of the police in the deadly kero- sene lamp. The new burning fluid had become universally popular. Its danger was overlooked in its convenience, and laughed at by those who were blinded by famili- arity. As a result the reckless or ignorant would fill lamps with the inflammable oil in the immediate pres- ence of a flame, kindle flres with it and even brighten up fires that were in full combustion. Besides this there were at the time almost no legal restrictions upon its maimfacture and sale, so that dishonest makers and dealers threw upon the market vast quantities of oil so impure or adulterated as to be practically naught but liquid gunpowder. Eight persons were killed, fifty in- jured and over two hundred fires caused by either the reck- lessness or the use of impure oils in 1877 alone. The in- creased labor thus thrown upon the police resulted in the passage and enforcement of laws and ordinances, where- by maufacturers and dealers were forbidden to sell illu- minating oils whose fire-test was below a certain legal temperature, and all retailers were compelled to take out licenses before they could traflic in goods of this class. These changes, which were chiefly due to General Jame's Jourdan, soon created a large clerical business and a de- partment, known as the Bureau of Combustibles, was set apart for its transaction. This relieved the police. ^ BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 61 and by thorough management and disciphne finally suc- ceeded in closing what may be appropriately termed the ''kerosene period" in Brooklyn history. Amid the long and tedious rows of figures in the pohce report for the year ending November 30, 1878, one fact is discovered that speaks volumes in praise for the depart- ment. It is that, to tlie knoivledge of the police^ not one cjanihling place, house of ill-fame, disorderly place or dance-house existed in the City of Brooklyn, and that no crime of any magnitude had been committed during the year hut whose perpetrator was under arrest or convic- tio}i. No such record could or can be shown by any city of the same magnitude in the world. It is difficult for the private citizen to realize the discipline, knowledge, activity and work on the part of the police which the words imj^ly. Vice and crime are institutions marked by spontaneous generation. The euchre-club grows imper- ceptibly into the poker-room, and this into the faro lay- out. The woman of easy virtue rapidly learns the pecuniary value of her misconduct and eagerly substi- stutes Plutus for Cupid as the presiding deity of her apartments. The assembly-room finds that there is a larger crowd and a more remunerative trade when its en- tertainments are spiced with salaciousness than with de- corum and respectabihty. In other cities, the police too often wink at these changes, and act only when the transformation has reached its last limit and the place has become a crying scandal and a public nuisance. The Brooklyn police step in at the first moment the law allows, and prevent the subsequent criminal career. Unless irretrievably bad, the wrong-doers receive a reahz- ing proof of the error of their ways, and are thus turned 62 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. frequently from what would otherwise become c*j VICIOUS hfe. On the fifth of January, ISTS, Officer Gustave Feigen- baum, Jr. , of the Fifth Precinct, arrested Christian Berg- hauser, an insane German, on Wythe Avenue. In his pockets was found the sum of three thousand dollars, which he had embezzled from his employer, Urban Kneer, doing business at 274 Houston Street, New York. The prisoner was delivered to the New York authorities. John McGarvey, alias Gingo, and a member of the chain gang, who had served seV'eral terms in the penitentiary, on January 11, 1S78, set fire to Furnivall's factory, 256 and 258 Water Street. There were one hundred and thirteen persons, mostly young women, who were em- ployed at the time in the ujDper stories of the building. Alarm was immediately given, and, fortunately, the occupants of the building escaj)ed, and those overcome by the smoke were removed before the fire reached the upper stories. McGarvey was captured by Detective Michael Campbell, of the Second Precinct, the same 'eve- ning, and was afterwards sent to the Penitentiary for a term of four years. About two o'clock on the morning of Februaxy tt, ISTS, Frank Porter and Thomas Porter, alias McLaughhn, two desperate characters, well known to the police of both cities, wxre seen by Officer Charles Quinn, of the Fifth Precinct, emerging from the area of the house of Mr. John May, 90 Lee Avenue. Accom- panied by Sergeant John Brennan, Quinn went into the area and discovered the men at work forcing the base- ment door. After a severe struggle the thieves were se- cured, but on the way to the station-house Officer Quinn's prisoner drew a revolver from his pocket, and putting it Brooklyn's ocardiaxs. 03 af his captor's head, demanded his release. Quinn called to Sergeant Bi'ennan foi* assistance, wh(3 went imme- diately to help him. In doing so, however, he weakened his hold on his own prisoner, who, making the best of the opportunity, slipped out of his coat and escaped, leaving the garment in the sergeant's hands. Quinn's prisoner was taken to the station-house, and all the officers were notified to look out for a man in his shirt sleeves. Officer Callahan subsequently arrested him. Frank Porter was sent to prison for ten years, and Thomas Porter for six and a hatt years. On the twenty-third of March, IS 78, Warren Lane, bookkeeper, and Daniel Maginnis, watchman, employed by the Planet Mills Manufacturing Company, were over- powered by three armed highwaymen while on their way home, and robbed of three thousand five hundred dollars, the property of their employer. Two days afterwards the perpetrators of the daring outrage were arrested in New York by Detectives Radford, Handley and Dilkes, and brought to Brooklyn. The trial of the thieves, whose names were Bartlett, alias Cooper, O'Rourke, alias Stan- ton, alias Roberts, and Martin, alias Carter, was stub- bornly contested, the highest legal talent bei^^g employed, and extended over two weeks. It resulted, on July 3, in a verdict against Bartlett and Martin, and in the ac- quittal of O'Rourke. Barbara AUen, a ragged and filthy beggar who had patrolled Fulton Street for twenty years, was seized with a fit at Fulton Ferry on Ai3ril 9, 1878, and died in an ambulance. When her clothing was searched, it was found that she was worth over twenty thousand dollars in money, bank accounts and first-class securities. John H. Wright, of the schooner " Abbie H. 64 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Hodgeman/' in the early part of April, 1878, murdered a jmikman by the name of Bernard Feron, and threw the body into the East River. The body was found a few weeks later by the police, and on the scrap iron which had been used to sink the body, was found the name of the schooner with which Wright was connected. He was subsequently arrested by Captain Edward Eeilley and Detectives Daley and Looney. Wright confessed that he committed the murder, and on November 18 was sent to prison for life. In this case, the Court specially complimented the police for their remarkable skill and energy. This was a busy year for the police. They had .not only to contend with the criminal classes of their own city, but also with famous experts in crime from New York and elsewhere. In one case — a burglary in Williamsburgh — they found that the job had been done by skilful professionals, and after a hard search, ren- dered all the more severe by the intellectuality and crim- inal knowledge of the perpetrators, they ran down and captured Irving, Porter, Wilber and Shang Draper, four of the most reckless and dangerous criminals alive. The police record was blemished this year by its own members. In May, 1878, Officer Maurice Heffran, a brave man, but addicted to drink, shot his superior officer. On examination, he was found to be insane, superinduced by delirium tremens. In the autumn, Jeremiah Cavanagh, who had up to that time borne an excellent reputation for faithfulness, became moody and morose, and wound up by trying to kill Captain Louis Worth. In his case, liquor also had turned the brain, and to its evil effects were added those resulting from physical suffering and domestic troubles. Brooklyn's guardians. 65 Besides the four criminals named, the pohce captured seventy-three distinguished malefactors for various crimes of the most serious nature, including hurglary, highway rohhery, forgery, manslaughter and murder. 1879 was a year of political activity. There were dissensions in hoth parties. The old Board Avas com- posed of James Jourdan and Rodney C. Ward, Repuh- licans, and Thomas F. White, independent Democrat. The political authorities now reversed the order of things. John Pyburn, a genial Democratic leader, replaced Col- onel Ward and Oliver B. Leich, an ex-police captain, and a very active independent Republican j^olitician, Mr. White. General Jourdan retained his position as Presi- dent of the Board of Police and Excise. The police year was as lively as the one just preceding. The crimes involved were equally serious, but the criminals, more numerous, were not as reckless and de- praved as their predecessors. One of the most important cases of the year was the murder of Patrick McDermott by Nicholas Meyners on July IT, 1879. Meyners, the evening previous, had been brutally beating his wife, but was interrupted by McDer- mott, who threatened to call the police if he did not de- sist. Myners was enraged at the interference, and swore vengeance upon McDermott. In the morning he sta- tioned himself, musket in hand, at the door of his cabinet shop in the basement of 84 Hudson Avenue, and when McDermott came from his store, on the opposite side of the street, and turned his back to take down the shutters from his window, Meyners shot him. The noise of the shot attracted Officer Ryan to the spot, and the murderer was taken into custody; Ryan, after a struggle with a crowd 66 Brooklyn's guardians. that wanted to lynch Meyners, succeeded in getting his prisoner to the station-house. On the twelfth of March, 1880, Meyners was sent to prison for life, the plea of tem- porary emotional insanity saving his neck from the gal- lows, where it properly belonged. Another case that excited considerable interest at the time was the killing of Patrick White by William Blake, a saloon-keeper, on the night of February 1st, 1871). White died at some distance from the place he was assaulted. Detective Ennis, of the Sixth Precinct, was detailed to discover the murderer, and was successful in his work. He ascertained that a man by the name of Callahan, residing in New York, was in the company of White on the night of the assault, and that both were drunk. Callahan was found, and with the detective vis- ited several drinking places, recognizing the one kept by Blake as the place where the fracas occurred. Witnesses were also found who saw W^hite lying bleeding on the stoop of the saloon. Blake was arrested and his premises searched ; in his room were found concealed in the bed a bloody shirt, two loaded revolvers and a loaded gun. A large hammer, with which it was believed Blake did the killing, was found behind the bar. On the fourth of January, ISSO, Detective George V. Zundt, of the Central Office, arrested Hugh Roy, who on the morning of the second instant knocked down and robbed Louis Riemen- schneider at the corner of Central and Myrtle Avenues. A hat, which Roy left behind in the scuffle, led to his arrest. Early in January, 1880, Onofrio La Mattino, em- ployed by Peter Tarrintino as a barber, at ?>07 Hamilton Avenue, criminally assaulted the wife of his employer during the latter's temporary absence. When Tarrintino Brooklyn's guardians. 67 came home he learned of the outrage, and summoned Joseph Fehce and Salvadore Dimario to assist him to punish the offender. The three attacked La Mattino with razors, and nearly succeeded in killing him. The wounded man was taken to the hospital, and his assail- ants arrested. Judge Moore afterwards discharged the three men. The Eastern District officers did excellent work this year. The '^Silver Gang," who were chiefly sneak- thieves and clothes-line robbers, and who apparently assumed the name because they had nothing whatsoever to do with the metal, and the ' ' Flying Dutchmen, " an organization of a dozen young German-American high- waymen, were both broken up and nearly all their mem- bers sent behind bars. The second gang was the more dangerous, as its leading spirits, Prehn, Gerloff , Schwarz and Adzert, possessed courage and intelligence more than ordinary. Sergeant Patrick Slattery, of the Eleventh Precinct, and Samuel Duff, foreman of Engine Company No. 3, distinguished themselves at a fire at 43 President Street, on September 19, 1880, by saving, at the imminent risk of their own lives, the life of little Emma McCann, who had been left behind in the hurry of her parents. In 1880 the Eepublicans were again in power. Gen- eral Jourdan was retained in office, and Messrs. Pyburn and Leicli were succeeded by Captain William L. B. Steers, a popular uptown citizen, and Herman Colell, a wealthy German tobacco merchant. They made a good administration, but were harassed during their term of office by reason of excise difficulties. On the twenty-ninth of February, this year, a gang of 68 Brooklyn's guardians. roughs attacked and killed Officer James M. Stone, of the Thh'd Precinct. P. and J. Mungerford, Patrick Han- Ion, Thomas Herne and Daniel Burke, alias Paddy Doyle, were arrested and charged with the crime. At the Coroner s inquest it was discovered that Burke had thrown the stone which caused the officer's death. On the seventeenth of May, 1880, Burke was sent to prison for seven years, J. Mungerford for two years, Hanlon for one year and P. Mungerford for six months. Herne was discharged. Detective Kelly and Officer Mott, of the Ninth Precinct, during the months of March and April, 1880, succeeded in breaking up a gang of burglars, whose deeds had been of the most daring kind. Charles Tice, Frederick Abell, William McMullen, Philip Peters and Edward Baisley were arrested, and eight hundred and fifty dollars worth of property, the proceeds from several burglaries, recovered. Tice was sent to prison for five and a half years, and Abell for four and a half years ; Baisley and McMullen were put in the Elmira Eef ormatory, and Peters became an inmate of the House of Eefuge. John Ostermeyer, of 114 Woodbine Street, while in a fit of delirium tremens on the night of May 19, 1880, struck his wife on the head with an axe and killed her instantly. When the officers came to take him to the station house, Ostermeyer tried to take his own life, but was not successful. He wounded himself severely, however, and was taken to St. Catherine's Hospital, where he remained until the tenth of May. On the twenty-fifth of the same month he was senten(5ed to imprisonment for life. On the third of August, 1880, another murder occurred. John McLaughlin, living at •19 8 Baltic Street, killed his mistress, Mary Blake, during BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. 69 a dispute over the loss of twenty-five cents, wliicli he claimed she had taken from his pocket while he lay asleep on the floor. He was afterwards sentenced to nine years imprisonment. In H. De Browsky's saloon, at 30 7 Atlantic Avenue, on the fourth of October, Thomas Jones was murdered by John J. Dwyer. Jones was playing pool with a friend named George Secomb, and refused a drink Avhich Dwyer offered him. Dwyer, angered at the refusal, seized a billiard cue and struck Jones on the head with the butt end, causing instant death. Dwyer was tried and found guilty of man- slaughter. Proving an excellent record, the Court was lenient, and sentenced him to only two years imprison- ment. The Ninth Sub-Precinct deserves credit this year for their admirable work in tracing and arresting a trio of skilful burglars who had been breaking into houses along the upper part of De Kalb Avenue. After the last robbery they obtained a description of three men seen suspiciously loitering in the neighborhood at the time and found that it tallied with that of a similar trio ob- served at a previous burglary. Armed only with this they searched the purlieus and thieves' haunts of New York and Brooklyn, and within four days captured Moore, Patterson and Spencer, the perpetrators. On the third of January, 1881, occurred the murder of Barbara Groventhal, by James Walsh, at the residence of Thomas F. Carlisle, 502 Willoughby Avenue. Early in the evening of the day Walsh visited Mr. Carlisle's house, and enticing her into the yard, he plunged a knife into her heart, and then escaped. Three hours and a half after the police were made cognizant of the affair, the murderer was under arrest. He was found in Gowanus 70 Brooklyn's guardians. Canal, 'where he had jumped in order to put an end to his hfe. On the twentieth of January — a year later — he was hung. Detective Chambers, of the First Precinct, while attempting to arrest a burglar at 255 and 257 Ful- ton Street, Avas shot through the eye. Notwithstanding that the blood was running from the wound in a large stream, the detective seized the fellow, and brought him, unassisted, to the station. He was afterwards taken to his home in an ambulance, where he suffered for some time with great pain. His assailant, on the nineteenth of April, 1881, was sent to prison for ten years. William Johnson, on July 10, 1881, was arrested by Officer Peter .Cain, of the Eleventh Precinct, for the murder of his wife. The j)risoner, early in the morning, beat and choked his wife, as she lay in bed, until she was dead. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment. On the sixteenth of September, 1S81, the police nabbed Charlie Becker, the noted counterfeiter. The eye of the law had for a long time been watching Becker, but his actions were such as to make people believe that he was leading an honest life, and no chance was offered for his arrest. Louis L. Coudert, a few days before Becker was taken, entered a complaint against him, charging him with counterfeiting a one thousand franc note upon the Bank of France. Detectives Edward Looney and Thomas Shaughnessy arrested Becker at his residence in Madison Street, East New York, and also secured a large lot of materials for counterfeiting. Beckei", on the twenty- eight of November, 1881, was sent to prison for six and a half years. Becker was, without doubt, the greatest counterfeiter the world ever had. Besides loeing a splen- did engraver and an artist of high rank in black and Brooklyn's guardians. 71 white, he had a thorough practical knowledge of applied chemistry, photography, lithography and microscopy. His work has been repeatedly pronounced faultless by government officials and distinguished experts. It is estimated that in his busy life-time of crime, he has caused losses amounting to over two million dollars. In 1882 Richard Lauer and Thomas T. Evans succeeded Wilham L. B. Stears and Herman Colell as Excise Com- missioners. The department over which these gentle- men are heads granted during the year two thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight licenses. On the ninth of January, 1882, Francisco Massa stabbed Ferdinand Per- fetti, and two months later was sentenced to imprison- ment for four years. Officer James McCloskey on March 28, 1882, distinguished himself by arresting William Wilson and Thomas Jackson, two colored burg- lars, whose exploits had been for the two years previous of the most daring character. While patroling his beat the officer saw two men scale a fence in the I'ear of 182 Halsey Street and climb over the rear extension of the house. He followed and nabbed Wilson. Jackson got away, but was caught a few moments afterwards hiding in the yard at the rear of 2o8 Halsey Street. In May Wilson was sentenced to five years and Jackson to ten. On the twenty-sixth of June, 1882, Officer Thomas Early was shot in two parts of his body while attempting to arrest Eichard McCuUough, a desperado of Montreal, Canada. McCullough took some fruit from the stand owned by Luigi Acarino, at 23 Hamilton Avenue, and refused to pay for it. Officer Early attempted to stop him from walking away, whereupon McCullough drew a pistol and fired at the officer, striking him in the elbow. 72 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. The men clinched, and during the struggle for supremacy the thief fired a second shot, this time the hall entering the officer's hack. Detective Connors came to Early's assistance and succeeded in wresting the weapon from McCullough. The wounded officer was confined in the hospital for a length of time, and upon his recovery his assailant was sent to prison for eight years. In the after- noon of August '^)1, 1SS:>, fom*-year-old Lizzie Selden, the only daughter of William H. Selden, was kidnapped from in front of her parents' residence, 220 Carlton Ave- nue. The police were notified of the occurrence hy the . distracted father, hut a thorough search failed to throw any light on the case. Some time afterwards Charles McNally, alias McLaughlin, gave information to the detectives that eventually led to the arrest of Margaret Keppel, of 122 Park Avenue, and the restoration of Liz- zie to her parents. With the exception of the Charlie Eoss abduction case, the affair caused more excitement among the Hill people than any crime for five years back. In the same month Francis G. Salmon, a lawyer, de- frauded his clients out of twenty thousand dollars and skipped'' to Florida, where he was arrested by Detec- tive George V. Zundt and brought back to Brooklyn. In September he was sent to prison for five years. George Thompson, residing in a tenement at 362 Hicks Street, on the night of September 25, 1882, murdered Michael Connors, with whom he was drinking, in his own apartments. The murderer fled from the city under a disguise, but was captured in New York a few hours later by Detectives Daniel Daly, Edward Looney and Officer John Doran, of the Third Sub -Precinct. On the second of February, 1883, he was sent to prison for Brooklyn's guardians. 73 life. On the twenty-fourth of October, 1882, occurred the murder of John Lennon, a car driver, by John Kenny, a bill poster. The affair caused a sensation at the time, as it was well known that Kenny had a host of political friends, and it was a popular belief that he would get clear of all punishment. Lennon was found by Officer John H. Burns, of the First Precinct, at two o'clock in the morning, lying on Duffield Street with several pistol shots in his head. A letter was found on the ground near the body addressed to John Kenny, which led to the latter's arrest. A jury found Kenny guilty, but while he was in Raymond Street Jail await- ing sentence an unknown friend succeeded in' handing him a pistol unnoticed, with which, soon afterwards, he committed suicide. Another arrest for murder was made on the twenty-third of December, 1882. This time the murderer was Alexander Johnson, a colored man. The Police Department in the beginning of 1883-1: numbered six hundred and sixty five men, four hun- dred and eighty nine of which number were patrol- men. Of the many crimes committed during the year, five were for murder. The first was on the seventeenth of April, 1884, and the victim was Diedrich Steffens. Steffens was paying attentions to a niece of Diedrich Wahnken, but the latter misconstrued his intentions and suspected that Steffens was his wife's paramour. Wahn- ken brooded on his suspicions until it made him deranged and one day Avhile Steffens was passing his store, he shot him from his doorway. Wahnken was subsequently sent to the State Lunatic Asylum. On October 6, 1884, George Mills, while under the influence of liquor, killed his wife vdth. a knife at 146 North Sixth Street, and de- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. livered himself up to the pohce. During a street fracas that occurred on the fourteenth of October, 1884, Charles Miller stabbed and killed Casper Schittig, and was arrested. On the twenty-fourth of the same month, 1884, Thomas J. Young killed his wife by shoot- ing her through the head with a pistol ball, and on No- vember 30th, 1881, Joseph Guidice was arrested for shoot- ing and instantly killing Maggiovini, a baker in the em- ploy of Mary Dassories, at 22 Union Street. On the Seventeenth of February, 1885, Detectives Ed- ward Looney and Patrick Corr, were severely wounded in attempting to arrest Paul Hogan, alias Harrington, alias Preston, a bail jumper, on First Avenue, New York. At the corner of Sixty-fifth Street and Second Avenue, the detectives saw the man they were looking for. Going up to him, Looney placed his right hand on his shoulder and said ^'I want you ;" immediately Hogan turned, and without the slightest warning shot the detective in the neck. He then sprang behind a column of the elevated railroad and fired two shots at Corr, both of which took effect in his neck. The would-be murderer was chased half a mile, but was not captured. Detective Michael Hickey, of the New York Headquarters, had the wound- ed officers removed to the Mount Sinai Hospital, where they speedily recovered from the injuries that at first had seemed to be fatal. CHAPTER V. From 1884 to 1887. Gen. Jourdan Retires from Municipal Service. — IIis Splendid Rec- ord AS Soldier. jVIilitiaman, Official, Politician and Man of Affairs. — Col. Partridge Succeeds Hlm. — Francis L. Dallon made Deputy Commissioner. — Lauer and Evans Continued as Excise Commissioners. — A New Sub-precinct, the Sixth — Clara Groblenski Poisoned. — An Insane Borgia. — The Herrick Mur DER. — McDonald Scissored to Death by a Mad Italian. — A Hom- icidal Husband. — The 18S5 Election. — The Difficulties op the Newly-elected Administration. — Police and Excise. — The Lat- ter's Unpopularity. — Liquor Business. — The Gordian Knot Cut. Hon. Thomas Carroll, One of Brooklyn's Best Men, :made Police Co3imissioner. — Dallon Retained. — New Excise Commisstoxers. — Criminal Events. — Arrest of George Meyer, who Worked Bogus Cheques. — George Potter, Boarding House Fiend, Col- lared. — Miller, a Scientific Burglar, Taken Care Of. — Mc- Partland Bamboozles the Police. — Michael Mahady^, the Ux- oricide. — Florence May Barton Sault, the Unexcelled Liar. — — Increased Timidity of Out-of-Town and Domestic Thieves. — Detective Chambers ox the Alert. — Capt. Campbell Bounces a Pickpocket. — Favors to Thieves. — Their Abject Subjugation. EW year's day, 1884, marked the retirement of General Jourdan from the Pohce Commissioner- ship of this city. He had so distinguished himself in the position, and so won the admiration and esteem of all the citizens of Brooklyn, that the step taken excited uni- versal curiosity and regret. Equal successes in other fields have combined to make him one of the great Brooklynites of the century. Starting in poverty, and with no influ- ential protectors to assist him, his ambition knew no ob- stacle. He utilized every possible educational opportu- 76 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. nity, alid supplemented this by educating himself. 1852 found him a young man already successful in trade, and with every promise of a brilliant future. In 1854 he joined the Fourteenth Regiment, then to be afterwards known as the "Fighting Fourteenth," and was enrolled under Captain Horace A. Sprague. He displayed from the outset a strong liking for military art, and soon was recognized by his companions as an authority upon its questions, details and law. At the breaking out of the civil war, he was among the first to volunteer his services in the cause of the Union. His ability and knowledge were immediately called into full use, and were so warmly appreciated by the authorities, that he was promoted to a higher position, and left Brooklyn for the front with the rank of major. As an officer, he displayed all the qualities of high generalship, and was rapidly moved up- wards on the scale of rank. The men under his com- mand were not only thoroughly drilled and disciplined, but were also so carefully watched and cared for, that their moral and physical condition was always at the best. Though strict to a degree in matters of duty, he was equally kind, thoughtful, affectionate and generous. In December of the same year (1861), he was transferred to the Fifty-sixth Regiment, New York Volunteers, as lieutenant-colonel. In the following six months, he had made for himself so superb a record for ability, courage and faithfulness, that in September, 1862, he was as- signed to the command of the One Hundred and Fifty- eighth Regiment, New York Volunteers. In 1863 he was again promoted, this time to the rank of General, and the First Brigade, First Division of the Eighteenth Army Corps, was placed under his charge. BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. 77 He was brevetted Brigadier-General on the twenty-ninth of September, ISO-t, in reward for his gallant services on the field. He reached the height of war glory when in April, 1805, he was made Major-General. General Jonr- dan served throughont the war, and was at the first bat- tle of Bull Eun, the battle of Williamsburg, siege of YorktoAvn, the fight at Warwick Creek, the passage of the Chickahoming, the battles of Fair Oaks, White Oak Swamp, Savage Station and Glendale Church, and the attack on Suffolk and Malvern Hill. In North Carolina he participated in the passage of the Xeuse River, the attack at Deep Creek and Jacksonville, the repulse of the enemy at Newbern, an attack on Kingston, a recon- noissance on Fort Fisher, a fight at Wilmington, sharp encounters at White Oak Creek, the battle of the Big North Eastern Swamp, and many other engagements of lesser importance. Subsequently he was transferred with his brigade to Bermuda Hundred. Here he partici- pated in the attack and capture of Fort Harrison on the James Eiver. He repulsed the attacks at Spring Hill and Signal Hill in front of Richmond, and took part in the battle at Battery Field. The war over, he returned to Brooklyn and entered public life. His feats were known to all his fellow-citi- zens, with whom he was one of their most distinguished heroes. It was felt that the city should avail itself of his military skill and experience. Accordingly in Aug- ust, 1S66, he was elected Colonel of the Thirteenth Regi- ment of Brooklyn. He commanded the Regiment for a short time, when, owing to the pressure of other duties, he resigned. In January, 1872, he was re-elected Col- onel, and when General Dakin was j^romoted from the 78 Brooklyn's guardians. command of the Fifth Brigade to the position of Major- General, commanding the Second Division, Joui dan was elected to fill the vacancy thereby occasioned. This posi- tio]i he held until the death of General Dakin on May 13, 1878, when, by the right of seniority, he took com- mand of the Division. When Governor Robinson was elected, he applied the political axe to military matters in Brooklyn, and in June, 1879, he reduced General Jour- dan to the command of the Fifth Brigade and wiped out the Second Division Headquarters with a stroke of the pen. One of the first acts of Governor Cornell, after he took his seat of office in 1880, was to restore the General to his old position in command of the Division. General Jourdan's connection with the Police Depart- ment of Brooklyn began in 1872, May 21st, when he was appointed a Police Commissioner and made President of the Board, but was succeeded in 1875 by Daniel Briggs. On the death of Mr. Briggs, July 4th, 1870, General Jourdan was reappointed President of the Police Com- missioners. He served the city in this capacity until 1884, when he was succeeded by Col. John N. Partridge. In politics, he has been a staunch Unionist and Repub- lican, from the outbreak of the rebellion to the present time. His executive ability and popularity have made him prominent in local politics. With General Benjamin Tracy and Hon. Silas B. Dutcher, he became one of the three great Republican leaders. They were facetiously known to those interested in polities as the ' ' Thre^ Graces" of Brooklyn. As such he became a member of the State Committee, and a power in the councils of his party, in both State and nation. He served as delegate to many conventions, both State and National, and was BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 79 active in nearly all the great campaigns. In party man- agement lie displayed shrewdness and ability. By the selection of judicious candidates and the thorough organ- ization of all the party-forces, he was largely instrumental in enabhng the Eepublican minority to control Brook- lyn and Kings County and in bringing forward such suc- cessful candidates as ex-Mayors Frederick A. Schroeder, and Seth Low, ex-Comptroller William G. Steinmetz, ex-District Attorney Isaac S. Catlin, ex- Sheriffs Aras G. Williams, Albert Daggett and Lewis E. Stegman, and ex-Registers Carl Schurig and Samuel Richards. During the long period in which corruption extensively pre- vailed in municipal circles and extravagance was the order of the day, he was unsmirched and ever in opposi- tion to the forces by which the city was being despoiled. Though frequently urged by his friends and the leaders of his party to accept nomination for high elective offices, he never was a candidate for any position. Of him it may be said that he is one of the few politicians who, always sincere and honest, manage to hold unimpaired the public esteem and affection with which they start their career. In the business world General Jourdan has been very successful. His first enterprises of any mo- ment were in real estate. He early perceived the great future value of land in Brooklyn and invested accord- ingly. All, or nearly all of these trans actions were very remunerative. A second noteworthy business operation was the organization and successful management of the Fulton Municipal Gaslight Company. Prior to 1876 Brooklyn was illuminated by gas manufactured by a few close corporations. They had divided the city into dis- tricts and distributed these among themselves. They 80 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. feared no competition, charging high prices, supplying an inferior gas and making no use of the inventions and discoveries which have revolutionized gas-making. The public mind was bitterly hostile to these companies but saw no hope of amelioration. General Jourdan saw the opportunity. He first secured local rights of all the more valuable gas patents for the city and then inter- ested a number of capitalists in the project. Up to this point the matter had been kept quiet. The secret leaked out and the old companies began to feel uneasy and make opposition. The common council next gave the permission required by the statute to perfect the charter and open and use the streets, and the victory was half won. The opposition became formidable, the companies invoking the press and courts in their behalf. The strug- gle, though a determined one, ended in General Jourdan's favor. The new company prospered from the first. It produced a gas of high illuminating power which it sold at very low figures. It cut into the business done by the old companies until these humbled themselves and re- arranged their management ; in some cases buying their gas wholesale from the new concern ; in others, leasing patent rights from it, and in still others, re-equipping their works to conform to modern ideas. The Fulton was a complete success, rewarding its organizers, includ- ing General Jourdan, with comfortable fortunes. Since that time he has been actively engaged in many enter- prises, and is to day as influential in business and finan- cial circles as he formerly was in political and municipal. In January, 1884, General Jourdan's place as Police Commissioner was filled by Mayor Low by the appoint- ment of Colonel John N. Partridge, Francis L. Dallon be- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 81 coming Deputy Commissioner to succeed Edward Lang- ford. Eichard Lauer and Thomas T. Evans were con- tinued as Commissioners of Excise. This year is marked by the appUcation of ''civil service" rules to all the municipal departments and the practical prohibition of Eepublican office-holders from taking any active part in local politics. The criminal record is singularly free from grave offences. No change was made in the heads of the department during the following year (1855), but eighty-six men were added to the general force, making the total num- ber eight hundred and four. On the twelfth of October a new sub-precinct, embracing portions of the Sixth and Seventh Precincts, and known as the Sixth Sub, was established at -137 Graham Avenue, and the eighteenth of the following month the new police launch, the Judge Moore,'' went into commission. The most im- portant crime of the year was the poisoning of Clara Groblenski by her husband, Joseph, in the early part of the month of July, for which he was sentenced to be hanged. Subsequently, upon a thorough examination by expert alienists, he was pronounced by them to be in- sane and was sent to the State Asylum. The horror of the case was intensified by the fact of the discovery that he had murdered his first wife in a similar manner. Both bodies were exhumed by order of the District Attorney and delivered to distinguished chemists for chemical analysis, and in both was found enough arsenic to kill a dozen people. Next in importance was the killing of Albert P. Her- rick by his twenty year old step-son, Thomas J. Arm- strong. The police were a long time in fixing the crime 82 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. upon young Armstrong, but finally succeeded, and the murderer finding the meshes of the law were gathering closely around him, confessed that he performed the killing, but only in self-defence. Considerable public in- terest was manifested in the trial on account of the shocking exposure of family scandals, and but little sur- prise was exhibited when the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. Charles Sheridan, an ex- convict, on the twenty-fifth of September stabbed and killed Thomas Farrel. He hid from the authorities after the murder, but was found by Detective Price five hours afterwards • secreted in a patch of weeds in the yard at the rear of 137 North EUiot Place. Found guilty by the jury of murder in the second degree, on the fifth of Decem- ber, Sheridan was sent to Sing Sing for life. On Octo- ber 16, George McDonald and Givanero Martingelo en- gaged in a fracas in front of the barber shop of Rafello Carbone, 272 North Second Street. Carbone, an inter- ested spectator of the fight, seeing that his friend Mar- tingelo was getting decidedly the worst of the affair, rushed from his place of observation, and with a pair of scissors effectually settled things by stabbing McDonald to death. The murderer was arrested, and paid the pen- alty of his crime. A curious case of troubled conscience came to light in the morning of the twenty-ninth of June, 1885. Officer Michael Gilligan of the Third Precinct, while patrolling his beat was approached by a wildisli looking man, who fell on his knees as soon as he perceived the blue coat, and begged the latter to arrest him as he had killed his wife. The officer did not know whether to believe the story or not, but acting on the information given by the BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 83 self -accused murderer, he went to the ai)artnients at 551) Court Street, where he discovered that the tale was no fiction. The man, who gave his name as Thomas O'Shea was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. Joseph Quallinguero, alias Woertz, was, on the thirty- first of May, arrested in Jersey City, by Detective Michael Campbell, and brought back to Brooklyn to answer for the killing of John Eose, the night previous. He Avas tried, convicted, and sent to the Sing Sing prison for fifteen years. Another case of murder occurred on the fifteenth of August, when Fritz Green, a sailor on the bark Mozart" took the hfe of a companion, named Julius Wolf. Green, in the fra- cas which took place in the ship was also severely wounded. He was taken to the hospital where he died five days afterwards. In the autumn of 1SS5, dissensions rent the Republican ranks. They named two candidates for the mayoralty, while the great Democratic organization, harmonious and united, selected one of its best representatives, Daniel D. Whitney, as its standard-bearer. The choice proved eminently wise, Mr. Whitney receiving more votes than the other two together. As the charter amendments had made a one-man-power government, and as nearly all the municipal departments were filled with Eepublicans, the grave political duty devolved upon the mayor-elect of appointing successors who should be representative Democrats, and at the same time thor- oughly qualified and capable for the important offices to be filled. How well this was done is already a matter of local history. Nowhere were better appointments made than in the Departments of Police and Excise. In regard S4 BROOKLYN S GUARDIANS. to the latter, much was at stake. Messrs. Lauer and Evans, in their interpretation of the law upon the stat- ute, had construed 4t strictly against the liquor trade. Besides, they had wisely or unwisely determined to grant no new licenses, and so had made no allowance for the growth of the city or the new demands caused by changes in the population. Thus, for example, in 1883, when there was no travel over the bridge and Fulton Ferry carried tens of thousands daily, there were over thirty saloons in the neighborhood of the latter and but four in that of the former. The opening of the bridge reversed the condition of affairs. The great viaduct re- ceived at least a half of the inter-urban traffic, while Fulton Ferry fell to one-third of its former importance. Under the rule referred to, the Commissioners refused to license new saloons near the bridge terminus. Men who had leased or bought property for hotel or saloon pur- poses in the vicinity were unable to do business, and as the Supreme Court declared itself powerless to afford redress in the premises, found themselves saddled with losing and even ruinous bargains. They naturally de- nounced both the rule and the two Commissioners, its authors. On the other side, the Maine law men received this action as but one step toward reform, and like most reformers who want either the world or nothing, were incensed at what they called "parleying with sin and gin," ''a truce with Satan,'' ''surrendering to the rum hells," and the like, and anathematized the Commission- ers accordingly. Despite the fact that they were guided by the strictest honesty and sense of duty, the Excise Board incurred the hostility of the prohibitionists on the DANIEL D. WHITNEY. Mayor of Brooklyn. I BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 85 one hand, and of the hqnoi' dealei's and brewers on the other. The appointments of the three Commissioners of Pohce and Excise were, therefore, waited for with great anxiety by the entire city. The new Mayor allayed all fears, and gave nniversal satisfaction by naming ex- Eegister Thomas Carroll for Commissioner of Police, and John Cunningham and John Schliemann as the two Commissioners of Excise. The appointees took office February 1, ISSO. It was some time after 188(5 had put in an appearance that any arrests of importance were made. On Febru- ary ilth George Meyer, a very clever s^dndler, was cap- tured by Sergeant Nelson and Policeman King, of the Twelfth Precinct. Meyer had been passing bogus cheques on the shopkeepers in the neighborhood of Fulton and Tompkins Avenues. When he was arrested, several cheques amounting to over a thousand dollars were found on him, all of which were drawn on the First Na- tional Bank of Brooklyn. He was finally brought to trial and sentenced to a term of years in the Peniten- tiary. On May 12, George Potter, the notorious boarding- house thief, was run down by Detective Thomas Holland of the Clymer Street Station, and sent to States Prison for a long series of robberies committed in boarding- houses in both the Eastern and Western Districts. For over a month the residents of the Nineteenth Ward were troubled by constant housebreaking. The mysterious burglar, who baffled the police on every side, was at last captured on the night of June 13th and taken to the Clymer Street Precinct. He gave the Iiame 86 Brooklyn's guardians. of Johnsoiij but was known to the police by the name of Miller. He worked very cleverly, and often entered four or five houses in one night. His modus operandi was to cut the putty from a pane of glass in the parlor or base- ment window, remove the glass noiselessly, and then raise the sash and enter the house. He had made his nefarious calling a regular business. Among the ingeni- ous tools he had invented or obtained from more clever operators, were a pane-holder, consisting of a rubber disc from which the air could be drawn. This, applied against a pane, holds it with enough force to resist the pressure of the diamond employed to cut a space through which to insert the hand ; a cutting instrument which separates the putty from the wooden sill without shat- tering the glass ; a knife-edge fine-steel saw which will cut through an ordinary window-catch in a minute and a half, and a door-fasterxcr to bar the way against an aroused and armed householder or an intrusive police- man. Early on the morning of March 20, 1886, Detective Edward Rorke arrested Miles McPartland, alias Thomp- son, just as he was leaving No. 3e30 Atlantic Avenue with a considerable quantity of stolen goods. McPart- land had committed the burglary with his usual skill, and succeeded in carrying away everything valuable in the house without disturbing one of its occupants. When Eorke made the arrest he at first thought he had only caught an ordinary burglar, but before the second lamp-post had been passed he discovered he had arrested a man for whom he had been looking for months. He hurriedly put his prisoner behind the bars and had the satisfaction of seeing him tried and convicted of a series BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS, 87 of thefts and house-breaking exploits. Mc Partland had for many years been operating in Brooklyn and was well known to the. police. In 1865 he committed the Luqueer robbery, and made name and fame for himself, after having been arrested, by gaining his liberty in a most skilful manner. He w^as at the time confined in a precinct station house, w^here he underwent the usual '^pumping" process by the detectives and officials. After admitting having stolen the goods they named to him, he said he would get a large quantity of silverware (one of the most important articles) and hand it over to the authorities if they would take him to a certain house on State Street, where he had it concealed. The captain consented, and two officers were detailed to accompany him. When they arrived at the house he led the w^ay upstairs into a bedroom, wherein he said the property was concealed under the bed. The two officers folded their arms while he crawled beneath the bed and waited patiently for him to come out with the silverware. Three, four and five minutes passed without his reap- pearance. Then the puzzled guardians of the peace got down on their knees and gazed at the spring mat- tress and wall, but no McPartland could be found. They became alarmed and, drawing away the bed, examined the floor where they found a trap door, though w^hich their prisoner had escaped, not to be caught again until he ran against Detective Rorke as described. The arrest of Michael Mahady for killing his wife on the night of February 20th was much talked about at the time. Mahady, while drunk, gave his wdfe, Mary, such a beating with a bed slat and the leg of a stove 88 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. that she died from the effects of it shortly afterward at the house of a friend. The family had just moved into new apartments at No. 203 Hudson Avenue, and Mahady, returning home after his day's work, found the rooms in great disorder. Instead of attempting to straighten matters, he chas- tised his wife. She seized her three children and rushed from the house, while her husband, crazed with drink, followed her down the stairs, raining blows on her head and shoulders until she reached the street, while the blood, dripping from her many wounds, made an un- broken trail along the sidewalk to the house of her friend, where she died. The most interesting arrest of the year was made by Captain Kaiser and Detective Ennis, of the Sixth Pre- cinct Station, on Stagg Street, in the Sixteenth Ward, better known as Dutch Town." The person deprived of liberty this time was Mrs. Florence May Barton Sault, a beautiful German girl, sixteen years of age. She was charged with murdering her lover, Frederick Pfister. On the morning of July 26th, Pfister was found dead in a wagon at the head of Scholes Street. His death had been caused by a bullet wound, fired by whom, at the time, the police could not ascertain. When the murder was made known by the afternoon papers, the public took an unusual interest in it, which never diminished until the trial was ended. As near as could be learned, the murder was commit- ted in the following manner : Florence, who was gay and indiscreet, had been married but two months, when she left her husband and spent her leisure time with young Pfister, who took her to the picnics and excur- Brooklyn's guardians. 89 sions for which Dutch Town is famous. The night before Pfister was found dead, the lovers were out walk- ing, when the husband met them and a quarrel ensued, resulting in the murder in question. When Mrs. Sault was arrested, she made a full confes- sion of the crime, which at first was believed. She averred that she had fired the fatal shot in cold blood at the instiga- tion of her husband, who had been arrested and lodged in Raymond Street Jail. Shortly afterwards the " child wife " made a statement in which she denied being the guilty party, and accused her husband. The police then weighed well her stories, w^hich they found very conflict- ing in many details, and decided to give no credence to her statements. Column upon column was devoted to the case by the daily press, and the girl, confined in the woman's prison of the same jail where her husband had been placed, be- came sick and so nervous that she w^ould break into hysterics while talking of the affair to the matron. Miss Cunningham. Mrs. Sault was finally acquitted of the charge of nmrder and given her liberty. This as well as the preceding year is marked by the increased aversion of criminals and crooks toward visit- ing Brooklyn. Once they were certain of being detected, now they are almost equally certain of being recognized the moment they cross the bridge and of being sent back to New York, or of being locked uj) by Captain Eason or Campbell. It is one of the boasts of the detectives that they are personally acquainted with all the professional criminals in or near town. The results of this acquaintance are often peculiar. You are talking with Detective Cham- 90 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. bers, a few feet from the door of the Clarendon Hotel, and he sees a young dandy halt a few feet away. "Better keep right on," he says to the dandy ; " hurry up, now. " "Oh, good mornmg," says the dandy; "I'm only gomg to set my watch." That is Harry Ashton, chief of the bunco men, and the detective will not allow him to stop in front of the hotel. You are pushing your way into Leibman's or •Wechsler & Abraham's store, and a little ladylike body is just ahead of you. Suddenly some one steps up to her and orders her to "get out at once." "Certainly, si r,^' she says meekly; "I was only going to match a piece of silk. " She lies. She is a shoplifter, and the man who orders her out is Detective Corwin. Perhaps you are at a Saengerband ball, with its five thousand dancers and lookers-on. You walk in the lobby for a breath of fresh air and meet Captain Camp- bell, alert and handsome as an eagle. He darts from your side and stands in front of a stout elderly gentle- man so as to oppose his progress. "What do you mean by coming here ?" The man an- swers boldly, ' ' My wife is here and I have come to take her home." "That'll do now,'' says the captain; "There's the door, now get," and as Artemus Ward used to say, " he got. " The man is a pickpocket. It has always been a favorite method of Captain Campbell's to say to rascals of various sorts : "If you ever put your foot in my precinct again, 111 send you up." This may not be according to law, but it's accord- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 91 ing to fact, and they give that precinct a wide berth. Pickpockets hke the Allen Brothers and Maggie Jordan have a hard time of it. No matter how much they may want to see a play or a ball game, or attend a meeting, there is apt to be some one to stop them at the entrance with a '^right-about face now. You can't get in here." It is a common thing to see a pickpocket hustled along like a bit of down in the wind, from one block to an- other, wdiile apparently an innocent spectator of a street parade. This constant vigilance on the part of the police, es- pecially those wiio guard the approaches from New York, makes it an exceedingly difficult matter for a non- resident criminal to enter the city of Brooklyn. Even when such an one has legitimate business there he must satisfactorily explain his appearance and move about wdth the knowledge that he is under constant police sur- veillance. A neatly dressed, rather substantial-looking man of middle age sends in his card to Superintendent Campbell at Police Headquarters. The name on the card is that of a burglar, better known as ''Eed Leary," for in- stance. Well, wiiat do you w^ant ?" Mr. Campbell asks. '^I would like to go to the jail for fifteen minutes to- morrow^," says the burglar. "I want to see a friend about a personal matter." ''Here's an order," says the Chief, and the burglar answers, "Thank you," for it is a favor to such men to be allowed to approach the jail, which action, without permission, means for him to be arrested and locked up. The criminal wiio would attempt to deceive the Super- 92 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIAXS. intendent in a matter of this kind would have but a sorry time of it. His long service and vast experience make him an accurate judge of character, and it is all but impossible to impose upon him. Under his personal direction this constant espionage of the dangerous classes becomes as near an exact science as ingenuity can make it, and no better system for the prevention of crime could be devised. To punish the detected wrong-doer is com- paratively easy, but to so hedge him round and circum- scribe his action as to leave him the smallest possible op- portunity for the commission of crime is the neplus ultra of police art. CHAPTER VL The Present Status of the Organization. The IVIusTER Roll. — The Headquarters. — Where the Offices are Situated. — One Man Power. — The Commissioner, His Powers AND Duties.— His Annual Report. — The Deputy Commissioner. —His Duties. — The Superintendent. — His Duties and vast Busi- ness. — Where He is. — His Watch-dog. — Cranks who Worry Him. — The Way he does Business. — Two Swini)li;i:s Cross-Ex- amined. — The Property-clerk and the Propeiitv liooMs. — What HE does. — His Curiosity-shop. — The Fire Marshal. — An odd Com BiNATiON of Duties. — The Inspectors. — Captains and Command- ing sergeants. — Lines not thrown in easy Places. — Multifar- ious WORK. — Roundsmen.— A Patrolman's lot is not a happy ONE. — AViiAT He does. — His Offences. — How to be a Police- man.— What HE MUST Measure and Weigh, Kxow and Say. — The Board of Excise. — Its Jurisdiction and Duties. — The Li- censes AND the License fi:es. — The ratio of saloons to the Population. —Some Organizations. HE Brooklyn Police Department to-day amounts to nine hundred and seventy two men all told, and consists of a Commissioner, Deputy- Commissioner, Sup- erintendent, Property-clerk, Superintendent-clerk, Fire- Marshal, four Clerks, three Inspectors, seventeen Cap- tains and Commanding-Sergeants, seventy-two Ser- geants, forty-four Detectives, thirty-eight Roundsmen, seven hundred and seven Patrolmen and thirty- eight doormen, five Police-Surgeons, Telegraph Superinten- dent, six Telegraph operators and two linemen. Superin- tendent of boiler inspection, one Clerk and five Inspectors, fourteen bridge-keepers, a Counsel, one Messenger, and one searcher. The lieart of the Police system, of course, is centered at 91 BKOOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. "Headquarters/' which is located in the Municipal build- ing on Joralemon Street, just in the rear of the City Hall. Here are the offices of the Commissioner and his deputy, the Property Clerk, the Board of Police Sur- geons, the Accountant to the Department, the Superin- tendent and his three Inspectors, the Central Office squad of Detectives, the Central Office squad of Patrolmen, who are detailed to Police Courts and other extra work, the Fire Marshal, the Telegraph Bureau and the steam Engineers and Boiler Inspection Bureau, which is under the control of the Police Department. Under the beneficent system of Home Rule, which now characterizes the government of Brooklyn, and which offers so happy a contrast to the former custom of doing municij^al work by means of cumbrous, irresponsible Bureaus and commissions, the Commissioner of Police is appointed by the Mayor, and holds his position during the latter's term of office. The Commissioner is removable by the Mayor for mis- feasance or non-feasance of office, subject to the confirm- ation of the government of the State, and probably to the appellate judgment of the higher courts. He appoints members of the force from the lists prepared by examiners of successful candidates, entertains and tries all charges against the officers of his department, punishes all offend- ers found guilty, makes transfers and changes of his own act, or at the suggestion of the Superintendent, attends ta improvements and extensions, of his administration, and generally supervises the working of the police system. He makes an annual report to the Mayor of everything pertaining to his dejjartment, which is incorporated in the Mayor's annual message. The deputy-Commissioner BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 95 takes the Commissioner's place in the latter's absence, sickness or disabihty, with the same jurisdiction and authority. He then has power to perform all the ordi- nary duties of the Commissioner, excepting only the power to make appointments, which is specially re- served to the Commissioner. When the Commissioner is present the deputy acts under his orders as his chief subordinate. Besides this, the deputy attends to nearly all the clerical and mechanical duties of the Commission- er's office. The offices of the Commissioner and deputy are situated on the third floor of the Municipal Building. The Superintendent is one of the hardest -worked men of the force — that is, if he does his duty. And it may be said here that the two gentlemen who have filled the position since its organization have been intelligent and indefatigable workers. He receives all official communi- cations from the precincts and the special bureaus under his command, oversees the conduct and police transac- tions of his inferiors, corresponds with similar depart- ments in the great cities of the New World and Old. is in personal command of the Central Office detectives and the Central Office squad, and attends to nearly all the special business between the force and private citi- zens, and the general business between it, the courts and the District Attorney's office. The office of the Superintendent of Police is situated on the second floor of the building, and consists of a suite of three spacious rooms, one of which is used as a private office, another to transact the bulk of the busi- ness, while a third is reserved for his clerk. The Super- intendent is not by any means difficult of access, although visitors are closely sciutinized by a messenger 96 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. in the outer office, who does all in his power to keep any person out who would prove a disagreeable visitor. Per- sons who are not posted as to the routine of business at Police Headquarters can have no idea of the number of callers on the Chief daily. Citizens drop in upon him with all sorts of grievances, while once and a while an interesting crank will make things lively for a while around the offices. One day a well-dressed and distinguished looking gen- tleman visited the Superintendent and asked him to de- tail a squad of men to capture a crowd of small boys who continually followed him shouting names not be- longing to a gentleman. The man turned out to be a lunatic. He imagined that a crowd of boys followed him, no matter where he might go. The Superintendent told the visitor that he would put his detectives on the case at once. He then de23arted happy. On another occasion a woman excitedly remarked that the telegraph companies had laid wires all over her house, which were drawing blood from her children's bodies. The Superin- tendent of the telegraph bureau was immediately sum- moned, and instructed to have the wires removed. This satisfied the woman, who left showering expressions of gratitude upon the Chief. Besides attending to the complaints of all kinds of visitors, the Superintendent every morning receives the returns and all special reports from each police station in the city, each Captain making a personal call. His office is connected by telephone and telegraph with all the precincts, the Fire Department, District Attorney's office, the hospitals that receive police cases, and the New York Police Department. Brooklyn's guardians. 97 Whenever any prisoner who has been arrested for any offence which necessitates the possession of his picture in the Rogue's Gallery has been taken from the station house to the Police Court his next step is to Police Head- quarters, where he is taken l)efore Superintendent Campbell for his examination. Men and womeii who haA'e committed larcenies of any description, burglars, swindlers, sneak thieves, and the like, all find their way to the Superintendent's private office, where they are put through a course of interrogatory si)routs by that wily and experienced official. It is surprising how easy it is to lie and how hard it is to maintain the falsehood. Some of the interviews which the Superintendent has with wrongdoers are amusing. On one occasion there were two men taken before him. One was about fifty years old, gray- haired, slightly bald and wore a mustache and goatee. He was of genteel appearance, and would have passed for an honest man anywhere. The other w^as rather swarthy, with jet black hair and considerably younger than his companion. He too was well dressed, but there was something about him Avhich was liable to create suspicion. He had a nervous and sneaky man- ner and restless eyes. These two men were arrested for attempted swindling. They had a paper with a printed head which represented that they were authorized to collect money for the Relief Fund of the Fire Depart- ment. This paper they had printed themselves, and it is not known how many people they swindled, because when they were arrested the elder of the two either de- stroyed or threw the document away ; at any rate the police never got it. Of all places in the world to go to get money, this precious pair of knaves went to the 98 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. house of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Eighth Avenue near Sixteenth Street, South Brooklyn. It was when they were leaving this institution that they were arrested. When they were ushered in before the Superintendent the latter asked one of the officers what they were ar- rested for, and was informed. The superintendent simu- lated surprise that such respectable -looking men could be guilty of any offence at all. '^What is your name, sir, please ?" he said to the youngest in a tone of almost fatherly interest. Charles Johnson." Where do you reside V In Washington Street." Brooklyn ?" ^^Yes." " What number in Washington Street ?" " I think it is No. 108, but I am not sure." What street is it near ?" ^'I can't tell ; I don't know Brooklyn very well." ''How long have you lived in Brooklyn, Mr. John- son ?" " About two weeks." ''And you are not sure of the number of the house you live in or near what street it is ?" "Well, I'm a stranger here." " How did you come to be mixed up in this trouble ?" "I had nothing to do with it, sir. This man showed me a paper and asked me to go with him, and I went.^ Then we were arrested." " What was on the paper ?" "I don't know." "Didn't you see it?" BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 99 " Only the outside. Didn't he teh yon what it was ?" ^^No." So yon went with him on the strength of a paper which yon knew nothing about, and on an errand which you wxre ignorant of, is that it ?" Well, he didn't tell me anything about it." What is your business, Mr. Johnson ?" I'm an agent." " For what ?" ^^Oh, books and light articles." Canvassing now ?" ^^Yes, sir." ^^"What for?" Mr. Johnson couldn't tell, neither could he tell by whom he was employed, and was so clearly broken up that the Superintendent released him, and turning his smiling face to the elder man said : And what is your name ?" WiUiam Richards." Do you live in Brooklyn ?" No ; but on account of my family I do not want to give my address." Certainly, that is entirely your business ; you are not compelled to answer my questions if you don't want to. Now about this charge made against you ; have you anything to say ?" No, sir," he replied with almost Chesterfieldian grace, ^ ^ and I desire you to understand that I refuse to do this not because of your official position, but because my counsel has advised me, enjoined me in fact, to say nothing about my case." iOO BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. ''That is perfectly correct, Mr. Eichards," said the Superintendent, "your "counsel has your case in hand and he does not want you to spoil any chances of suc- cess. Well, gentlemen, that's all. Good afternoon." The men returned the Superintendent's salutation and walked out. They were an accomplished pair of swind- lers, and the gray-haired Chesterfield by far the more dangerous of the two. Both of them were indicted and convicted. The property-clerk has charge of all the station sup- plies of the department, and of lost or stolen property found by the police. The importance of the position may be ascertained from the fact that since it was or- ganized, it has received about two million dollars worth of property of this class, of which one million eight hun- dred thousand dollars worth has been returned to right- ful owners. Property left unclaimed after a time set by law, is sold at public auction, and the proceeds cov- ered into the city treasury. The shelves of the prop- erty-room are so covered with different objects as to make a veritable curiosity- shop. Here is a sword and belt left in a bar-room by a tipsy soldier, and there a lot of stolen silverware recovered from a pawnshop. Here are diamonds and jewelry taken from the person of a burglar, and there a vast bundle of linen dropped by a clothes line thief ; packages of books dropped by an absent-minded book-worm ; a coat thrown away by a fugitive thief ; revolvers confiscated by the police from youths who had read dime novels, and had determined to become highwaymen, pirates or Indian fighters ; clocks and bric-a-brac left by the owner in a deserted dwelling ; pictures rescued from a burning building, or ^ BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 101 personal effects found in the rooms of the soHtary dead. The position of fire-marshal is anomalous. He is a curious hybrid of policeman, fireman, insurance agent, detective, recorder and magistrate. His duties are to attend fires within the city limits ; assist and supervise in the protection and rescuing of life and property ; to investigate the causes of a fire ; to recommend judicial action and take proceedings w^here there is evidence of arson ; to ascertain losses and insurances ; to keep a rec- ord of all fires ; and to report misconduct on the part of policemen or firemen to their respective departments. The fire -marshal is nearly always an insurance agent, and has every incentive to prevent and extinguish fires and to save all that is salvable from the flames. The position, while good from a business standpoint, has many disagreeable elements. It brings the official into unpleasant relations with many of his fellow-officials, and into constant collisions with that large class of peo- ple who, whenever they suffer from a fire, endeavor to distort and magnify their losses in order to obtain as much money as is possible from the insurance companies from which they have policies. The inspectors are practically deputy-superintendents, and serve to relieve their chief of much clerical labor. They also attend to the drilling and technical training of the force, and visit constantly every station-house and all parts of the city to see that the discipline is main- tained and that police work is properly performed. The inspectors are appointed from the ranks of the captains, the three present incumbents being no excep- tion to the rule. In the absence of the superintendent, they take his place by turns. In their outside work. 102 . BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. each confines himself to one district, made up of several precincts, the city being divided for this purpose into three inspectoral districts. In very busy seasons, when the superintendent is unable to receive all who call upon him on business and attend to other duties of his at the same time, they are called upon to assist him in both re- gards. The Captains and commanding Sergeants govern the precincts and sub-precincts. They supervise the work of the men beneath them, attend to all special cases, keep in constant communication with Headquarters, and make a daily report of everything that has occurred in the precinct during the preceding twenty-four hours. They are responsible for the appearance of their men and the condition of the station-house of which they are in charge. They investigate all applications for licenses for liquor stores, including the character and reputation of the applicant and the place and the con- dition of the neighborhood, and report thereon to the Commissioners of Excise. They also inquire into all cases of contagious and in- fectious diseases, public nuisances, unwholesome food, and everything detrimental to public health, and report thereupon to the Board of Health. Evasions and viola- tions of the fire and building laws they report, and of the statutes as to the sale of combustibles and explosives, to the appropriate departments, and of the ordinances to the Corporation Counsel's office. The roundsman is but a patrolman of a higher grade. They number thirty-eight, being two apiece to each of the precincts and sub-precincts. He performs the same duties as the latter, to a large extent. He also acts as a BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. policeman upon the police, seeing that they do their work and violate no rule nor regulation. He enjoys greater liberty than his inferior, but enjoys no less onerous posi- tion. The average citizen has, at the best, but a vague idea of the variety and character of the work done by the policemen of Brooklyn. He sees an officer, stout, robust and warmly clad, lounging along the sidewalk, and in- voluntarily makes the mental comment that a police- man's life must be one of the easiest in the w^orld. He does not consider that the officer contemplated may be a conscientious roundsman or sergeant following at a pa- trolman's heel to detect any bad habits the latter may have in violation of the rules, which may cost the poor fellow four or five days' pay. If an officer stops a few minutes to talk with a citizen on the street, and cannot prove, if brought before Commissioner Carroll, that he was speaking on official business, he is amenable to dis- cipline, or if on some cold winter night he drops into some warm bakehouse or slides through a convenient side door for an inside protection against the cold, he is liable, if caught, to make an involuntary contribution to the Widows and Orphans' Fund. The policeman has no easy time of it when he conscientiously does what he is called upon to do. In all seasons he has to keep on post without a break, from the hour of going on duty until he is relieved by his follower. He must be at his reliev- ing point exactly at the time when his relief is expected. He must try all the doors on his post on each round, and take a note of the location of such gas lamps on his post as are unlighted, of those which burn imperfectly, and the ones blown out by the wind. He must preserve lOi ' BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. peace at all hazards on his tour, and must hold himself in readiness to grapple, at a moment's notice, with a reckless burglar, a mad dog or a dangerous lunatic. If a timid citizen hears a noise in his cellar, the police- man, if called, must go into that cellar and investigate the matter thoroughly. He is supposed to do his best to stop runaway horses, to send for an ambulance in case of an accident, or the dead wagon when he hears of an unattended death on his post. He must rescue persons Avho have fallen into the river, if his patrol should hap- pen to be along the water front, assist at fires, direct strangers, and civilly answer any ridiculous questions that may be put to him. He must act as arbi- ter in family disputes, prevent any street obstruction, see that no taxable occupations are carried on without a license, take lost children to the station-house, and keep his post clear of drunken people. Besides this, in sum- mer time, he has to make a census of all dogs on his tour, make out a list of persons carrying on a taxable business, and in winter, make complaints in cases where merchants and housekeepers do not keep their sidewalk clear of ice and slush. He is supposed to prevent bon- fires, keep the pavement clear of corner loafers, have an eye on all suspicious characters, report violations of the ash gatherers and gai'bage contractors' obligations to the city, make a note of dirty streets, report all dangerous structures, guard vacant houses, and, finally, keep his uniform in good order, his shoes polished, and presei^ve a generally neat appearance. A policeman who is found violating any of the rules or regulations, or guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer, is notified to appear before the Commissioner on BKOOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. 105 the next trial, and defend himself against a complaint embodying his fault. He is tried and punished in the same manner as before a judicial tribunal. A man to become a policeman must have certain phys- ical and mental qualifications. He must be a citizen of the United States, and have been a resident of the City of Brooklyn four years prior to his application. He must be not less than twenty-six, nor more than thirty years of age, and must be not less than five feet eight inches in height, nor more than six feet three inches. He must exceed a minimum weight of one hundred and forty pounds to one hundred and seventy-five pounds, according to his height and a chest measure of not less than thirty-four inches. He must also be in good phys- ical condition. He is required to know all the streets, wards and precincts, the horse car and railroad routes, the ferries, and leading buildings and places in the city. The physical requirements are passed upon by the Board of Police Surgeons, and the mental by the Civil Service Commissioners of Brooklyn. Large men are not considered as available as medium- sized for poHce purposes. In a conversation with In- spector Mackellar, the subject fell upon a big policeman who was close to the seven feet mark, and who chanced to pass by. His stride was enormous, his smile self- satisfied, and his long coat-tails flapped in the breeze. He Sevang a stick that looked like a toothpick in his ham-hke right hand. Pedestrians could not help casting an admiring glance at the majestic figure, and many turned, after passing, to take a rear view. Isn't he magnificent ?" said a blushing girl to her companion, as she opened her eyes wide to take in all of the command- 106 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ing figure at once. This remark brought a smile to the face of the gallant but somewhat cynical inspector. The majority of people," he said, as the big fellow went out of sight, ' ' seem to have an idea that size is all that is necessary in a policeman, and the larger the man the better officer he will make. No one has more ad- miration for a fine specimen of physical development than I have, but I know from observation that men of extraordinary size, while they may be pleasing to the eye and give the timid citizen a sense of security that is gratifying, do not make the best records for service in the Police Department as a rule. It is a common wish and one that I have often heard expressed, that it would be a splendid thing if the policemen of this city were all as large as the giants who made up the pet command of Frederick the Great. If this could be brought about I s am satisfied that the efficiency of the department would be diminished at least one half. Such a band of men would frighten a mob, and make them law-abiding citi- zens by their appearance, but mobs do not form every day. What is needed in an officer is the capacity to stand the humdrum service of every -day life. Just take the record of the department for a moment. I will wager it will show that fully seventy-five per cent, of the men on the sick list are, as a rule, the biggest men in the various precincts. These big fellows look hardy and as if they could stand everything. What they lack is endurance. They carry around a big weight usually, and their feet give out. They seem to be subject to ail- ments that smaller men escape, and complain almost constantly of pains all over their body. " It is my experience that men about five feet and nine BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. inches in height stand the wear and tear of pohce hfe the best. The big men are slow and awkward, while men of the height mentioned are active, alert and vigor- ous, and more than make up in agility what they lack in strength. Size, if everything else were equal, could be made a safe standard of judgment, but as the human frame is put together it is the big man for a short tussle and the smaller one for a steady strain, and the latter is what a policeman must be fitted for." The Board of Excise. The Board of Excise, which is a valuable adjunct to the police, and a source of revenue to the city, is com- posed of three members, the Commissioner of Police and two Commissioners of Excise. The latter are appointed by the Mayor in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as the former. Their jurisdiction com- prises the issuing of licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors, the entertaining, hearing and determination of complaints against licensed dealers, the revocation of licenses, the collection of excise fees, the i^rosecution of forfeited bonds and their transfer to the city treasury. As the statute requires that a dealer must be a person of good moral character, they must satisfy themselves upon this point before taking action. They entertain com- plaints against licensed dealers for selling in illegal hours or on Sunday, for keeping a disorderly house and for false impersonation in making applications. The only penalty the law allows them to inflict is the revoca- tion of the license. As this is a very severe punishment, they modify it in practice by a reprimand to the dealer, putting a place under police surveillance and requiring a 108 Brooklyn's guardians. proprietor to keep the interior of his saloon visible from the street during prohibited times, with a suspension of judgment. They grant four kinds of licenses, viz. : hotel, taverns, storekeepers and beer licenses. In 1887 there were about 3,100 licensed places in Brook- lyn, whose license fees aggregated over $300,000. The number increases steadily from year to year, but bears even to-day a much smaller ratio to the population than obtains in the other great cities of the United States. For their information the Commissioners depend chiefly upon the Police Force, although they obtain considerable knowledge from their own subordinates, from private citizens and from liquor dealers and Prohibition Societies, the first of the two latter being organized into the East- ern District Liquor Dealers' Protective Union, the West- ern District Liquor Dealers' Protective Association and the Brewers' Union, and the second into quite a number of small but active associations. CHAPTER VIL The Heads of Police and Excise. The Official Head of Police. — Commissioner Thomas Carroll — His Birth and Early Career. — His Youth in Williamsburgh. — An Apprentice Cooper. — A Boss. — A Tobacco-sampler — His Pros- perity AND Business-career. — A Born Politician— Delegate . AND Leader.— His Political Work.— The Secret of his Popular- ity.— The Head of the Force.— Superintendent Patkick Campbell.— His Daily Life.— A Boy in the Eagle Office.— From " Devil" to Foreman.— A Politician.— Collector.— Sheriff — Chief. — His Superb Management. — He Protects Vacant Homes. — Drives out Sneak Thie\'es. — Closes Disorderly Places. His Detectia'e Genius. — Searching a whole City. — His Person- ality. — The Twin Heads of Excise. — "Honest John Cunning- ham " AND John Schliemann. — Brief Story of their Lives. OZlXTY years ago, on next November 25th, in a little Irish village called Mount Mellick, a future Police Commissioner of the city of Brooklyn was ushered into the world. There were many CarroUs of Queens County in the neighborhood, and the addition of Thomas to their ranks, for so he was named, only served to increase their number, already too many to live under the pressure of high rents, heartless laws, bad harvests and no hope. In this picturesque but poverty-stricken country, young- Thomas Carroll spent the first years of his life. In early boyhood he began to evince the qualities which in after life were to make him successful in business and public affairs. Impetuous, enthusiastic, generous, quick, nervous, genial and inteUigent, he was even at this time a loved leader 110 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. among his playmates. Here he learned the rudiments of education and struggled with the bete noir of all boy- hood, the three E's. The success of the Irish emigrant in the United States was bearing fruit in his far-away home. A great exodus had begun which was to last for the remainder of the century. It extended to the smallest towns in the inter- ior of the island, and made itself felt in Mount Mellick. The CarroUs, and many of them, yielded and joined the ceaseless procession that was moving across the ocean. With them was Thomas Carroll, who in September, 183G, arrived in New York City. Here he resided in Eld- ridge Street, in the Tenth Ward, two years, and then removed to Williamsburgh, at that time a young, lively and growing city, but soon to be incorporated with its larger neighbor, Brooklyn. Between 1836 and 184:3 he received a good common- school education. He possessed a taste for reading and conversation with older and wiser people, so that when in the year last mentioned he commenced his business career, he started with a well-trained and informed mind and with the natural and acquired aptitudes which gen- erally guarantee success in life. In those days the ambition of youth was not toward the clerk's desk and the dry-goods counter as it is in the present time, but looked forward to prominence in some skilled trade. Apprenticeships were still in vogue. Men " served their time " before being allowed to undertake any job involving skilful labor. The cheap botch- work, the stereotyped products of labor-saving machinery and the untrained toilers, so characteristic of to-day, were then almost unknown. Carroll entered a large cooper- THOMAS CARROLL, Commissioner of Police . BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 113 shop, and there served his time of five years. He was a rapid learner, and soon earned good wages. He was temperate, intelhgent and capable, and so won the esteem of his superiors that, when his apprenticeship ended, he was promoted to the foremanship of the shop. He re- mained in this position two years, satisfying at the same time his employers and the numerous employees whom he superintended. During this period he saw that his trade, though a good one, was not as remunerative as he desired, and that the same ability and energy applied in mercantile life would be productive of far greater re- sults. He looked about for an opportunity and con- cluded that he could do best in the tobacco industry. Situations were few and far between, but to obtain a start, he accepted a position of porter and barrelman with the then prominent Front Street house of Patterson & Dortic. He was a porter but two months, and was then promoted to be a sampler. At the end of the first year he was again put forward and made the shipping and receiving clerk. Within another few months his employers again advanced him, this time to the position of general salesman. He remained with the firm until 1861, when, its members having accumulated as much money as they desired and retired from trade, it went into liquidation. He had done well in the eleven years of service, and had saved his surplus earnings until, at the time of the dissolution, he found himself the owner of a moderate capital. Not wasting his time in useless delay, he immediately formed a partnership and opened mercantile life on his own account as a member of the firm of Hawkins & Carroll. It dealt chiefly in Ameri- 114 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. can tobaccos, and from the start did a good business and stood well in the market. After two prosperous years, it admitted John G. Guth- rie, a leading manufacturer, of Petersburgh, Virginia, and extended its business to far greater proportions. It established a large manufactory in Water Street, near Pearl, in this city, and employed a regiment of opera- tives. This was the second great tobacco factory started in Brooklyn, and was an important step in the process which has since changed the water-front from a neigh- borhood of small dwelling-houses, tenements and stores into a wealthy manufacturing district. The business prospered and continued till 1865, when the three part- ners were induced by flattering offers from third parties to amicably dissolve and enter new relations. The fac- tory and assets were converted into cash, yielding each member of the firm a handsome amount. Immediately upon the dissolution Mr. Carroll entered into partnership with Michael J. Dohan, of Philadelphia, and Alexander Forman, a wealthy merchant of the First Ward of Brooklyn, under the firm-name of Dohan, Car- roll & Co. The new firm was notably successful. Its credit at an early date was marked A. 1. and its profits were very great. It continued until 1880, when it dis- solved, the members of the firm retiring from active business life with large fortunes, that of Mr. Dohan being estimated at several millions. On the first of Janu- ary this year Mr. Carroll took the position of Register of Kings County, to which he had been elected the previous November. He has never since returned to mercantile fife. Even before reaching his majority, he took a deep in- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 115 terest in political atfairs. He was naturally a Democrat, instinctively siding with the masses against the classes and receiving a strong bias from the days when he and his were the special aversion of the proscriptive and un- American Know-Nothing party. During his business career, although he resolutely refused all nominations whatever, he ever took an active part in local affairs. His time, executive ability and his purse were always at the disposal of his party organization. Within its ranks he received every honor that a man can achieve, chairman and secretary time and time again of clubs, ward associations, conventions, general, executive and cam- paign committees and delegate to Ward, Assembly^ City, County, Senatorial, Congressional, State and National Conventions. In the Sixties and Seventies when extravagance and corruption were but too preva- lent in Brooklyn, numerous opportunities were presented to him whereby he could have dishonestly gained large amounts of money without the fear of any consequence or the slightest notoriety. To his credit, he refused each and all, and never in that period received one cent from the city treasury. Of the men who were promi- nent in those days, and especially of those who fattened upon the public purse, hardly one wields the slightest power to-day or is any longer an influence in the councils of the party he once took part in governing. Carroll and a few others, whose sole course was honesty and right, are, if possible, more popular and influential now than they were at that time. For the past thirteen years he has been treasurer of the Democratic General Committee of Kings County, and is the only treasurer of that and any other political body who can truthfully 116 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. make the proud boast that his committee owes nothing and is not and never was insolvent during his adminis- tration. In 1879 he received and accepted his first nom- ination for the office of Eegister of Kings County. At the time this was the most valuable gift in the hands of the party. Despite a superbly- organized Eepublican opposition and the treachery of many members of his own political faith, he was elected by a triumphant majority and filled the office three years. During the period of his administration he increased the efficiency of his office in many ways. He enlarged his clerical force and had the new libers ready for use in less time than ever before ; he caused the ancient libers and in- dices to be carefully examined and repaired whenever found necessary ; he extended the patent indices and shortened the time of official searching. When he re- tired at the expiration of his term it was with the sin- cere regret of the Brooklyn bar and the many people whose vocations call them to the Register's office. In 1884 he was elected a delegate to the National Demo- cratic Convention, and was one of the famous body- guard which so earnestly and successfully combatted the opposition led by Tammany Hall to, then, Governor Cleveland and made the latter's nomination for Presi- dent an assured fact. In this long and eventful political career Mr. Carroll's fame and friendship have long since crossed the boundaries of the city for far wider horizons. In the long list of men in whose careers he has been a factor and whose friendship he gained may be mentioned Horatio Seymour, George B. McClellan, Horace Greeley, Samuel J. Tilden, Winfield S. Hancock, Grover Cleve- land, Lucius Eobinson, John McKeon, John Kelly, BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 117 David B. Hill and a score more of almost equal national reputation. In ISSG Mr. Carroll was appointed Commissioner of Police to succeed Colonel Partridge. On entering the office he was, like all men who have patronage at their bestowal, beset with applications for positions. The de- partment had been under Eepublican control for many years and also seemed an adjunct to that party. The few available places and the salaries attached were mag- nified by public report until it seemed as if there were a thousand positions to be filled and millions to be spent by the city in payment for official services. Under such trying circumstances Mr. Carroll's course was wise and just. He continued the good features of the administra- tion bequeathed to him and changed the bad, and in carrying out his plans appointed a set of subordinates so well known for ability, efficiency and trustworthiness as to elicit the praise of friend and foe alike. In person Mr. Carroll is a large, vigorous and handsome man, whose youthful appearance belies his years. He is genial and generous almost to a fault. His ex-partner said of him in this regard : "If I had the moneys Tom Carroll contributed to the war, the sanitary commission, and the countless soldier funds ; that he has given and daily gives to the orphan asylums and other great chari- ties of the two cities, and that he has squandered upon men whose only claim upon him was a pretended f riend- shijj or a sham story of suffering, I would be a mil- lionaire." His courtesy and tact are proverbial. He has the rare power of so using a few happy words as to cool rage in an individual, to stop a quarrel between irate -men and 118 BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. to calm an angry convention with equal ease. Unlike those who mount to public favor on some wave of. sud- den enthusiasm and who are forgotten on its ebb, his popularity is based upon the recognition of all the quali- ties which cause men to be esteemed and loved. Patrick Campbell, a short, thick- set and muscular man, bright eyed, gray-haired and bearded, enters head- quarters every morning. He exchanges a pleasant word with every one he passes, for every one apparently knows him, and quickly disappears into a handsome room, on whose door are the significant words, Super- intendent's Office.'' From now until dark the chamber is a bee -hive. Captains and patrolmen, surgeons and reporters, distracted mothers who have lost children, and irate wives whose husbands have temporarily disap- peared, ministers and thieves, ^' cranks " and crooks," make up the motley throng that consumes his time and attention. Telegraph and telephone messages hurry in unending ; the mail-carrier brings in loads of letters from everywhere ; the police departments of the great cities of the land are applying for his assistance and ad- vice ; subordinates enter to report and receive further orders ; clerks present voluminous documents for his ap- proval and signature. When night comes the desk is clear, the room empty, , and all the day's business — business enough for the greatest merchant — has been put through smoothly and completely. He leaves the headquarters for new scenes of duty, many of them self-imposed. If you are a dramatic critic, you will see him at the Academy, Col. Sinn's, Miner's or the Grand Opera House as you make your rounds. If a religious devotee, you may rim ■^1 PATRICK CAMPBELL, !>iii)erinten(lent of the Brooklyn Polk-e. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 121 across him in the Cathohc Cathedral, some Protestant church, or Jewish synagogue. Lecocq's motto, ''Never Sleeps," may be truthfully applied to him. This tireless human machine is Patrick Campbell, the distinguished superintendent of the Brooklyn police. He comes from a family that has made itself prominent by ability and achievement. His father was a leader in Irish politics in the early part of the centtiry ; his brother, the Hon. Felix Campbell, is a Congressman from this city, and one of its most successful and influ- ential citizens. He was born sixty years ago on January 12, in the City of Charleston, S. C, but at an early age his parents removed to Brooklyn, which has ever since been his home, and with the wonderful progress of which he has for nearly half a century been prominently identified. After receiving a common school education, which he supplemented by assiduous study in the night schools, he entered at an early age that practical college from which so many great men have graduated — the printing office. When he took service with the Brooklyn Eagle it was at the foot of the ladder. But he kept his eye fixed on the top, and climbed for nearly twenty years, until he became superintendent of the office in which he began at the case. Political life early had charms for him, and his progress in the party with which he was affiliated, was so marked indeed, that during tlie admin- istration of Pierce, he was rewarded by an appointment as inspector of customs. He continued to hold that office under Buchanan and during a part of the term of President Lincoln. In 1S66 he was elected by the Dem- ocratic party Sheriff of Kings County, a position which 122 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. he filled with honor to himself, and satisfaction to the people. In 1870, the notorious law which created the Metro- politan Police was repealed and a charter amendment passed restoring Home Rule to Brooklyn and establish- ing a Municipal Police. So strong and wide an influence was brought to bear upon the authorities, that upon or- ganizing upon the new system, Mr. Campbell was, June 1, 1870, appointed Chief of Police, and by a subsequent change in the Charter of the City was relieved from duty, Aiigust 2d, 1873, the office of Chief of Police being abol- ished. On the 12th of August, 1875, he was appointed to the position which he now holds, that of Superintendent of Police, and has held the same ever since. Despite the various changes that have occurred in the Commission he has remained undisturbed. Upon assuming the duties of superintendent, Mr. Campbell at once began to enforce discipline with a firm persistency that soon put an end to any weakness from that point, and he impressed upon his officers the abso- lute necessity of keeping the force perfect in this respect. Having got the command well in hand the Superintend- ent began to deal with the various problems that con- stantly arose. Brooklyn, before his administration, was infested by numerous gangs of thieves, many of whom made regular raids from New York and found a rich bar- - vest in going through unoccupied houses. To counter- act this source of annoyance Superintendent Campbell gave public notice through the jjress counselling all own- ers of houses which were temporarily vacated to give notice to the police of their respective districts. Every Brooklyn's guardians. 12'^ officer and the precinct detectives vv^ere thus informed of the numerous points where burglarious attacks might be expected, and the result was a large number of arrests of thieves who had theretofore raided unoccupied dwell- ings with comparative security. Tliis plan the Superin- tendent has kept up year after year, and now, instead of there being hundreds of such houses robbed, as in former years, the annual report shows that, during 1SS5, two thousand three hundred and seventy-three vacant houses were reported to the police for guard, and of this number only re were entered. In ten years over twenty thousand houses were re- ported as temporarily vacant, and of this vast number only one-quarter of one per cent, were broken into by depradators of all classes. In 1877, in his report, he called attention to the careless manner of storekeepers leaving their wares on the side- walks exposed to theft, and to the insecurity of cellar gratings. This, in connection with a stricter enforcement of the ordinance against incumbrances, had the desired effect of lessening the number of sneak robberies " from in front of stores. He has made a special feature of breaking up disorderly places and houses of ill-fame. A fcAv of these sprung up from time to time in unex- pected places, while the majority result from the immi- gration of loose characters from Xew York. These, see- ing and knowing the immense population and wealth of Brooklyn, regard it as a field peculiarly rich for their nefarious calling. They i^ick out an available house in what they regard as a good neighborhood for their busi- ness, generally Adams, Washington or Atlantic Street, Fulton or Carlton Avenue, and throw their doors wide 124 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. open. Infrequently a raid is the immediate reply of the vigilant Captain. More often the Captain or Superin- tendent details a man to stand in front of the house and notify all who enter and depart of its character and of the probability of a police raid that day. The women who frequent such places are, in the main, not degraded, and have some social position to lose ; the men are re- spectable, and dread notoriety and arrest. Such a warn- ing deters them from going in if about to enter, and from returning if when departing. In either case the . infamous traffic is ruined, and the proprietor or proprie- tress, " a sadder and a wiser man," soon shakes the dust of Brooklyn off their feet. The detective squad of the City of Brooklyn, a depart- ment which is now admitted to be the equal of any in the country, and which can show a record of work ac- complished which would be a credit to any force in the world, is under the immediate personal direction of the Superintendent, and its efficiency and ability is a subject to which he has always given the closest attention. Dur- ing his term of service, Brooklyn has been the scene of some very remarkable crimes, and the manner in which they were unearthed, the skill with which the details were uncovered, and the success which attended the efforts to bring the criminals to justice, have all com- bined to give the department a national reputation, and to make the name of Superintendent Campbell famous as one of the most skilful criminal officers of the age. His management in one celebrated criminal case was remarkable, that of the murder of Sara Alexander by her cousin, Pesach N. Rubenstein, on December 12, 18 To. The body of the nuirdered girl was found in a cornfield. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 125 and after a time identified. It was known that she was shy of male society, one of her friends being Eabbi Kubenstein. Eubenstein was arrested on suspicion, and taken before the Chief. He was about to be locked up, when suddenly Superintendent Campbell said: ''Take off your shoes." They Avere examined and found to con- tain mud and corn-stalks on the soles, and on examina- tion further, one of the shoes was found to fit exactly an imprint near the scene of the crime. Eubenstein was convicted and sentenced to be hung, but died a few days before the time of his execution, having deliberately starved himself to death. Another notable case was that of the murder of Wil- liam W. Simmons, on January 27, 1870, by Andreas Fuchs, a case in which Superintendent Campbell sat for eight hours at the telegraph instrument directing the movements of his force until the arrest of the murderer was effected. The arrest of John H. Wright for the murder of Feron, the junkman ; of Welsh, the murderer of Barbara Groventhal, and in scores of other cases, all evidence the high detective skill of Superintendent Campbell in directing the movements of his men. In no matter was his detective ability and intelligence put to more successful proof than in the Kate Stoddart- Goodrich mui'der, a case wliich at the time excited wide- spread interest, both hei'e and in Europe, and in which he succeeded in effecting the identification of the murderess after it seemed a hopeless task. Charles Goodrich, the murdered man, was a brother of Hon. W. W. Goodrich, who owned a row of handsome brown-stone front houses in a fashionable neighborhood in this city. The brother, 126 BROOKLYN- S GUARDIANS. Charles, was allowed to occupy one of them, alone as was supposed, but, as it turned out, a woman was frequently seen at the house. She afterwards proved to be a Miss Lizzie King, alias Kate Stoddard. On a certain morning in the winter of 1872, Mr. W. W. Goodrich called to see his brother, and finding no one to reply to his rappings, gained the roof of an adjoining house and entered his own. Upon the basement floor he found the body of his dead brother shot through the temple. Susi^icion was directed toward Kate Stoddard. A search throughout the United States Avas made for the presumed murderess. A former acquaintance of Kate Stoddard (a Miss Mary Handley) was employed by the Superintendent to assist. The search continued till the following summer, when it was found that a woman answering Kate Stoddard's description was answering personals through a branch post-office in New York City. It was when Mary Handley was on her way to the post- office that she recognized the woman Stoddard about going on a ferry-boat to New York. She informed an officer at the ferry, who took Kate to the station-house. She stoutly denied her identity to every person, and re- fused to give her residence. After being kept in the sta- tion-house for three days, and still refusing to give the desired information, the Superintendent gathered his detectives about him. He asked them what was to be done in the business. They replied 'Hhey did not know." He soon hit upon a successful ruse. He sent out an " alarm ordering the entire force on duty, with instructions to visit every house in the city and enquire if any female had been missing for several days. This extreme meas- ure, somewhat unparalleled in the history of police work JOHN CUNNINGHAM, Excise Commissioner. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 1:>!) in the great cities, put many families into a state of alarm. It is estimated that two hundred and fifty house- holds who had a. wife, daughter, servant or friend absent for the time were greatly exercised. But the result was accomplished. Kate Stoddard's hiding place was found, and the evidence of her guilt obtained in the pistol with which she committed the murder, and the picture of the murdered man and other proofs. She was pronounced insane, and is now an inmate in the Asylum for Insane Criminals, at Utica, in this State. Mr. Campbell is a model official. He is an admirable master of all the numberless details of his important office. Although firm and determined, he is just and equitable, and no man on the force ever suffered unde- servedly at his hands. Advancing years have caused no lessening of the keenness of intellect, the heartiness of manner or the possession of the genial qualities which have made him beloved by his friends and respected by all. Eich and poor alike have access to his presence, and there is no citizen of Brooklyn who does not feel a per- sonal pride in the popular and justly esteemed Superin- tendent. Excise Commissioner John Cunningham was born in Ireland forty -eight years ago. He emigrated to this country in 1850, and engaged in the carpenter's trade in New York City. He remained there until 1859 when he came to this city and connected himself with the new horse railroad on Atlantic Avenue. He was one of a body of forty men that left the Navy Yard in 18()2, to form a repair station for the blockaders in Key West. After remaining eight or nine months at Key West, Mr. Cunningham returned to Brooklyn, and again became 130 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. interested in the railroad interests of the city and by his high probity and executive abihty earned the nickname of '^Honest John Cunningham." In July, 1863, he helped to organize the Van Brunt Street and Erie Basin Railroad, and was made its Superintendent and later its President, which office he holds at the present time. He was also President of the South Brooklyn Central Railroad for fifteen years. In ISTO Mayor Powell appointed him a member of the Board of Education, in which position he remained until 1882, when Mayor Low selected Mr. Joseph C. Hendrix as his successor. In 1873 he- was elected a Commissioner of Charities and served the city in that capacity for three years. He is a mem- ber of the St. Patrick's Society, the Emerald Association and The Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum. He has achieved the same success in his present office as in his other callings, and has satisfied the authorities, the liquor dealers, police and press, four horses that few Excise Commissioners were ever heretofore able to ride. In private life he is very popular, and regarded as an '^avail- able man" by all organizations in the City. Excise Commissioner John Schliemann is thirty-eight years of age, and was born in Oldenburgh, Prussia. Leaving his parents, he came to this country alone when but sixteen years of age. He started mercantile life as a clerk in the grocery business upon his arrival in this country but found it hard work. In 1S()0 he started in the business for himself, at the corner of Grand and Myrtle Avenue. Later, he removed his business to the store at 533 Myrtle Avenue, corner of Steuben Street, which place he now occupies. Mr. Schliemann is an ac- tive member of the Retail Grocer's Association, and also JOHN SCHLIEMANN, Excise Commissioner, Brooklyn's guardtans. 133 of Zeradatha Lodge, F. and A. M. He has taken little or no part in politics or public affairs and was, when he en- tered office, a new and unknown man. Since his install- ment, he has displayed good judgment, sound common sense and a keen appreciation of the wants of the city. On the one hand, he has granted licenses for all first-class saloons and hotels that were demanded by the changes in population and the growth and extension of the city ; on the other hand, he has resolutely refused any favor to establishments that were disorderly and disre- putable in character. The present relations of the Board of Excise and the public are amicable and pleasant, far more so than they were in the preceding six years. CHAPTER VIIL The Chief Subordinates of the Department. Francis L. Dallon, the Deputy-Commissioner of Police. — Start iNG Life a Lawyer. — His Legal Ability Makes HixM a Magistrate. — An Ornament to the Bench. — An Important Official Career. — Inspector John Mackellar. — A Man Whose Humor Has Made • Him Famous. — His Life- Work. — From Fighting Rioters When a Youth, to Governing a Great District When a Matured Man. — His Views on Crooked People. — Inspector Edward Reilly. — A Spi-endid Soldier in the Sixties. — Equally Successful as a Guardian of the Peace. — Inspector McLaughlin. — A Soldter Who Sees Service in the Shenandoah Under Sheridan and Returns With Laurels. — A Natural Detective. — Features of Drilling. HRANCIS L. DALLON, the popular and efficient Deputy Commissioner of Police is essentially an old Brooklynite. Although not ''to the manor born," yet all his business life and official career have been passed in the City of Churches. In the year 1850 he commenced the study of law in the office of Crooke & Campbell, and was ad- mitted to practice in July 1855. His ability and popularity soon gained him a good practice and a widespread reputa- tion for probity and success. In the spring of 1857 he was elected Justice of the Peace in the county, which office he held during two successive terms and resigned in 18G6 to take up his residence in Brooklyn. As a magistrate he proved a signal success, displaying judicial talent of a high order, broad common sense and knowledge of FRANCIS L. DALLOX, Deputy Commissioner of Police. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 137 liuman nature. During the years 18(51 to 1863 he held a position in the sheriff's office under Honorable Anthony F. Campbell, and did much in the admirable management of that office. In 180i and 18G5 he was under Sheriff John McXamee, resigning the same to accept the position of Deputy United States Marshal of the Eastern District of New York, just then established. Upon the resignation of the then l^larshal, President Johnson, upon the gen- eral request of the best citizens of Brooklyn, New York, and Queens County, at once appointed Mr. Dallon to the position, which he held until the expiration of the term in 1871. His legal and judicial knowledge and experience proved invaluable, and secured the confidence and praise of the national administration. In 1879 he was invited by Sheriff Thomas M. Eiley to take charge of the equity department of the office and accepted the offer to the satisfaction of the Brooklyn bar and subsequently he was asked to assume the du- ties of under Sheriff in addition, and during the remaindei- of Riley's term was the brains of the depart- ment. Under the administration of Mayor Seth Low, Col. John W. Partridge, having been appointed Commis- sioner of Police and Excise, at once secured the assist- ance of Mr. Dallon in administering the affairs of the department, an example which was followed by the present incumbent Colonel Thomas Carroll. The New York Kecord commenting upon this section weU- expressed public opinion in Brooklyn when it said, — Col. Thomas Carroll on taking charge as Commissioner of the Police Department of Brooklyn, has fully met the expectation of his party friends and the citizens gener- ally. Thus far in filling the appointments in his 138 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Department he has had sole regard to the fitness of the appointee and the faithful enforcement of the laws and rules governing this branch of the city government. ' ' One of his first official acts was to name Mr. Francis L. Dallon as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Clerk. This is a re-appointment, Mr. Dallon having given abundant proof of his qualifications for the place and his prior prac- tical experience will be of advantage to all who have busi- ness with the office. The many persons included in the government of this Department and the varied and in- tricate questions constantly arising, together with the vast amount of clerical work required, demand on the part of the Deputy Commissioner executive ability of a high order and a familiarity with its duties which Mr. Dallon possesses in an eminent degree. ' ' Under the new regime the Police Department and all its office affairs will maintain its present high character and as improvements may be suggested by current events doubtless they will be adopted." Mr. Dallon is now in his fifty-fifth year, hale, hearty and active, and from present indications, able and will- ing to serve his friends and the public for an indefinite period. In business and official work he is notable for his methodical habits, indefatigable industry, and courtesy to subordinates and the public at large. Dignified, thoughtful and full of the wisdom gained in a long and busy career he is eminently qualified for the position he holds. A tall, slender and thoughtful man of suave manners and pleasant demeanor, is the first person the visitor meets who enters the Inspector's room. It is John Mackellar, one of the famous members of the force. A PATRICK 11. Mclaughlin", Inspector. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. lil Vit and humorist himself, he naturally gravitates toward people of the same type and so has been for years a hou compagnoi of the bright men of the press. Their jokes upon him have generally been grotesque allusions to his slenderness, describing captures by his sliding into a house through the chimney-flue, a gas-pipe or a broken pane of glass. His retorts have never been printed by the unfortunates who had provoked him. On one occa- sion, he is said to have sent a message to a reportorial friend, ''Run-over accident by horse-car No. 303 of Flatbush Avenue line at -iiSO p. m. Body in station- house — driver Thomas MuUins, escapes — inquest at 9 A. M. to-morrow. " The reporter confided the news to but one friend, but inside of a half -hour a dozen irate news- paper men were looking at the body of a dog which had been run over and which lay in solemn state in the station-house yard. Inspector Mackellar was born in New York City on March 4th, 1842. He moved in 1845 to Brooklyn which has ever since been his home. He was a plucky fireman in the old days of the Volunteer Fire Department. He entered military and police life together in July 1863, when he joined the special force called to suppress the great draft-riots in New York. He was actively engaged during the terrible week they lasted and was bruised and injured in many encounters with the mob. This over, he was transferred to the '' Atlantic Dock Squad," a body of first-class men organized to protect the vast and valuable store-houses in that neighborhood from Southern incendiaries, thieves and mobs. In June, 1864, he had made so good a record as to be appointed patrol- man by the authorities. He began duty in the forty- U2 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. eighth, now the eighth Precinct and remained six months, when he was promoted to acting sergeant. In June, 1872, he was appointed captain. In 1878 he was assigned to the tenth Precinct where he remained five years. He was then advanced to his present position of inspector. In private hfe Mackellar is quiet, thoughtful and retiring. He has a vast fund of information and anec- dote and can be extremely entertaining. In official life, he is business to the core." He is always on time and leaves nothing unattended to. He is thoroughly con- versant with the duties of the police and the numberless subjects on which information is requisite to make a thorough officer. Inspector Mackellar knows a good deal about crooked people, and this is the way he talks about them : ^ ' When you feel yourself being hustled, look out for your watch. When your hat gets tipped over your eyes, don't stop to put it back till you have put your hand to your watch pocket. " He ought to know what he is talk- ing about, for no man in Brooklyn has seen more of the tricks of the pickpockets. He has been studying them for years, and knows all their ins and outs. Despite the high position he holds in the force, he still keeps his eyes open for the rogues, and catching shoplifters in and about our large retail stores. It is right by the door of a great dry-goods establishment that we catch a good many of them. These shoplifters work where they can get out easily. Often they work in pairs, one woman standing by the door while the other goes down the aisle ; she comes back and the first ojie tries her hand at it. They all come dressed for it. That woman's circular, for BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 143 instance, makes a handy thing for hiding hfted goods. Generally the shoplifter carries a bag with straps going round her waist, into which she can easily drop any- thing she can get hold of. I saw a woman once drop some feathers in at the waist. I arrested her. But when we got her to the office not a bag did she have. That woman had fixed her dress so that the whole front of it, from waist to bottom, made a bag, and then piled in round her feet were the feathers and lots of things. One woman played it on us nicely. She put her hands behind her waist, while we were taking her to the office, untied the straps, and dropped the bag, and what could we do about it ? She was a i3rof essional. " ^' Do we get many professionals now f Xot so many as we used to. They don't like to come to Brooklyn any more. One day we saw a woman throw her shaw^l over a Avhole roll of cloth, as she leaned over to examine a piece, and then she walked off with the whole thing under her arm. Another time we saw a little girl by that pile of books sliding one slowly under her shawl. One look was enough to stop her. A muff is a handy thing for shoj)lifters. The woman puts her muff on a pile of handkerchiefs, and while she examines something with one hand, she quietly puUs handker- chiefs into the muff with the other. We have found muffs jam full of handkerchiefs, ribbons and such things. These wire screens you see here on the edge of the counter have stopped that thing a good deal. '''Once one of my men saw a woman take an umbrella. Then she walked down to a pawn shop. Coming back she took another. And so on till he had seen her take more than a half a dozen. Of course she only took one at a BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. time, for. with two umbrellas she would have been sus- pected. " '^Are shoplifters well-dressed?" " Yes, many of them are. Some of them are klepto- maniacs, taking little things at first, and, if not detected, keeping it up till they have a regular passion for it. Pickpockets usually dress well, and many of them look like real tony fellows. Often we catch little children just learning the trade. Last week we caught a little girl taking a pocketbook. Three had been stolen within an hour, and thefts had been reported for several days. She said there was no one with her, but I think there was." ' ' I suppose you have to remember a great many faces?" "No, we don't have to, though of course we learn the faces of a great many professionals. Most of the people vre catch here are strangers to us. You see if we know them they know us, and get out of our sight pretty quick. Then the only wa}^ to catch them is to watch from a window or a doorway. Brooklyn crooks, you see, work other cities, and the crooks of other cities come here. So w^e have to tell them by their actions and looks. A pickpocket will give himself away every time. He will look around to see if anybody is following him, and will do other things to betray himself. " "Pickpockets seldom take the watch, chain and all. They twist the watch off its ring. That's what we call ringing a watch. Then they leave the chain dangling or stick the end back in the pocket so that the man doesn't know his watch is gone till he happens to want to know what time it is. When a pickpocket goes into Brooklyn's guardians. 1^5 a crowd he will begin tai)ping gently on the outside of pockets to see what is in them. If he finds a purse, he ^\ill pull it out so skillfully the victim hasn't any suspic- ion of what is going on. The women are very clever at opening hand-bags and taking the contents." Inspector Edward Reilly is a man of fine appearance and Herculean figure. He was born in New York City on June 0th, lS-t2. He removed with his parents to Brooklyn when a child. On May 4th, 1861, he enlisted in Company G. Ninth New York Volunteers (Haw- kin's Zouaves) for two years. He took part in the battle at Big Bethel, and subsequently accompa- nied Butler's expedition to Cape Hatteras, — par- ticipating in the capture of Fort Clarke and Fort Hatteras. He accompanied Burnside's expedition to Eoanoke Island and took part in the final charge and capture of the masked batteries. His regiment had an engagement at South Mills, where they captured the town and took several prisoners, and lost in kiUed and wounded about a hundred men. They were attached to the Ninth Army Corps. He afterwards participated in the Battles of South Mountain and In- tietam. At the latter place, he fought bravely to rash- ness and was wounded in the thigh and afterwards in the knee. He was confined in the hospital for about six weeks. Previous to and during the battle of Fredericks- burg, his company (G) formed Burnside's body guard, and Mr. Reilly took part in both days' fight. His regi- ment went from Fredericksburg to Suffolk where it was mustered out of service and Mr. Reilly returned home. He re-enlisted in the same regiment after its reorganization and was commissioned second Lieutenant. 146 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. He took part in the suppression of the New York riots, and distinguished himself here for coolness and courage, and soon after resigned. On June 9th, 1867, he was ap- pointed patrolman in the Brooklyn Police Department. He was promoted to Sergeant on June 11th, 1870, and during 1871-2-3 was acting captain of the third Sub-Pre- cinct. This was afterwards made the Eleventh Precinct and he was appointed Captain on September 4th, 1875. As Captain he made a splendid record for himself. The district he commanded contained many thieves and disorderly characters. It was also the home of stevedores and boatmen. Men of this class are strong, self-assert- ive and addicted to drink. When intoxicated, they frequently quarrel and are then very dangerous. In such cases brute force, and strength joined with courage, are the only things by which they can be controlled. Here Inspector Eeilly proved a power for good, where small or weak men would have been of no value whatever. His tremendous frame, long experience and fearlessness made him the master of the situation whenever he came upon a fight, however large. Eemarkable stories are told in this regard. On one occasion he ran across two burly six-footers fighting. He intervened and was immediate- ly assaulted. Nothing daunted he thrashed both single- handed and brought them into submission and the station- house, with hardly a mark to make witness to the en- counter. Captain Reilly became Inspector Eeilly July 7th, 1886. His promotion was deserved in every respect and gav-e universal Satisfaction. He is very popular, being noted for his tact and courtesy. In all events of great interest or excitement, he has done so many favors to press and BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Ul^ public alike, and has gone so far out of his way to be of assistance to friends, acquaintances and even strangers as to gain the good- will and gratitude of thousands. He possesses a vast fund of interesting information upon crimes and criminals and upon the work of his office. That private office of the Inspector's would show some strange things, if all the scenes that have been there could be reflected from the walls again. Of course the Inspector's methods are his own, and he does not talk about them. A leader of a gang was held here for mur- der, which was cruel and cold-blooded ; but they were close - mouthed. To prevent them from making any combine that would interfere with the work of getting evidence, they were all arrested on charges that were easily enough found, and locked up where they were safe and separate. The Inspector got the web woven about the murderer, but he wanted to fix it beyond all chance of failure by getting a confession. It is not an easy thing to make a man put a halter round his own neck, but it has to be done. Inspector Patrick H. McLaughlin is about medium height, powerfully built, and dark-complexioned. He is- quiet, modest and good-natured, always happy to assist a friend or make himself remembered by a chance acquaint- ance by some good deed or word. He was made Police Inspector in July, IS 86, since which time the entire corps at Police Headquarters have become very much attached to him, for he never interferes with any one until they call themselves to notice by some mistake or willful neg- ligence of their daily duty. This trait places the men on their honor, which is, with scarcely an exception, never damaged. Forty-five years ago, on the 8th of August, In- 150 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. spector McLaughlin first saw the light of day in the city of Brooklyn. As a boy he always led his companions in their games ; and while at school he was bright, learned his lessons quickly and always permanently retained the knowledge which he had gained. After leaving school he learned the trade of iron mould- ing, at which he became a proficient workman. He fol- lowed it until 1861, when the war of the rebellion broke out. He enlisted in the lT3d Eegiment New York State Volunteers as a private, and went to the front. He served his country for over three years, during which time he saw more than his share of active service. He was with General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, with General Banks in the Gulf, and saw many bloody battles in Louisiana. He was at Port Hudson, and New Orleans when it was captured by the Northern forces. He was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant for bravery in the Shenandoah Valley with Sheridan, and was often complimented by his superior officers. After the war was over he returned to Brooklyn, and January 11th, 1866, he was appointed on the police force and assigned as a patrolman to duty in the Fifth Pre- cinct. While in the Fifth Precinct he distinguished himself by many important arrests. He always could, and can to this day, detect a man who is a crook, and not a few of his captures have been made on suspicion, which often terminated in the conviction of some crim- inal of great importance who was wanted for daring burglaries or a bloody murder. He was made roundsman in 1669, and assigned to the Third Sub -Precinct. A few weeks later in the year he was made sergeant, and in July he became captain of the JOHN MACKELLAR, Inspector. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 153 Eighth Precinct. Four months later he was transferred to the Ninth Precinct, where he remained and con- tinued to add to his excellent record until 1886, when he was appointed Inspector. He devotes much of his time to drilling and instruct- ing new-comers, this being auxiliary to the technical training they receive elsewhere. At an appointed time in the week the officers of the ^'awkward squad" assemble in the instruction room. Each man has his buttons and the buckles on his belt well polished, and his whole uniform in excellent order, although the assemblage is not for the dress parade. It is the regular meeting for instruction in the duties which devolve upon a poHceman. The object of the instruction is to prepare the offi- cers for prompt and intelligent action under any cir- cumstances which may arise. The inexperienced men are instructed how to guard property and detect crimi- nals, and the habits and methods of the burglar and sneak- thief are made the subject of lectures by the supe- rior officers. Certain evenings are set apart for the answering of questions propounded by the pupils with the desire of getting information. The new men puzzle the older heads with interrogatories as to whether they have a right to break open the door of a house when they hear a woman scream, or how much noise a man may make on the street late at night in order to justify his arrest. How much ^^sass" must a policeman take from a pris- oner before he uses his club, was one of the questions propounded recently by a patrolman. Ambitious new- comers frequently make remarkable progress. In one 154 Brooklyn's guardians. case a young man in the class was found to have learned Dr. Stiles' History of Brooklyn by heart. Many of the raw recruits are very unsophisticated and at times afford considerable amusement to the Inspectors. McLaughlin tells in this regard the following story : ^'I was breaking in a new member of the force. At roll call a number of general alarms from Police Head- quarters were read out to the men. The new man acted as if worried about something. When he got outside^ the puzzled look had not yet left his face : he asked a friend who had acted as instructor: " 'Look here, Patrick, what am I to do ? They read out so many of those alarms that I could not catch them all. I remember the description of that gray-headed old codger that is wanted for bunco steer- ing ; and the kid that's missing and has probably gone West to shoot Indians with a rusty revolver and a capital of a nickel ; and the young tough that's wanted for nearly killing his mother because she would not give him money to buy beer with, I suppose ; but what was that last alarm the Sergeant read off about somebody missing from home ? ' ' ' 'Aw' yees listened ter all that, did yees ? ' queried his instructor. 'Well, oi didn't an' whin you've been in ther bizness a little longer you won't be listhening ter thim alarums. We niver pay ther least attintion ter him.'" CHAPTER IX. The Chief Subordinates of the Department. {Continued.) Frederick L. Jenkins, Clerk of the Superintendent.— A Born Student, Statistician and Scientist. — His Life-work Briefly Considered. — IIis Contributions to Police Literature and General Servicp:. — William H. Muldoon, Property-Clerk. — A Famous Journa'list, Wit and Humorist. — A Careful Official. — His Duties. — Thomas Carroll, Jr., Clerk of the Com- missioner. — A St. Johns' College Man who is doing Well, — A Hard Worker. — William D. Lohman, Cashier of Excise. — A Typical German.— The Success and Popularity of a Tam- many Graduate. — Almet F. Jenks. — Corporation Counsel.— A Feav Lines Upon a Distinguished Lawyer. EEEDERICK L. JENKINS, the distinguished clerk of the Superintendent of Pohce, was born in the Tenth Ward, of the city of New York, on July 8th, 1844. His father, a prominent member of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, died when he was but three months old, leaving the care of a large family to the mother. Necessity compelled him to begin the battle of life at the early age of ten, with but a trifling amount of education. He was ambitious of intellectual power, even at that time, and devoted his evenings. Sabbaths and holidays to reading and study. He learned the type-founding trade, and from that passed into the employ of the Cromwell line of steamships. The war drew him into its service, and work of the hardest. During its four years, he was either supercargo or clerk on the valuable transports which supplied the Union troops on the Southern sea- 156 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. board with the necessaries of war and of Hfe. He was one of the officers of the schooner Sam Colt, the first vessel that ascended the James River to Richmond after the close of the war. He remained in the steamship business until December 5, 1870, when he was appointed clerk to the Superintendent by the then incumbent, Patrick Campbell, a position he has ever since retained, despite the changes in the administration of the city and the personal heads of the police department. The steadiness of habits acquired in early youth, and pursued to maturity, became second nature, and mark Mr. Jenkins to-day as much as in the years when he was a poor boy, endeavoring to assist a widowed mother by the hardest work. By degrees, he ranged alongside of those who had enjoyed all the advantages of life, and then passed them by in the race of intellectual power. In 1874, the fruits of his study were made manifest in an able monograph on Sociology and Herbert Spencer, that appeared in the Eagle. The ability and originality of the article attracted more than ephemeral attention. It was editorially criti- cised in the journal where it appeared, was quoted by many periodicals of high standing, and disclosed the author in a new light to his friends, and especially to his fellow officials. From that time till to-day, he has been an indefatigable literary and philosophical writer, and has made many valuable additions to statistics, sociology, penology and kindred sciences. Among his many con- tributions to local and general literature may be men- tioned : ''Sociology," Eagle, Sept. 14, 1874; ''Excise Statistics and Comparative Tables," Eagle, Aug. 13, 1877 ; "An Introduction to Criminal Statistics in the Tenth U.S. FREDERICK L. JENKINS. Brooklyn's guardians. 159 Census ;" " Statistics of Indigency for Kings County," in the same ; " History of the Census," New York Tribune, Nov. 28, 1870 ; ''Pohce and Criminal Statistics," Brook- lyn Magazine, Dec, 1878 ; ''Police and Criminal Statis- tics," New York Sentinel, Feby. 28, 1880, and March 6, 1880; ''Our Moral Status," Eagle, Aug. 2, 1880 ; "Ju- venile Crime," Eagle, June 26, and July 3, 1881 ; " On a Juvenile Reformatory," Eagle, Union and Times, May 11, 1882, Herald, Aug. 5, 1882 ; statistics in article in Princeton Review, January, 1883, entitled "Disfran- chisement for Crime," by Prof. Colby; annual Police Reports of Department for past fourteen years. The ability and originality of thought in these articles, the masterly manner of handling statistics, the admirable style and lucid treatment have made the author known and respected by the scientific and philanthropic world. The National Conference of Charities and Correction in 1881 appointed the following committee on Police System and Administration : F. L. Jenkins, Chair- man, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Greneral Thomas H. Taylor, Louisville, Ky. ; Elmer Washburn, Chicago, 111.; Hon. John W. Andrews, Columbus, Ohio ; Hon. J. K. Barney, Providence, R. I. At this Conference, as Chairman, he contributed a paper, entitled "The Police and Juvenile Crime," which was favorably commented upon, and went through the press with favorable consideration, and was treated to some flattering editorials. The arrangements made by him of the blanks used in the preparation of the Annual Report have simplified matters to a remarkable degree. The designation of the 160 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. various offences under the proper head was endorsed by the District Attorney's office. Mr. Jenkins' office is of great importance. A person, to properly make himself useful to the public in this position, should be at all times ready to give, on the instant, any information requested concerning the duties performed by the Police ; the Ordinances of the Cityand the Laws of the State he should at all times be familiar with. Much time, study and attention to business are required. He may not always receive the credit due him, but is somewhat repaid with the consciousness of duty well performed. His duties are to keep the correspondence of the Superintendent's office, issue all orders to the force, ^ record violations and forward same to the proper depart- ments, issue permits for processions and parades, also permits for masquerades. His duties require him to arrive early and stay longer than any other clerk employed by the city. He is not allowed the same short hours afforded other clerks during the summer season, and is paid a small salary compared to the kind and amount of work required of him. On January 1st, 1885, The Brooklyn Police Mutual Aid Association was organized, and he was appointed Treasurer, and has since been re-elected. The Association started with 621 members, and now (April 1, 1887,) has a membership of 782, out of a force of 902. No other similar police association, where the" payment is voluntary, can present so large a percentage of the force. William H. Muldoon, the property clerk, has a national reputation as a writer and all-around journalist. He WILLIA:\[ li. .ML i.ixxKN. BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANft. lO:^) was born in New York City, June 24, 1848, and there resided until 20 years of age. He received a good education, and at an early age evinced a strong leaning toward literary pleasures. He began his journalistic career at the lowest step — the printer's case. Here, in the employ of Major Prall, he gained so thorough a knowledge of the art of Caxton, that when twenty years of age he could set type, '' make up " a paper, and run an 8 -cylinder press. This hard training was invaluable to him in after years, making him an acquisition of the best type to any newspaper where emergencies are liable to occur. In 1867, he started reporting for the Brooklyn Union. His wit and satire, humor and delightful descriptive power were immediately recognized by his employers, who promoted him step by step, until he had filled the positions of Albany correspondent, assistant city editor, city editor, and assistant managing editor. He became rapidly known to the press as a forcible and ready writer, an able editor, and a first-class correspond- ent. He was welcome at every office, and always found a position ready for him wherever he applied. In this wise he has filled responsible places upon the Eagle, and Sunday Sun, of Brooklyn; the Tribune, Star, Morning Journal and Truth of New York, and many other news- papers and periodicals. As a writer he excels in many respects. In humor he equals Bob Burdette, Bill Nye and Max Adler. His Coney Island Sketches in Truth and the Morning Journal were so whimsical and grotesque as to be republished in hundreds of papers the world over, and to elicit laughter in England and Australia as well as in the twin cities of the East River. His burlesques on the poHticians of Brooklyn were the best features of the Sun- 164 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. day Journal and N. Y. Staj% and gave these jonrnals a large part of their circulation. His fund of wit and humor was so inexhaustible, that it was utilized by his friends and reappeared in many odd burlesques by for- merly famous knights of the pen. His descriptive power is excellent per se, but gains a strength peculiar to Mul- doon in his marvelous power of epigram. Beneath his fun there are always sound common sense and a good purpose. In all his works he has, in one way or another, attacked shams and wrongs, and done much, as reporter, correspondent and editor, to destroy politi cal ills and advance the best interests of the city. He first held office under Commissioners Briggs, Py- lum and Hurd, when he was property clerk. He made so praiseworthy a record then, that when the depart- ment again became Democratic in 1886, he was immedi- ately chosen to fill his old place. Thomas Carroll, Jr. the Clerk of the Police Department, is a son of the Commissioner, and resembles him in ap- pearance and expression. He was born in Staten Island, N. Y., July 13th, 1851. He was educated in the public schools of Brooklyn, in which city he has resided nearly all his life, and afterwards entered St. John's College, whence he was graduated in the class of 1873. After graduation he entered the house of Dohan, Carroll & Co., of which his father was one of the partners, and was employed there for many years. As a student, he was assiduous, faithful and capable, standing well in his class and graduating with honorable distinction. As a clerk in mercantile life, he displayed the same character- istics and earned the esteem of his superiors. He was appointed to his present place in February, 1886, and has THOMAS CARROLL. Jr. Brooklyn's guardians. 167 proved himself a careful, trustworthy aud efficient of- ficial. In the keeping of the Department books, the ar- rangement of official documents, the classification of papers and the superintendence of the large epistolary work of the office, he has displayed considerable ability. His office, however much a sinecure it may have been to any predecessor, finds in him an active and ever working occupant. The face of WiUiam D. Lohmann, the Cashier of the Board of Excise, is very familiar to the citizens of Brooklyn and New York. He was born of Grerman pa- rentage, in the latter city, April 11th, 181:5, and received a superior education in both English and Gi-erman. Un- til 1886 he never held any political office, but was en- gaged in different business concerns. He took an inter- est in pohtical matters at an early age, and on account of his popularity with the voters of both the nationahties named, as well as his familiarity with the two tongues, soon occupied a prominent position in the party organiza- tion. He thus became a leading member of Tammany HaU, and long enjoyed the friendship and esteem of its sachems and warriors. He turned his face southward in 1877, and left Gotham for Brooklyn, where he has ever since been domiciled. In the latter city he was as active as in his former home, and in a short time was a foremost member in the Saengerbund — Brooklyn's largest German musical and social organi- zation — as well as a valued worker in the Democratic ranks. He was a friend of ex- Comptroller Ludwig Semler, Anton Weber, John Schliemann and other rep- resentative Democrats. Upon the appointment of Car- roll, Schliemann and Cunningham, as Commissioners of 168 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Excise of Brooklyn, he was selected to fill the important post of Cashier. The responsibility of the office may he estimated from the fact that each year it issues over 3,000 licenses to sell ales, wines and liquors, and receives in fees over three hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Loh- mann has shown himself a capable, diligent and reliable custodian of the public funds. Corporation Counsel Almet F. Jenks is a son of the late Hon. Granville T. Jenks, one of the most brilliant forensic orators that Brooklyn ever possessed. He is thirty-three years of age, and for a long time served in the office of the District Attorney. He is a gentleman well versed in law, a fluent speaker and graceful writer. During three years he was one of the most indus- trious assistants in the office of the Prosecuting Counsel. Mr. Jenks is a graduate of Yale College, Class of 1875, and of the Columbia Law School, Class of 1877. In social circles he has a large acquaintance, and is a mem- ber of both the Brooklyn and Hamilton Clubs. Much of the credit in working up the Groblewski and Herrick murder cases is due to Mr. Jenks, who gave the police a great deal of assistance in the course of their investiga- tions. He is a son-in-law of Bishop Littlejohn, and is a member of the Episcopal Church. He was never identi- fied with any party organization, but has been, and is, a typical Independent. In his present capacity he is the legal adviser of the city, as well as of the Police Depart- ment, and has already been of invaluable service to both. His legal opinions are based on thorough study and research, are elegantly and intelligibly expressed, and thus far have been approved by the Superior Court in every case. Excepting the Hon. William C. Dewitt, he has had no equal in the office in very many years. CHAPTER X. Special Features of the Police Department. THE POLICE TELEC4KAPn. When Started. — Its Eakly Equipment. — George II. Flanley and His Work. — Where Situated. — Early Way of Working. — The Staff IN Those Days.— The Telephone.— The Present Force.— The 1887 Statute.— Difficulties Under the Civil Service.~The " Three Trains." — Home for Reporters. the patrol wagon. AN^HEN Started.— Its First Job — IIo^v it Works.— The Patrol- Wagoneers. — Paddy Dowd and the Bridge. — A Drunken Virago. —A Heavy Load. the patrol boxes. Begun in 1886. — Gamewell the Inventor. — Description of Box. — How IT is Worked. — The Calls and Answers.— Telephone vs. Pearson and Jones.— A Watch Upon Watchmen.— The Expansion OF THE System. THE DEODANDS. The Deodands. — What They Are. — A Curious Word. — Groble- wsKi's Poison. — Homicidal Knives. — A Bloody Bed-slat. — A Deadly Hammer. — A Fatal Cart-rung. — A Historic Axe. — Dark Lantern and Mask. — Pistols and Counterfeits. THE bureau of BOILER INSPECTION. When Organized. — Its Personnel. — Where to Get Your Boiler Mended. — Why it is Necessary. — William A. Powers, the Super- intendent. — His Heroic Record. — The Inspectors. — The Super- intendent's Duties. — Boilers at Large. — Engineers. — The Four Degrees in Their Freemasonry. — Misdemeanors. — Mr, Buck Falls Up Against the Law and Gets the Worst op it. — The Law a Beneficial One. — The Jewells' Flour Mills Explo- sion. — The Greenpoint Foundry Blown up. — Public School BoiL' ERS. — As Innocent as Kittens. BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. THE AMBULANCE SERVICE. A Modern Idea Started in 1878. — Who Controls and Has Custody OF THE Wagons. — Who Pays for the Luxury. — The Ambulance Surgeons all First-class Men. — How Appointed. — The Horses. — How the Machine Works. — Rules and Regulations. — Rela- tions with the Police.— How They Treat the Injured. — The Different Districts. — The Kinds of Patients. — Additions to Come. — The Good Work Accomplished. The Police Telegraph. OF the most important and useful adjuncts to the police force is the Telegraph Bureau, which for years has been rated as one of the best managed and equipped in the world. When it was first established in 1854, with its headquarters in the basement of the City Hall, it boasted of just one Eobinson dial instrument, ■with its slow method of transmitting orders and messages from one station to another by electric bells. One con- tinuous circuit connected the ten precincts then existing in Brooklyn, and for some months after the first com- munication flashed over the wire, detectives detailed from the several precincts and headquarters had charge of the operating under George H. Flanley's superintendence. The present Bureau is located in the Municipal Build- ing, with Frank C. Mason as its superintendent, George H. Flanley having resigned three years ago, after thirty years of faithful duty. Mason is a thorough electricia]i, and keeps the system in such a condition, that a break lasting more than five minutes is almost an imj)ossibility. Two bright, well-furnished rooms constitute the suites of offices, while all about the walls the electric parapher- naha show the extent of the work done by the force of men at present constituting the corps of operators. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. in For a number of years after the bureau was estab- lished, the facihties for the transmission of messages were extremely small. Now and then when a new pre- cinct or sub-precinct was added to the original ten, an- other dial would be placed in position at headquarters. When the building on the corner of Livingston and Court Streets was occupied by the department, the force of operators w^as increased. The complete staff was then composed of William Gear, Thomas Williams, and Will- iam J. McKelvey, all well up in police duties, besides being experts in the Code Manual, used in the transmis- sion of messages. In those days, when an order was to be sent to a pre- cinct, the operator would call it up by so many taps on the dial, which would be responded to ; and then fol- lowed the long method of so many bells, meaning some word or sentence. If it was a general order, by means of manipulating the plugs in the switch-board, all the sta- tions were communicated with at once. If one precinct desired another, it was obtained by joining two circuits together. This placed eight or ten precincts on the same line, and kept up a continual clanging of a gong in all the station-houses, enough to disturb the sergeant on duty and the prisoners calmly sleeping in the cells below. Even in the present day the old dial system is occasion- ally used in the transmission of some general order or a fire alarm. In the fall of 18S3 the telephone found its way into the police work. It consisted of a line between Police Head- quarters in New York City and Brooklyn. It was found to w^ork so Avell that a new Avire was run separate from headquarters to each precinct in the city. In October a 172 BROOKLYN'S GU.UIDIANS. new switch board was placed in position, and another line, making three in all, built to every station. It worked admirably, and shortened the time consumed in giving orders from nine to two minutes, which, in cases requiring desj)atch, has often resulted in the capture of some important criminal or shortened the worryment of some mother, wife or sister, whose child, husband or brother, having fallen sick, or into the hands of miscre- ants, were kept from their homes. Of the present force, naught can be said but praise of their ability and efficiency in rendering aid to the police. Tlieir work not only extends over the field of criminals and crime, but accident and misfortune is treated even with more despatch than the usual report. The staff now includes Frank C. Mason, Superintendent ; William R. Gear, Thomas Williams, Thomas J. Cornell, James Keenan, James Campbell; John Maloy, operators ; and Augustine Manee and William McConnell, linemen ; all of whom, excepting Gear and Cornell, served appren- ticeships as clerks before they were appointed to their present positions. The duties of the position require a complete knowledge of the entire department. To be- come perfectly proficient the operators must have done precinct duty. Gear was in the Second Precinct, Wil- liams saw service in the Third, Cornell in the First and Eleventh, the latter of which he was at one time Cap- tain. Keenan spent many years in the South Brooklyn precincts, Maloy was at the Twelfth and Thirteenth, while' Campbell acquired his extensive knowledge of police matters at the Twelfth. The linemen's only duty is to attend to breaks in the wires. The building of BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 178 new lines and the care of the batteries, is a branch done by third parties, as the linemen have spent almost a score of years in their present positions, and have a complete knowledge of police subjects in general. Until the second of May, 1887, the telegraph deputies were not legally connected with the pohce force, but on that day a bill was signed by Governor Hill, which not only brings them within the protection of the civil ser- vice law, but entitles them to be retired on a pension, as are the regular members of the force. An examination for a position as operator in the civil service routine, is one of the most difficult on the list. No one but an experi- enced police official can answer the first questions regard- ing the routine police duties, and only a good telegraph operator has a knowledge of the telephone, telegraph and switch-board workings. The corps of operators is divided into three sections, each working eight hours. The squad on duty from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon is called the Day Accommodation." The next section is on duty from four in the afternoon until midnight, and is known as the ' ' Evening Express. " The ''Owl Train" whistles off brakes " at midnight, and connects with the " Day Accommodation" at eight in the morning. The men on these trains are never em- ployed on the same work two weeks in succession, but change about from the switch-board to the record book, and thence to the daily blotter, in which is kept a full detailed account of everything happening in the existing twenty-four hours. The telegraph bureau is the resort of all the reporters, for whose benefit httle slips containing a brief statement of every event are hung upon easily accessible wires. 174 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Large numbers of citizens daily seek information, and receive it, as far as is known, from the operators on duty. The Patrol Wagon. In November, 1886, the Police Commissioners put the first police patrol wagon into commission, and stabled it in Union Alley, near Myrtle Avenue. The system, though new to Brooklyn, had been tried with great suc- cess in both Philadelphia and Chicago. The wagon had not been in commission two hours before it received a telephone call from the First Precinct, to hurry to the corner of Gold Street and Myrtle Avenue. The distance, over five blocks, was covered in less than three minutes. On the corner lay a man beastly intoxicated. The sys- tem used to get the unconscious man into the wagon, was applied on this occasion. In the first place, the officer in the wagon hooks his fingers into the prisoner's collar and lifts him into the wagon, where he is laid at full length on the floor. This manoeuvre does not take more than a minute, and before the tail-board is again placed into position, the wagon starts for the station- house, while the clang, clang of the big gong, manipu- lated by the driver's foot, warns the pedestrians and vehicles ahead to move out of the way. The entire force employed on the patrol wagon are : . WiUiam Dunham and J. F. Burnes, and George Camp- bell and Michael J. Ambro, alternate crews. All four were appointed from the regular force. They like the work better than post duty, and tell some very interest- ing and humorous stories relating to the arrests made BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 175 since the wagon's advent, especially during the first two or three weeks of active service. It seems that one night in December, Paddy " Dowd, a Fifth Ward politician, got into a row, and having done too much homage to Bacchus, fell into the sheltering arms of a First Precinct policeman. The patrol wagon was sent to bring in the intoxicated ''Paddy,'' who, thinking it a new feature in the spree, climbed in and^ asked to be taken to the Bridge. When he arrived at the station-house, he refused to get out, saying he wanted to go to the Bridge, and offered to pay his fare. I'm a sucker," he ejaculated, as he fumbled for a stray nickle. Of course, force was used, and as he screamed for help, the officers dropped him over the tail-board. About six o'clock another morning, Dunham and Burnes were sitting in the stable trying to keep awake, when the telephone rang. It was a call to the most dis- tant box in the precinct, Hudson Avenue and Nassau Street. The morning was bitter cold, and the snow creaked beneath the wheels of the wagon, as it hurried along. On the corner in question was found a woman, lying full length in the snow, drunk and almost nude. She refused to dress. Nothing could persuade her, and she howled and yelled at the top of her voice, arousing the entire neighborhood. Dunham hurried the horse, and in about nine minutes the party arrived at the sta- tion-house. The woman was carried inside, and Burnes says he could have taken the whole affair as a good joke and thought nothing more about it if she had not pers- pired to such an extent that big beads of the fluid stood out upon her forehead and all over her body. About the heaviest load the wagon carried was one 176 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. morning when seven officers captured eight burglars in a Fifth Ward cellar. The entire party was brought to the station-house without any uncomfortable crowding. ''But the best joke of all," says Driver Dunham, "is when we capture four or five drunks on one trip. It just makes me think of a can of worms when you go fishing, to see them all on the floor of the wagon, squirming about to get in a comfortable position." The Patrol Boxes. For years the Police Authorities of Brooklyn have fully recognized the importance of providing some means of instant communication between the station houses and officers on post. In the early part of the summer of 1886, the work of constructing patrol boxes in the First Precinct was com- menced and when the first day of August arrived, six- teen were put in working order. The system in use is the Game well, the same as is employed in Chicago. It consists of a circular iron box about three feet in di- ameter, and seven feet high, painted green. Inside this box can be found a telephone and a dial box, similar to the ones in use by the American District Telegraph Com- pany only on a much larger scale and with a bell on top. This is used to inform the officer on post that his signal has been heard by the roundsman in the station house. At the latter place sits a roundsman always on duty, cahnly enjoying the warmth of a glowing stove in the winter, or a cool, refreshing breeze during the sultry summer months. The dials in the iron boxes are faced with block rubber on which is printed the several calls. A lever projects from the right of the dial, which on BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 177 being pressed down and then released prints on a tape at the station house, the number of the box from which the call is sent. This informs the roundsman that the officer has made an arrest and wants the patrol wagon. The roundsman then presses a button on his desk which rings the bell before mentioned. That done, he tele- phones to the stable, from whence the wagon goes direct to the box in question. In case the officer wishes to use the telephone, an indicator on the dial is pushed one point to the left and the lever pressed as before. The ticker then registers the number of the box, with one dash fol- lowing, Take for instance, box No. 27 at the corner of Washington and Nassau Streets. If the policeman wishes to quell a riot or disturbance of any magnitude, he moves the indicator another point to the left and the call is printed 27 . The next point is for an am- bulance. It registers 27 . Fire, 27 and a test call 27 . If any further inform- ation is desired or wished to be transmitted to the station, the telephone is used. The patrol boxes can only be used by the officers of the Precinct who carry the keys. If a citizen discovers a fire or any other disturbance requiring police assistance, he must find an officer, who communicates with the station house. A question as to whether the telephone system was better than the one devised by Messrs. Pearson & Jones, at present used in New York, which is worked on the signaling plan exclusively, received considerable notice at the time the boxes were in course of construction an d for some weeks after they were put in use ; but it was deci- ded that although the New York system transmitted the 178 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. messages secretly, it was slower. Aside from this, it is less explicit, and the half of the conversation heard by an outsider would not impart enough knowledge to interfere with the plans ,of the police. On the other hand, the patrolman is shut up in the box through which very little if any sound can be heard out- side. Each patrolman is required to report hourly from the box on his post. If there are two, he must send in his ^^0. K." first from one and then the other. This breaks up the old way of an officer taking a quiet doze in some convenient stable or saloon and keeps him con- stantly, though at times unwillingly on the alert for law- breakers. He is given ten minutes grace in making his report. If it is exceeded, an account must be rendered to the Sergeant at the desk when the officers' rounds are ended. The telephone system is a necessary prelude to the adoption of the patrol wagon which is now in use and de- scribed elsewhere ; the consummation of this great im- provement is hailed with satisfaction by everybody con- nected with the Police Department. It has already greatly improved the efficiency of the force and rendered the way of the transgressor even harder than it is pro- verbially supposed to be. The system will be extended throughout the entire city as soon as the proper arrangements can be made for the erection of the wires and boxes. Already a few boxes have been placed in position in the Fourth Precinct, but as yet, have not been used, as no patrol wagons are in readiness to work with them. The rounds- men all look eagerly forward to the time when patrol BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ITO duty will be a thing of the past, except a short time dur- ing the afternoon of every third day. The Deodands. In the ofhce of the District Attorney is kept a collec- tion of miscellaneous articles taken from criminals since 1850. The group is known as the deodands. This word is a curious survival of the middle ages. In the days when ecclesiasticism was a preponderating power in European civilization, the churcii made a claim that everything whereby a man met his death should be given to God (that is, itself). This was acceded to by the feudal authorities, the crown and the people. The name, giving to God (Deo-dandus) was apphed to the donor, and thence to the thing given. It was broadly construed, and included the buU, ox or cow that gored, the horse that kicked or bucked, the boar or sow that bit, and the weapon that inflicted the fatal blow. It proving a fruit- ful source of revenue to the lords-abbott, the custom was extended to all articles with which crimes were com- mitted. With the decadence of the church and the sub- stitution of the king for the pope as the head of the ecclesiastical organizatif >n by Henry VIII, the custom was continued, and proved very remunerative to the crown. It became a part of the common law, and pre- vailed in that shape in this country until the revolution. The people then took the place of the king, and the police and District Attorney became the custodians of the arti- cles forfeited. To-day it is confined to weapons, burg- lar's tools, illegal goods, and many objects related or be- longing to crimes and criminals. 180 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. The deodands comprise over fifteen hundred burglar tools and instruments of destruction. The articles are contained in a handsome cabinet, and are interesting though ghastly. They are numbered to correspond with the pages of a catalogue, in which the facts of the crimes are related. Directly in the centre of the cabinet are hung fine pieces of white card-board, on which are strung thirty queer-looking glass tubes. These tubes are discol- ored, as though burned, but the black spots are small particles of arsenic found by means of these tubes in the stomachs of the two wives of Groblewski, who is now in the lunatic asylum for his insane act. To the right of the card-boards are two photographs of Gonzales and Pellicer, who on the night of November 23, 1865, killed their companion, Don Jose Garcia Otero, in City Park, near the Navy Yard, and robbed him of nearly twenty- five thousand dollars. The murderers were afterwards captured, and on October 12, 1866, hung in Eaymond Street Jail. In another part of the collection are a group of knives, used by Andreas Fuchs, in the performance of one of the most dastardly crimes ever committed. On the twenty-eight of January, 1876, some children playing among the piles of lumber in the yard of Englis & Son, ship-builders, found between one of the piles and the fence, a bloody human head, wrapped in the fragments of a German newspaper. The police were notified, and an investigation was immediately begun. The head was " identified as belonging to William Simmons, an axle maker, who had worked in the foundry of Messrs. Jones & Henry, in Greenpoint. Inquiry revealed the fact that Simmons had a friend named Andreas Fuchs, whom he had been in the habit of visiting at 92 North Third Street. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ISl Mcp:roL BANK BURGLARS' OUTFIT. 182 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS Fuchs was arrested, and the detectives went to his apart- ment in the hope of discovering some evidence of his guilt. The result of the search was most revolting. In various portions of the room occupied by Fuchs were found pieces of human flesh and dismembered portions of a human body. A trunk was also found filled with the ghastly particles. The murderer confessed that he had killed Simmons, but it was after he had discovered that the latter was having improper relations with his wife. On the eleventh of April, Fuchs was found guilty of murder, and sentenced to be hanged. His sentence •was afterwards commuted to imprisonment for life. After a short stay in prison he became violently insane, and was removed to the State Asylum. A blood-stained bed slat rests in one corner of the cabinet. With this in- strument, James Flaherty killed his drunken wife in the rear of 96 North Fifth Street, on the eighteenth of Sep- tember, 1882. He was arrested, found guilty of murder in the second degree, and sent to Sing Sing for life. Number one hundred and sixty-one is an innocent-look- ing hammer, but upon investigation it turns out to be the instrument used by John M. Wright in the killing of Bernard Feron, a junkman. For this crime Wright got a life sentence. Immediately below hangs, suspended by a cord, an object, one would suppose to be the bone of some animal, but which in the book of facts is said to be a part of Feron's skull. Another interesting relic is, the cart-rung used by Henry Eogers, a member of the " Battle Eow Gang," in the murder of Officer John Don- ohue, on the seventh of July, 1872. The blow must have been a terrific one, as the weapon is split in four places. Attached to the rung is a telegram from Governor Hoff- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS 183 man denying a respite for Rogers, who was hung on De- cember 6, 1872. At the top of the collection is a knife, the sight of which is enough to cause an observer to shiver. The blade is about thirteen inches long, and one and a quarter wide. With it Eschardt Schneider, an Eastern District butcher, successfully put an end to the career of Jacob Jolger, of 169 Throop Avenue. A long-handled axe, numbered one hundred and sixty four, was used by John Oysterman to kill his wife, Caroline, and a knife placed to the right was the instrument with which Oysterman endeavored to take his own life when the officers came to arrest him. He was sent to Sing Sing for life. Num- ber one hundred and sixty-five is the cap and club w^orn by Officer Stone, when he was stoned to death on Atlan- tic Street, near Columbia, in the latter part of 1879, by a number of roughs. A cut in the top of the hat shows where the instrument of final destruction struck. Daniel Burke was found guilty of the murder, and sent to the Penitentiary for seven years. The gun with which Michael Myners shot and killed Patrick McDermott on the seventeenth of July, 1879, at 31 Hudson Street, occu- pies a prominent place in the collection. An old-fash- ioned daguerreotype, number one hundred and sixteen, is placed away dow^n in the right corner of the cabinet, almost as to be unperceivable. It represents the features of Ignatz Ratsky, the murderer of Sigismund Zillner, who was sent to Sing Sing for life, and was afterwards pardoned. The dark lantern, cap, false face and tools found upon the person of John Montgomery, a burglar, on his arrest in 1868, form a separate group in the upper left hand corner of the collection. Other relics of- inter- 184 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. est are the pistol used by Thomas Armstrong in the mur- der of his step-father, WiUiam A. Herrick, in 1885 ; the knife with which Mike Kenney killed John Eoamsburg ; the knife that Thomas McKeon used to kill John Con- nolly ; the pocket knife that caused the death of Mrs. John Mills at the hands of her husband ; a lamp Patrick Kenney threw at his wife, thereby causing her death ; the razor with which William H. Skidmore cut his throat while in jail awaiting trial for the murder of Jacob Carr ; the pistol Thomas Yates used to kill Officer Curran in 1864 ; counterfeit plates of notes on the Westfield Bank, taken from Jeremiah Cowsdon, a clever counterfeiter at Verona Place ; and the cowhide Thomas Burke used to whip his wife to death. Mr. Joseph Bagnarello, interpreter for the District At- torney's office, has had charge of the deodands for four years. He is a walking encyclopaedia of criminal his- tory, and is a valuable help to visitors athirst for knowl- edge. The Bureau of Boiler Inspection. With the organization of the police department, pro- vision was made for the testing and inspection of boilers, the examination and license of engineers in all that per- tains to the management of steam engines, and the pro- hibition of unlicensed engineers from employment within the city limits. From its inception therefore, the Bureau of Boiler Inspection has been a portion of the police de- partment. It consists of a Superintendent, clerk and five inspectors, and its office is on the fourth floor of the Municipal Department Building. Besides performing the BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 185 work mentioned in respect to testing and examining l)oil- ers and graduating engineers, it is the duty of the inspec- tors, as well of the pohce, to report forthwith any boiler in use that has not been officially approved, and any engineer, at work, who has not been licensed. The existence of the Bureau is an unpleasant com- mentary upon human nature. In every community are careless or avaricious men who, despite the knowledge of the risk to property and the danger to life and limb that surrounds the use of steam as a motive power, are ^\all- ing, and even sometimes eager, to use worn-out boilers and employ cheap, ignorant labor in their management in order to save a few dollars and to increase the net profits of business. This is why each boiler is tested at a pressure one-third greater than what it is allowed to use ; why all failing to comply with the test, and those that have grown weak with use, are condemned ; and why only intelligent and experienced men are allowed to become engineers. The present Superintendent of the Bureau is William A. Powers, who has held the office since January, 1887, and who was an inspector theretofore. He succeeded his brother, Thomas F. Powers, who held the position for tw^enty-four years, and who can boast that not one acci- dent occurred during his term of office. The inspectors are John Dolan, WiUiam O'Donnell, Eichard Fox, Jacob Eueger and Patrick Colfy, and the clerk of the depart- ment is Hugh Eeed. The present Superintendent is a man of great exjDeri- ence in steam engineering, and at the time of his ap- pointment was considered to be one of the best experts in the comitry. On May 15th, ls&2, lie became .third 186 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS engineer on the United States man-of-war Seminole, at that time at Norfolk, Ya., in charge of the cap- tured city. Two months later the vessel returned to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for repairs. Powers be- ing the only machinist on board, was assigned to special duty, and" took full charge. He was pro- moted July 4th, 1864, when he became second assist- ant engineer of the United States steamship Shawmut. He was afterwards attached to the United States steam- ship Winioski, and resigned from the navy at the close of the w^ar. Since then he was engaged in the manufac- ture and sale of engines in Brooklyn, thus acquiring a thorough knowledge of the business portions of the city, which, in his present position, is invaluable. He has also invented several attachments to the steam boiler and engine, of which his steam piston packing is probably the best known. The duties of the Superintendent are to pass upon the work of the inspectors, and advise them in comphcated or perplexing cases. He examines all the engineers in the city once a year, as well as when they qualify for their license at the start. He must be personally conver- sant with the industries of the city, as well as being resjponsible for the capability of every engineer at work in connection with a licensed boiler. Should any acci- dent happen, he alone stands the blame, as the Police Commissioners know nothing of his men, and entrust to him the exclusive management of his bureau. The duty of the inspectors is to cover an allotted terri- tory and report at intervals the condition of every boiler therein, the removal of old and the introduction of new ones and the employment of unlicensed engineers. Brooklyn's guardians 187 The nui liber of boilers in the City of Brooklyn from year to year will average about three thousand, ranging from three or four, to two hundred horse power. Haver- meyer and Elder, the sugar refiners, alone have eighty- two constantly in use. The engineers in the city number about twenty -five hundred including the four separate grades for which they are licensed. If, in the examination before mentioned, an engineer shows the required amount of extra knowl- edge over his previous test, he is promoted to the next higher grade. The green seal is the lowest grade, and is awarded to the Fire Department engineers. The blue comes next in order and is required by the men who take charge of stationary engine boilers. The red seal goes to the man who can do both while the gold seal is only obtained by the engineer who is fully informed on mechanics of all kinds. To use a boiler for which the hcense has been refused or revoked, is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or both. It is an equal breach of the law^ if an unlicensed engineer is employed in his capacity as such. Some fifteen years ago, Superintendent Buck, of the Bay State Shoe and Leather Company in charge of the work-shops at the Kings County Penitentiary, employed a convict named Mills, as engineer, who had been sen- tenced to that institution for killing his wife. He had previously been employed at The Brooklyn Eagle, but lost his license when contacted. The police authorities were made aware of the fact of his being employed in the boiler room. Superintendent Buck was arrested and sentenced to pay a fine of fifty dollars. Mills was placed 188 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. at work in another department and a free man with a hcense employed to do the work. Owing to the extreme severity with which the law regarding the licensing of both boilers and engineers is enforced, the number of explosions have been few and far between ; and as before stated, only happened out of the boiler inspectors jurisdiction. The terrific explosion which took place at Jewells Flour Mills at Fulton Ferry, was the result of using the boilers after they had been condemned by the inspectors. At the Green point Foundry, an explosion was caused by a new boiler not being properly put together. The authorities had not been notified of its existence, and consequently were not responsible for the accident. And so it is with every case. If the owners of boilers would attend to their legal duty, an accident would be almost an impossibility. The public schools, fitted out with steam boilers, do not come under the care of city inspectors, but are looked after by the Board of Education, which provides a competent janitor to attend to all the necessary work and inspection. These boilers are not used for motive or other i30wer, but merely to supply heat. As construc- ted to-day, it would require considerable ingenuity to explode them, their avowed object being a mechanism which can be safely run by a child. The Ambulance Service. The Ambulance service is comparatively a new feature in Brooklyn, having been established by the Board of Health in 1878. It is under the joint jurisdiction of BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 189 the Board of Health and the pohce, hut is largely con- trolled hv the hospitals to which the wagons are assigned. The service was organized with two ambulance wagons stationed, one at Long Island College Hospital on Henry and Pacific Street and the other at the Eastern District Hospital at No. 108 South Third Street. On January 1st, 1882, the board of Trustees of St. Mary's Hospital, corner of St. Mark's and Eochester Avenues, increased the num- ber of wagons to three, and three years later the Homeo- pathic Hospital on Cumberland Street, near Myrtle Avenue, placed a fourth at the disposal of the city. The first two wagons are supported by the municipal- ity. The driver's wages, the expense of boarding the sur- geon at the hospital and every other outlay except the stabling of the horse are lumped in a round sum and paid to the lowest bidder for the contract. Besides this, the board of the horse and the rent of the stable is paid sep- arately to the hospital at w^hich the wagon is stationed. With the Homeopathic and St. Mary's Hospitals, the system is different, and costs the city less. One hun- dred dollars a month is paid to each of the hospitals which furnish in return all the required paraphernalia. The Ambulance surgeon is one of the house staff of the hospital with which the ambulance is connected. They are four in number namely. Dr. William H. Sheppard, at the Long Island Hospital, Dr. P. M. Cook at the Homeopathic, Dr. J. E. Walsh at St. Mary's and Dr. J. W. Atkinson at the Eastern District. AU are men of great promise, fine attainments and sterling worth. Their pro- fessional position is deemed of great value to the young medical graduate, who has to pass a very difficult exam- ination before the Board of Health and the hospital staff 190 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. before he can be appointed. This examination is an- nually attempted by a number of young M. D's ; the one obtaining the highest percentage being appointed. The surgeon sleejis and eats in the hospital and is always ready for active duty. The ambulance service affords relief to many kinds of sufferers. Among these are the victims of highway men, who are injured enough to be made helpless. In such case, any citizen who is kind enough, will hasten to the nearest telephone, call Police Headquarters, and inform the operator there where the wounded man is lying. This message is immediately repeated to the hospital in the district where the accident has occurred. It is then sent to the stable. The horse, as well trained as those in the Fire Department, is hurriedly placed in position and the Ambulance starts for the scene, i3icking up the surgeon at the hospital on the way. If by two cases in the same district being reported at the same time, the ambulance is out, the one in the nearest outside district is called. If that is out, the next nearest is summoned, and so on. It is very seldom however, that more than two are out at the same time except in sum- mer. Then the hot weather increases the number of cases over one hundred per cent. The average ambu- lance surgeon likes the summer season best, because he is anxious to increase his knowledge obtained at college, and as the term of office only lasts one year, he longs to " see his number of cases swell as high as possible. When the ambulance arrives at the scene of action, the surgeon after performing any necessary preliminary work and placing his patient in a comfortable position, telephones or sends word to the nearest police station if BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 191 an officer has not already arrived. If the latter has arrived he ascertains the facts concerning the accident, which are telephoned to Police Headquarters. The sur- geon only dehvers his charge at the hospital and reports to the house surgeon, who in turn, sends word to the Police Headquarters that the ambulance has returned and is ready for another call. The matter is then checked off at Headquarters as being complete. In many cases the patient is only injured slightly, and after having his wounds properly attended to, goes home on a street car. If, however, the wounded person so desires, the ambulance will convey him to his destination ; but the great majority of injured people who have a home or friends, would rather keep the ambulance as far away from the sight of their family and intimates as is possible. The ambulance in use to-day is constructed with great care from the finest materials. Though hght in appear- ance, it is strong enough to resist a collision with a powerful truck and inflict more injury than it receives. The springs of the wagon are very large and yield to the slightest jar. Their cost amounts to over seven hun- dred dollars, exclusive of the equipments, which consist of a complete set of surgical instruments, medicines, blankets, splints, a stretcher and all other articles required to properly care for a male or female, no matter how injured, in all weathers. Of the four districts, the Western is the most thickly populated, and gives the largest number of cases to the hospitals. During July and August, the district along the water front from Red Hook Point to the Navy .Yard, which is covered by the Long Island Hospital, averages 192 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. five cases daily, most of which are longshoremen, over- come by the heat. In the Eastern District, the number of female patients exceeds that of the males. Its total faUs below that of the Western, notwithstanding the fact that a greater portion of the former precinct is inhabited by the lower and middle classes, which are more liable to require the aid of an ambulance than the wealthy. Now and then the ambulance wiU be called to attend a patient who dies before its arrival. In a case of this kind the surgeon merely views the body, returns to the hospital and reports the death to the coroner and the Pohce Headquarters. St. Catherine's Hospital in the Sixteenth Ward, is now arranging to place a fifth ambulance in commission. The wagon is already nearing completion. When it is finished and placed in service, it will greatly lighten the duties of the Eastern District Hospital which now has to run from its station on South Third Street to Greenpoint, and in case of the wagon at St. Mary's being out, far into the upper Wards of the Western District, a distance of almost three miles. The ambulance-service in its brief history, has already saved over fifty lives and afforded invaluable relief in more than a thousand cases. Estimating the value of a man's life at the figures arbitrarily set by the laws of the State of New York (five thousand dollars), it will be seen that the service has paid for itself more than three times over. With the extension of the patrol-box system, it promises to become one of the most sahent features of daily life in the City of Brooklyn. CHAPTER XL Special Features of the Police Department. {Continued.) THE MOUNTED SQUAD. When and by Whom EsTABuisirED.— The Thoroughfares it Pro tects. — Its Gallant Commander Sergeant John H. Johnson. — His Services.— The Headquarters.— The Stables.— The Squad. — Its Duties. — Inefficiency of Foot-Policemen to Stop Fast Driving. — The Mounted Squad. — Their Influence. — Runaways. — "Fighters." — Panic-Stricken Horses — These are a Minority. — Hunting Robbers. — Wealthy Residences. — Prospect Heights. — Area-Thieves. — How They are Chased. — Cross Country Work ON the Hill. — The Horses. — Their Intelligence. — Their Tricks and Knowledge. — The Record of the Years. THE morgue. Where the Dead-House is Located. — Keeper Patrick Maguire. — A Description of the Place. — How Bodies are Preserved. — Strange Cases. — Maguire's Story. — Trying to Obtain a For- tune BY Falsely Identifying a Corpse. the sanitary squad. When Organized. — Its Causes. — Its Work. — Dirty Italians. — Its Re-organization and Present Status. — Small-Pox Cases. — Disinfecting Dives. — Mediterranean Prejudices. — Its Present Composition. the central office squad. When it Started. — Its Purpose. — Where to Find It. — Sergeant M. T. HoiiBRooK. — His Heroic War-Record. — Eventful Chan^'ges. — The Officers. — Their Duties. — ^Messenger Boys. — Protect- ing Marines. — The Salvation Army, — Invalids Wanted. — A Quiet Life. — Court Officers.— Mass-Meetings No Good. — Weddings and Balls Popular. — Arrests Made by Multitudes. —Judge Walsh Helps to Swell the List. 194 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. THE rogue's gallery. Where it is Kept. — What it Comprises.— The Rogue's Record. — Years op Crime Illustrated. — The Ohio Assassins. — Historical Homicides. — Distinguished Artists in f larceny. — Lizzie Leonard THE Hermaphrodite. — Artful Mrs. Peck-Pious Wadsworth. — Repentant Rogues. — Removal op Portraits. The Mounted Squad. The police army which protects Brooklyn from the organized hosts of wrong-doers has its cavalry as well as infantry. This is the mounted squad. It was estab- lished by Commisioner Jourdan in 1875 and, beginning active service April 3rd of that year, has continued its good work ever since. It pa^trols the great thorough- fares on which fashion drives, Bedford Avenue, Clinton and Schermerhorn Streets, Sixth and Seventh Avenues up to the very gates of Prospect Park, where the eques- trian, horse and vehicle pass from the municipal to the Park jurisdiction. The mounted squad is commandf^d by Sergeant John H. Johnson who has held the position since its creation. Sergeant Johnson, though popular with both the pub- lic and the police, is a strict disciplinarian. His men and horses are always in splendid appearance and con- dition, while his stable and yard are cleaner and neater than thousands of homes in the city of churches. The commander of brave men, he has set a good example of bravery to them in his own conduct. In the discharge " of his duties he has been repeatedly hurt and bruised, and on one occasion, when stopping a runaway and saving life could be accomplished at the risk of his own, he accepted the situation and succeeded, but at the ex- JOHN H. JOHNSON, Sergeant. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 197 pense of a terrible fall and a triple fracture of the bones of the leg. The Squad makes its headquarters at the the 10th pre- chict station-house on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Bergen Street, just off Flat bush Avenue, Brooklyn's fa- vorite road to the Park, Coney Island and Sheepshead Bay. The stables are situated next door on Sixth Aven- ue. They are fronted by a \vell-paved and exquisitely clean yard, and consist of a handsome two-story brick building trimmed with bromi stone. The floor is flush "with the level of the street, so that the horses can go and come without any step or incline to stumble over. The ground floor is one large room and contains a small office in front and stalls on either side. A wide alley between allows free movement to all the inmates. In summer it is cool, well- ventilated and pleasant. In winter the accommodations are inadequate, there being insufficient space for the men and horses. This will soon be remedied by an extension of the present build- ing. The squad is composed of ten patrolmen and as many horses. They make two rounds a day and none at night, the driving at that time being so small as to be insignifi- cant. Their chief duties are to prevent rapid driving and racing in the streets, and when necessary to arrest the offenders, to stop runaways and to assist the injured and protect property when collisions or accidents occur. These are special duties beyond the regular ones which they perform in common with the rest of the force. The thoroughfares mentioned are handsome, breezy streets on which the temptation to race and run is very strong for both man and beast. Before the squad was estab- 1H8 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIAXS. lished, a foot-policeman can do but little to stop reck- less driving. If he tried to run a culprit down, a touch of the drivers' whip soon sent the latter out of his sight. Butcher boys', young bloods and sporting men were guilty of the offense so often that pedestrianism upon the sti-eets named became fraught with serious danger, and the streets in warm weather were changed into first- class race-courses. All this has been changed by ]mt- ting the policeman on a horse, which, being unencum- bered by a wagon, can easily overtake the latter and arrest the driver. So universally recognized is the fact, that when a mounted squadman turns in his saddle and raises his hand to i passing vehicle, both horse and driv- er stop as if instinctively. Even tipsy drivers who like a ' ' quiet spurt " rein up at the first glance of the guar- dian of the peace. Eunaways are a much more serious trouble. Many panic-stricken horses if approached become infuriated, and will attack a man who tries to interfere with them in a manner more like a wild beast than a domesticated animal. Others seem to have their fear increased and changed into a frenzy by the endeavor of anyone to check their mad course. They* will plunge fiercely against a post, fence or wall, and madly dash themselves out of life rather than submit to capture. Such horses are temporarily insane. ^ Fortunately the majority of runaways are not of these classes. A few minutes hard running or a strong hand " on the rein or bridle, or a man threatening them destroys their panic and brings them back to their sober senses. Yet in the few minutes of i)anic is as much danger as with the utterly reckless minority. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 199 Another duty equally exciting but containing little or no danger is the pursuit of robbers and especially sneak- thieves. The houses along the driving thoroughfares or in their neighborhood, are usually the homes of well-to- do people. Especially is this the case vdth Prospect Heights the large district which borders the Park. The sneak- thief finds such vicinities a fine harvest -field and is constantly on the look-out for a favorable opportunity. The mounted officer is equally on the alert for the thief. It often happens that the latter has just succeeded in pilfering from some area or basement when the alarm is given and the officer notices it a few blocks off. The spur and whip are called upon and in a second the law is galloping toward the poor devil of a violator. If it be in the built-up districts, he is run down in the street or on the sidewalk. If it be on the more sparsely settled hill, the thief, by some odd fatality generally takes to the open lots, hoping that the horse can not or wiU not follow. Yain hope ! Steed and rider accustomed to the work dash over the sidewalk, down or up the hill, and after a brief cross-country rush come up ^vith the now breathless and nerveless criminal. Some fine work is done this way. Officers Webb and Watson have frequently set chase to a thief who had a thousand feet start and who tried to escape by running across the rough and horrible hollow between Sixth and Seventh Avenues near Garfield Place. In every instance they ran their man down before he reached the sidewalk for which he was heading. A mounted-squad is a modern centaur, half- horse and half-man. The horses deserve more than casual notice. From their peculiar mode o^ life, being ^\ith one man aU 200 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. the time, — a man who washes and grooms them, who nurses them when sick, who plays with them in leisure moments, who is on their back or walking at their head, they develop a degree of intelligence truly remarkable. They come to know the names of themselves and the other horses, their owners and those of all the squad ; they learn all sorts of tricks and comical ways ; they will see or hear a runaway as soon as their rider and some- times even before he does ; they appreciate the dangers and duties of their position and are extremely careful as to both themselves and their rider in approaching and extremely excited when pursuing a thief. Sergeant •Johnson speaking of them said : If my horses could only talk, they'd make much better policemen than many men who come here and bore us with their ignor- aifce. " The record made by the mounted police in their brief career is an excellent one. Over one thousand runaways stopped and four thousand arrests made are large figures which, while they show the amount of work, convey no idea of the faithfulness, courage and intelligence of Brooklyn's mounted policemen. They do explain how- ever, the popularity of the squad and the admiring awe with which they are contemplated by all the little folks, whom they have so often befriended and protected. The Morgue. Located on Willoughby Street immediately back of Eaymond Street jail is the morgue, a plain two-story brick building i-esembling a second-rate dwelling more than a dead-house The morgue is a county institution, ^ BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 201 receiving bodies from the four county -towns, Gravesend, New Utrecht, Flatlands and Flatbush as well as this city, and was founded in 1808. Mr. John Leavey was ap- pointed the first keeper, but only retained the position a year, being succeeded by Mr. Patrick Maguire, who is at the present time in charge of the place. The lower part of the building is divided into five rooms, the first of which is immediately to the right of the main entrance and is utilized by Keeper Maguire as a reception room. Two large doors open from the hallway into a large room divided by a glass partition into two apartments. This is where the dead are placed for identification, the visitors being able to view the body through the glass partition. From this apartment a door leads into a smaller room, in the centre of which is a large marble slab tilted slight- ly at one end. The doctors in this place hold their post- mortems. Back of this is the washing room, used by the doctors in cleansing themselves after their work. The surgical instruments are kept in a cabinet in one corner of the room. Last but not least, is the receiving apartment, the door from which opens into a court-yard, and makes a passage for the dead-house wagon's ghastly load. The corpse upon its reception is placed in a closet, the floor of which is movable, and by the aid of machin- ery descends with its load to a vault below, where once hidden it can be kept for months. The atmosphere in this underground apartment is so cold that in the warm- est days of Summer one who enters it must wear a heavy overcoat to feel comfortable. The upper portion of the building is divided into sleeping rooms for those em- ployed about the place. Many strange things have happened at the morgue, 202 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. and the bodies of some noted criminals have found shel- ter beneath its roof. " Several years ago, " said Keeper Maguire, "the bodies of Mosher and Douglass, two thieves, were brought in here riddled with buckshot. They had attempted to rob the house of William Van Brunt, a brother of Judge Van Brunt of New York, at Bay Ridge, but were discovered in the midst of their work by Mr. Van Brunt who shot at them. Mosher was killed outright, but Douglass did not die for several min- utes after. When he found that his end was approach- ing he started to divulge the whereabouts of Charlie Ross, whom his ''pal" had helped to spirit away. He did not speak a dozen words on the subject when he died, and thus passed away forever the last chance of clearing up one of the most mysterious cases of disappearance that ever happened in this city. Another case worthy of notice was one in which a clique of persons endeavored to obtain a fortune by iden- tifying a dead body as that of a wealthy relation, who had mysteriously disappeared. The body they all swore was that of a Mrs. Naegle who had lived on South Port- land Avenue. Keeper Maguire, who is naturally shrewd, suspected something was wrong, and made a search for the missing Mrs. Naegle. He found her and brought her to the morgue leaving her in a room upstairs, until the prop- er moment should arrive for her appearance down stairs. While the conspirators were in the midst of signing their affidavits in the case the keeper gave the signal - agreed upon by Mrs. Naegle and himself, and to the con- sternation of the rogues the missing body appeared be- fore them. Without many words they gathered up their hats and coats and left the building. Mrs. Naegle BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 203 and Keeper Maguire had a good laugh over the affair after the baffled scoundrels had gone. The Sanitary Squad. Toward 1860, the city received large accessions of ig- norant immigrants. They brought with them that sin- gular hatred and horror of doctors which still obtains in Spain and Italy. At times they proved so serious an obstacle to the Board of Health, that the latter called upon the Metropolitan Board of Police, to detail a squad of men to preserve order and assist the officials of the former in their work of preventing and remedying dis- ease. The squad was in such constant use that it became known as the Sanitary Squad and finally was detached and put under the sole control of the Health authorities. At one time it consisted of eight men and was then fre- quently over- worked in the discharge of its duties. Edu- cation, association, the appeals of press and pulpit, and the non - concurrence of neighbors rapidly worked a change in the opinions of these new-comers and to a large extent eradicated the prejudice described. The work grew smaller and the squad was reduced accord- ingly in size. With the re-organization of the police-de- partment, the squad was deprived of self-government and put under the joint control of the Central Office and the Board of Health. The routine work dona to-day by the Sanitary Squad is so insignificant that Sergeant Hol- brook frequently details its members to duties belonging to the Central Office. There are times, however, when their best efforts are needed in aiding the physicians. There are many uneducated and prejudiced foreigners 20-1: BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. who are opposed to vaccination. When a case of small- pox breaks out and the Board-physicians are sent down to inoculate inmates of the same building as the sufferer, they would meet with violence at the hands of such peo- ple, were it not for the police -escort. Italians and other people of the South of Europe, share the belief that one of the chief objects of all physicians is to obtain bodies for dissection and that when the natural supply runs short of the demand, the profession increase it to ade- quate limits by drugs or the knife. Under such a belief their reception of a physician is never cordial, — not even when under police protection. The chief opposition and danger are found among the inmates of cellars, dives and cheap tenements. These people, besides being poor, are vicious to a certain degree. Their habits are so filthy that their homes are always hotbeds of disease. They re- gard the suggestion of cleanliness as an insult and resent the intrusion by Health-officer or policemen in that regard as a gross outrage. The attempts that must be at times made to preserve the public health by cleaning out and disinfecting these places and by ejecting the inmates and condemning the building always produce intense excite- ment and rage in the breasts of these poor wretches. Without the Sanitary Squad to preserve the peace, a health-officer in such a case would be assaulted and pos- sibly killed in the performance of his duty. The squad now consists of four officers, but can be increased in- definitely in a few minutes upon requisition by the Board of Health upon the chief of police. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 205 The Central Office Squad The Central Office Pquad was organized in 1865, to re- lieve the constantly increasing demand on the regular police force, to supply patrolmen for special duty. It is now composed of thkty-three men and one sergeant, with its headquarters located on the fourth floor of the mu nicipal huilding. Sergeant M. T. Holbrook, the present commander of the squad, is one of the oldest and most experienced members of the force. He was appointed to active duty in 1851, under Mayor Lambert, and detailed as health warden ; an office since done away with. He remained in that department until 1857 during which time the Yellow Fever ravaged the city. He was constantly ex- posed to the disease, but escaped any injury. In Febru- ary, 1858, he was appointed to do patrol duty on the Metropolitan Pohce by Commissioner Stranahan, and in the f ollo^\'ing year was promoted to the office of Sergeant in the Forty-third Precinct, now the Third. Hardly a year passed before he was again promoted, this time, to the command of the precinct, where he remained un- til the war broke out. Having considerable knowledge of military manoeu- vres, he enlisted in the One-hundred and Seventy-third Regiment, Xew York Volunteers, and went to the front in command of a company. He served the government until the close of the war, and received his discharge with the rank of brevet Lieutenant-Colonel. When the Central Office Squad was organized, he was placed at its head, where he remained until May 1806, when he 206 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. was appointed captain of a Staten Island Precinct. Hol- brook returned to Brooklyn in 1870, and was again left without a position. This was at the breaking up of the old Metropolitan Police Force, and the political situation at the time had considerable to do with his removal from police duty. For the next five years, he was unable to obtain an appointment, but in 1875 found a place as Sergeant of the Ninth Sub- Precinct, whence he v^as promoted to the Ninth Precinct. In 1881, after faithfully serving the city for twenty-seven years, he was again appointed to the command of the Central Office Squad, where he still remains. The number of changes in Sergeant Holbrook's career, is unequalled by those of any other member of the force. The officers of the Central Office Squad are detailed for duty at the courts, license-bureau, theatres, wed- dings, churches, and all other j)laces where there are large crowds. They are also employed as messengers by the Mayor, Police Commissioners and Superintendent. They do duty as doormen and watchmen, in the city public buildings. One is stationed at the Navy Yard to keep small boys from pelting the marines with stones while they are on duty, to which failing a large major- ity of the* youngsters in that portion of the city had become addicted before the policemen put in an appear- ance. They knew the marines dare not fire at them nor could they leave their post of duty, so the boys amused themselves with stone-throwing by the hour. There is an officer detailed to each of the Salvation Army headquarters nightly. The members of the squad are patrolmen who have reported sick at the precinct MELLON T. IIOLBROOK, Sergeant. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. where they belong, hut not being ill enough to be con- fined to their homes are temporarily placed in the Cen- tral Office Squad. . There are, however, a number made permanently incompetent for patrol duty by accident or a long siege of illness. They are retained in Sergeant Holbrook's connnand for the remainder of their lives and draw full pay. There is no chance of advancement however, and although the life led by all is easy, quiet and devoid of danger, the younger men are always anx- ious to go back to post duty. A number of court officers, not connected with the Central Office Squad, come under Sergeant Holbrook's jurisdiction at night when they are detailed at some theatre, mass-meeting or other public assemblage. Mass- meetings are the bete noire of the squad. In the heat of the campaign men's passions become ungovernable and quarrels, brawls and fights are of constant occurrence. Weddings and baUs are the very opposite. The duties are trifling ; supper, wine and cigars find their way to the officer on duty and not infrequently a douceur in the shape of a crisp note is offered to, — even if not accepted by him. The arrests made by the Central Office Squad are as numerous as those made by any of the precincts. This arises from the fact that all the arrests made upon war- rants or commitments from the police-courts and ex- ecuted by the officers detailed at each are credited not to the courts but to the Central Office. Courts, such as Justice Walsh's, do an immense criminal business and in the course of a year issue hundreds of mandates against the bodies of offenders or recalcitrant witnesses. Aside from this court-business, the arrests are few, as, 208 Brooklyn's guardians. with the exception of now and then a pickpocket at a pubhc place or a disorderly person, the officers find little to relieve the monotony of their duty. Arrests of im- portance are almost unknown in the squad, except those made by court officers on a judicial warrant. The Eogues' Gallery. The Eogues' Gallery, one of the most important feat- ures of the Police Department is in the detectives' room and under the direction of Detective William D. Strong. It is not open to the public, and may be seen only by permission of the superintendent. The collection of photographs numbers over three thousand. All the pictures in the possession of the department taken prior to November 20, 1877, are kept in large albums, of which there are over a dozen, and those taken since that date are exhibited in a large cabinet, the patent of Detective Thomas Adams of New York. It is constructed of black walnut and is composed of six large wooden leaves, about an inch and a half in thickness, each leaf having receptacles for two hundred pictures, so that the cabinet is arranged to contain twelve hundred photographs. Attached to the cabinet are record books with numbers corresponding to those inscribed under each picture. These contain the name, age, record and disposition of case and are kept in drawers in the lower part of the cabinet. Every grade of criminal from the murderer to, the petty sneak-thief has a representative in the collec- tion. The first picture in the cabinet is that of John Owens, a petty thief, who was sentenced to imprisonment for six BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 209 months and the last No. 1200 represents Victor Von Bulon, a good-looking youth about fifteen years old, who four years ago was sent to the Elmira Reformatory for stealing money from a firm where he was employed as a messen- ger. Two of the most hardened-looking criminals in the collection are Eddie" Guerin and "Billy" Connors, each of whom are known under a dozen dift'erent names. They are still at large, but w^hen once secured they will be arraigned and charged with the murder of Detective Hulligan, of Cleveland, Ohio, two months ago. Police Captain Hoehn had arrested Connors and was taking him from Allegheny City, Pennsylvania on an express train when three of his friends boarded the car and effected his release. In the struggle which ensued Guerin hit Hulligan on the head with a couj^ling-pin, killing him instantly, and Captain Hoehn was severely injured. Rewards of eleven thousand dollars have been offered for their apprehension and as the men are known to have connections in this city, it is thought that there is some chance of their capture. Xumber one hundred and fifty-six is a picture that would naturally attract your attention. It is that of John M. Wright, the mur- derer of old Barney Feron, the Red-Hook boatman. The photograph represents a light-haired youth, with good features, a low narrow forehead and a small nose and thin lips, the last person one would suspect of being a cold-blooded murderer. The most repulsive featui'es ex- hibited in the cabinet are those of William B. Dayton, number five hundred and twenty-nine, who was arrested for burglary several years ago and sentenced to impris- onment for one year. When the time came for Dayton to have his picture taken, the authorities found that 210 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. they had a tough job on hand. He strenously objected to undergo the operation, and twisted and squirmed in every direction. An officer finally got hold of his ears and forcing him down in the chair held him while the photographer uncovered his camera. Dayton seeing that he had to be taken, determined that no one would recognize in the j)ortrait a likeness of him ; by twisting his mouth, and rolling up his eyes until nothing but the whites were visible, he accomplished his purpose. The photograph, when finished, looked as much like the pho- tographer as it did the thief, and Dayton was happy. ' ^ Billy " Flynn, the notorious burglar who was arrested five years ago as he was about to rob the Greenpoint Savings Bank on the corner of Greenpoint Avenue and Franklin street, is represented in picture No. 1150. He is supposed to be the man who assisted ''Jimmy" Burnes the Post-Office robber to escape from Raymond Street jail. Flynn served out his sentence and then went to England where he was joined by Burnes, Lang- ford, Connelly, Williams and a number of other bank burglars, all of whom landed together and commenced a series of daring robberies. About eight months ago the authorities of Baden-Baden broke up the gang and the leaders are now in prison, where they will remain for the next twenty years. Among other conspicuous pictures are those of Rogers, Bartlett and Martin, Num- bers 125, 126 and 127, who were arrested in connection with the Planet Mills robbery. There is not a more gen- tlemanly trio in the collection. Rogers was the only one that was acquitted, the others were found guilty and sent to prison for a number of years. Numbers 128 and 129 represent one individual, Lizzie Leonard, a noted con- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 211 fidence operator, and opium-fiend, the latter as a woman and the former as a stylish young man, with spring overcoat derby and cane. It was in this male disguise that she was arrested in an Atlantic Avenue jewelry store, and afterwards sent to the penitentiary for one year. On being released Lizzie renewed her old tricks and masquerading as a man, plunged into dissipation. She would smoke a cigar with the gusto of an ''old timer," and handle a cue at a billiard-table with remark- able skill. Lizzie was arrested several times, but as soon as she was free again she would go back to her old life. The features of another confidence woman are exhib- ited in picture Number 301. Her name is Mrs. Ellen Peck, and her deeds were of the boldest kind. Mrs. Peck main- tained an elegant establishment on Putnam Avenue with the proceeds of her swindling operations. Her first at- tempt in the confidence line was upon B. T. Babbitt, the soap manufacturer. A cashier in his employ had de- camped with one hundred thousand dollars ; Mrs. Peck presented herself to Mr. Babbitt as a female detective, and promised to arrest the embezzler in consideration of twenty -two thousand dollars. The money was paid, but Mrs. Peck never exerted herself to secure the defaulting cashier. From 0' Grady the famous diamond broker, or as he might more appropriately be termed ''fence," Mrs. Peck succeeded in getting nineteen thousand dollars. Detectives Powers and Zundt of the Central Office Squad arrested the woman as she was stealing four hundred dollars worth of jewelry from dealer Johnson of the Bowery, New York. Pictures Numbers 231, 232, 233, 234 are Porter, Irving, Draper and Yost, the notorious Patchen Avenue gang of burglars, whose deeds for some 212 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. time were the talk of the city. WiUiam H. E. Byrnes, whose picture is Number 365, was a forger. He was a young man of extravagant tastes and committed the crime for one of the most urgent reasons imaginable. He wanted to get married, and, not having the necessary funds to start in the business, he forged a check in pay- ment for his wedding outfit. The result was, he was ar- rested while enjoying his honeymoon in Philadelphia and brought back to this city. Thomas O'Brien and James Flaherty, two of the most notorious basement door thieves that ever found birth in Brooklyn, are represented in pictures Numbers one- hundred and ninety-seven and one hundred and ninety- eight. Number three-hundred and twenty-seven looks like a well-to-do merchant, but it is not. It is a picture of Eube Miner, a famous confidence man, who worked the change racket" successfully on a number of Flat- bush Avenue grocers and was finally caught by Detec- tives Looney and Lowry of the Central Squad as he was in the act of stealing a pile of bills from a counter in the Commercial Bank. Old Wolf Goetz, alias The Cock- roach," a pickpocket seventy-one years old is shown in picture number four-hundred and fifty-two. Goetz plied his vocation for some time without being detected but when he tried to steal seven hundred dol- lars from the pockets of Contractor Dibble of the Cross- town car line, he was arrested and sent to prison. One of the latest additions to the gallery is the picture of William B. Wadsworth, the gentleman swindler who defrauded a number of people out of thirty thousand dollars on a plea of using it to buy real estate at a bar- gain. As soon as he secured the money he left for ^ BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ^lo Canada. A Brooklyn detective met liiiu in Clifton, Ontario, and urged him to come back to Brooklyn. Wadsworth complied with the request, and returned with the officer. He was tried and sent to the peniten- tentiary for five years. Wadsworth was once an em- ployee in the City Works Department and on Sundays used to go to the penitentiary and lead the convicts in prayer. The disgrace attending having one's picture in the rogue's gallery leads to curious results. Unrepentant criminals recognize them as dangerous aids to the police when the latter are engaged in looking for the perpetra- tors of a crime. Reformed criminals regard them as constant witnesses of their past life. Both classes desire to destroy or remove their portraits from the col- lection. The practice of the department in these cases is actuated as much by mercy as by justice. When a reformed criminal has shown by an honest life that he is truly a repentant man and satisfies the superintendent of the fact, the latter will remove the portrait. Where a man has been unjustly accused and acquitted on the merits, or wrongfully convicted and afterwards par- doned by the Executive, the same practice prevails. Here the courts have jurisdiction and in several cases have commanded the removal or destruction of a photo- graph where the police had refused to comply with a request to that effect. CHAPTER XIl. The Central Office Detectives. Who and TVnAT They Ake.— Their Duties and Dangers.— Present Relations of Criminals and Detectives. — At the Central Office. — Detective Wm. D. Strong. — Detective Michael F. Powers. — Detective James H. Roche. — Policy. — His Views on Poke-a-moke. — Detective Patrick Corr. — Senior in Service. — His Knowledge of Crooks. — "Marked Cards and Loaded Dice." — Detective George V. Zundt. — Detective Cornelius J. Mahoney. —Blackmailers. — Ten Thousand Dollars Demanded. — Choking a Villain. — Detective John E. Lowery. — Detective Edward Looney. — Burglars and Burglaries. — "First-class Workmen." — "The Lookout." — Early liUNCHEs. — How Women Receive Burglars. — Detective John Rall. — Robbing a Bank. — The Clock Trick. HE Police Detectives of Brooklyn are divided into two classes — those of the Central Office and those attached to the Precincts, the former numhering nine and the latter thirty-five. Nearly all are men of pleasant address, good appearance, great com^age and fine intelli- gence: All have had long and eventful experiences, and are sources of endless amusement to their friends, and of interest to the general public through the intervention of the press. No column in the great dailies of the land is more fascinating than that w^hich contains some good detective story of the present day. In this respect, the members of the Brooklyn force are as entertaining in their v^ay as the famous French v^riters, Gaboriau and Boisgobey. Nor is it any wronder. During the past forty years crime in all its branches, BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 215 as well as the modes of detection, has made many rapid strides. Each has developed into a science as complex and far-reaching as any that now engrosses the philoso- pher and the specialist. The detective himself has mi- dergone a complete metamorphosis. The time was when a halo of romance was thrown around the disreputable mouchard^^ of the Parisian Corps detectif — when the " Bow street runner " of London, and the shadow " of the American police were the ideal detectives of the age in which they lived. All these have passed away, how- ever, and to-day the American detective stands out in bold relief from all such associations. His calling has become a profession, and himseh' an intelligent, keen- sighted and accomplished gentleman, relying upon his own high moral character, his superior intelligence and his indefatigable energy for the success which he has at- tained. The reason and necessity for this advancement are evident. Crime, even, has become more and more scientific with the flight of time, and its ranks are filled by men, who, in honorable callings would have achieved both fame and fortune. Among the criminal classes to- day are to be found persons of powerful minds, of strong will and of educational advantages which, if correctly apphed, would have enabled them to make their mark in the professional and business circles of the com- munity. Unfortunately, however, their great talents are prostituted to base uses. The greed of gain, the desire to possess themselves of the property of others, without the labor acquired for honest accumulation, have led them to adopt the nature of the wild beast and to prey unscrupulously upon the community at large. One of the most vital questions which presents itself for solu- 210 Brooklyn's guardians. tion to the criminal is how to accomphsh an object and yet succeed in shrouding himself from detection. Suc- cess in crime which is immediately followed by detec- tion would be but an unprofitable and unsatisfactory experiment, and hence the best energies of the intelli- gent criminal are devoted to the achievement of success in such a manner as to baffle the detective and secure immunity from punishment. To prevent this success, as well as to secure the offender, therefore, the detective must also be advanced. He must be possessed of a mind which is the equal and, if possible, the superior of his antagonist. He must be endowed with a clear, honest and comprehensive understanding which will enable him to fathom the depths of criminal science, and a force of will and vigor of body necessary to overcome the nature and the disposition of the men with whom he has to contend. In addition to this he must appear the careless, ordinary individual, particularly to those upon whom he has to operate, assimilating, as far as possible, with the individuals who are destined to feel the force of his authority, and by appearing to know but little, acquire all the information possible to gather from every conceiv- able source, and in the least curious or inquisitorial man- ner. Possessed of an ability to adapt himself to every association in which he may find himself, and at the same time prolific in resources, he must be prepared at all times, when emergencies arise which require quick , conceptions and ready subterfuges. To-day his associ- ates may be of the lowest orders of humanity, and to- morrow he mingles with the best. He must at all times be upon his guard, ever ready to take advantage of the most trifling circumstances, and yet, with an outward BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 217 demeanor that dispels suspicion and invites the fullest confidence. The profession of the detective is at once an honorable and highly useful one. For practical ben- efits few professions excel it. He is an officer of justice, and must himself be pure and above reproach. The public safety and the perfect fulfilment of his duty re- quire all this and even more. These suggestions apply in an eminent degree to the members of the Central Office Squad of Detectives, and will be appreciated in reading the brief sketches of their careers which follow. William D. Strong is a son of the Hon. Demas Strong, one of the best-known citizens of the Eastern District, where he was born in 18i5. In September, 1873, at the age of twenty-eight, he joined the force and did duty as patrolman. In 1885 he was appointed to the detective corps. At present Mr. Strong has charge of the Eogues' Gallery, as well as the clerical portion of the work in the detective department. He keeps a record of each criminal photographed, his pedigree in crime, physical peculiarities and distinguishing marks. But this is by no means all. Neat and careful in his attire, he is in great demand at great balls, receptions and parties. When attired in evening costume he is indistinguishable from the guests. A part of his work is in patrolling the thoroughfares which are crowded with shoppers. Here his invaluable knowledge of pickpockets and sneak- thieves, blackmailers and " crooks " is put into constant use, and serves to save the public from depredations of all sorts. Detective Michael F. Powers is a thick-set muscular man about forty -two years of age. After some years of 218 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. service on the New York police force, he became a patrolman on the Brooklyn force in the spring of 1870. On July 26th of the same year, he received his present appointment. Powers has been connected with many celebrated cases, and it is notable that most of the crim- inals he arrests are convicted. Detective Jas. H. Eoche has seen forty-one summers. He became a patrolman May 12th, 1869, and was promoted to the rank of detective in July, 1871, since when he has continually served either on Precinct or Central Office duty. In connection with his associates he has closed the policy-shops of Brooklyn, which at one time were a crying evil. Years ago, their number was legion. Some were run in the guise of brokers' offices, others in cigar stores, coal and wood agencies, news venders' shops, and even bar-rooms and restau- rants. The front establishment conducts a legitimate business. Behind a partition, in the rear, the policy clerk or writer " takes your money and gives you your paper slips with your chosen numbers inscribed on them, in a lamp-lighted room, with no furniture but a battered desk, a blackboard on the wall for the winning numbers to be chalked upon, and a couple of dirty dream books in English and German, hanging by a chain. The sur- roundings of policy are like the game itself, mean, sordid and, to every decent sensibility, disgusting. No game of chance, however, is more extensively played in this city than policy. Faro has an army of followers, but policy players are a legion. As a rule, faro players are policy players also, especially the dealers, lookouts, cue-keepers, and others connected in the running of the game. Some of them play very heavily, but the major- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 219 ity do not. They regard policy as an amusing play- thing—something to be indulged in during the day, when their own business is dull. So the money they draw from the faro bank goes into the policy-shop ; in exchange, if they make a hit," the money invariably goes into the faro bank. Many regard policy as the negroes' game exclusively, but that is a mistake. The white devotees of the game out-number the colored, five to one. Gamblers, as a class, are very superstitious, the policy player especially so. His time is divided be- tween trying to guess the lucky numbers and avoiding evil omens. Bad luck walks arm in arm with him under every ladder ; if he forgets anything, and has to turn back, he is ruined for the day ; if he accidentally lets something fall from his hand he has ''dropped his luck," and if he meets a cross-eyed jDerson, especially the first thing on Monday morning, he is plunged into despair. This latter is considered the most unfortunate circum- stance that could possibly happen, as it puts bad luck on a man for a whole week. It is estimated by an old policy player that every dollar a man gets out of the game costs him at least five, without counting his time and worriment of mind. For instance, hundreds of men play the numbers four, eleven, forty-four every day regularly, and this well-known "gig "only comes out about once a year, or say once in every six hundred draAvings. This is especially, the negroes' "gig." He watches for its coming day after day with fond anticipa- tion. He would rather "ketch dat 'ar gig" for five dollars than receive a present of ten. It furnishes him with a subject of conversation and renders him a hero in "Africa." The lotteries now sold are all supposed to be 220 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. drawn in Kentucky, and pay to that State annually a certain sum, either into the school fund or for the bene- fit of orphans. They are really almost all made up, even without the formality of a drawing, in Brooklyn, by experts who calculate them so as to give whatever winnings are given to the least number of people who have bought certain iiumbers. After the drawing is transacted a list of the numbers on a " running slip, " as it is called, is sent to the various policy shops. No "hits" are paid on the running slips, as some of the numbers are invariably wrong. About an hour or so after the drawings are received in Brooklyn, a printed slip is sent to every office, and then all claims are promptly settled. The managers, being in an unlawful business in this State, have the opportunity to swindle as they please. The players have no redress. Ten thousand dollar "hits "have been made, according to tradition, and "hits "of from five hundred to one thousand five hundred dollars are known of sometimes, so people say. In fact, though no very heavy prizes are ever paid if one has by accident been drawn at any office the place is shut up, and the lucky holder left to curse himself into good humor and commence over again. The most of the money spent in policy is on "gigs" and "com- binations." A ^'gig'' is composed of three numbers, and they must all come out in the same lottery to entitle the player to win. Besides gigs " there are " saddles," ' ' capitals, " ' ' horses, " ' ' cross-plays, " and ' ' station-num- bers." "Gigs " pay one hundred dollars for one capital, "saddles " five hundred for a dollar, and " station num- bers " sixty dollars. Detective Roche, summing up the game says, * ' when BROOKLYN 8 GUARDIAXS. 221 it is run square they rob you of all your money, and when it isn't square, they take everything you've got, even the clothes on your back. " Patrick Corr is the senior in service of the Central Office Detective Squad. He is fifty-two years of age, and has been on the force since January 13, 1857. He performed patrol duty till the spring of 1869 when he was assigned to the Fourth Precinct as Detective. In 1871 he was transferred to the Central Office where he has since remained. Discreet, close-mouthed, inde- fatigable and intelligent, he has earned a reputation that would do honor to the best of men. He has a large acquaintanceship among the ''confidence men" of the two cities. He tells many good stories of their tricks and wiles, but none superior to the following : ' ' I was strolling dowm town the other morning, and feeling hun- gry, dropped into a restaurant. There, large as life, was a boss crook whom I have taken in once or twdce, but who generally succeeds in evading or escaping the law. I sat down at the same table and asked him what he was doing now. He smiled, winked and replied : " ' I have found honesty to be the best policy, and have gone into a legitimate business. " ' What is that V I asked, having missed him from his usual haunts. ''•Teaching the innocent rustic and unsophisticated suburban. I average one scholar a day, and the scheme pays very well. I struck the racket last winter and have found it a picnic. How do I work it i I put a card in fifty country newspapers : ' Fortunes Made. Gamhlevs Tricks Exposed. Marked Cards, Loaded. Dice, Bugs and Patent Bo.res for sale, with instructions. Lessons at Reasonable Rates. Address 222 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ' ' ' The rustic sees this, and in the same paper reads of a man winning $25,000 at faro. He writes me and I send him a price hst. It is the same as that used by regular dealers in gambling goods, only about fifty per cent, higher in prices. If the fellow wants to buy I sell and make a decent profit. But what catches is a notice at the end, ' Having been a professional gambler twenty years, I am famil- iar with every trick of the trade, and guarantee to make any novice proficient in three lessons, and skillful enough to meet any blackleg on equal terms. Terms, $1 a lesson of one hour. ' ' ' The chump reads that and comes on and calls. I have a deal with the landlord of the place I board at, and receive my pupil in the parlor. The best racket is to teach him to use loaded dice or marked cards. In an hour he's got the hang of it ; but, of course he is very clumsy. We go down to the nearest barroom, and throw for drinks. My pal comes up to the bar and looks interested in the game, and asks us to let him in. I say certainly," and give my bucolic friend the wink. My pal then loses two or three rounds, and wants to throw for a quarter a head. We accede. My pal loses, the rustic beats him, but I win. After a few throws I pull my watch out and plead an engagement, and get out. As I leave I whisper to the countryman that he has a picnic, and to work the fellow for all he is worth. I then skip. The game continues, and in fifteen minutes my pupil is cleaned out. If he kicks ]ny pal suddenly picks up one of the loaded dice and starts a row. If the the man isn't a fighter, my pal hits him on the nose. If he is, we call on the gang that hangs around all saloons, and bounce him for a blackleg. You can bet he never comes back, and he doesn't complain to the police. Even Brooklyn's guardians. 223 if he did wed have the dead wood on him and could easily prove that he rung in loaded dice on us. The racket's just the same with nitirked cards, but only a little slower. What do you think of the game i " ^'Ingenious ; but doesn't the landlord of the boarding- house, or the saloon, object ?" " 'Na-o! Don't you see we divvy up ? According to how good the business is, we yield from 15 to 40 per cent. Why, I'd give TO per cent., if I could work a first class hotel. On the proceeds I and my pal go halves. How much do we collar ? Can't say. Anywhere from an X up. Old Long Island farmers and New Jersey deacons generally come to town quite well fixed, and they often yield a century. The funniest thing in tlie whole matter is that the rustic never tumbles to me. Three or four times I've met suckers we'd worked, and every time they came up, shook hands and treated. They'd tell me yarns how they put up jobs with the tricks I taught them, but they never spoke of their losses. Detective George Y. Zundt is forty-two years of age, dark complexioned, rather stout, very intelligent and interesting. At the age of fifteen, he enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment New York Volunteers, and went to the seat of war. He served three months; on his return he re-entered the ranks of the Thirteenth and served another month. He then enlisted in the Fifty-fourth New York Volunteers, and fought until the war was over. Zundt became a patrolman February Gth, 1871, and served in that capacity till 1875, when he was ap- pointed a Detective, and detailed to the Central Ofiice. He is a member of Rankin Post No. 10, G. A. R. Cornelius J. Mahoney is said to be the handsomest 224 Brooklyn's guardians. man in the Central Office Detective Squad. He is forty- five years of age, dark co]nplexioned and in all a model type of physical manhood. He was one of the first to enlist in the Fourteenth Eegiment when the Rebellion broke out. He never received a wound, although on several occasions he was complimented for his bravery. In 1873 he joined the police force, and was detailed as patrolman in the Third Precinct. In this capacity he served two years and was then appointed a detective. He remained in the Third Precinct until January, 1887, when he was transferred to the Central Office. His ex- periences with malefactors have been extremely varied, including almost every form of crime. He has, among other wrong-doers, arrested many blackmailers. One case was quite out of the ordinary run. Says Mahoney: "A short time ago I was called on professionally by a gentleman who wished my aid in getting rid of a man and woman who had pestered him grievously. He had met them at one of the fashionable hotels at the Cat- skills, and had carried on a flirtation with the woman, who was young and fascinating. Of course he had com- promised himself*, and the result was that he had been visited unexpectedly by the woman's alleged husband, who demanded, under pain of the fullest exposure, $10,000. He gave the man his check for $7,000 on one of the city banks, thinking that was the easiest way to settle the trouble, and was assured that there the matter would rest. A month later he received a letter, in which an additional sum of money was demanded. Eealizing that compliance with this request would render him liable to further assessments, he placed the matter in my hands. I saw at once that he had been the victim BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 225 of blackmailers and immediately called on the outraged husband, who had come down from Garrisons that day, and was then waiting to meet my patron at a neighbor- ing saloon. He grew highly indignant when I informed him that he would not get another dollar, and threat- ened to lick me when I told him I would send him to State Prison if he further annoyed the gentleman. I gave him a good choking and, I think, discolored his eyes when he became unbearably insolent, which so frightened the villain that he has not been heard of since." John E. Lowery was born thirty years ago. In 1878 he entered the ranks as a patrolman, and for seven years did good service in that capacity. In 1880 he was made a detective, but has only been attached to the Central Office since January, 1887. Lowery is very good-natured and very popular. Detective Edward Looney is a man forty years of age. He was appointed to the force in 1870, and served for a year as patrolman. In 1871 he was made roundsman, and in 1873, sergeant. In 1875 he assumed his present position on the Central Office Squad, and has filled it continually since. A man of great bravery, he has time and again, when duty demanded it, risked his life when death seemed inevitable. Looney is regarded as an authority upon burglars and burglaries by his associates. He has probably had more experience with this class of criminals than most officials of the land. His description of the Knight of the Jimmy is worth repeating : There are fashions in the way of committing burglar- ies just as there are in bonnets. The really first-class 226 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. workmen, who undertake nothing but gigantic jobs, are generally English. Some men tackle nothing but banks and stores, making the opening of a safe a specialty. Dwelling-house robbery is falhng into disrepute in the big cities, but is still in vogue in the country. Many of the most useful operators do nothing but plan. When they have made the line of attack out, as they would prospect the moves in a game of chess, they pass the scheme over to the workers. Burglars' tools are always constructed of the finest materials. Some of them illustrate the applica- tion of deeper principles of natural philosophy than we ever imagined in an honest work-shop, and there are iron and steel contrivances, used in opening safes, the nature and purposes of which would utterly confound a safe manu- facturer. The hour selected is generally about 3 a. m., the chances being in favor of the inmates having all encamped in the pleasant land of dreams. A back shutter is pried open; a balcony is scaled, and a second story window raised; or they may go through the coal hole in the pavement and force the door at the kitchen stairs. Sometimes the job is done alone, and then again there are several engaged, one remaining outside as a sentinel. A burglar in alluding to the attempt to rob a tailor's store in Washington street, which resulted in the arrest of two young men who have since been sentenced to five years each in prison, said it was all the fault of the ' lookout.' ^ 'A' ^ lookout ' occupies a very responsible position, whether on board a ship or connected with a burglary. Imagine the burglar in the house. He has reached the parlor floor, and pauses to listen. The darkness, the silence, must be terrible. His own breathing seems like a mighty storm of wind. Satisfied that there is no one BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 227 in the immediate neighborhood, he produces his lantern cautiously, and in a second, as he sweeps it al)out, gets the lay of the land. If he is after plate, the dining-room is visited, the pantry and butler's closet forced, and the articles of silver ware piled high upon the table, ready to be done up in the table-cloth, or thrust into a less sus- picious bag provided for the purpose. It is at this stage of the burglary, that, in many instances, the gentleman of the mask and 'jimmy' enjoy a little lunch. 'Some of the best eating I ever had,' a burglar said, 'was at three o'clock in the morning in a house on the Heights. There w^as no one present but the three of us, and as luck w^ould have it, we found as many bottles of fizz. The family asleep up-stairs consisted of an old doctor with the gout, his wife, and a nigger cook about a hundred years of age. For a long while we w^ere afraid to cut the wires on account of the noise made by the corks, but we finally managed. There was cold turkey, fancy pastry, and any quantity of good grub. I got three years shortly after that flyer, and when I was eating my skilly up the river I often thought of our sitting about the table, with the chandelier lit, a-carousing and a-toasting each other in dumb show. It's a dangerous racket, this drink- ing while on business. A friend of mine is now doing ten years for trying to carry off some swag and two bottles of brandy under his vest at the same time. They found him with his plunder in the hall, sound asleep, in the morning when the servant came down to get break- fast.' "When the burglar has to enter a sleep-room, he takes his life in his hand. He knows that the law not only authorizes, but urges anyone belonging to the prem- 228 BROOKMYN S GUARDIANS. ises to shoot him down hke a dog. An accidental noise, the capricious wakefulness of an inmate, the stumbling into a house where some one is sick, all these are proba- bilities which render a struggle necessary, and which so frequently turn planned robbery into unpremeditated, murder. ^ As to that, ' the burglar remarked, ^ the case stands this way. You know you will get about fifteen years if 'detained by the man you are fighting with, inch by inch, out of the room to the hall, then to the stairs, or a window; and you also know that if you kill him there are just a few chances of escape from hanging. When John Dolan robbed Noe, the brush manufacturer, in Greenwich street, he had no idea of committing murder. He did it through reasoning the matter w^hile fighting the old man. Same way with the Nathan case. That dog would never have been used if Mr. Nathan had not put in an appearance.' ' ' ' How do women act when burglars surprise them ?' " Then he told me about being one of a party that entered a cashier's house in a watering-place, a mere village, to get the keys of the bank and the combination of the safe. There were some pretty cousins stopping with the banker, and they, with all the other inmates, were hunted up and brought down into one room, all in dis- hahille. with hastily picked up shawls and wraps and tiny bare feet thrust into high-heeled shoes and slippers, and kept there under guard of my friend while the rob- bery was executed. The cashier had to be gagged and bound, even after he had delivered the keys, but the girls were subjected to no such indignity. They made themselves as comfortable as possible, and one or two actually seemed to enjoy the novel experience. It was BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 229 the next thing to hemg run away with hy bandits/ " Detective John Ball was appointed a pohcemaii Janu- ary 21, 1ST2; and after a number of years became a de- tective, and was detailed as a member of the Central Office Squad. He is a very silent man, arid is not as well known as Iris colleagues. He has done much good work, and is in everywise a trustworthy man. He is conver- sant with all the ways of criminals. " Crooks have one queer feature, " he said to the writer, ^^and that is they like to describe and exaggerate their exploits to their legal enemies — the police. I presume every officer can relate a dozen good stories thus told him by some malefactor. One. a short while ago told me the following : 'At a bank in Dayton, Ohio, I did a good job, but did not take much satisfaction in it. When you beat a sharp man, there is something to rejoice over. You have put your wits against his and come out ahead. In this case the cashier was a squirt of a fellow, about twenty-three years of age. The cashier's den was not railed off and caged up in those days as now, and they were not so careful of their piles of money. This chap seemed proud to pile up the bills and coin around him, and the moment I got a look at things I knew that he was our game. The only man to be afraid of was the book-keeper. He was a bald-headed old fellow of forty-five, and had his place next to the cashier, and what he didn't hear and see was not worth attention. The manager and collector were in the bank most of the time, but at two o'clock always went out somewhere, and were gone a full half hour. This left only the cashier and book-keeper to deal with. There were two of us in the job, and after we had piped off the bank until we knew 230 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. it, I entered the place one morning and asked to see the manager. I was the agent of a new Chicago clock company for the manufacture of bank, office and railroad clocks, and, as an advertisment for our concern, would put up a time-piece on the wall and let it remain a year free, gratis. The clock then on hand was a cheap affair, and the manager jumped at my offer. I selected the place for it, and told him it would be hung up during the afternoon. We had piped the old bald-head off several days before, and knew just how we were going to manage him. He lived at least two miles away, and just after two o'clock, when the two men were left alone in the bank, a boy came in with a note telling him that his wife had received a serious fall. He clapped on his hat and started for home, just as we had planned, and I entered the place in company with my partner. He had a clock on his arm which had cost us thirty dollars. The opinion of the smart cashier was asked on various de- tails, and he came out in front of the counter and gave orders where the clock should be put up. While he was dancing around, some evil-minded person put nine thou- sand dollars in gold and bills into an old satchel, and then stood around until the clock was up. The reason he didn't clean out the bank was, because two or three outsiders dropped in to see the clock. When we went out it was to get into a hired buggy and drive away, and a few hours later we were bucking the tiger in Cincin- nati. I always felt a little mean over that job. You see the cashier was a young squirt, who couldn't have held his own with a common thief, and it was no credit for us to beat him. That wasn't the last time I saw him, however. Four years later, while I was taking a va- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 231 cation at Joliet for carrying off some diamonds belonging to a Chicago party, they put a new man at work beside nie one day. He was a puzzle to me for a while, but by and by I located him as the cashier of the Dayton bank. He had secured a place in Chicago as confidential clerk to a manufacturing concern, and had gone the way of many others, and got into the clutches of the law. When I told him who I was, he had nothing but praise for the clock trick, saying that he did not miss the money until the bank closed for the day." CHAPTER XIIL PRECINCTS AND STATION HOUSES. First Precinct. —Its Boundaries. — "The Heights.'* — Mercantile Palaces. — "Old" and "New" Quarters. — Captain James Campbell. — A Quiet Night. — The Sergeants. — Efficient Officers. — Discouraging Tramp Lodgers. — " Cheap Lodgings." A Warm-hearted Sergeant. — Roundsmen and Detectives. Second Precinct. — Its Boundaries. — Dangerous Locality. — "The Chain Gang.*' — The Station House. — Noisome Cells. — Probable New Headquarters. — Captain John W. Eason. — A Veteran of the War.— Many Times Wounded. — The Sergeants. Money Easily Made. — Pinched in the Neck. — Only Vagrancy, — Roundsmen and Detectives. HE First Precinct is bounded on the east by Hudson Avenue and Neyins Street, on the south by At- lantic Avenue to Henry and State Streets. On the west it is bounded by Hicks Street, to Grace Court, which also forms part of the southern boundary. The western limit is then marked by Columbia Heights, as far as Orange Street, which, with Nassau Street forms the northern boundary to Hudson Avenue. It includes a large part of the millionaire neighborhood of the Heights, and the dry goods and other mercantile palaces of Fulton Street. Its taxed valuation is far up in the millions. With the Second Precinct it contains what was ^ once the town of Brooklyn, and before that, the village of ' ' Breuckelen. " The Station House on Adams street, near Myrtle Avenue, occupies the whole handsome new Police Court House, except the second floor. Before the THE FIRST PRECINCT. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 233 completion of this edifice, it was situated for many years on Washington Street, near Fulton, between the Post-Office and the Brooklyn Theatre. Its roll is made up of the captain, four sergeants, two roundsmen, fifty patrolmen and two doormen. The commander of the First Precinct Police Station is known and admired by almost every Brooklynite. Cap- tain James Campbell is a man slightly above the average height, broad shouldered and finely proportioned, about fifty years of age, and his face is honest and handsome. He wears a moustache, which, as well as his hair, is white. In uniform he looks the model type of the police official. He entered the Pohce Department on December 10th, 1853, and was assigned to patrol duty in the Twenty- eighth Precinct, under the old Metropolitan system. After some months, at his own request he was trans- ferred to the Eighth Precinct which at that time was considered the worst in the city. His post was on Greene Street, where, night after night, the thieves, pickpockets, burglars and abandoned women, pursuing their low, un- lawful vocation, were so defiant that arrests under the most dangerous circumstances grew to be as little thought of as the ordinary ' * drunk " of the present time. The captain is an entertaining conversationalist, and when not engaged in his official duty will relate stories of crime and arrests occurring in this period alongside of which Gaboriau's tales look tame. The captain, living in Yorkville at the time, found it a long jaunt to and from the Eighth Precinct, so was detailed to serve in the Thirty-first Precinct. His first night on post was probably the hardest ever spent during his police service. He wandered Brooklyn's guardians. over rocks and unpaved streets, without meeting a soul from midnight until six in the morning. Two goats were all that ever disturbed the peaceful quiet of the night, which happened to be unusually dark. The contrast to his former nights of excitement and danger had a depressing effect, and when relieved in the morning he felt worse than after a night down town in the thickest of several fights. In 1867 he requested to be changed, and was trans- ferred to the Forty-first Precinct, which is now the First Precinct, Brooklyn. He remained there a little over a year, when he was transferred to the Eighth (then Forty-eighth) Precinct, Brooklyn, and promoted to roundsman. In the fall of 1869 he took a step higher, being made Sergeant and assigned to the Forty-fourth Precinct. He remained in the Fourth (old Forty-fourth) Precinct until the summer of 1873, when he was appointed captain, and assigned to the command of the Tenth Pre- cinct. In 1879 he made his last change to the First Pre- cinct, where he is liable to stay until either he or the Precinct becomes non est. During the captain's duty in Brooklyn his precincts have been in the elite wards of the city, which fact con- sequently brings the number of crimes committed within his jurisdiction somewhat below the average. How- ever, without going into details, the number of " crooks,'' from the expert burglar to the petty sneak thief, who choose his Precinct wherein to push their operations is exceedingly small. A large number of this class who tried the experiment are either in prison or evading some other police captain, having served their time and learned a lesson. Capt;iin. Brooklyn's guardians. 237 Captain Campbell knows tlieni all, nevertheless, and makes it a strong point in his routine of duty to drive them off the streets of his precinct, thus keeping the possibility of crime at a minimum. Sergeant David V. W. Lawson was born forty-six years ago. He is about medium height and build, and of dark complexion. In 1865 he was appointed patrol- man on the Police force. In 1873 he was promoted to the station of roundsman, and in September, 1883, stepped one round higher, and threw away the patrolman's uni- form to wear that of a sergeant, at which time he was detailed to the First Precinct, where he has since re- mained. As an officer he is conscientious and brave, never shirking or trying to lighten his duty. He has been the hero of many important arrests, which went a long way toward ridding the community of dangerous crimi- nals. Sergeant Lawson, in speaking to the writer of the evils of city life said : ''We try to discourage tramp lodgers as much as we can. We find that it fosters drunkenness to give the tramp free lodgings this time of the year. There are a lot of tramps in the city who go about begging in the day time. Every one of them pick up enough to eat, and a few nickels here and there. By the time night comes they have enough money to buy a night's lodging in a cheap lodging house, but they prefer to spend their cash for stale beer and bad whiskey. When they are comfortably loaded they go to the station houses to get free lodgings. A regular tram}) will not go to sleep with money in his pocket, if he can help it. In cold winter 238 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. weather I hate to turn tramps away, but from April to October it doesn't seem to hurt them to sleep in trucks and hallways. Lately I have adopted a plan to discour- age station house bums. I put them under arrest, and they are sent to the work-house or penitentiary." At this point the door opened, and a youth thinly clad entered to ask for lodgings. He did not look as if he had been drinking, and was a stranger to the sergeant. I have been looking for work, and haven't got enough money for a bed," he said. How much have you got ?" ^^Six cents." He took from his pocket a copy of the Sc^gley a nickel and a cent. Did you buy that paper Yes. I have just been to answer an advertisement from a man near here, but the place was already filled. " He pointed out to the sergeant the advertisement for an able-bodied young man, wanted at a place not far away. "That will do, we will give you as good lodgings as we have in the house, and here is something for your breakfast." The sergeant added a silver coin to the stranger's six cents, and sent him back to the lodging-room. Another man, dirty and shabby, had slid into the station, and was making for the lodging-room, too, with the easy self- consciousness of a regular lodger, when the sergeant stopped him. " Hold on a minute, Johnny. I want to talk to you. Do you remember promising me, when you were here last time, that you would stop drinking ?" ''Did stop — sever(hic)al times," said the tramp. A ring of the bell called the doorman and a policeman BROOKLYX S GUARDIANS. in uiiiforiii. The sergeant wrote down the tramp's name, age, nationality, and the charge '^intoxication," and said, '' Lock him up." Turning over the leaves of the blotter, the sergeant said : " That makes the seventh tramp in the cells to- night, and it isn't ten o'clock yet." Sergeant John Barr is sixty-one years old, and, with one or two exceptions, has seen more years of active police duty in Brooklyn than any of his associates. He was appointed patrolman in the summer of 1852, and for thirteen years served faithfully in that capacity. In ISO 5 he was promoted to the rank of roundsman, and on June 24th, 1871, to his present position of sergeant. This veteran of the force is much respected by his fellow- officers, and has made an excellent record. Sergeant Henry C. Ballow was born in 1843. When nineteen years of age he enlisted in the Sixty-third New York State Volunteers. He went to the front as a private and served all through the war. He was promoted to the rank of first sergeant for bravery. In 1835 he became a patrolman. In 18 73 he was made roundsman, and in the following year he was appointed sergeant. He has always been an officer well-liked by his asso- ciates, and, aside from his diligent watch for law break- ers, has always been noted for assisting poor unfortunates, whether financially or physically, whom lie chanced to meet. Sergeant Anson G. Dodge was born in 1818. When only fifteen years of age he enlisted in the Fiftieth Regi- ment New York Volunteers, and carried a musket through the war, taking pai*t in its leading battles. He was appointed on the police force June 17th, 240 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 1873, and assigned to duty as patrolman. In 1881 he was made roundsman, and in 1884 sergeant. Since his appointment he has enjoyed an unblemished record. The sergeant is very well-informed as to the doings of the criminals he is forever locking up, and now and then he gives his friends the benefit of his knowledge. Speak- ing of swindlers, he tells the following quaint story. ' ' I had a man in here the other night whom I recognized as a fellow I had arrested some years ago and sent up for till- tapping. He bore an air of dejection as he talked, and allowed his cigar to go out. He was such a picture of dejection I could not help asking, ' What's the trouble ? ' Bad enough, ' he answered. ' Our best man has been pinched in Connecticut, and has just got twenty-five years straight in the neck. Who was it ? Why, John Palmer, of course. He was one of the great artists in the profession, and has made thousands and thousands. He wasn't like ordinary crooks. He was always getting up new schemes. He invented the telegraph racket, and it was a daisy. Hqw was it worked ? He'd go to a hotel in Buffalo, and register as Charles Adams, of New York, and flash a card representing some manufacturing concern in the city. He'd rush around and sell, or try to sell, by sample or by an advertising book, and he'd always bring his would-be customers to the hotel, and there treat them and the clerk. He'd tell the clerk confiden- tially that he expected some money telegraphed on, and to notify him the moment the telegram came. In the afternoon the telegram came from one of his pals. It read : "Your letter received. Mailed you certified check at 10 o'clock." BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. 241 " The next morning the letter came from New York, and inside was a certified check. Of course it was all forged, and very well forged. He'd show it up to the clerk, and then walk down to the nearest bank to cash it. The teller refused always, until John was identified. He'd go back to the hotel and get the clerk to endorse it, or else go down with him to the bank to identify him. In either case he collared the cash every time. He caught on, boss, but you see success was too much for him. He got careless in his biz, and then, instead of sticking to hotels and banks, he tried to work the Post Office. It breaks me all up, for I worked the racket with him. ' " The Roundsmen of the First Precinct are John J. Clancy and John Dougherty. The Detectives attached to the First Precinct are James J. Roddy and Charles Chambers. Both are excellent officers, who commenced service as patrolmen, and graduated from the ranks. Roddy is the most recent detective on the force, having received his promotion January 6th, 18S7. Chambers served with distinction during the war in the One Hun- dred and Seventy -third New York Volunteers. THE SECOND PRECINCT. The Second Precinct is bounded by the East River on the west and north, from Wall Street Ferry to the Navy Yard wall. On the east by Navy Street, and on the south by Nassau and Orange Streets. It is one of the worst precincts for crime in the city, and for years was infested by the notorious '' Chain Gang," which was finally broken up by the late Captain Crafts. Along the river front the neighborhood is, in most part, of a hard character, especially along Freeman street, where the sailors congregate and fight. Many factories are con- 242 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. taineJi within the above boundaries which offer great inducements for robberies. The Station-House is a three story brick building, situated on the corner of York and Jay streets. The cells are damp ; so much so, that for some time past it has not been thought humane to put prisoners in the lower tier. The house, taken as a whole, is unworthy the city, and the gallant men who are compelled to use it as a home. It will, before long, be condemned by the authorities, and a new and handsome structure erected in its stead. Captain John W. Eason, commanding the Second Pre- cinct, was born in New York City, February 22d, forty- three years ago, and came to Brooklyn shortly after- wards. On April 18th, 1861, he enlisted in the Fourteenth Eegiment, New York, as private. He was promoted July 8th, 1861, to Third Corporal of Company Gr, and assigned to the Color Guard . August 1st, after first battle of Bull Kun, made First Corporal. He was made Second Sergeant January 1st, 1864, and took part in every engagement the regiment did, except two days during the second battle of Bull Run. He was wounded at the first battle of Bull Eun, also at Antietam and Gettys- burg. He was honorably discharged, June 6th, 1864, at the expiration of his term of enlistment, being one of the remnant of the gallant regiment, which for bravery and fearlessness, was called by foes The Red-legged Devils, " and by friends, The Fighting Fourteenth." On June 29th, 1864, three weeks after his discharge, he was appointed 23atrolman on the old Metroj)olitan Police force, and assigned to the Forty-first Precinct, now the First Precinct, Brooklyn. In May, 1870, he was made acting-sergeant, and a month later appointed sergeant. JOHN W. EASON, Captain. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 245 He then served two days at the Fourth Precinct, and returned to the First. In the fah of 1873 he was trans- ferred to the Tenth Precinct, where he remained until 1875, when he was again sent back to the First Precinct. On September 16th, 1881, on account of the iUness of Captain Craft, he was ordered to take command of the Second Precinct. Captain Eason has always been connected with pre- cincts where police work was the heaviest in the city. He is as model a captain as he is a worthy citizen. There is no nonsense about him. He has a plain, straight-forward way of talking directly to the point, and the meaning of what he says is never obscure or conject- ural. He is direct, clear, terse and emphatic, without being rude, brusque, rough or ill-mannered. He has strong sound sense. He has got horse sense," one of his friends declares, which is supposed to mean the most sensible kind. He never flatters, nor palavers. If he is dissatisfied he makes it plainly manifest in an outspoken way, without humiliating or causing undue embarrassment to the vio- lator of rules or orders. He believes in men performing their duties faithfully and with exactitude, without any attempt at evasion or skulking. He has in fact a whole- some dishke of eye-service, and cannot tolerate the syco- phant or toady. He has a manly way of doing things himself, and insists on others acting in the same manner. This influence, so far from conflicting with his efficiency as an officer, has materially aided it, as it is the result of his efforts and labors in protecting and maintaining the rights of citizens and property -owners against criminals and the marauding classes, which has established him 246 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. firmly in tlie confidence and affections of liis fellow-citi- zens. Sergeant Francis A. Earle is thirty-six years old, weighs two hundred pounds, and a better natured man is not included in the list of police officials of Brooklyn. On May 13th, 1872, he was appointed a patrolman. He was made roundsman January 3d, 1883, and arrived at the dignity of sergeant May 10th, the following year. He makes it a point to keep on good terms with the criminals, so that he can lay his hands upon them when- ever wanted, and tells many odd stories of their ways .and methods. There is one crook I've known a long time " says the sergeant, ^ Vho is always working up new schemes. The last time I asked him what he was up to. 'I have been in the country operating in real estate,' was his ready reply. ' It's a good biz, but no more of it for me. ' ' How did you make out ? ' ^ First class. Enough to get my stuff out of hock, pay my rum bills, and have a few cases left over. Let's have a snifter, and I'll tell you the scheme.' ' ' The drinks having been ordered and disposed of, he continued : ^' 'I went down to Riverhead as Mr. Smith, a real es- tate agent from Morrisania. In a couple of days I'd made a list of all the property there was for sale, and what was more important, of all the farms whose owners ^ didn't live in Long Island, the names and addresses of these owners and tenants. I picked out a farm, owned in New York, that was worth about three thousand dollars. I then went to a real-estate broker on Third Avenue, and offered him the property for one thousand dollars, half cash down BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 2^7 and half mortgage. I told him I was hard up, and had to have the money in a week. If he could put it through in that time he could have the joh and an extra commission of seventy-five dollars ; hut if he couldn't, I'd try the man on the next hlock, who had heen recommended to me by my friends. Of course I knew they were rivals. I gave him the real owner's name, and one of my hotel addresses on the Bowery. He took the next train to Riverhead, and of course was told by the rustics and the officials that the place was worth two thousand dollars, and was free and clear, and that the owner was a swell city chap who hved beyond his means, and seldom or never came down there. He came back perfectly satisfied and got some customer to put up the cash. I signed the papers, got my five hundred dollars, less the commission and his fees for searching, and opened wine for them both. Do you know, the customer had him pinched for the job, and he had to make it good. ^ Well, I thought I had a picnic, and the very next day I started a second trick in Queens County. ^ Ever}i^hing ran along like the first, till the broker went down to Jamaica to make his search. While there, in the County Clerk's office, he ran across an old lawyer who had charge of the farm he was working on. The counsellor tumbled in a minute, but went oft' half cocked, because be thought the broker was in the job. They came to some understanding, however, and the next morning sent a sweet letter to the hotel, and a fly cop along ^xii\\ it. I t^\agged his nibs from the reading- room back of the bar and skipped. If you go around now you will find that merry note in the pigeon hole, and the pohce mug getting weary in the chair. Still, I 248 ' BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ain't much alarmed. I saw my lawyer on the way up, and he said as long as I hadn't signed anything, or got any cash out of a bloke, they could only collar me for a vagrant. But it was a close shave, and don't you forget it. What will you have ? On November 4:th, 1844, Sergeant Michael McCarthy started life. When the War of the Eebellion broke out he enlisted in the Fourteenth New York, and partici- pated in many battles. He was appointed on the police force October 3d, 1871, and detailed as patrolman. In December, 1885, he be- came a sergeant. Sergeant McCarthy is as modest as he is brave, and enjoys equally the confidence of his superiors and as- sociates. Slightly above the average height, dark complexioned, good-looking, with black side whiskers and mustache, Sergeant Joseph Carrougher is a man respected by all the residents of the Second Precinct. He was born in 1840. On March 6th, 186T, he was appointed patrolman, and on June 22d, 1872, he was promoted to the position of sergeant. Sergeant J. D. Reeves is heavily built, and slightly above the average height. He was born in June, 1837. In 1864 he joined the police force, starting as a patrol- man. He was made roundsman April 16th, 1861, and sergeant June 1st, 1883. Sergeant Eeeves has always enjoyed an unblemished record, and although fourteen years on the Heights, where crime is scarce, he has made many good arrests. The roundsmen of the Second Precinct are Michael J. Murphy and Thomas F. Hughes. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 211) The detectives attached to the Second Precinct are Michael Campbell and John Kearney. Campbell is one of the few members of the force who did not begin with patrol duty. He served with distinction in the war with the One-hundred and Forty-eighth Regiment New York Volunteers, and in 1872 entered police life as a de- tective. Kearney served as a patrolman from 1872 until 1886, when he was promoted to his present position. Both are capable officers, much esteemed by their associates. CHAPTER XIV, Precincts and Station-Houses. {Continued.) Third Precinct.— Boundaries.— Station-House.— Mean Thie\t:s.— Prevalence op " Drunks." — Captain Patrick H. Leavey. — A Book op Horrors.— " Billy the Kid."— The Western Code.— A Deadly Toy.— An Uninterrupted Supper.— No Equal with THE Gun.— The Sergeants.— The Roundsmen and Detectives. Fourth Precinct. — Station-House. — Boundaries. — Captain Will- iam J. McKelvey. — A Brave And Intelligent Officer. — The Terror op Jackson Hollow. — Story of the "Black Bag.'' — The Captain's War Record. — His Connection with the Grand Army of the Republic. — The Sergeants. — Story of a River Fight. — The Roundsmen and Detectives. THE THIRD PRECINCT. The Third Precinct is, in many respects, Hke the Sec- ond. Its territory encroaches upon a portion of a region in which crooks of the worst character hold sway, while, on the other hand, many blocks of handsome mansions and respectable dwellings are found along its streets. The Station-House is situated on Butler street, just off from Court, and is pleasantly shaded with trees. It is well- equipped, and will shortly have the patrol-box system in working order. The Precinct is bounded, commencing at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Nevins Street, south through Nevins Street to Butler Street, to Gowanus Canal, to Fifth Street, to Fourth Place, to Cole Street, to Hicks Street, to Sackett Street, to Henry Street, to Atlantic Avenue east to Nevins Street For many years, the notorious Brooklyn's guardians. 251 Smoky Hollow was included in this precinct. It was a district equalling, if not excelling, the Five Points " of New York in vice and depravity. The number of crimes planned and committed by its desperate inhabi- tants, whose tales will never find tlieir way to the pub- lic's ears, would, if related, make a large and terrible volume. Murder, assaults of the most sickening nature, heartless torture inflicted upon unfortunate victims not giving up all in their possession, even to the shoes, hat and underclothes the moment they were demanded, and all other crimes against life and property which the vilest of men and women can devise and perpetrate, form part of this unwritten record. The most imagina- tive brain cannot invent deeds more horrible than have been nightly committed in Smoky Hollow." The precinct has been growing better-behaved and mo-re decent, and is to-day in admirable police condition. It nevertheless contains an immense population of the very poor, in which intoxication is fearfully prevalent, and in which the crimes and disorders caused by drink take place with unhappy regularity. The present commander of the Third Precinct has filled that difficult position in the most acceptable man- ner. Captain Patrick H. Leavey was born in 1813. He is powerfully built, dark complexioned and handsome. Captain Leavey was appointed on the police force May 7th, 1866, and detailed as patrolman in the Fourth Pre- cinct. He was transferred to the Third Precinct, and made roundsman October 12th, 1869. He then went to the Eleventh Precinct, and was transferred back to the Third Precinct July 29th, 1870. He was made sergeant 252 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. June 17th, 1871. He again went to the Eleventh Pre- cinct, and in 1872 was assigned as acting captain of the Ninth Sub, now the Fourteenth Precinct. In 1873 he was transferred to the Third Precinct as sergeant, and has remained there ever since. He was made captain of the Precinct November 13th, 1876. He weU deserves the credit bestowed upon him for clearing out Smoky Hollow." The stories of this dis- trict, which at times he relates in his interesting way, would easily fill a book and hold its reader in its perusal unto ^^the end." He has made a good share of the ar- rests in his Precinct, which sends more prisoners to the police courts than any other in the city. Captain Leavey indulges in a pastime worthy of Vidocq, Fouche, and the other great thief -takers of the world. He keeps a huge scrap-book of everything that appears in type regarding the crimes and criminals of Brooklyn and New York. Well indexed, it enables the reader to pursue the history of any crime, or the career of a law- breaker, from its start to the dismal end which always closes wrong- doing. ' ' The history of malefactors, " says the captain, is somewhat monstrous, and almost always written in painful colors. A few reform and become re- spectable. A very large majority die from the diseases produced by excesses, from the wearing- out of the nerves, incident to their career, and the shocking irregularity of their lives. A number meet death in brawls, bar-room fights and open encounters. A case has just come under my notice. The man was 'Billy' Maloney or 'Billy the Kid.' He belonged to the Smoky Hollow gang, and though neither large nor muscular was one of its most desperate characters. He was shrewd, and kept PATRICK H. LEAYEY, Captain. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 255 himself out of the law's clutches for some time, hut at last his time came, and a Avarrant was issued for his ar- rest on some serious charge. He got ^vind of it, how- ever, and left the city. I found he had gone West and become one of the famous desperadoes of that section. He was killed early in February, but I did not hear of it until lately. The man's slayer was a fellow desperado known as Pat Garrett. It occurred in some mining camp in New Mexico, where the chief attractions are endless gambling and drunkenness. ' The Kid ' was out there what he was here, a ' holy terror. ' He was a strange thing you come across once in a life-time, and while he was as smooth and pleasant a little fellow as you could wish to associate with, he filled a fellow with a sort of respect — I think that's the word, although its hardly applicable to a cut-throat. He was like a snake shining in the smi, and yet his touch meant death. He was slight and light-haired, and blue-eyed, and his face was sort of pale ; his upper teeth stuck out a little bit, and made him look more innocent than ever. You somehow ain't afraid of a fellow whose teeth stick out in the front. It suggests childishness more than any- thing else. He didn't weigh much more than one hundred and thirty-five pounds, and was pleasant in his manners and address ; his eyes were agreeable till he got mad, and then they shot fire. He killed two men, it is said, and did the job up in, what they call out West, an artistic way. They never knew what had happened, he was so quick and thorough in his use of a revolver. They were cow-boys, and they had sworn they'd kih the Kid, because they had heard so 256 Brooklyn's guardians. much about him aud his prowess with the knife and pistol. This time, at least, the Kid wasn't to blame. He hadn't killed any relatives of theirs, which, according to the Western Code, is a good reason for murdering a fellow being, or assassinating a crowd to which the offender belongs. They do things differently out there from what they do in the City of Churches. As I under- stand it, there was quite a crowd in camp when the Kid and another rode up. The people who knew him, or knew of him, were not over-glad to see Billy, because he had a hard name ; they said he'd kill a man if he did'nt happen to be stuck on the color of his hair, and other pleasant remarks of the same nature, and Maloney was so agreeable and so generous toward one and all of those in the camp that they might have thought butter would have been safe in his mouth, if they had not known him ; and that made them more uneasy than ever, though there were at least ten men all armed, and only two against them, the Kid and the fellow with him. They were eating dinner or supper, for meals out there are very much confused in their character, when two fellows rode up. The Kid had seen them before, but he never moved a muscle in recognition, and kept on eating as naturally as if there was not a soul within a hundred miles that was going to hurt him. When the strangers got near enough to see the faces of the fellows eating, one of them said : 'There he is,' and without saying anything more they drew their weapons and fired as rapidly as possible. Everybody broke for cover in some way, but none so lively as the Kid did ; he sprang six or eight feet into the air forward, until it looked as if he was hit, because fellows do the same way when they have a bullet straight BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. 257 through the heart ; but he wasn't touched. The fellow ou horseback paused a moment, and made a grievous mistake. Maloney, in almost a twinkling of an eye, drew his gun — one of the prettiest Winchesters carried in those law-defying districts — and fired twice. It was a bullet for each man, and he brought them both, each one through the heart. His partner sat eating his supper all the time, and seemed to think that the Kid could take care of himself, and needed no assistance whatever. '^When the Brooklynite had finished his killing and wiped off his gun, he sat down and finished his supper, and then rode away. As he and his pal were departing, he reined in his horse, and said to the crowd, who stood in silence, 'I'm in a hurry, or I'd help you bury those ducks.' They never found out who the dead men were, and buried them then and there. They then went some distance away and camped for the night. They shared an odd superstition against sleeping near to dead men. " Maloney was a queer lad ; never thinking of aught except killing. The only thing to do, therefore, accord- ing to Occidental custom and usage, was to kill him. It wasn't any use to put him in jail, for he'd break out, and the feUows who put him there would have to hustle around hvely after that to keep out of his way, or they would be apt to get killed in short order when he struck them. The authorities captured him more than once, but he always managed to get away, and each time he killed somebody. Once he killed two deputy sheriffs who had him in charge, by taking the gun of one of them away. There wasn't a man in New Mexico who could shoot against him with a pistol or a Winchester, and he never missed. 258 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. " He made a vow to kill Garrett at sight, which was promptly reported to the latter. He did the wisest thing under the circumstances, and lay in wait patiently on the road he knew his enemy must come by. Then, without warning, he shot him dead with the first bullet, and so ended a career that began in the dives of Brooklyn in the year when dives prospered, and which made Smoky Hol- low a familiar name to the police of the country." Sergeant Daniel Ferry is forty-four years of age. He was appointed on the police force January 9th, ISYl. He was made roundsman in 1873, and became a sergeant on July 1st, 1881. His work has always been in the roughest parts of the city, and the number of arrests placed to his credit is very large. Sergeant Edwin Deyer was" born fifty years ago. He is light complexioned, tall and muscular. He received his appointment on the police force February 18th, 1863, and was detailed as patrolman. In 18Y0 he was mccde sergeant. Asa police ofiicer the sergeant has done much good work, and has a first-class record. Sergeant Thomas Walsh is thirty-nine years old. He began duty on the force as a patrolman in 18Y1, was made a roundsman the following year, and received his promotion to the rank of sergeant in 18Y6. His record is a most excellent one, and for many of the arrests made by him he has been complimented by the Superintendent.' Sergeant William J. Caddon saw light in 1846, and be- came a patrolman in 1870. His entire seventeen years of service as patrolman, roundsman and sergeant have been spent in the Third Precinct, with the exception of Brooklyn's guardians. 259 one month in tlie year 1870. Many important arrests are placed to his credit, and his record as an officer is high and praiseworthy. The roundsmen attached to the Third Precinct are John Healy and Patrick J. Hawkins. The detectives attached to the Third Precinct are Ed- ward Rorke and Michael Gray. Both are men in the prime of life, who have graduated from the ranks and have earned their promotion. The archives of the police bear frequent testimony to their zealous work in the cause of law and order. FOURTH PRECINCT. One of the pleasantest precincts in Brooklyn is the Fourth. It covers the aristocratic neighborhood about CHnton Avenue and Fort Greene Park, and contains a mixed population of the best and worst classes. What disorderly characters are arrested within its confines are taken mainly from the district north of Myrtle Avenue and from what is called under the Hill." The station- house is situated on the corner of Myrtle and Vanderbilt Avenues, and is one of the oldest station-houses in the city ; it is a three-story brick building, with an extension for the cells and lodging-rooms. Under the Metropolitan system it was known as the Forty-fourth Precinct, but under the original Municipal Police and since the reor- ganization which followed the repeal of the Metropohtan Act, it was, and ever since has been, known as the Fourth. In its long history it has been commanded by many of the best men upon the force. Its boundaries are Hudson Avenue to Franklin Avenue, and Flushing Avenue to Fulton Avenue. 260 Brooklyn's guardians. Captain William J. McKelvey of this precinct is one of the finest looking men on the force. He is stout and of medium height. He was born on the 12th of March, 1842. When the war broke out Captain McKelvey was one of the first to volunteer as a soldier. He joined the Tenth New York Volunteers (National Zouaves), with which body he remained two years. The captain was promoted from the rank of a private to that of a sergeant at Malvern Hill, but when the regiment to which he belonged arrived at Philadelphia, it was disbanded, and Sergeant McKelvey was among those discharged. He returned to New York, and at once began to form a company of volunteers of which he in- tended to take command, and again engage in the conflict between the North and South. The government was slow in furnishing the necessary equipments, and while Sergeant McKelvey and his troupe of volunteers were lying idle in New York the riots broke out. The soldiers offered to assist the police in putting down the rioters, and were told to go ahead. The sergeant and his men were in the hottest of the affray, and did a wonderful amount of good work. When the angry crowds were finally subdued the soldiers led the triumphant police force in the march through the streets of the great Me-' tropolis. Thomas C. Acton, then President of the Met- ropolitan Police Force, noticed the gallant conduct of Sergeant McKelvey, and afterwards offered him a position on the police force. He accepted the offer and became a patrolman, attached to the Thirty -ninth Precinct. Kemaining one year in this district, he was transferred to the Fifteenth Precinct, in Mercer street, and while there was promoted to the office of roundsman. In 1866 ! BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 263 he was transferred to the Twenty-seventh Precinct, and assigned to special detective duty with the Board of Cot- ton Brokers. He did good work in this direction. He resigned his position on the third of September, 1870, and engaged in the oil business in West Street, New York. In the winter of 1872 a fire destroyed all of Mr. McKelvey's business, and he came to Brooklyn ; and in September of the same year secured a position on the Brooklyn Police Force, under General Jourdan. He served as a patrolman of the Tenth Precinct for four months, when he secured a place in the telegraph depart- ment. In this position of telegraph operator the captain served until ISSo, when he was made drill captain. On the 17th of January, 1885, Captain Willmarth, of the Fourth Precinct, retired, and Captain McKelvey took his place. In IStU Xew York City was aroused to great excite- ment by a gang, supposed to be in the service of the Con- federacy, carrying black bags of infected clothing, and of combustibles into the prominent hotels. In many cases the inflammables were set on fire. So alarming did this danger become that the police received special instructions to search all suspicious looking bags. Cap- tain McKelvey at that time was a patrolman in the Fifteenth Precinct, New York. On February 1st, 1865, he was on Amity street. About one o'clock, in the morning, the wind became so piercing that the young officer sought the shelter of a doorway. While stationed here, concealed from view, he saw a young man turning the corner. In his hand he carried a ' ' black bag, " which seemed well-filled. The sight of this bag aroused the offlcer's suspicions. With thoughts of promotion and 264 Brooklyn's guardians. fame in his mind, McKelvey stepped from the doorway and arrested the individual. In response to the officer's what are you doing here at tiiis hour of the night," the suspected man coolly replied: ^' Aha, an officer! how you frightened me; what time is it?" Without deigning any reply to this, McKelvey asked what was in the black bag, to which the young fellow replied that it contained boots and shoes. He was a shoe- maker, he added, in the employ of his brother, who kept one store in Carmine street and another in East Houston street. The shoes in the bag he had been working on all night, he said, and was taking them to the East Houston street store, as they were promised a customer that morning. His story seemed plausible enough, but remembering the strict instructions in regard to strangers carrying suspicious looking bags, McKelvey told the stranger he would have to accompany him to the Station House in Mercer Street, and have the bag searched. To this the young man readily agreed. Together the officer and prisoner walked down Amity street towards Mercer, the stranger holding the bag in his left hand which was the side nearest the offcer. When they had gone a short way in this manner, the stranger suddenly turned around and dealt the officer a terrific blow in the face with his disengaged hand, which felled McKelvey to the street. The blow was sa sudden and unlooked for that McKelvey was moment- arily taken back. In a second the officer was on his feet, and in hot pursuit of his man, whom he could see turning a distant corner. Not stopping to pick up the bag, which the stranger dropped, the officer, who carried BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 265 much less avoirdupois then, Avas not long in gaining on his man ; when within a few yards of him the fellow turned around and fired a shot from his revolver, but luckily missed his object. Here was McKelvey at a dis- advantage in not having a pistol with him. In this man- ner the pursuit continued, the stranger varying the mon- otony of the chase every now and then by turning around and blazing away at his target, who spent most of his spare time in dodging the flying bullets. McKel- vey made several attempts to rap for assistance, but the snow-covered ground gave forth no response. When Great Jones street was reached, the officer spied a pile of bricks in the street on the side of which he rapped, and was overjoyed to hear responsive signals from three of his comrades in as many different directions. When the pursued man heard these signals, and observed one of the officers coming towards him, he again turned and fired upon his pursuers. This shot emptied his weai3on, and he ran up into the alley in Read street, where the Berdell murder took place. McKelvey knew the locality well, and it at once flashed through his mind tliat the gate at the Bleecker street end was closed and con- sequently he had his man like a rat in a trap. At this point McKelvey was joined by six other officers and they all followed the man up through the alley. With all the chambers of his revolver discharged, and a huge gate cutting off escape, the fellow threw up his hands and sur- rendered. At the station he denied all knowledge of the black bag, and said that he had not carried one. Here was a nice position for the officer. He had forgot- ten all about the bag, in the excitement of the chase, and without it his charge lacked foundation. Find that bag 266 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. he must, so he started out over the same ground he had gone over a Uttle while since, but no trace of the bag could he find. He met several people, but no one had seen the bag. As he neared the house of Engine No 4, of the Volunteer Fire Department, on Mercer street, which was on the route of his exciting chase, he ob- served a light burning in the rear of the building. This fact struck him as rather unusual at the small hour of the morning, and he approached the door and looked through the keyhole, and his heart gave a bound as he saw three of the firemen examining the contents of a black bag, sufficiently like the immediate cause of the night's adventure. He could see several pairs of shoes in their hands, and it occurred to him at once, What if that fellow's story was true ? " At all events he must gain possession of that black bag. McKelvey knocked, and after considerable waiting one of the firemen opened the door, yawning out he had been asleep, and invited the officer in out of the cold to 'Svarm up." McKelvey said he had not come to ^^warm up," but to get that bag. In amazement the fireman denied all knowledge of the article mentioned, but the officer told him what he had seen through the keyhole, and threatened to have a posse of men search the house if the bag was not brought out immediately, and it was soon forthcoming. It contained some very fine boots and shoes. Now the next thing was to find out from whom the shoes had been stolen ; and it was subsequently found that the shoe store opposite the New York Hotel had been entered that night from the rear and the goods stolen. Twenty-four hours after Charles English had com- mitted the burglary he had been tried, sentenced to ten BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 267 years imprisonment, and was on his way to Sing Sing- prison. McKelvey received many letters of thanks for his bravery, although he had not yet entirely recovered from the disappointment that his adventure that time did not result in the arrest and conviction of a Confederate spy and a yellow fever distributor." Probably among no other body of men are the small, button-like badges of the Grrand Army of the Republic more thickly distributed than among the Brooklyn Police- men, and for years it had been the privilege of police officers, who had served in the Civil War, to obtain leave of absence to participate in the Memorial parades in which the Grand Army Posts took part. The officers were readily released from duty on these occasions, until it was found that, instead of i3articipating in the parade, they abused the privilege by neglecting the procession — preferring to mingle with friends among the sight-seers. In view of this, it occurred to Captain McKelvey to or- ganize a regiment of the veterans among the Police Department, and he accordingly suggested this plan to Gen. Jourdan, who heartily endorsed it, and soon after the Fourth Regiment of the Metropolitan Bri- gade was organized, with Captain McKelvey as its com- mander. After considerable time and patience, occupied in organizing and perfecting the regiment. Captain McKel- vey succeeded in getting together a company of men, of whom he might well be proud, and has since led them on all occasions in which the Grand Army Posts have taken part. At the time of the funeral of that illustrious hero, Gen. IT. S. Grant, it was Captain McKelvey's Post which was stationed at the sepulchre at Riverside, to- guard 268 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. the remains of the famous soldier, whose name the Post now bears. At first, Captain McKelvey experienced some trouble in getting the Historical Society to lend him the original colors (One Hundred and Seventy-third New York) carried by his regiment, but now the Society is only too glad to aid the gallant Captain in such a patriotic movement. The two men who carry the colors in the Fourth Regi- ment Brigade are Geo. Tallman, of the Central Office Squad, and Henry Miller, No. 1 of the Sixth Precinct. They carried the identical colors during the exciting . times of the battle of Port Hudson, and the Red River campaign. In speaking of Grand Army matters, it will not be amiss to state that the present captains of the First, Second, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, Twelfth, Thir- teenth, Fifteenth and Sixth Sub-Precincts have all served their country in the late war, and among the sergeants there is an average of two veterans to every precinct in the city. Charles Strong, of the Fourth Precinct, was born in 1829. On the 18th of May, 1865, he secured an appoint- ment as patrolman on the Metropolitan Police Force. He did good work during his service in the ranks and on the twentieth of June, 1872, he was promoted to the office of sergeant. Sergeant William P. Kelly was born on the 22nd of Jan-, uary, 1833. On July 20, 1861, he was appointed patrolman by Commissioner Thomas C. Acton, of the Metropolitan Police. After serving for eight years in New York, he was transferred to the Brooklyn branch. On June 30, 1870, he was promoted to the position of sergeant, and brooklym's cuardiaks. 269 assigned to the Fourth Precinct, July iHtli, 1^71. His record is excellent. Sergeant Stephen Martin is forty-two years of age. He became a patrolman on January 20th, 186$, and was, some time after, on July 16th, 1875, appointed a sergeant. Sergeant Martin is intimately acquainted with the criminal classes of both Xew York and Brooklyn, and can tell many thrilling stories of their deeds and misdeeds. In speaking of crimes, he says : I notice a growing decrease in the amount of violence and brutality. The sneak-thief is replacing the high- wayman and burglar. The river-thief, once so powerful an element in crime, is now almost extinct. Yet in my time he was one of our most dangerous foes. On May 20th, 1873, Joseph Gayles, alias 'Socco the Bracer,' 'Bum' Mahoney, a first-class river-thief, and 'Billy' Woods, formerly a stone-cutter, but now a murderer and expert river-thief, stole a boat, and with muffled oars pulled down stream to a pier on the East Eiver. They boarded the brig ' Margaret, ' of New Orleans, and, while ransacking the captain's trunk, awakened the captain and mate. A scuffle ensued, which resulted in the thieves leaving the brig and taking to their boat. An alarm brought officers to the scene of the attempted robbery. It was three o'clock in the morning, the sky was overcast and not a star to be seen. As one of the officers flashed his dark lantern under the pier he saw a boat starting out. Throwing the rays of his lantern full upon it, three men stood up, revolvers in. hand, and firing began. The first shot gave 'Socco' his death wound. The officers continued firing until they had emptied their pistols, but the thieves escaped in the darkness and pulled 270 Brooklyn's guardians. up toward the Long Island shore. 'Socco the Bracer,' fainted from the loss of blood, and his companions, think- ing he was dead, threw him overboard to lighten the boat. The water revived him, and he begged piteously to be taken into the boat again. Tliis was done after much trouble, but as soon as he touched the thwart he gasped and died. The boat was again stopped in mid-stream, and the lifeless body of ' Socco the Bracer, ' with the tell-tale bullet hole through the breast, was thrown to the waters, but four days afterward it came to the surface at the foot of Stanton street, within sight of the residence of the dead r iver- thief . " Secrecy was no longer possible, and now the thieves themselves admit that their pal was killed by the officer. After this robbery, the next that I recall was that of the bark 'Zouma,' on the East River. Louis Engleman, a Fourth Ward river- thief, who lived at No. 57 Rose street. New York, w^as convicted of the theft. He was captured by Sergeant Blair, of the Second Precinct, after a chase of three hours, during which he jumped overboard ; and while hanging on to the rudder of a three-masted schooner at anchor was throw^n a rope by a policeman. ^Go to h — 1 with your rope,' he exclaimed, rejecting it ; you shan't take me alive. ' He dove under vessels and docks, and for a long time defied half a dozen officers in boats, but he was at length captured and is now doing the State some service in one of the Sing Sing factories." - Sergeant Thomas F. Mande was born on the eleventh of December, 1859. On the fourth of April, 1882, he v^as appointed a patrolman. He was promoted to rounds- man December 5th, 1885, and on the eighth of January 1887, he advanced one more step up the ladder and be- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 271 came a sergeant of the Fourth Precinct. Sergeant Mande has done good service as an officer, and deserves all the honors that have heen bestowed upon him by the city. The roundsmen attached to the Fourth Precinct are William Knipe and George W. Raynor. The detectives of the Fourth Precinct are Thomas Shaughnessy and Joseph Price. Shaughnessy served with distinction as a soldier through the great war, and joined tlie Police Force in 1868. Price is also a veteran, not of the army, but of the navy. Both are officers of merit, and are held in high esteem. CHAPTER XV. PRECINCTS AND STATION HOUSES. {Continued.) Fifth Precinct. — Station House. — Boundaries. — Captain Cornelius WoGLOM.— " The Chief of Williamsburg."— His Splendid Rec- ord.— Sergeant George Bunce. — A Veteran.— Riots of 1863. — Other Sergeants. — Roundsmen and Detectives. — A Clergyman's Misplaced Confidence. Sixth Precinct. — Boundaries. — Station House. — Features op the Precinct. — Captain William J. Kaiser.— Soldier and Police- man. — Quick Promotion. — A Countryman's War-Cry. — A De- moralized Officer.— New Use for a Barrel.— The Sergeants. — Detectives and Roundsmen. Sixth Sub-Precinct. — Boundaries.— Station House. — Commanding- Sergeant Edmund Brown. — His War Record. — A Jeweler Burglarized. — Chasing the Thieves. —Sergeants O'Reilly and CoRwiN. — Both War Veterans. — Detective Campbell. — The Roundsmen, THE FIFTH PRECINCT. At the corner of North First Street and Bedford Avenue stands a three-story brick building with brown stone trimmings, where the guardians of the peace of that portion of the city bounded by Babcock Creek on the north, River Street and Kent Avenue on the east, Broad- way on the south, and Hewes Street and Union Avenue on the west, find a headquarters. Erected in 1859 and '60, under the supervision of Cornehus Woglom — its present captain, who was at that time a boss carpenter, it was termed by Superintendent Kennedy, then the chief of the Metropohtan PoHce, the finest pohce station in the city. It was so admirably Brooklyn's guardians. 273 constructed that the authorities in Washington, Phila- delphia and Baltimore requested and obtained the plans and specifications for use in their respective cities. Off the main-room, within calling distance of the big desk," is situated a small, cosy apartment for the captain. Ten iron grated cells are located on the ground floor of an extension to the main building, and two lodging- rooms occupy the floor above. The second and third floors of the main building are given up to quarters for the patrolmen, having sleeping accommodations for fifty officers. A part of the building is used as a large reading room, where all the daily and weekly papers are on file for the men. The Fifth Precinct seems to be a favorite camping ground for tramps and dissolute characters of both sexes and seldom, during the winter months, a night passes that the station house is not crowded to its full comple- ment. Captain Cornelius Woglom, who is called the ''Chief of Williamsburg," was born September 2ist, 1815. He claims with some degree of pride to have earned a living almost from the date of short-dresshood, and was very young apprenticed to a carpenter from whom he gained a mechanical knowledge which gave him a comfortable living in after years. As a builder, in 1S59 he obtained the contract to erect the Fifth Precinct Station House, and during its construc- tion and while then holding the office of alderman, which he filled for two and a half years, in a spirit of devilment, at the railleries of a friend he put in an application for the 274 Brooklyn's guaediaks. captaincy of the new Station-house. With no civil ser- vice competition to contend with, as he laughingly states, and in fact no competitors by reason of the in- fancy of the department, he was overwhelmingly success- ful, and he has since occupied the site which he supposed he was putting in order for a stranger. During Captain Woglom's police service he has made many important arrests, and his name is a terror to the evil-doers of the Fifth Precinct. The captain is as brave as a lion, and on many occasions has illustrated his prowess. That section of the city in which his Precinct is located was at one time the headquarters of one of the worst bands of roughs that ever made predatory incur- sions upon their fellow-citizens. They would congregate at the corners in some of the worst localities and defy the police. In frequent encounters which occurred be- tween the officers and the roughs, the former often came off second best. Captain Woglom determined to give them a lesson which they would not forget. Learning that at a certain time a large number would be congre- gated at a certain locality, he posted a section of men in hiding in the vicinity, and then ordered one of the pa- trolmen to saunter past the crowd and order the roughs to disperse. The mob replied with jeers and stones. The officer gave a preconcerted signal, and before they comprehended what had taken place the rowdies found themselves surrounded on all sides by officers with the captain at their head, who with upraised clubs reit- erated the patrolman's demand for them to separate. A desperate fight ensued, in which the police showed no quarter, and which resulted in the roughs surrendering and being taken to the police station. A few subsequent CORNELIUS WOGLOM, Captain. ^ BROOKLYN'S GUARDIAXS. 277 meetings of a hostile character took place between them and the police, but the encounter virtually broke up the the gang. Captain Woglom is a man who labors himself. He does not entrust the management of precinct affairs to his sergeants and roundsmen. He runs his own station and holds himself responsible for the working of the force under his command. This policy produces a good effect upon the men, as it makes them partners in his successes. Every time his officers make good arrests or perform faithful work he lets them know they are add- ing to his laurels as well as to their own reputation, and he frankly acknowledges they are making capital for him. When, on the other hand, he finds that unjust charges are being made against anyone in his command, he will fight before the Commissioner for the accused. Cap- tain AYoglom's police career has been one of great influ- ence and has been characterized throughout by energy and hard work. He has protected the citizens and pun- ished offenders, and occupies a strong place in the af- fections of the police force as well as of the people. He is a thorough pohceman by instinct and long experience, and it would be an unfortunate day for the police of Brooklyn when he should separate himself from them. In the seventies he resigned, but so strong a public pres- sure was brouglit upon him to withdraw it that he com- plied. The reconsideration of his request for retirement was hailed by all classes of citizens with delight. Sergeant George Bimce was born in IS 32. He was appointed a patrolman in January, 1S5S. In 1S62 he was appointed acting sergeant and was aftex'wards coix- 278 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. firmed in that rank. The nearly thirty years of service seen by Sergeant Bunce make him one of the veterans of the force. His stories of the past are full of interest, and he recounts with special delight his experience in 1863, when he was a member of the old Metropolitan Police and attached to the Forty-sixth Precinct, now the Sixth Precinct, Brooklyn. Word was sent over the wires that help was needed to quell the rioters at the Tribune Building. In response to this call that brave and fearless officer. Superintendent Folk, with twenty picked men, among whom was Cap- tain Woglom's right-hand man. Sergeant Geo. Bunce, left Brooklyn for Police Headquarters in Mulberry street. When they arrived there they were ordered to proceed to the City Hall Park and form a semi- circle around the park. The New York men then drove the mob from the Tribune Building into the arms of their Brooklyn comrades, when a hand to hand conflict ensued, resulting in a prompt and decisive victory for the police. In this conflict Sergeant Bunce distinguished himself as worthy of such a leader as Superintendent Folk. He was again under this officer in quelling the mutiny of Gen. Spinola's soldiers in 1863, while stationed at East New York. For years it was a standing joke of the newspaper men to look out for important events when Sergeant Bunce had the desk," as there was scarcely a murder or burglary case of any note that came in unless Ser- geant Bunce had command at the time. Sergeant Jas. L. Hallett was born May 9, 184:6. He was appointed patrolman in 1872 and acquitted himself so well that a vacancy occurring one year after his con- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 279 nection with the force he was made sergeant, which post he has filled ever since. Fourteen of his fifteen years' service have been spent as the able assistant of the Fifth Precinct Captain. Sergeant John Reardon, another of Captain Woglom's lieutenants; saw light in 1845. At the age of twenty -two he obtained an appointment as a Brooklyn patrolman, in December, 1867. After ten years' service, on January 12th, 1877, he cHmbedastep up the ladder of fame to a rounds- man's cap and was fortunate enough, five days later, to receive a sergeant's commission. Sergeant Reardon has the entire confidence of his cap- tain, and his judgment is always relied upon in making important arrests. Sergeant Wm. J. Berford was born in 1837. His ser- vice on the police force dates from January 7, 1867, as a patrolman. He received his first promotion in May, 1874, when he donned a roundsman's uniform and five years later received a sergeant's badge. At the breaking out of the late war Sergeant Berford was one of the first to offer himself in the country's service, and distinguished himself as a man of nerve and judg- ment. The roundsmen of the Fifth Precinct are John J. O'Brien and Thomas F. Lynch. The detectives attached to it are John C. Corcorane and Martin Short, both shrewd and excellent officers. Detective Short teUs many capital stories of criminals' wiles. One of them involves a clergyman, who was caught on the pocket-book game, and is worth repeating as the reverend gentleman told it to the officer. '^I was crossing the street from the Fulton Ferry, and 280 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. as I stepped upon the walk I felt some one pinch my leg. I turned and beheld a respectable looking, well- dressed man, wearing a black hat with a wide band of crape around it. He stood sidcAvays to me, and I per- ceived that he had a large pocket-book in his hand and was about to open it ; in an instant I had felt in all my pockets to see if the book w^as mine. At the same time the man said to me : ^' ^If it had not been for me, sir, you would have lost a large amount of money. I saw you drop it as you stepped upon the walk, and hastened to hand it to you. ' . ' ' I assured the obliging fellow that the money did not belong to me, and that it must have been the party ahead of me. 'Well,' said he, 'if that be the case, let us open it; perhaps the owner's name is on the inside. ' ' ' He opened it, and as he did so, I saw a large package of bills. The outside one was a hundred-dollar note. I also saw several others, but could not tell their de- nomination. In the meantime the fellow with the crape on his hat had been pretending to count the money, and had partly turned his back ; soon he turned to me and said : ' ' ^ Alas, dear sir, I can find no clue to the owner, but after counting the money and finding over two thous- and dollars, I am convinced there will be a reward of at least three hundred dollars. Now, my dear sir, I cannot remain to claim the reward ; my relations all live in Buffalo, and it is scarcely tivo hours since I received a letter from a dear sister, saying that our dear old father was at the point of death. ' ^'Here his voice was broken with emotion. Brooklyn's guardians. 281 ' I am a poor man, ' he continued, ' and shall have to borrow the money to i)ay my fare. Now, my dear sir, if you will kindly take this pocket-book and let me have a hundred dollars you will be richly paid by the owner when you restore it to him. ' ^'I thought the offer was fair enough and suggested that he take a hundred dollar note that I saw wrapped on the outside of the roll. ^ Not for the world, ' he said, 'not for the world.' And putting his hand upon his breast, said : ' Stranger, I am poor, but I am honest. ' ''I was ashamed, and without hesitation put my hand into my pocket and gave the honest fellow two fifty-dol- lar bills. He took it quickly, shook hands and disappeared. ^^I am in the habit of stopping at the Pierrepont House when I am in the city. When I reached my room I had the curiosity to look at my prize to see how much I really had. When I opened it I found a counterfeit one hundred dollar bill on the Beverly Bank of Massa- chusetts, and the rest were show bills, etc., and a few leaves from the diary of a physician. I was thunder- struck, not so much on account of the loss of the hun- dred dollars as I was at the depravity of the man." THE SIXTH PRECINCT. The Sixth Precinct covers that portion of the City of Brooklyn known as '' Dutch Town," probably the most notable district in the country for elopements, breach-of - promise cases, divorces, lover's quarrels and picnics. In fact it is a perfect paradise for gossips. The Precinct is bounded on the north by North Second Street, Metropolitan Avenue and Newtown Creek. Onth^ 282 Brooklyn's guardians. East by the City Line. South by Jefferson Street, Irving Avenue, Flushing Avenue, Bushwick Avenue, Varret Street, Graham Avenue, Seigel Street, Leonard Street, Boerum Street and Broadway ; and on the West by Hewes Street and Union Avenue. The Station-house is located on the southeast corner of Stagg Street and Bushwich Avenue. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the tailoring business, while a number of breweries give employment to hundreds of men and boys. The children of the poor- er classes are all compelled to work while very young. There are two districts, called Picklesville " and the Swamp," which if not constantly patrolled by efficient policemen would be the daily scene of crime. St. Catherine's Hospital is situated on Bushwick Avenue, two blocks from the Station-house, while the Thirty-second Eegiment Armory occupies the northwest corner of Stagg Street and Bushwick Avenue. The popula- tion is almost entirely foreign — the bulk of it being Ger- man. There are also a large number of ^^Polaks" and Slovaks" (Polish and Russian Jews), Austrians, Bohemi ans and Hungarians. In some districts German and bas tard Teutonic dialects are the only languages heard. Captain William J. Kaiser, commanderof the Precinct, is over six feet in height and built in proportion. He is a dark-complexioned, fine -looking officer, who has made a reputation as an efficient policeman second to none. He was born April 27th, 18^2. When the war broke'^ out he enlisted in the 49th New York Volunteers and carried a musket through the entire rebellion with the Army of the Potomac. He took part in every engage- ment with the Sixth Army Corps, notwithstanding the WILLIAM J, KAISER, Captain. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 286 fact that he received three wounds. A bullet at the bat- tle of Winchester pierced his hip so seriously that he was carried to the rear and placed under the care of the surgeons. Before twelve hours had passed, he secured a horse and caught up witli his regiment in time to help fight the battle of Fisher's Hill. Previous to this engage- ment he had been made second lieutenant, and when wounded he was acting adjutant. He was made first lieutenant for bravery on March 1st, ISOi, and on March 1st of the following year was promoted to the rank of Captain for his gallant services in the battles before Pet- ersburg. On June 7th, 18 04, he was mustered out of service. He was appointed a patrolman on the Metropolitan Police Force, June 25th, 1866, and assigned to duty in the Forty -ninth, now the Ninth Precinct. In June, 1867, he was transferred to the Fourth Precinct, and two years later was sent to the Fifth Precinct. In May, 1870, he was made sergeant, stepping completely over the heads of the roundsmen, which is a promotion seldom made. He was then sent to the Sixth Precinct, where he remained until 1876. He was made captain in August, 1873, and commanded the Sixth Precinct until his transfer to the Twelfth three years later. In 1878 he was again transferred, this time to the Thirteenth, where he remained until his last move to the Sixth Pre- cinct, in 1880. The districts in which Captain Kaiser has done duty are to a great extent "crime producers,'' and require unceasing vigilance in protecting the inhabitants and their property. As a patrolman. Captain Kaiser was constantly ferret- 286 Brooklyn's guardians. ing out persons of doubtful character. In many cases he unmasked criminals who were living double lives and stealing systematically from friends and immediate neighbors. Asa commander, he has always grappled with the vices of his Precinct in a manner which has done much toward the extinction of crime. His men are all contented and willingly work hard, a sure sign that he is a capable commander. Upon the arrival of a big burly countryman in the city, his usual war-cry is: I must do up a policeman — this time, sure." There is a good story told by Captain Kaiser in which a policeman was ^' badly done up," that is well worth re- peating: John Jackson is an athlete and the terror of his town. Early one morning, v^th two congenial and noisy friends, he paraded Fulton street. In the vicinity of the Court House they began singing. ' Same Old Game, ' ' He's a Jolly Good Fellow,' 'Bingo Farm' and other familiar airs were reeled off rapidly. Their discordant tones grated upon the ears of a police officer, who suddenly darted from a deep shadow and ordered the party to button up their mouths. ' ' John was speechless with rage for an instant, but he soon recovered his voice and begaij to abuse the brass- buttoned minion of the law. The officer threatened to run the entire party in. John defied him, and concluded^ by alluding to the blue coat as ah ' eight hundred dollar man.' Instantly the eight hundred dollar man's fist shot out and marred the beauty of John's left eye. He didn't have a chance to land another blow. John flew at him like a lion panting for gore. Brooklyn's guardians. 287 Before the officer could interpose a single objection John had seized, upset and stood him on his head. In that undignified position he was held with his pride oozing from his ears, until most of .his small change, a revolver and a bunch of keys dropped from his pockets upon the sidewalk. This done, John lifted up his victim, plunged him head first into an empty barrel at the curbstone, and brandishing the vanquished man's night stick over his head vanished with his companions around the corner. Sergeant John W. Warmell was born just fifty years ago. On September 2Tth, 1866, he was appointed on the poKce force and assigned to duty as patrolman. After serving in this capacity three years and a half he was appointed roundsman. In 1875 he was made sergeant. Sergeant William H. Kitzer was born in 1874. He became connected with the pohce force on December 9th, 1874, and was detailed as patrolman. He was made roundsman in February, 1878, and served in that capacity until May 8th the following year, when he was appointed sergeant. The sergeant has always proved himself an efficient officer and has made many good arrests. He is a typical German in appearence. Sergeant James G. DeBevoise is a large and powerful man. He was appointed on the Brooklyn police force July 5th, 1865, and made sergeant in May, 1879. He was born quite a number of years previous to the time he received his '^buttons." He is said to have quite a record for arrests of various natures. Beside being a police officer with a good record. Ser- geant John A. Sutton has to his credit a great amount 288 Brooklyn's guardians. of good work as a soldier in the late War of the Ee- belhon. He was born in 1843. When the war broke out he was one of the first to enlist in the Fourteenth Regiment New York Volun- teers, and until wounded at the battle of Rappahannock Station fought in every engagement with his regiment. He was honorably discharged the September following, re-enlisted in the Eighty-fourth Regiment New York Volunteers and was finally discharged with the rank of first lieutenant in October, 1864. On March 1st, 1865, he was assigned to duty as patrol- man. In 1869 he was made roundsman, and afterwards received his promotion as sergeant. As an officer the sergeant has always been conspicu- ous for his attention to duty. The detectives attached to the Sixth Precinct are Jos- eph Lyons and William Ihne. Lyons served his country during the war in the Fifth New York Heavy Artillery, and displayed the same bravery and zeal that disting- uish him as a poHce officer. Ihne has a fine record as a detective and has been connected with many import- ant cases. The roundsmen attached to the Precinct are James Green, an old war veteran and an excellent officer, and Wm. Weiser, also a good officer. THE SIXTH SUB-PRECINCT. The Sixth Sub-Precinct is made up of a portion of the Sixth and Seventh Precincts. It is one of the roughest portions of Brooklyn, and boasts of no wealthy streets. It is bounded on the north by Van Cott avenue and Meeker Avenue. On the east by Newtown Creek. EDMUND BKOWN, Sergeant. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 291 On the south hy Metropohtan Avenue and North Second Street, and on the West by Union Avenue. It contains that portion of Brooklyn known as ' 'The Green," which for years was nightly the scene of the most daring robberies, obscene adventures and attempts at murder. The Precinct has only been in existence since October 12th, 1885, since which time over one thousand arrests have been made and the greater part of the lawlessness sup- pressed. The Station House is on Graham Avenue, between Frost and Richardson streets. The commander of the Sixth Sub -Precinct, Sergeant Edmund Brown, is stout, handsome and good-natured. He was born in 183T. When the war broke out he enlisted in Ellsworth's Zouaves, and served for eight months, fight- ing in the first battle of Bull Run and was then stationed with his regiment at Newport News. He was finally hon- orably discharged in 1861. On December 28th, 1861:, he was appointed a patrolman at the Forty-fifth, now the Fifth Precinct and served there five years, ^A^hen he re- signed and went to work in the Water Department of the Board of City Works. On April 30th, 1887, he was reappointed on the police force and assigned to the Fifth Precinct as patrolman. By successfully passing the Civil Service examination, he was appointed sergeant June 23d, 1881:, and sent to the Seventh Precinct, where he remained until October 12th, 1885, when he was placed in command of the Sixth Sub-Precinct, where he has since remained. Jacob Morch, a jeweller, had just removed into new quarters. Patrolman Brown was walking along Broad- way one April morning, near Morch's new store, when 292 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. he discovered that something was wrong. Upon investi- gation he found that three thieves had just entered the store by a rear entrance and were working at a safe which contained $70,000 worth of diamonds. When they saw the officer they dropped everything, and made their escape by jumping through the large plate glass show window. He followed, but the thieves got a slight lead on him, and down Broadway they sped like the wind ; but the worthy officer, not to be out-done by any common burglars, succeeded in capturing one, Edward Jacques, alias LeRoy, who turned out to be a notorious burglar, wanted on several charges in the West. He was placed under $1,000 bonds for trial, which he covered with cash and left for parts unknown. He was captured a short time afterwards in Philadelphia and is now serving a term of years in the Eastern Penitentiary in Philadelphia, When the Sergeant first went to the Sixth Sub-Precinct, it was, as before stated, swarming with thieves and desperate characters, but the results of the sergeant's firm hand were soon perceptible. For the first few months the lowest number of arrests in twenty-four houi's was twenty-five, and included prisoners charged with every crime except arson. The arrests now are not much more in a week, despite the rapid growth of population. Full of wit and humor and a gallant officer, withal, is Ser- geant Miles O'Reilly. He is forty-four years of age. He went to the war with the First Long Island Volunteers on June 20th, 1861, and just four years later found himself discharged without having felt the stinging sensation of a ball. During the latter part of his service he was with BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 293 the Third New York Independent Battery. He obtained an appointment on the pohce force April 10th, 1874, and was detailed to patrol duty. On January 1st, 1883, he was made roundsman, and on October 12th, 1885, he donned the uniform of a sergeant. He is as bold as he is handsome and has made many captures of criminals. Sergeant J. Addison Cor win was born in 1842. When war was declared between the North and South he en- listed in the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh New York Volunteers and went to the front. He served three years and although in many battles received no wounds. In 1874 he was appointed on the police force and assigned to patrol duty. He was appointed roundsman July 6th, 1881, and on January 1st, 1883, he was made sergeant. He was one of the principal men who broke up the notorious ''Romer Best Gang," which was comprised of four negroes, one white man and two negresses. They perpetrated daring burglaries and would stop for nothing when once they had planned some robbery. They usually climbed in the second-story window of the dwelHng- house they robbed. The only detective in the Sixth Sub- Precinct is George B. Campbell. He is remarkably sharp and quick to make the best of a slight clue. Among the many arrests he has made are eight which were all connected with the same man, Wolfgang Grouse, who although he has been in Brooklyn but nine years has spent eight of them behind the bars at "Crow Hill". This thief is not satisfied with one good robbery a week, but wants to keep up pilfering in some form con- tinually. He stole the line holding a canal-boat to a dock 294 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. on Newtown Creek one night, and let the boat and all aboard drift oat into the river. The following twelve months he spent at the Penitentiary. Campbell so thoroughly understood the man that the first night Grouse would regain his liberty the detective would go to the thief's house on Montrose avenue, and would catch the reckless freebooter in almost the act of stealing and lodge him in jail again. The two roundsmen at this precinct, who are acting sergeants, are Geo. Hamer and Frank F. Williams. CHAPTER XVL PRECINCTS AND STATION HOUSES. {Continued.) Se\t:nth Precinct.— Station House.— Boundaries.— Captain George R. Rhodes.— A Linguist and an Athlete.— A Schoolmate of Secretary Bayard. — An Efficient Officer. — The Sergeants. — The Roundsmen. — Detective Donlon. Eighth Precinct. — Boundaries. — Station House. — Captain Thomas Murphy.— A Splendid "War Record.— A Member of the Grant Post. — The Sergeants. — Detectives and Roundsmen. Eighth Sub-Precinct. — Station House. — Boundaries. — Commanding Sergeant Kenney. — An Ordnance Boy During the War. — His Progress in Life.— Thieves of Nerve —The Sergeants. — Detectives and Roundsmen. THE SEVENTH PRECINCT. The three-story brick building on the corner of Greenpoint and Manhattan Avenues is given up to the guardians of the peace of the Seventh Precinct ; above the door of the house hangs the well-known police lamp of green glass. The room into which this door leads is used as the ^ ^office/' in which the awe-inspiring sergeant's desk is the most conspicuous object. To the left of the " office," and in full view of the big desk,'' is the cap- tain's private office, neatl}" furnished with a flat writing table, and a library that appears to be well stocked with books of the good old-fashioned size and solidity. In an extension to the side of the main building is located the lock-up, consisting of eight dark and dingy cells. To an ordinary person it would appear that the mere fact of 296 Brooklyn's guardians. having to pass a night in one of these holes in the wall" would be punishment enough, but doubtless Captain Rhodes' visitors" have become so used to them that they seem as comfortable as their own sleeping rooms. The upper part of the extension is given up to two lodging- rooms for men and women respectively. On the second floor of the main building is situated the '^officers' sitting room," the roundsmen's quarters and sleeping apartments for the men; the third floor is used for sleeping accommodations entirely. To the rear of the main building is being erected a new lock-up. The site where this new extension is being put up is where the ^^old Bell Tower" used to stand — a familiar land- mark to the old residents of Greenpoint ; but, alas, the march of improvement goes on and such objects of in- terest as this are doomed to disappear. When this new lock-up is finished the old one will be re-constructed for the use of the patrol wagon which is soon to be added to the Precinct, and other police purposes. The Seventh Precinct extends from the East River along Newtown Creek, to Meeker Avenue to Van Cott, down Van Cott to Driggs Street, to an imaginary line between North Fourteenth Street and North Thirteenth Street, along the line to East River, and along the river front back to Newtown Creek. In one part of this Precinct is situated what is, or was known as ' ' Danger Town," inhabited by the "Far Downs," and was at one time a very rough locality, but since Captain Rhodes iias taken command as guardian of that neighborhood the nightly depredators that had infested the district are heard of no more. Captain George R.Rhodes is a well-preserved man of GEORGE U. IIHODES, Captain. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 299 about three score and two years. In manner he is ex- tremely courteous, yet very reticent regarding himself. He is a fine linguist, having traveled extensively and studied a great deal abroad. Xot\vithstanding his age, until very recently he, in company with one of the in- spectors, used tliree times a week to take great dehght in a pull up Xewtown Creek in a shell. He has also the reputation of being able to put every man in his precinct to blush as far as walking is concerned. He was born February 3, 1825. Secretary of State Bayard was a schoolmate of his. In 1S37, at the age of twelve years, he went to Turkey, where his father was chief naval instructor, having charge of the arsenal. While there he studied and mas- tered the French and Italian languages, and also learned to converse in Turkish. For three years he remained abi'oad, when his father receiving an appointment in his own country, similar to the one he occupied abroad, he returned with him. On December 1, 1857, he was appointed to the Metro- pohtan Police Force. He was assigned to the Second Precinct under Captain King. After a few transferrals he was made sergeant on January 1, 1858, there being no intermediate position of roundsman then. Four years later, on December 31, 1802, while on the Sec- ond Precinct, he was made captain and was given com- mand of the Third Precinct. It was while on the last named Precinct, during the riots of '63, that he proved himself a most efficient officer, rendering great service to the city in preserving order in that dangerous locality of the water front which was in his district. On July l>th, 1809, he was transferred to his present precinct and 300 Brooklyn's guardians. has remained there since. From the time of his appoint- ment, about thirty years ago, he has not been fined one day's pay, charges which have been brought against him never having been sustained. His promotion to a cap- taincy was entirely unlooked for and unsohcited, and can be attributed simply to his excellent record and good con- duct as patrolman and sergeant. Sergeant Samuel Hardy was born on the 10th of Oc- tober, 1844. On June 10th, 1863, he enhstedin the Fifty- second New York State Militia. It was about this time that Stewart's cavalry made a raid on Pennsylvania, and in response to the request by the Governor of that State for troops, young Hardy's regiment was among those sent. His regiment went as far as Antietam, where Lee was defeated. On July 24th, 1863, the thirty days for which his regi- ment had been mustered out having expired, they were ordered home and were honorably discharged. On December 1st, 1886, he was appointed on the old Metro- politan force as patrolman. He was promoted roundsman in September, 1883. On October 10, 1885, a sergeant's shield was the reward of a successful civil service examination. Sergeant Thomas H. Baker was born on the 1st of April, 1850. He was appointed to the pohce force on the 8th of December, 1874. He became roundsman May 11, 1883. On May 23d, 1885, he was promoted to sergeant. While in the Sixth Precinct, about 1875, he had a curious adventure with a man who had become crazed through sickness. He was a basket-maker by trade, and having been sick for a long while had become despondent and attempted suicide in the presence of his wife and child BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 301 by cutting his throat with one of the long iron knives, such as are used by shoemakers. His wife interfered and received a severe cut across the pahii of her hand. His little boy seeing his mother thus cut also attempted to take the knife from his father, and in doing so the knife was drawn through his clenched hand, almost severing some of the digits. By this time the father seemed to understand what he had done, and again attempted his own life, this time by cutting his wrist. Just at this moment Sergeant Baker, at that time patrolman, arrived on the scene, having been informed by some children of what was taking place. Before he had quite arrived at the place of the attempted suicide the now frenzied bas- ket maker heard him coming, and still retaining posses- sion of his murderous weapon attempted to escape by going up through the scuttle to the roof, where he awaited the coming of the officer. He did not have to wait long. Tell-tale blood stains revealed the way of escape and in a few moments the officer was also on the way to the roof. Instinct warned him to be cautious. Placing his cap on the end of his baton he shoved it up through the opening and above the level of the roof. Well for him that he did so. No sooner did the crazy man on the roof espy the hat, than rip, and the blade of the long iron knife came through the top of the hat. The officer then immediately jumped on the roof, but the other had gone. He had jumped down to the roof of the house adjoining, and had gone down through the scuttle into the house, through the house to the street and from there back to his own quarters. The officer followed in the same manner and at last came upon him, standing in the corner of his own room in a defiant attitude, knife in 302 Brooklyn's guardians. hand, ready to strike anyone who would dare to approach him. Approaching him quietly, the ofificer drew his club, and turning the tasselled end towards the man asked him for the use of the knife to cut the tassel off. Strangely enough it was handed him in the most polite manner possible. Of course the man was immediately secured. Sergeant Leonard W. Elliott was born October 17, 1833. He was appointed to the Metropolitan Police Force May 28th, 1864. After nine months of duty as patrolman he was suddenly and unexpectedly promoted Acting Ser- geant by the Commissioners and eight months later he was made Sergeant, in 1866. He is a brother of ex- Judge Elliott, who was also at one time County Clerk. He has a very interesting book which he posts up from the Station House Criminal Record. It is a sort of private ledger in which he has classified all sorts of statistics concerning the officers, men and criminals with whom he has come in contact in the various precincts to which he has been attached. Sergeant Robert W. Reid was born on June 5th, 1840. He was appointed to the Police Force December 28th, 1866. On August 20th, 18Y3, he was made sergeant in his present Precinct, there being no roundsman attached to it at that time. He has been Sergeant in the Precinct about fourteen years, has an excellent record and is thoroughly respected by his men. The roundsmen attached to the Seventh Precinct are Allen R. Knapp and Samuel Stillwaggen. Both are excellent officers and have splendid records for long service. The Seventh Precinct has but one detective — Stephen BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 303 A. Donlon. Before his assumption of detective duties he was keeper of the Kings County Penitentiary, in which position he gained a personal knowledge of crim- inals now very valuable to him. THE EIGHTH PRECINCT. The city line forms the eastern boundary of the Eighth Precinct, and Gowanus canal faces it on the west ; on the north side is Third Street, and Twenty -fifth Street runs along its southern side. The Station-house is lo- cated on the corner of Fifth avenue and Sixteenth street, and is an imposing three-story structure of Philadelphia brick, and makes the small modest dwellings, with which that portion of the city is thickly strewn, look strikingly dull and unpretentious by comparison. It was put U23 in 1873 and is considered one of the most perfect precinct station-houses in the city. Off the main building, w4th which it is connected by a narrow wooden passage-way, is a brick extension one story in height, the ground floor of which is laid out in prison cells which, owing to Captain Murphy's efforts in ridding the neighborhood of criminal classes, are seldom occupied. Two lodging-rooms for men and women re- spectively occupy the south side of the extension and both buildings are heated by a large automatic furnace in the cellar. This means of heating station-houses is a decided improvement on the former old-fashioned system of bulging stone-bellied stoves which only heated the one apartment in which they were placed and now the unfortunates who seek the shelter of the Eighth Pre- cinct lodging-rooms are as comfortably protected from the cold of winter as the captain and officers. When the pressure of steam in this furnace is up to the limit, 304 Brooklyn's guardians. a valve opens automatically and relieves the boiler of its superfluity of material. Consequently it requires but little attention, and performs its duties so admirably that doubtless ere long it will be in general use in all the Brooklyn station-houses. To the left of the railed desk is the captain's room, handsomely furnished with Brussels carpet and richly upholstered chairs and ottomans. A large and hand- somely carved cylinder desk attracts the eye of visitors, and with the massive captain in the cushioned chair in front the scene inspires awe and respect from the most toughened criminal. Opposite the captain's office is the sergeants' reading room and sleeping apartments, and at the rear of the main building on the ground floor is the men's reading room, which might also be termed a model gymnasium, as it contains a fine collection of In- dian clubs, dumb-bells and other articles of athletic culture. The officers' sleeping rooms occupy the third floor, where accommodations for eighty men, if necessary, can be found. The ^' Eighth" is one of the largest Precincts in the city, and possibly should number more officers on its roll book. Tiie small force of forty, however, covers the boundaries to the satisfaction of the Department and the residents, and no increase will probably be made in the Precinct for the present. In the neighborhood of the station-house buildings are rapidly going up, and Italians and Poles are immigrating to that portion of the city in large numbers, so that the small force is obliged to be wide awake, particularly on the midnight tours. Captain Thomas Murphy, the master of the Eighth Precinct, was born July l>th, 1 844. THOMAS MURPHY, Captain. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 307 On December 23d, 186 7, he was appointed patrolman in the Fourth Precinct and in 1870 was made roundsman. In 1873 he was assigned to the detective force, and was given a sergeantcy in 1878 and transferred to the Twelfth Precinct. From there he was promoted to captain and assigned to the Eighth Precinct. Captain ]\Iurphy's career is a striking illustration of the fact that circumstances taken advantage . of in time often make the man. The following instance will serve to make this plain : While a detective in the Xinth Sub-Precinct in August, 1878, on one of his tours of inspection he noticed a party of pretty wonnni and well-dressed men playing croquet on the lawn in front of a large residence on the corner of Patchen Avenue and Jefferson Street. Passing and re-passing the dwel- ling daily, he had noticed that this house had not been occupied for some months, and consequently, noticing a party on the lawn on the day in question, he wondered who his new neighbors could be. Coming closer he remarked that the women were particularly pretty and expensively dressed, while tAvo gentlemen were corre- spondingly attractive. Although he imagined something familiar in the countenance of the men, he gave it only a passing tliought, and at the first opportunity saw in the Brooklyn Directory that Wilham Black, a broker, was the new occupant of the house shortly afterwards. One day. in AVilliamsbm'g, he saw one of the men com- ing out of a hardware store, and as he passed close to him, the thought suddenly flashed through his mind that the individual was "Billy Porter," the notorious bank burglar ; his partial indentification of a few days before was now accounted for, and entering the store 308 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. the burglar had just left he discovered that Porter had purchased a sledge hammer. Detective Murphy's course of action was at once formed, and after following the burglar to his palatial house he consulted his cap- tain and was directed to give his whole attention for the time being to the Thieves' Nest." From a small church opposite the house Murphy saw Shang" Draper, once the king of New York panel thieves ; Johnnie" Irving, of Nathan murder fame ; Porter and one other leave the dwelling about five o'clock in the morning. His worst suspicions were at once confirmed, and satisfied that he had to deal with at least three of the most desperate criminals in the United States, he obtained assistance and raided the house. Possibly this was one of the most important events in the police annals of the city, and short- ly after a sergeant's badge replaced the shield on Murphy's left breast. His remarkable courage and daring in enter- ing the house through a window, unaccompanied, there- by placing himself at the mercy of the three acknowl- edged most desperate men among the criminal classes, won the admiration and respect of the whole department. He says, in recounting this experience, that a gambler would not have taken odds of one hundred to one on his life as he vaulted in at the second story window and found three men seated at a table on which was a large sura of silver, the proceeds of the robbery of Ibert's feed store on Graham Avenue, and three silver guns of the English bull dog pattern. The dwelling was furnished magnificently, and the intelligent and pretty woman who formed the remainder of the household, was un- consciously awakened and fought desperately against the intrusion. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 309 While ill Raymond Street Jail, Porter and Irving escaped, but were subsequently captured in Philadelphia and sentenced to five years each in the Penitentiary. Draper was taken to Northampton, Massachusetts, for participation in the Northampton Bank robbery, but made restitution of some of the stolen bonds and thereby escaped punishment. He is now the proprietor of a sporting house on Sixth Avenue, New York. Irving was killed by a companion m a New York drinking place some years ago, and another of the gang, Gilbert, died in prison recently. Porter, we believe, is still alive. In his general order, Number 124, August, 1878, In- spector G. A. Waddy, then Acting Superintendent of police, says: "At a meeting of the Board of Police held on the thirteenth instant, the following preamble and resolutions were adopted : "Whereas there was effected on the morning of the eleventh instant by Sergeant James Dunn and Detective Thomas Murphy, of the Ninth Sub-Precinct, a highly important arrest of four desperate and expert burg- lars, whose depredations upon property have been as large as the means they employed were successful and ingenious, and ' ' Whereas the board feels it to be less a duty than a pleasure to reward this intelligent and successful piece of detective work ^vith the expression of its approbation, therefore, "Resolved, that the arrest by Sergeant James Dunn, commanding the Ninth Sub-Precinct, and Detective Thomas Murphy, of the same Precinct, of the four expert burglars is what may well serve as a model for the 310 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. intelligent and quick working up of slight clews, and goes far to reflect credit upon the police force of this city. ' ' Eesolved, that the officers who participated in this ar- rest are deserving of the highest credit, and especially are the thanks of the board due to Detective Murphy for the intelligence and good judgment displayed by him in this case, making a record for himself of which he may well be proud, and which places him in a most favorable situation among officers deserving of promotion. " Captain Murphy has a war record of which he can be justly proud. He joined the army as private in the Thirty-seventh Infantry on the 2nd of August, 1861, under Col. McCan. On October 2, 1861, he was taken prisoner with eight others at Munson Hill, Virginia, during a skirmish with the picket lines, where he was wounded in the neck. From there he was taken to Eichmond, and as there was no exchange of prisoners at that time was pardoned on March 17, 1862, and came to Washington, where he was mustered out under Genoral Wadsworth, from which regiment he was discharged in 1862. Some time afterward prisoners were exchanged ; he then raised a company with himself as lieutenant, and at the battle of Fredericksburg, August 12, 1862, his force was so reduced that it was consolidated with the Seventy-third New York, then called the Second Zouaves. By reason of this consolidation, all the officers' positions being occupied, he was mustered out and returned home. He is now a prominent member of Grand Army Post, No. 327, which is now called the Grant Post. Sergeant John Graham was born in 1839. He was appointed on the police force as patrolman on November ^ BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ?>1 I 15, 1867. Some years later he was appointed roundsman and in 1873 was promoted Sergeant. He is considered by his associates a superb officer. Sergeant Lefferts W. Lloyd was bom July 6th, 1840. He was appointed as patrolman May 13th, 1867, in the First Precinct, New York, where he distinguished himself by saving a number of lives from drowning. On April 17, 1868, he was transferred to the Forty-third Precinct, Brooklyn, where the Board of Police recommended his promotion to roundsman, and on June 12, 1872, he was transferred to the Eighth Precinct and promoted to ser- geant. Sergeant Dennis Driscoll was born August 9th, 1817. In 1871 he was appointed patrolman, which position he filled until March 23d, 1871, when he was appointed roundsman, and had accredited himself so well that on August 1st, 1872, he was promoted to the sergeant's desk, which position he now holds, and is a good example for the men under him to imitate. Sergeant Elias P. Clayton was born April 22d, 1850. He was appointed on the force as patrolman April 7th, 1874, and became a roundsman May 23, 1885. On Jan- uary 3d, 1886, he rose to the rank of sergeant and has acquitted himself in that position to the complete satis- faction of his superior officers. The roundsmen of the Eighth Precinct are James Doyle and David Kogers. The detectives are George E. Stallsworthy and James Lenehan, both capable and zealous officers. THE EIGHTH SUB- PRECINCT, An ordinary three-story building on Third Avenue, near 312 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. the corner of Thirty-fifth Street, shelters the men of the Eighth Suh-Precinct. It has the regulation lamp on the outside, and is huilt of brick. Evidently it was in- tended for a store with flat apartments above. Three pairs of large plate glass doors open into a large well- ventilated office, furnished as most such offices are. To the rear of the office another large airy room is devoted to the use of the Captain as a sitting-room. The floors above are devoted to the sleeping apartments of the men, and it having been built and intended to be used as flats, is divided into two sides, one of which is occupied by the first and the other by the second platoon. There are three dressing rooms and one bath-room on the upper floors, allowing plenty of space for the men to perform their ablutions. All the rooms are large, airy and clean, and are not at all crowded. The sergeants and rounds- men have all got separate sleeping apartments. To the rear of the house is the lock-up, a small one-story brick building. Inside of it, and unlike all other lock-ups, a large iron cage, divided off into three apartments, makes four large clean cells armed with grated iron doors, fitted with Yale locks. Owing to the efficiency of the Commanding-Sergeant and his officers, however, it is seldom filled, evil-doers giving the Eighth Sub " a wide berth. The Precinct covers a large and lonesome area and is bounded by Twenty-fifth Street running northeast to Fifth Avenue, by Fifth Avenue running south to Thirty-sixth Street, by Thirty-sixth Street running east to Seventh Avenue, by Seventh Avenue running south to the Brooklyn, Bath & Coney Island Eailroad, by that line running east as far as the old toll gate at the beginning of the City line dividing New Utrecht from Brooklyn, by Brooklyn's guardiaxs. 313 the City line running south to Sixtieth Street, by Sixtieth Street running west to New York Bay, and on the weet by New York Bay from Sixtieth Street to Twenty-fifth Street. Commanding-Sergeant James Kenney was born on April 5, ISttl. He is a tall, well-proportioned man, giving one an idea of immense muscular force. He is reticent in manner, but evidently a man of action. Just prior to the Civil War he held a position in the Ordnance De- partment on Governor's Island, where he was during the entire war. On August 15, 1865, he was appointed to the Atlantic Dock Police Squad, at that time considered special officers. June 12, 1866, he was appointed to the Metropolitan Police Force ; and a few years later he was made roundsman, and was sent to the Forty -third Sub, now the Eleventh Precinct. November 10, 1870, he was appointed sergeant in the same Precinct. He remained on that Precinct a little over twenty years, but on the 8th of January, 1867, he left and was given the command of the Eighth Sub-Precinct. While roundsman on the Forty-third Sub he made a very jjlucky arrest. A burglary had been committed on Car- roll Street. Certain parties were suspected and one evening he attemiited to arrest them in a flock. They tried to escape him by jumping into a boat ; he also jumped into it and was thrown overboard by them. Swimming ashore, he succeeded in getting another boat and chased them as far as Thirty- ninth Street and Fifth Avenue, where he captured them. Another good capture, this time in company with Inspector Eeilly, was the ar- rest of a gang of thieves for stealing a canal boat of grain from New York. They had towed it from the 314 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. East Eiver to the Erie Basin, having hired trucks to cart the grain, and were engaged in unloading when an offi- cer appeared. As it was rather late for a canal boat to discharge her cargo he spoke to one of the men, who did not answer satisfactorily, but seemed to be rather confused. He reported the circumstances at the station- house, and Sergeant Kenney in company with the pres- ent Inspector Eeilly went down to investigate. Arriving at the place they soon discerned that things were not as they should be and arrested five of the men, three being sent to the Penitentiary. There were over eight thousand bushels of grain in the boat and not one was found missing. It had been the intention of the men to scuttle and sink the boat afterwards, thus destroying all evidence of the theft, and it no doubt would have remained a great mystery where it had disappeared to. One of the men who were arrested, named McCuUough, afterwards es- caped, assaulting and nearly murdering the keeper at Auburn in his efforts to do so. The sergeant has also rendered valuable service to the city in considerably toning down the character of the suburban picnics held within his Precinct by roughs from all parts of the city. Sergeant Lawrence J. Murphy was born June 4, 1850. On April 28, 1881, he was appointed to the police force as patrolman. On July 15, 1885, he was made rounds- man, and on January 8, 1887, he was made sergeant- and assigned to the Eighth Sub-Precinct. Sergeant John Morrell was born October 4th 1840. In 1862 he enhsted in the Fourteenth Regiment of Brooklyn, and served for three years. He lirst smelt powder at JAMES KENNEY, Captain. I BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 317 Bull Run and was engaged in many subsequent battles ; being wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, he was sent home. Upon his recovery his old life of excitement in- duced him to join the Police Force, and on September 12th, 1860, he was appointed patrolman. He was pro- moted roundsman in 1872, and in 1873, one year later, the much coveted sergeant's badge was se- cured . Detective James Devoy was born on May 9, 185G. On October 14, 1872, he was appointed to the force, and for a time maintained order in Judge Massey's court. On January Gth, 1887, he was appointed detective and was assigned to the Eighth Sub-Precinct. He is probably the youngest detective on the force and has an excellent record, never having been fined a day's pay. Detective Peter McCormack was born February 29, 1848. He was appointed on January 1, 1876, to the Police Force. He was made detective on January 6, 1887, and sent to the Eighth Sub-Precinct; he has remained there since. He is a good deal of a humorist, and sees and enjoys the fun of daily life. He illustrates the enforcement of the excise law in the following good anecdote : ^ ^ One of our police officers in plain clothes went into a chemist's shop on Fulton Street, and winked knowingly at the assistant behind the counter. ' Give me a glass of soda water,' said he, ' and pour some out of that black bottle into it. ' ' This one V said the assistant, lifting a likely looking bottle in his hand, '''Yes,' said the disguised poUce officer. A liberal 318 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. quantity of amber-colored fluid was added to the soda water and five cents change returned. In another instant the mixture had been swallowed. It gave rise to alarming symptoms of apoplexy. ' Thunder ! What the mischief sort of poison is that V asked the officer, when he recovered his voice. ' Why, that is our patent anti - cholera mixture. It prevents sunstroke in warm weather and passes for whiskey by detectives on Sunday. ' " The roundsmen attached to the Eighth Sub-Precinct are Bernard Cole and Patrick Summers. Both are good officers and have earned excellent reputations. Note. — Since the preceding chapter was written the Eighth Sub-Precinct has been erected into a full pre- cinct, under the title of the Eighteenth; and at the same time James Kenney w^as promoted from his former posi- tion of Commanding-Sergeant to that of Captain of the new precinct. This well-earned promotion gives great satisfaction to all the new Captain's friends. CHAPTER XVIL PRECINCTS AND STATION HOUSES. {Continued.) Ninth Precinct.— Station-house. — A Model Building. — Boundaries. — Captain James Ennis. — Raiding a Gambling Den. — Sergeant Rogers. — A War Veteran. — Sergeants Lattey, Wilson and Stacom. — The Roundsmen and Detectives. Tenth Precinct. — Station house. — Mounted Squad Quarters. — Boundaries.— Captain Henry L. Jewett.— A Gentleman and A Scholar.— His Wonderful Dog Minnie.— Sergeant Johnson.— Sergeants Metcalf and Moro. — Two War Veterans. — Ser- geants Harold and Lamb. — Roundsmen and Detectives. — Gam- blers' Superstition. THE NINTH PRECINCT. Xear the corner of Gates and Marcy Avenues, on the North side of Gates, stands a pretentious three-story modern building of Philadelphia pressed brick, painted white, with dark red blinds and brown-stone trimmings. It stands almost in the center of a plot of ground about fifty by one hundred feet and faces the south. On the one side and to the west a beautifully laid out and care- fully kept parterre runs through to the end of the plot of ground. The flower beds on either side of the gar- den are filled with all kinds of flowers in bloom, and run parallel with a sidewalk as far back as the fences of the gardens belonging to the houses in the rear will admit. To the east of the building a wide alley -way runs the en- tire length of the building and is terminated by the aforesaid fences. The appearance of the building is in- dicative of what it really is, and were there any doubts 320 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. as to what it was the green lamp in front would immedi- ately dispel them. ' Precinct Station-house" is as clearly written on it as though painted in flaring red letters. Such it is. It is the Ninth Precinct Station-house, over which Captain Ennis reigns. It was built in 1864. Entering it by a large wide entrance in the center of the building, one finds himself in a large, well-lighted and cleanly kept office. It is furnished with the usual sta- tion office desk, regulation railing around it, and behind it the telegraphic and telephonic apparatus common to all station-houses. On the walls large bulletin boards, j)lacarded with bills offering rewards for arrests, identifi- cations, etc., are hung, which bills being pasted on re- gardless of the beauty of geometrical exactness, and dis- playing all degrees of crookedness, on which latter charge they should be locked up (in a drawer, not lock-up), seem hardly in keeping with the general neatness of the sur- roundings. To the r^ar, and to the left looking rearward, is the Captain's private office and bedroom com- bined. It is a small room, sub-divided by a half arch, and beautifully papered and frescoed. It is wainscotted throughout with hard-wood and is furnished in wood of the same color, with red leather upholstering, making it appear large and refined. Just to the rear of it, but not connected, is the bathroom. Running water is in every room of the house. To the left of the central hallway is the sergeants' smoking and waiting room, a small and rather comfortless apartment furnished with a ward- robe and a few chairs. To the rear of it is an unused room, mth accommodations for about five. The floor above is devoted to the common sitting room of the men and various sleeping apartments, among them those of BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 321 the roundsmen and sergeants, which latter is divided into two compartments by means of a wooden partition. The third floor is devoted to the same purpose, that of sleej)ing apartments, and above it is the roof, on which is a large cupola. The drying room is in the sub-ceUar, where the heating apparatus, a patent steam heating furnace, is situated. To the rear of the house is a two- story brick structure, and although built separately and apart from the main building it is so housed in and con- nected with it that it appears to be one and the same house. In this is the lock-up, which contains ten cells, five on each side and all on the ground floor facing east and west respectively. Above the cells on the floor above are the two lodging rooms, one for ladies and the other for the masculine genus tramp. The alley on the right hand side of the house is shortly to be mdened to make room for a patrol wagon, which is soon to be placed at the dis- posal of the Precinct. The building on the whole is con- sidered to be next to the finest police station in Brookl}Ti. The Precinct, which is a large one, is bounded on the east by Stuyvesant Avenue, commencing at Myrtle and running southwesterly to McDonough Street ; on the south by McDonough Street and Fulton Avenue, running in a westerly direction to Franklin Avenue ; on the west by Franklin Avenue, running north to Myrtle Ave- nue and on the north by Myrtle Avenue to Stuyvesant Avenue, which is the point of beginning of the western boundary. It is a large and but sparsely settled district, but omng to the intense vigilance of its police and their officers it has been pretty well kept free -of aU kinds of obnoxious characters. Captain James Ennis was born on the 1st of March, 322 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 1847. He is a tall, dark-complexioned man of martial bearing. On August 8th, I S TO, he was appointed patrolman and assigned to the Sixth Precinct. On November l7th, 1875, he was made detective. In this capacity he served until March, 1884, when he was transferred to the Thirteenth Precinct. On January 5th, 1887, he passed the civil service examination for the captaincy, and passed with next to the best examination. He was ap- pointed Captain and assigned to the Ninth Precinct. He had not long been detective when he made a name for himself by raiding a gambling den in Pierrepont Street near Fulton. He approached the place about nine o'clock at night, forced the door and held it open until assistance arrived, notwithstanding the attempts of the inmates to escape. He also brought to justice the no- torious William O'Dell, who in 1881 murdered a man in Green Street, New York. He also arrested Billy, alias '^'Buck" Gray, a desper- ate burglar, who swore he would have the Captain's life, and while being tried in Judge Massey's Court attempt- ed to put his threat into execution. Sergeant George W. Eogers was born in 1828. He joined the force in 1851 and served with credit, earning several promotions, until the breaking out of the war, when he resigned and set about raising a company for immediate service. In eleven days he had recruited one hundred and twenty-five men for the service, and went with them to the front of the conflict as captain of Com- pan}^ A, One Hundred and Seventy -third Regiment, New York Volunteers. For gallant conduct Captain Rogers was made a ma- JAMES ENNIS, Captain. BROOKLYN S GUARDIANS. 325 jor, and subsequently breveted lieutenant colonel. He commanded the regiment from this time until just prior to General Lee's surrender, and was himself mustered out of service on the 30th of October, 1865. The following year he again joined the police force and was assigned to the command of the Central Office Squad. In 1882 Sergeant Rogers was transferred to the Xinth Precinct, where he has remained since. He has a good reputation as a pohce officer and has effected many important arrests. Sergeant Richard Lattey was born in 1822. He served from 1850 to 1852 on the New York City Police Force with credit, and in the latter year came to Brooklyn. In 1802 he was assigned to the Seventh Precinct, and in 1869 was transferred to the Ninth, of which he v/as act- ing captain prior to Captain Ennis' appointment. His record is an admirable one. Sergeant William A. Xelson was born on July 25, 1837. On February 1, 1868, he was appointed patrolman ; on August 29, 1870, he was made roundsman, and on Sep- tember 19, 1879, he was promoted sergeant. After nu- merous transfers he was assigned to the Ninth Pre- cinct on July 16, 1880, where he has remained since. He has been in all the riots which have taken place during the last nineteen years, among them those of the car- drivers, longshoremen etc., and has or many occasions distinguished himself. Sergeant Francis Stacom was born in the year 1846. He was appointed as patrolman in 1876. On June 23d, 1880, he was made roundsman ; he was again promoted, this time to the sergeantcy, on June 8, 1887. He is held in high esteem by all his men. 326, BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. The roundsmen of the Ninth Precinct are Alexander J. Lees and Isaac S. Tichenor. The detective of this Precinct is Charles Hayes, his companion, Detective Kelly, having recently died. THE TENTH PRECINCT. On the northwest corner of Bergen Street and Sixth Avenue the Tenth Precinct Station-house is situated. It is a large red brick structure, trimmed with white stone, of imposing appearance and of modern build. Both the Mounted Squad and its commanding sergeant, and the foot squad and officers, find shelter within it and still have room to spare. It is the largest by far of any station-house in the city and resembles a public building more than do any of the others. Its interior is fitted in keeping with its exterior appearance. On the ground floor is the general office, Captain's private rooms, also the bed-room of the commanding sergeant of the Mounted Squad as well as the sergeants' rooms. The floors above are used mainly for sleeping apartments. In the rear of the building is the lock-up. It contains the usual number of ceUs and the lodge rooms above. To the side of the building is the stable for the horses of the Mounted Squad, in which everything is as clean and neat as in a dwelling for human beings. The Precinct is bounded by Franklin Avenue to the City Line, by the City Line to Flatbush Avenue, by Flat- bush Avenue to Ninth Avenue, by Ninth Avenue to Third Street and by Third Street to Gowanus Canal, by the Canal to Butler Street, by Butler to Morris, by Morris to Fulton and by Fulton Street to Franklin Avenue at the point or place of beginning. Brooklyn's guardians. 327 Captain Henry L. Jewett was bom in 1S4:3. His edu- cation he received at an academy in this State. On April 18, 1861, at the early age of eighteen, he responded to his country's call for troops by enlisting in the Third New York Infantry, and served nearly four years. He was engaged in the Battle of Big Bethel, went through the Wilderness, and during the years 1864 and 1865 was under Grant in the many engagements that took place during that time. In 1873 he was made drill captain at Headquarters and from 1882 to 1883 had charge of the Detective Squad, being Inspector. 188-1 saw him appointed to the com- mand of the Tenth Precinct, where he has since re- mained. Personally, Captain Jewett is a prepossessing gentleman about six feet in height, rather slenderly built, wears a light mustache and has a refined counte- nance. His reputation as an officer has always been ex- cellent and he is greatly esteemed by all his men. Not only is the Captain an admirable police officer, but also a finely accomplished gentleman, with an enthusiastic appreciation of literature and the fine arts. He has trav- elled much abroad and is a good linguist. The Captain shines in a social gathering, where his conversational powers and refined wit make him the most agreeable of companions. Nothing better illustrates the kindliness of his character than his fondness for dumb animals. His favorite Newfoundland dog, Minnie, lives with him at the Station-house and is a four-footed celebrity. She does the honors for the members, and has quite an extensive acquaintance among the residents of the " City of Churches." Minnie has quite a history, and if she were able to relate all she has seen and heard while 328 Brooklyn's guardians. attached to the Tenth " she would doubtless tell a mar- vellous tale. Minnie was ever an intelligent and observing dog, and has always taken a keen interest in the prisoners cap- tured by her more fortunate brother officers. When any of the officers bring in a prisoner Minnie stands atten- tively listening to the sergeant in command taking the prisoner's pedigree, and when the sergeant orders the of- ficer to conduct the prisoner to the cellar Minnie follows at his heels, and does not take her eyes off the culprit until he is safely lodged behind bolts and bars. It is re- lated that at one time a prisoner appearing before the rail suddenly made a dash for liberty, whereupon Min- nie, who had been quietly watching what was going on, sprang after the escaping criminal and laid such tight hold on the rear of the fellow's trousers that he was only too glad to be released from his dangerous predica- ment, and quietly followed the officer to his cell. To Captain Jewett's friends Minnie is very sociable, but with the prisoners who are brought in she is very sus- picious and always on her guard. Minnie " joined the force " when quite a puppy and during her long term of service has learned many tricks. At the command of Captain Jewett she will march into the captain's office, and taking his hat down from its place on the wall, proudly march out with it in her mouth and give it to her commander. One of Minnie's favorite pastimes is appearing at roll call, and she always closes the proceedings with a famt bark to let the sergeant know that^ she is present. Minnie knows how to laugh with almost human jollity and hugely enjoys the operation. She prefers, however. IIEXRY L. JEWETT, Captain. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 331 to laugh alone, and if any stranger essays to join her, her mirth changes suddenly to wrath, and a deafening and discordant bark terminates the fun. Her only duty now consists in going after the evening paper, and no sooner does the newspaper wagon turn the corner than Minnie is aware of the fact and immediately runs out to meet it ; the paper is put in her mouth, and she marches back to the station-house and places her paper on the Captain's desk. Sergeant John H. Johnson was born in 1844. At the age of seventeen he left school in answer to his country's call, and served as scout through the entire war under Generals Custer and Sheridan. On September 19, 1864, at the battle of Winchester, he was wounded in the chest. On December 21, 1865, he was appointed patrol- man. In 1868 he became a roundsman, and on April 23, 1875, he was promoted Commanding Sergeant, upon the organization of the Mounted Squad, the duties of which are described in Chapter XI. Personally the sergeant is a tall, handsome, courteous gentleman, and when seated on his dark bay horse Pasha" at the head of his command, in his neat and well-fitting uniform, looks every inch the gentleman, soldier and policeman that he is. Sergeant Henry Metcalf was born in 1843. At the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted, on May 1st, 1861, in the Sixty-Seventh New York, called the First Long Island, and served with distinction till the close of the war. On October 29th, 1866, he was appointed as patrolman. In 1869 he was promoted roundsman and in 1876 he be- came a sergeant. His record is of the best. 332 Brooklyn's guardians. Sergeant John Moro is fifty-eight years old, and is also an old soldier who served through the entire war and when mustered out held a cajitain's commission. He then, in 1866, became a patrolman and in 1881 was pro^ moted roundsman. He rose to the sergeantcy in 1885. During his long years of service he has always displayed unusual courage and intelligence. Sergeant Thomas Harold was born in 1826, and re- ceived his appointment as patrolman in 1851. He be- came a roundsman in 1879 and a sergeant in 1882. He is a good and popular officer. Sergeant James W. Lamb was born in 1844. He entered the force as a patrolman in 1867 and in 1870 rose to the position of sergeant. He is much esteemed by his associates. The roundsmen of the Tenth Precinct are John Dow- ner and Christopher J. Doyle. The detectives attached to the Tenth are James Gr. Eeynolds and Bartholomew Curran, both of whom have earned their rank by meritorious service. Detective Curran has a clear knowledge of life in the great cities. He has a keen eye for odd events and notices things that are seen, but not recognized, by everybody else. An ex- ample of this faculty is afforded by his remarks on beg- gars and gambling : ' ' There are not half as many beggars in town as there used to be in the old days when gambling was carried on in the city. At first sight it would seem that there was no connection between the high-rollers of the farcT- table and the tramp or beggar who ^ braces ' you for a dime on the street corner. And yet as a matter of fact half the beggars in the world live on gamblers, and BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 333 when you drive out the gamblers the beggars are bound to go. In the first place the gamblers are a superstitious lot, and they always try to court fortune by giving freely to beggars. Then, again, the gamblers always live in accord with the old maxim, ' Easy come, easy go, ' and they are never slow to chip in to a needy man's pocket instead of a faro lay-out or a jack-pot. When Superin- tendent Campbell began his w^ar on gamblers most of them thought they could continue if they only changed to some other locality. But we were on their new lay, and w^ere kept on the go all the time, running them down to see w-here they had set up new quarters. We frequently discovered their new homes by keeping an eye on the beggars. You see the gamblers not only tolerate beggars, but they actually encourage them to come around o'nights for half a dollar. When w^e drove the banks out of a house the proprie- tors would frequently give the beggars a tip as to w^here the lay-out would next be ready for business. Their customers w^ould not play high if they did not have a chance to give a half a dollar to a beggar before beginn- ing to buck the tiger. The beggars never step inside and try their luck. Not much ! No gambler would ever play against a recognized beggar. It is not because the knight of the cloth is proud, but simply because he is afraid of ill luck. I assisted in a raid once, and while I Avas watching a game before the time came to gobble up the lay-out, I saw one of the principal men abruptly lay down his chips and walk out of the room. I thought the fellow was going to cut and run and followed him. He Avalked down stairs and out of the house. There were two beggars on the sidewalk. He gave a half dol- 334 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. lar to each and quickly walked back to his game. He had had a streak of bad luck and was trying to brighten up his prospects by buying up the good will of two beggars. He really was winning before my associates arrived, when we scooped the whole estabhshment." CHAPTER XVIIL PRECINCTS AND STATION HOUSES. {Continued.) Eleventh Precinct.— Station-house. — Boundaries.— Captain Dan- iel J. LowERY. — His Police Record. — A Civil Service Gradu- ate. — Sergeants Slattery and White.— Sergeant Evans.— A Type of the Soldiek. — Sergeant Gill.— Life in a Police Station. — Practical Jokes. — Roundsmen and Detectives. Twelfth Precinct.— Station-house. — Boundaries. — Captain Will- iam H. Folk.— An Able Detective.— How He Captured a Thief.- Sergeant Gans. — Once a Drummer Boy. — A Fight for Life. — Sergeant Sheridan. — Sergeant Nelsen. — Another Drooier Boy.— Sergeant Gregory, — Roundsmen and Detec TIVES. THE ELEVENTH PRECINCT. fN the center of the manufacturing district of South Brooklyn, on the corner of Van Brunt and Seabring Streets, stands a four-story brick dweUing-house \vhich was a tenement house, but since April 19, IS 76, has been the headquarters of the Eleventh Precinct. Off one side of the general office is the Captain's private office — a cosy little apartment, to the right of which is the ser- geant's office, where the Precinct album is kept, contain- ing the photographs of all the noted criminals brought to justice through the efforts of the officers of this Precinct. The second floor is given up for a sitting-room for the men, with an old fashioned stove in the centre, around which the old timers " gather in the long winter even- ings, regaling their younger brother officers with stories 336 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. of their experience while patrohng the river front. The Captain's sleeping apartments, a marvel of neatness, occupy the front room on this floor. The third floor is fixed up with sleeping accommodations for the men. Eight large cells occupy the ground floor of an exten- sion connected with the main huilding by a covered passageway. The top floor of this extension is separated into two lodging rooms for men and women respectively. Like the Fifteenth Precinct the Station-house is entirely inadequate to accommodate the oflicers and men. Some time since the Board of Aldermen passed resolutions au- thorizing the purchase of a part of Grand or Hamilton Avenue, near Graham, for the erection of a new station, but the measure was vetoed by Mayor Low on account of the high price asked for the land and its proximity to the Fifteenth Precinct, notwithstanding which the officers are in hopes of occupying more com .lodious quarters in the near future. This Precinct is bounded by Sackett Street and Fourth Place on the north, Gowanus Canal on the west, and on the south and east by the East Eiver. The neigh- borhood abounds with all classes of the rough element, and the forty jjatrolmen are compelled to be constantly on the watch for river thieves and roughs assaulting the sailors returning to their vessels in the early morning hours after a night spent in New York. Most of the arrests in this Precinct are for intoxication, assaults, burglaries committed on vessels up at the store houses on the water front and for the carrying of con- cealed weapons l)y the floating population of foreign sailors. Captain Daniel J. Lowery was born in 1846. DANIEL J. LOWERY, Captain. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ?)?)0 On October ()th, IS 74:, he was appointed as patrolman and assigned to the Fourth Precinct, where he remained until 1878, when he was transferred to the First Precinct. On May !^3d, 188-1:, he was promoted to roundsman and assigned to the Sixth Sub, now the Fifteenth Precinct, where he remained until July 15th, 1885, when he was promoted Sergeant and assigned to the Sixteenth Pre- cinct in Clymer Street, E. D. From there he was trans- ferred, July, 1886, to the First Precinct where he remained until Jan. 5th, 1887, when he was promoted captain and sent to take command of the Eleventh Precinct. Captain Lowery is the only captain on the force who owes his promotion from patrolman up to captain to the Civil Service Commission. Sergeant Patrick Slattery was born in 1847. On May 13, 1869, he was appointed a patrolman and in 1872 he be- came a roundsman. On September 4, 1875, he was as- signed to the Eleventh Precinct as sergeant. Many notable arrests have been made by Sergeant Slattery, and he has justly earned his excellent reputa- tion. Sergeant James P. White was born February 25, 1S58. On January 5, 1876, he was appointed patrolman, and in 1884 was made roundsman. He rose to the rank of Sergeant in January of this year (1887) and continues to be the same energetic, hard- working officer that his associates have always known. Sergeant James Evans was born in 1S40. At the age of twenty-one he enlisted in the Forty-fourth New York, known as the Ellsworth Avengers. Throughout the entire v/ar he served with brilliant courage. Twice wounded and once a prisoner in Libby, 340 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. recovery of health or freedom always saw him again in the field, and he did not lay down arms till the war was ended. He is a splendid type of the rank and file of the Northern troops. Entering police life shortly after his discharge, he served as a patrolman till 1883, when he became a roundsman, and in September, 1886, he was promoted to the sergeantcy and was assigned to the Eleventh Precinct, where he has remained since. Sergeant Timothy Gill was born in 1843. On January 28, 1870, he was appointed a patrolman, and in 1874, four years later, was made roundsman, which position he held for one year only, when he was made sergeant. From the time of his appointment to the present day he has remained in this Precinct and bears an excellent rep- utation. Sergeant Gill gives a pleasant version of one side of police life which is unknown to the public. Life in a Police Station-house is in many cases away ahead of that in a boarding school. ^ Boys will be boys ' is a very true saying, but in after years, when tne youth grows to a man and joins the police force, there is a good quantity of his old frisky nature stowed away in some remote corner of his system, which, although seemingly dead, will assert itself with but a small amount of coaxing. ''To see a policeman on post, majestically passing in front of some alderman's place of business, the casual observer might be led to think he never smiled or en- ^ joyed a bit of fun. That thought would be a great in- justice to the noble policeman. When he enters the station-house and salutes the sergeant at the desk lie be- comes another man altogether. On reaching the stairs BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 341 leading to the sleeping apartment he bounds up two steps at a time, and with his club and belt in his hand howls out ' hello boys I ' If the hour be midnight or thereabouts, he sounds his approach just as loudly. Within the r< tom the officers are sleeping on their little beds, some soundly, others dozing, with now and then a couple or three dreaming of some terrible crime. ^^If Oliver Optic or the author of Jack Harkaway would look into the patrolmen's quarters at some pre- cinct station-house now and then he would find mate- rial enough to fill a volume, fully as interesting as any of the boys' pranks he tells about, only the fact of big burly fellows, as policemen in Brooklyn must be, being the he- roes would sound ever so much more humorous. Imagine a room in which eighteen or twenty beds, mostly aU holding a policeman, stand regularly about. Here and there a pair of dumb-beUs or Indian clubs. About the waUs a line of closets or lockers with half the doors standing open, on which hang rubber coats. Con- veniently near this or that man's couch stand a pair of rubber boots, while here and there a chair stands await- ing an occupant. Three officers enter. They are not sleepy, they have been in bed at home for seven or eight hours and feel like having some fun. ' Wonder how long Larry's been asleep,' says one of the new-comers as he gazes on a manly form nestling in the arms of Morpheus. ' Dmmo, ' says the second. ' Let's wake him up and see.' ^ Hold on a minute,' remarks the third ; 'don't startle him, it might injure his nerves. Awake him system- atically. ' 342 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. "''On this suggestion the trio hunt up a penny, heat it red hot and after having laid a sheet of wet tissue paper on the sleeping man's arm they surmount it with the torrid legal tender. The flesh is not even scorched, but the intense warmth of the cent frequently has a tendency to make the victim think he is visiting Pluto. At any rate he awakens, but don't get angry, because he knows it wouldn't do any good. He simply remarks, ' Ah, that's mean, ' and after rubbing his eyes a little while says 'there's Jim over there, let's get him up.' '' A cork is found, in which are stuck half a dozen or eight sulphur matches in one end, and in the other two are fitted to form a V, which is gently placed on James's nose. The matches are lighted and James is rudely awakened by a rap on the shoulder. He observes the blue flame in close proximity to his optics and imagines he is with Dante and Virgil in the regions below. The matches are cast aside and James makes a few remarks on the subject, which arouse many of his sleeping com- panions. They keep quiet, however. The five awake get their heads together to decipher another system of torture. Whatever project they have in consideration is never completed, because the moment the debate is just becoming interesting two pillows, a rubber boot and a pair of trowsers are hurled against them by the sup- posed sleepers. Just sixty seconds later the air is filled with flying missiles, f rom a collar button to a chair, and not until word is received from downstairs that the ceiling is about to fall do the merry guardians of the peace suspend operations. If the scene could be trans- ported to the stage of some theatre it would pack the house nightly. Excepting the three officers just arrived BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 343 from home, the majority of the participants in the rum- pus are simply clad in one sock and a helmet. Now and then a man will he found who has succeeded in getting into a portion of his trowsers, hut it is very seldom. They don't have time, if they wish to avoid heing struck by a bootjack or night stick. ' I'd like to find the man who put these crackers in my bed, ' says a voice over in the corner. ' I'm with you,' remarks another. Somebody had placed about a pound of crackers in the two beds. ' ' This little piece of pleasantary was once traced to a well-known captain, then patrolman, by finding the name on the crackers to correspond with a factory on his beat the evening previous. ^^One wintry morning some years ago there was a large fire in the First Precinct, and the men were on duty (watching the flames) the entire day. Shortly after midnight they returned to the station-house and 'turned in.' One of the men talked freely in his sleep, and on the night in question he spoke graphically on the consequence of the station-house catching fire. '' He argued loud and long. The other men, tired as they were, could not sleep, so to please their entertainer, they decided to have a little fire just for his benefit. ''Some paper, several boxes of matches and an old hair brush were placed in a rubber boot, and so as not to burn the floor the whole business was put into an iron pail and set by the talkative man's bedside. A hglited match was dropped in among the other matches, and in less than two minutes the rubber began to make its presence appreciated. The sleep-talker detected the odor, awoke, saw the flames, gathered his trousers and Brooklyn's guardians. one shoe, and gained the street in the unbroken record of four seconds. Of course," concluded Sergeant Gill, 'Hhis is but one phase of station-house life, which has its serious side, I assure you." The roundsmen of the Eleventh Precinct are Daniel McMiller and John McMahon. The detectives of this precinct are James O'Rourke and John Connor. Both have risen from the ranks by faithful service. THE TWELFTH PRECINCT. In one of a row of dilapidated red brick tenement houses, with stores underneath, on the south side of Fulton Street, just above Schenectady Avenue, and in appearance resemblingan oyster saloon, minus the chairs, more than anything else, is situated the Twelfth Pre- cinct Station-house. The office is on the ground floor and is raised but one step above the level of the sidewalk. An ordinary store window gives light, and large blue shades hide the inte- rior from the public gaze. Just back of the office, and in the rear of the house, is a neat, tidy little apartment, which is the Captain's sleeping room and office com- bined, furnished with a small bedstead, a few chairs, a washstand and table. To the rear of the house is the yard, and just off the Captain's room is the lock-up — a square extension, connected with the house by a covered passageway, and containing three cells. On the floor above are the sergeants' sleeping quarters and the com- mon sitting room. The two next floors, as well as th<=> two floors of the house adjoining, are devoted to the sleep- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 345 , ,01 ing apartments and dressing rooms of the men. Taking it altogether, it is no credit to the city, and is Hable at any time to be condemned by the Commissioner. The Precinct is bounded on the north, beginning at the corner of Frankhn Avenue and Fulton Street, and run- ning in a northerly direction along Fulton Street to Mc- Donough, thence along McDonough Street in the same direction as far as Broadway, where the westerly boun- dary line begins. Thence along Broadway in a south- westerly direction to the city line, the beginning of the sout westerly boundary line. Along the city line, which divides the town of Flatbush from the city, in an easterly direction until it intersects or meets Franklin Avenue, from which point Franklin Avenue, running in a north- westerly direction, forms the western boundary line. This Precinct was formerly known as the Tenth Sub- Precinct. It is a full precinct, and like all such precincts its force consists of a captain, four sergeants, two detect- ives, two roundsmen, thirty-five patrolmen and two door-keepers, a total of forty-six all told. It is a well-settled district. It was the resort and headquarters of the famous ^^Noto Charlie " gang, a crowd of desperadoes and blackguards, but thanks to the vigilance of the police and an energetic captain it was soon rid of them. Its captain, William H. Folk, was born June 24, 1837. He is a son of ex-superintendent John S. Folk, the father of the police force and one of the finest disciplinarians in its history. At the age of nineteen he was appointed clerk to the Chief of Pohce, on the 1st of May 1S5G, long before the Metropolitan Police system was established. 346 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. In this position he became thoroughly acquainted with the management and workings of the force. In 1858, two years later, he was made patrolman of the Metro- politan Police Force, and detailed to the clerical and de- tective duties around the Central Office. Here he worked faithfully and well until 1862, when receiving a call to accept the adjutancy of the Metropolitan Regiment, af- terwards known as the One Hundred and Seventy-third New York Volunteers, he left the force and remained with the Regiment for three years, earning a high repu- tation for gallantry and intelligence. October 30, 1865, he was mustered out, but returned shortly afterwards, owing to the close of the war. He came back to Brook- lyn when peace was restored, and was reappointed to the police force and detailed to work in and around the Cen- tral Office. On June 24, 1881, he was appointed sergeant and two days later, owing to a vacancy, was made cap- tain. He is a man well liked by the people in his Pre- cinct ; as a captain he is thoroughly respected by his men, and as a detective has proved himself as brave and skilful an officer as there is in the Brooklyn Police Force. Long Island fairs were at one time a paradise for the light-fingered gentry, and for years the Brooklyn Police Department has been in the habit of sending detectives to the Long Island and country fairs. These gatherings are generally attended by the sharp- ers from the metropolis, with whose arts the rural constabulary are unable to cope. The result of the de- tectives' efforts to protect respectable persons against this class has generally been satisfactory. In accordance with this custom, one fine Wednesday morning in 1877 found detectives Folk and Corwin on their way to one WILLIAM IL FOLK, Captain. 4 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 349 of these gatherings, at the Riverhead Agricultural Fair in Suffolk County. After a short ride they reached Riverhead about noon, and proceeded at once to the Griffin House, where they ordered dinner. Soon after taking their seats at the table, a man and woman of fine bearing entered and were given seats at the same table with the detectives. The man was about thirty-two years of age and his companion about twenty -five. They were well-dressed, and each wore a gold watch, while the woman wore valuable dia- monds and earrings. To an ordinary observer they would seem to be a well- to-do couple of respectability. Scarcely, however, had they sat down before Corwin whispered to Folk: ^^Ibe- live they are crooked people." Folk gave an acquiescing nudge, and from that time on they never once missed sight of the couple. An examina- tion of the hotel register showed that the couple were known as James E. Richardson and wife, of New York. This was apparently all right, but the detectives were not satisfied. They followed the couple to the grounds, but failed to discover anything to confirm their suspicions. The next morning Mr. and Mrs. Richardson entered the fair at a quarter to eleven o'clock, and at once proceeded to the main building. Folk and Corwin were at their heels keeping them in sight. They soon saw all they wanted to, and when, finally, Mr. Richardson left the building, Folk was after him, leaving Corwin to attend to the woman. Suddenly Richardson felt his coat collar grasped by a strong hand, and turning saw Folk ; they were strangers to each other, but when Folk quietly said in thieves parlance '^give 350 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. me that leather," the gentleman pickpocket wilted and without a word placed the pocket-book, containing ninety- nine cents, in the officer's hand. Meanwhile, Corwin had reached Mrs. Eichardson just in time to seize her hand when it was being thrust into a lady's pocket ; he quiet- ly led her out and joined Folk. While the officers were taking their prisoners to the Eiverhead Jail the man handed Folk a second pocket-book, which was found to contain twelve dollars. Arrived at the jail, the man was searched, and in his possession was found fifty-four dol- lars in bad money, one hundred and twenty dollars in Canadian money, two excursion tickets from New York to Montreal, sixty shares of the Union Pacific Eailroad, face value six thousand dollars, all made out in the name of George W. Lyons. There were also four hundred and sixty shares of the defunct Boston, Hartford and Erie Eailroad. The prisoners insisted that they were man and wife. The detectives4hen took them before Justice Ben j amine, the complaint of larceny from the person was made, and they were committed to jail until the following morning for an examination. The detectives then returned to the fair and ascertained that the pocket- books had been stolen from three ladies who were attend- ing the fair. The examination was held the next morn- ing, resulting in the prisoners being committed to await the action of the Grand Jury. The detectives then went to New York to endeavor to ascertain the whereabouts of the owner of the stock recovered. The evidence was such that upon the testimony of the detectives the fair grounds were rid of this engaging couple for some time. Sergeant Edward A. Gans was born in 1849. At the early age of fourteen he entered the army BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. as druiniiier boy. Having served in that capacity for eight years, he was honorably discharged, and in IS 72 he was appointed to the pohce force, when he became one of the first of the Mounted Squad of Brook- lyn. This position he occupied until 1879, when he was made roundsman, and two years later was promoted to his present rank. Sergeant. During his life on the force he has had many close calls, but while engaged in the capture of one Jefferson, a colored murderer, he was about as near dead as one can pleasantly be. The murderer was discovered hiding in the cellar of an old factory on the corner of Park Place and Buffalo Avenue, two blocks away from the place where, forty-eight hours since, he had treated his brother, his mistress and his mother to two loads of buckshot, killing his mother and a stranger instantly, and wounding the girl and his brother. The girl, how- ever, thanks to her alertness in climbing over a fence, succeeded in eluding him and escaped with her life. She was the cause of the tragedy, infideHty on her part leading to it. Although known to be armed and pre- pared to offer desperate assistance against arrest. Ser- geant Gans, at the risk of his life, jumped into the cellar in the dark and engaged himself in a hand to hand en- counter. After a fearful struggle for life, during which time the murderer attempted to shoot the officer, and failing in this, attemped suicide, he was at last secured and put in jail, and a short while afterwards paid the penalty of the crime with his life. Sergeant John Sheridan was born on the 2ith of June, 18-1:2. He was associated with the police force in IStU. He became sergeant six years later. 352 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. He has served for twenty-three years, eleven of them in the old Tenth Precinct, and the remainder in the Twelth. Sergeant Henry C. Nelsen was born in 1847. At the age of fifteen he enlisted as drummer boy of the 159th New York Volunteers, apd served with them for three years and two months — until the close of the war. On November 19th, 1868, he received his appointment to the Metropolitan Police Force. He was appointed acting roundsman December 6th, 1877, and on February 2d, 1879, he was promoted to the rank of roundsman, and on June 25th, 1881, he received his sergeant's badge. Sergeant William Gregory was born on July 24, 1839. He was appointed on the police force in 1862. He served till June 1, 1865, when he resigned. He was again ap- pointed to the police on November 16, 1867. On April 26, 1873 he was made roundsman, and on August 22, 1873 was promoted to sergeant. The roundsmen attached to the precinct are Peter J. Barry and Francis McGrath, two faithful and zealous officers. The detectives are John O'Neill and Charles H. Bedell, two energetic members of the force. CHAPTER XIX. PRECINCTS AND STATION HOUSES. {Continued.) Thirteenth Precikct. — Boundaries. — Gent:ral Character.— Station-house. — Captain Thomas L. Druhan. — His Record ON the Force. — Sergeant Ashton. — A Volunteer Soldier. — Sergeants B.abcock, Gorman and Smith. — Detectives and Roundsmen. Fourteenth Precinct. — Station-house. — Boundaries. — Evergreen Cemetery. — Captain James Dunn. — His Police Career.— Patchen Avenue Burglars. — The Captain's Popularity. — Citizens' Testi- MONAL. — The Buck-Billy-Goat. — Sergeants Rudd and Don- AGHY, — Sergeant Buckholz. — A War Veteran. — Sergeant Nicholson. —The Roundsmen. — Detective Anderson. THE THIRTEENTH PRECINCT. The Thirteenth Precinct was at one time a great resort for crooks and cut-throats, but of late years it has been transformed into an orderly, law-abiding neighbor- hood. It is bounded by Myrtle Avenue to Franklin Ave- nue, to Jefferson Street, to Irving Street, to Flushing Avenue, to Bushwick Avenue, to Yeret Street, to Gra- ham Avenue, to Seigel Street, to Graham Avenue, to Leonard Street, to Boerum Street, to Broadway, to Hewes, to Bedford Avenue, to Flushing Avenue, to Franklin Avenue and back to Myrtle Avenue. It is in most part a tenement -house district, inhabi- ted by hard working people who find emiDloyment in the many factories and breweries located in the Precinct. It comprises portions of the Sixteenth, Eighteenth, 354 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Nineteenth, Twenty-first and Seventh wards, and boasts of containing more breweries than any other Precinct in the city, seven in number. There are also five large hat factories. Othrr factories, where articles of every descrij)tion are manufactured, are found in sufficient number to make the Precinct noted for its industries. The Station-house in Bartlett Street and Flushing Avenue is a very poor building indeed. Much room is lost on account of its triangular shape, and the sleep- ing apartments, which accommodate six persons, are said not to contain sufficient breathing-space for three. Energetic efforts are being made by Commissioner Carroll to better the state of affairs. Captain Thomas L. Druhan, commander of the Thir- teenth Precinct, is a man of great ability and is well versed in police tactics, having attained his present posi- tion through a competitive examination of the sergeants of the force. As a detective he had an excellent record, made many important arrests and secured a great num- ber of convictions for every crime on record excepting murder. Twice he has been highly complimented for his good arrests, and has a right to feel proud of himself and the position he so well fills. He was born on May 18th, 1844. In 1862 he enhsted in the Sixty-ninth New York Vol- unteers, a three months regiment, and remained with them until the expiration of the time of service. Upon his return to Brooklyn, he enlisted in the Sixteenth Ne\v; York Heavy Artillery and remained at the front until the end of the war. He was appointed on the force Oc- tober 10th, 1870, just after the Metropolitan system had been repealed. In August, 1875, he was made rounds- THOMAS L. DRUHAN, Captain. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. man, and in March of the following year he was ap- pointed detective. March ITth, 1876, he was appointed captain and assigned to the command of the Thir- teenth Precinct, over which he has since ably preserved peace. Sergeant James M. Ashton was born forty-nine years ago. He served in the Seventy-ninth New York Volun- teers during the first part of the war, and immediately after his return obtained an appointment on the police force, July 3, 1861. He was made sergeant January 3d, 1863. On June 10th, IS TO, he was legislated out of office, but on February 2d, eight years later, he was again appointed patrolman. On January 3d, 1883, he was again raised to the dignity of sergeant and sent to the Thirteenth Precinct, where he has since remained. Sergeant Lucien C. Babcock was born in 1810. He entered the ranks of the patrolmen in 1879, and after passing through the grade of roundsman became a ser- geant in 1880. His twenty years of service have been entirely to his credit, and he is to-day much respected for his experience and ability. Sergeant Hugh F. Gorman is thirty-seven years of age, and became a patrolman in 1870. He resigned in 1874 to enter the New York force, but resumed service in Brooklyn in 1878. He was promoted to roundsman in 1879 and rose to the rank of sergeant on January 8th, 1887. He is an excellent officer and has done yeoman service in the capture of criminals. Sergeant Richard B. G. Smith was born in 1837. In 1866 he was appointed a patrolman and assumed the duties of a sergeant in 1870. He has seen nuich active 358 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. duty, and has arrested hundreds of law-breakers in the commission of their unlawful w^ork. He is noted for his considerate kindness to prisoners. The detectives attached to the Thirteenth Precinct are John Brady and Laurence Delahanty. Both began police life as patrolmen and received promotion for merit. The roundsmen of this Precinct are Bernard J. Hayes and James Eyan. THE FOURTEENTH PRECINCT. The station-house of the Fourteenth is an old-fash- ioned, two-story, square wooden building, with large airy rooms, and surrounded by a large garden laid out into flower beds, having plenty of shade, owing to the numer- ous trees in it. The office, the Captain's sitting-room and bed-room, the men's sitting-room and sergeants' room are all on the ground floor. The floor above is de- voted entirely to the sleeping apartments of the men. In the rear of the building, situated in the back yard, is a low one-story extension, built of brick and containing six cells. Notwithstanding the fact of plenty of yard, and to all appearance plenty of light, these ceUs seem to be very dark indeed. In July of this year, however, new quarters are to be occupied by the force. Their future home consists of a magnificent building now almost com- pleted, and in addition to the force already on the Pre- cinct, a mounted squad is to be added to it. At present, the want of accommodation for the men keeps the force very small indeed. The Precinct, which is probably the largest in the city, is but very thinly settled and covers an immense area. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. It is bounded on the east by the boundary hne between Ne\vtown and Brooklyn, on the South by the Evergreen Cemetery, Broadway and McDonough Street, on the west by Stuyvesant Avenue and on the north by Jeffer- son Street from Stuyvesant Avenue to the city hne. Many are the funeral processions which the officers of this Precinct must guard as they wend their way to The Evergreens," the beautiful City of the Dead. Its grassy plots and stately monuments, its perfumed flower beds and sanded walks are daily the scene of the last sad rites that love can offer to death. But if the beauties of nature and art can in any way mitigate the sorrow of those afflicted, ^' The Evergeens" Cemetery leaves naught to be desired. The smiling countenance and imposing figure of Cap- tain James Dunn are well-known to every man, woman and child in the Fourteenth Precinct. Born on May 3, 1838, this poj)ular officer came to Brooklyn when very young and attended the city pubhc school. His friends urged him to go on the police force in 1866, and on August 23d he received an appointment as a patrolman and was placed on the roll of the Forty- second — now the Second Precinct. On June 11, ISTO, his popularity forced him over several roundsmen, and he was made sergeant and transferred to the Fourteenth Precinct, then the Ninth Sub. As Acting-Captain, on July 11, 1875, he superin- tended the arrest of the Porter and Irving gang of Patchen Avenue burglars, in the arrest of which Captain Murphy of the Eighth Precinct — then a detective under Sergeant Dunn — distinguished himself as has been else- where related in this work. Billy " Porter, Johnnie" 360 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Irving, " Mrs. " Porter and Irving's sister were living in luxury in a lawn-surrounded summer residence on Patchen Avenue. Detective Murphy identified the Pre- cinct's new neighbors, and under the direction of Captain Dunn succeeded in arresting and breaking up one of the most notorious gangs of bank burglars, panel thieves and ^'crooks" in general that ever infested a respect- able community. Porter, Irving and Draper were con- nected with the Northampton Bank robbery, and were likened as experts next to Scott and Dunlap, who died while serving a long imprisonment for this extensive Massachusetts burglary. At first Draper could not be identified until Bob " Pinkerton came over from New York at Captain Dunn'^suggestion, and revealed him as " Shang " Draper, the old King of Panel Thieves," a man who had, in his time, made and lost several for- tunes in his nefarious following and who, at the time of his arrest, had been obliged to resort to a picayune retail store-robbery to keep body and soul together. Draper is still alive and is a somewhat reformed man. He keeps out of the hands of the police, but his liquor saloon on Sixth Avenue is said to be frequently under pohce surveillance. Captain Dunn received much credit for the good work in the gang's arrest, and when it was known that ^' Shang" Draper was one of the ^'birds'' taken, Dunn and Murphy were congratulated on all sides. The popularity of the Captain with the inhabitants of his Precinct is unbounded. He is looked upon as every- body's friend, and this feeling found graceful expression on December 17th, 1885, when he was presented by the citizens of the Fourteenth with a magnificent diamond stud, and a solid gold badge suitably inscribed. JAMES DUXN, Captain. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS . 363 Captain Dunn preserves strict discipline in his com- mand, but he is obhged to confess that one of the "officers" of the Fourteenth Precinct is a privileged character, inasmuch as he is not compelled by the Com- missioner to wear the regulation uniform, nor is he liable to the reprimands of Inspector McLaughlin in his tours of inspection. He is also exonerated from regular patrol duty. Singular as it may seem, he wears a com- plete suit of spotless white, and Captain Dunn blushing- ly acknowledges that he never saw him in a change of raiment. There have been times when this "official " — Captain Dunn hesitatingly confesses — has been seen in such a deplorable and dirt-begrimed condition that had it been any other of his command he would most certainly have been fined and possibly dismissed, but somehow or other the "officer'' in question seems to exert so much influence over Captain Dunn that he is permitted to do about as he pleases, without suffering any of the prescribed penalties. He rejoices in the name of "Billy "and was found by the Captain, one bleak wintry night several years ago, on the outskirts of the city, half hidden in the snow. His appearance in every particular is the same now as on that night when Captain Dunn rescued him fi'om an untimely death, except that lines of care and age line his classic features, and hirsute appendages adorn his expressive chin. Although this character is a mute, never having known the power of speech, he is nevertheless as vigilant in the performance of his duties as his more fortunate brothers. He will not carry a stick, but depends en- tirely upon natural weapons in time of danger. Unlike his superior officers he walks on four legs. He is a 364 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. buck-billy-goat, and his horns are the pride of the officers of the Fourteenth. No longer is Billy compelled to subsist on tin cans and other indigestible food, but is served his three square meals a day as regularly as any of the officers whose Precinct he honors by being a member. His only duty now consists in guarding the orchard surround- ing the Station-house from the ravages of the all-terrible "small boys," and so well does he perform his assigned duty that the shrubbery and grass surrounding the building are in a flourishing condition. Sergeant John H. Rudd was born in 1830. He went on the force in 1859 as a patrolman, and on December 4:th, 1885, became Sergeant after duly passing through the grade of roundsman. He possesses all the qualifica- tions of a good policeman and has won the esteem of all who know him. Sergeant John Donaghy has seen sixty summers, thirty of which have been passed in police life. In 1857 he be- came a patrolman and in 1872 rose to roundsman. In 1880 he was made sergeant and he has well earned his promotions. He is a hale and hearty gentleman and en- joys the full confidence of his superior officers. Sergeant George A. Buckholz was born in 1840. In 1863 he enhsted in the 84th N. Y. S. M. and remained in active service till the regiment was mustered out. In 1864 he re-enlisted in the 50th N. G. S. N. Y., which served for one hundred days. After the war was over,- in 1865, he entered police life, and did duty first as a Quarantine Harbor policeman and afterwards as a pa- trolman. He became roundsman in 1869 and sergeant in 1873. He has an excellent record. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 365 Sergeant George Nicholson was born in 1834. He be- came a patrohnan in 1868, was promoted to roundsman in 1873 and rose to the rank of sergeant in 1882. He is an estimable and worthy officer. The roundsmen of this Precinct are John H. Klein and Joseph Collins. The Fourteenth has but one detective attached to it, William Anderson, who, like most of the detectives, has risen from the ranks to his present position. CHAPTER XX, PRECINCTS AND STATION-HOUSES. {Concluded.) Fifteenth Precinct. — Station-house. — " Smoky Hollow." — Boun- daries — "House of Blazes." — "Island Number Ten." — "The Apple Orchard." — " The Buckingham." — Captain Henry Kell- ETT. — War Record. — Police Record. — Sergeant McCullough. — Murder op Officer Stone. — Henry Ward Beecher's Lecture. — Sergeant Lowe. — An Old Artilleryman. — Sergeants Shields AND Cullen. — Detectives and Roundsmen. Sixteenth Precinct. — Station-house. — Boundaries. — Captain John Brennan. — His Police Life. — Sergeant Simmons. — Sergeant Hamilton. — His Army Experience, — Sergeants Harrington AND Barr. — The Roundsmen and Detectives. — Diamond Cut Diamond. Seventeenth Precinct.— Brief Sketch of the Police System of New Lots Before its Annexation to Brooklyn. — Captain Henry French.— Hi& Troubles with Ambitious Youths. — The Sergeants. — Detectives and Roundsmen. THE FIFTEENTH PRECINCT. On Congress Street near Columbia Street, in the heart of ''Smoky Hollow," is a three-story brick building which was used up to 1881 as a tenement house. At the present writing the green lamp over the doorway pro- claims it the Fifteenth Precinct Station-house. When this building was first turned into a police-station it was an off- shoot of the First Precinct and was termed the Third Sub-Precinct. It had not been used mope than a few years by the police, when, on account of the dangerous element infesting the neighborhood, on the 14th of July, 1885, it was made a full precinct and BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. called the Fifteenth. The ground floor is on a level with the street and is divided into two rooms, the front and larger one of which is the oflice and the other the Cap- tain's private apartment, a small room, in which is kept the station album, a well-filled book with the photo- graphs of some of the worst ci'iminal characters who ever " drew a knife " or ^'cracked a crib." In another corner of the room is a large walnut case which contains a miscellaneous collection of dirks, knives, stilettos and pistols of every pattern and make, taken from the Ital- ians, Swedes and Portuguese sailors, who mainly make up the floating population of that neighborhood. Off the main building and connected with it by a long covered passage-way is situated, as is usual with station- houses, a one-story brick building with heavy iron barred windows, the ground floor of which contains ten cellSj which, by the way, are entirely inadequate for the ^' rushing business " done by Captain Kellett. These cells are well-filled most of the time, and it frequently happens that for want of room it is necessary to put two or three in one cell, and at times as many as three or four. On the second floor of the main building in the front of the house is the Captain's sleeping apartment, a large richly furnished room, the ornaments of which display the Captain's refined taste. At the head of the room is the Captain's bed, a large richly carved mahogany article, in which the ^' big Captain " takes his well-earned rest. Opposite the front of the bedstead is a library of which the Captain might well be proud, containing the works of some of the most noted writers. 368 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. To the rear of the Captain's room is the men's sitting- room. Back of this is situated the general bath-room. The third floor and the third floor of the house adjoining are devoted to the sleeping apartments of the sergeants, roundsmen and officers. The beds of the men are placed so close together that the officers are often compelled to climb over the beds of their comrades to reach their own. When Captain Kellett took command of this station in 1885 he had but two platoons of six men each, but these were tried officers jDicked from the Third Sub-Precinct by the Captain himself, the majority of whom had served with him during the war, and although his Precinct covers the smallest area of any station in the city, extending along Sackett Street to Henry Street, down Henry to State Street, down State to Hicks Street, along Hicks Street to Joralemon Street, through Jorale- mon Street to Furman Street and along Furman Street to Wall Street Ferry, it is the most thickly populated and takes in the entire water front from Wall Street Ferry to Hamilton Ferry, along which route there is more money represented in store -houses, vessels and merchandise than in any other precinct. With such lively places to contend with as the House of Blazes," Twelve Temptations," ''The Buckingham," "Hell's Kitchen," " The Oceanic," and " The Pound Tower " in Hicks Street ; " The Clothespin " and " Jacob's Ladder " in Emmet Street; "Island Number Ten" in Furman Street; and the "Apple Orchard" and " Kilsey's Alley-" in Columbia Street, Captain Kellett's men are obliged to keep an eagle eye on their respective posts to preserve the peace. To give some idea of the difficulties in detecting a BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 369 crime in this neighborhood the following instance will illustrate: " Kilsey's Alley," the center of ''Smoky Hollow," is along, dark hallway, leading to what might be called a back yard, which has been christened by the police '' The Apple Orchard." It is the rear yard of the four-story tenement houses surrounding it on all sides, in which live an average of three families to a floor, making eighteen families in a house, with a common yard for one hundred families. From this "Apple Or- chard'' there are four hallways similar to ''Kilsey's Alley," leading into four different streets. On warm summer evenings these places swarm with men, women and chil- dren indulging in the vilest excesses all night and until the small hours in the morning. On first witnessing this sight one naturally asks: ''Why sleep they not when others are at rest ? " The reply suggests that they have reversed the real order of things and obtain what little sleep they have in the daytime, when honest people are earning their sustenance. Again, there is the " Buckingham, " a large six-story double brick building, the secret niches and alleys of which are the first refuge of all the debauched characters in the vicinity. Since the advent of the present Captain much has been done to better the character and condition of these and similar places. Captain Henry Kellett was born on the 30th of Sept- ember 1838. At the l)reaking out of the war, when only tw^enty-one years of age, he enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment of Brooklyn. After serving faithfully for three months he returned home with his regiment, which had only been called out for that length of time. While on his way north he lent his aid in suppressing 370 Brooklyn's guardians. the Baltimore riots. He had not heeii home long hefore he again enlisted, this time for three years, as Orderly Sergeant in the Ninetieth New York Volunteers. It was not long hefore his superior officers showed their appre- ciation of his services and he was promoted sergeant, then sergeant-major, and shortly after made second, then first lieutenant, in which latter capacity he served in the Department of the Gulf. He was engaged in the thirty days' siege of Port Hudson, and in the battles of Marshall Prairie and Donaldson. After the fall of Yicks- burgh he was transferred with the Nineteenth Corps to Virginia and took part in the battles of Fredericks- burgh and Cedar Creek. After passing through five desperate battles Avithout a scratch he was wounded in the leg by the bursting of a shell. He lay on the field in a helpless condition for eight hours before being found l)y his comrades. He was then removed to Harper's Ferry, where he remained for a few days, but there were so many wounded at this battle that the little church which had been turned into a temporary hospital was so crowded that the captain, who could not endure the sight and listen to the moans of his suffering comrades, asked and obtained permission to take rooms in a small cottage near by. There, thanks to his . good constitution, he made such rajDid improvement that he was able to take advantage of a thirty days' furlough and come north to be treated for his wound. He was compelled to seek for an extension of ninety days more. Eecovering from his wound he was assigned to the Pro- vost Marshal's office in Brooklyn and shortly afterwards, in 1SG5, at the ceasing of the war, was mustered out of service. HENRY KELLETT. Captain ^ BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 373 Shortly after his dibcharge he was appointed on the pohce force, but experiencing more trouble from his wound, resigned after serving for two months and re- tired to his home in New Jersey. In 1867 he was again appointed patrolman and assigned to the Forty-third Precinct. He remained on it until the Metropolitan Police disbanded. He was then assigned to Brooklyn. In 1872 he was promoted sergeant. When the Third Sub- Precinct was organized he was assigned there and on the the 14th of June, 1885 he was appointed captain of the Fifteenth Precinct. He is a member of Eankin Post, No. 10, Gr. A. P., and has command of the Police boat ^' Judge Moore." Captain Kellett has had over six hundred arrests since his appointment as commander of the Fifteenth Pre- cinct. Sergeant Thomas McCullough was born September 12th, 1813. On October 21:th, 1370, he was appointed patrolman, and appointed sergeant on August 12th, 1875, and assigned to the First Precinct. When the Fifteenth Station was organized he was one of the picked men taken by Captain Kellett. While detective in the Third Precinct he assisted in bringing to justice the murderers of Policeman Stone, who, on the afternoon of June 3d, 1880, left his station a magnificent specimen of physical manhood, and a few hours later was carried to the hos- pital in a dying condition. Officer Stone had gone but a few blocks when lie met the Smoky Hollow Gang," w^ho had been attending the wake of a friend and were more or less drunk. The leader of the gang, Joseph Mungerford, got into an alter- cation with one of the gang and was creating a disturb- 374 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ance when Officer Stone put in his appearance, and the whole gang turned on him. Pat Doyle, another of the gang, struck the officer with a rock, fracturing his skull. McCullough, who had been put on the case, arrest- ed Pat Hanlon, alias '^Schoofey" Hanlon, and Mun- gerford, whom he had the satisfaction of sending to prison. The Sergeant was then appointed Chairman of the Fund Committee for the relief of Officer Stone's widow; and turned over to Mr. Eipley Popes, who was then con- nected with the Brooklyn Trust Company, $5,610 as the proceeds of the lecture given by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, $1,334 from the Mutual Aid Society and $325 voluntary contributions from the officers, making a total of $7,269 in all, for which Sergeant McCullough holds Mrs. Stone's receipt. Among the many papers connect- ed with this matter is a letter from Mr. Beecher offer- ing his services for the proposed lecture. Sergeant John Lowe was born in 1837. He enlisted in Company F, Third U. S. Artillery. He served during the entire war and was at its close honorably discharged as First Sergeant. He is a member of U. S. Grant Post, 327, Gr. A. P. On September 12, 1872, he was appointed patrolman and on April 16, 1881, he was appointed roundsman. June 9, 1884, saw him made a sergeant. He has proved himself in many instances a valuable officer. Sergeant Edward Shields was born May 1st, 1847. He was appointed on the 16th of February, 1870, to the police force and assigned to the Forty-third Metropohtan Precinct. On September 23d, 1882, he was made rounds- man, and on July 13th, 1885, he was made sergeant. He BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 375 also has a splendid record as private, roundsman and ser- geant. Sergeant Thomas Cullen was l)orn on October 27th, 1853. On December 2Sth, 1876, he ^vas appointed patrol- man on the Third Precinct. From the Third he was detailed for two years to do duty in citizen's clothes at one of the ferries, when he was transferred to the Elev- enth and appointed roundsman July 7th, 1881. On Jime IGth, 1882, he was appointed sergeant. About 1878, while stationed in citizen's clothes at the ferry, In- spector Waddy made the assertion that no attention was paid to the passing wagons and carriages by the patrolmen at the ferries, and that he could pass through all of them in a carriage without being discovered. He attempted it in company with Captain Jewett, both dis- guised, in closed carriage with shades down, but at Hamilton Ferry he was discovered by Patrolman Cullen. On January llrth, 1887, at St. Stephen's Church Fair, he was presented, or rather voted, by an admiring host of friends with a magnificent diamond badge. The detectives attached to the Fifteenth are Francis Stoddert and Daniel Daly, who have both earned promo- tion from the ranks by mei*it. The roundsmen are Thomas H. CoUins and Abraham Irving. THE SIXTEENTH PRECINCT. A bright colored lamp in the front of one of a row of tenement houses on Clymer Street, near Kent Avenue, marks the Sixteenth Precinct Station-house. The district was at one time under the supervison of Captain Woglom of the Fifth Precinct, but being in the heart of 376 Brooklyn's guardians. the greatest manufacturing district in the city it hecame necessary to have some place for the officers near hy, so the Fifth Sub-Precinct was organized. Owing to the rapid increase of business in their locahty it became necessary on July 15th, 1885 to make this a fujl Pre- cinct, and it was called the Sixteenth Precinct. Captain John Brennan, who supervised the making of it into a Sub-Precinct and who was its Acting-Captain, was made Captain. Extending up Broadway to Hewes Street, to Bedford Avenue up Bedford iV venue, to Flush- ing Avenue, down Flushing Avenue to Washington Avenue, along Washington Avenue to the Navy Yard and along the water front to Eoosevelt Ferry, Cap- tain Brennan's force of thirty -four men have as much as they can well attend to, keeping watch over the many hundred farmer and grocery wagons stationed nightly at the Wallabout Market. Captain Brennan being a Jittle cleverer than his brother officers, instead of applying to the Common Council for an appropriation for a new station-house, applied to the Legislature, and had a bill passed authorizing the pm^- chase of a piece of ground at the corner of Lee Avenue and Clymer Street, which purchase has just been made, and the Captain hopes that before the first of January, 1S8S, he will be in command of one of the finest, if not the finest station-house in the city, and which wiU have ample accommodations for a larger force. Captain John Brennan was born on November lOth^ 1831. On November 18th, 1862, he was appointed as patrolman to the Forty-seventh Precinct. After four years as patrolman he was promoted roundsman and as- signed to the Forty -fifth Precinct. While obeying the JOIIX BREXXAX, Captaiu. Brooklyn's guardians. 371) commands of the Chief of Wilhamsbui'g " (Cax)tain Woglom) in 1867 he was appointed Sergeant. On July 15th, 1885, he took Captain's rank. He aver- ages from eight hundred to nine hundred arrests a year, which has made his name a terror to the criminal classes of his neighborhood. Sergeant Joseph H. Simmons was born in 1836. On Oc- tober 2ti:th, 1864 he was appointed to the pohce force as patrolman. On June 23d, 1 884, he was given a roundsman's shield. He had not been roundsman more than a year when, thanks to his early education, he successfully passed the civil service examination for sergeant, and on April 3()th, 1885. secured his commission. The Sergeant ha.s made several brilliant arrests for burglary and other offenses, and enjoys the full confi- dence of his Captain. Sergeant John Hamilton was born forty-five years ago. When the war broke out he responded to his country's need and enlisted with the Seventy-first Regi- ment, N. Y. S. M., and remained at the front for one hundred days. When he returned home with the inten- tion of re- enlisting he found that both his brothers were with the Union Army and that his mother was alone. He remained behind to cheer and comfort her, while his brothers sacrificed their lives at the front. He was ap- appointed on the police force February 2d, 1871. In 1879 he was made roundsman. On the 1st of January, 1883, he Avas sent to Acting-Captain Brennan's new Sub-Pre- cinct, where he was later on promoted sergeant and where he has since remained. Sergeant George B. Harrington was born in 1857. On April 1st, 1882, he was api)ointed to the police force as 380 BKOOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. patrolman. On the 30th of April, 1885, he was made roundsman, and on December 1st of the same year he be- came sergeant, and was assigned to the Sixteenth when on July 15th, 1885, it was made a full precinct. During the time it was a Sub" he was Acting- Sergeant. Sergeant Alexander Barr was born December 25th, 1838. He was appointed to the police force on January 5th, 1855, On March 1-lth, 1882, he was made rounds- man and in the succeeding year he became sergeant. He has not served on the force continuously since his original appointment, having practiced law a portion of the time. . The roundsmen of the Sixteenth are Egbert S. Conk- lin and William J. Logan. The detectives are Thomas Holland and John F. Burns, both excellent officers. Burns, from his long experience around the City Hall, is well acquainted with all the '^sporting men" of Brooklyn and familiar with all their deeds and misdeeds. He tells one good story which concerns a group of men who " hang out" at Charley Johnston's famous sporting house. ^ ' A noted race-course man, taking a drink at the bar of that place, exhibited a diamond ring of great beauty and apparent value on his finger. An acquaintance present, who has a penchant for faro, had a great passion for dia- monds. After drinking several times and much banter- ing, the owner consented to barter the ring for the sum of six hundred dollars. As the buyer left the room a suppressed tittering struck his ear. He concluded that the former owner had sold both the ring and the pur- chaser. He said nothing, but called the next day upon BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. 381 Hart, the jeweller, where he learned that the diamond was paste and the ring worth al)Out twenty-five dollars. He examined some real diamonds and found one closely resemhling the paste in his own ring. He hired the dia- mond, pledged twelve hundred dollars, the price of it, and gave twenty doUars for its use for a few days. He went to another jeweller, had the paste removed and the real diamond set. His chums knowing how he had heen imposed upon, impatiently waited for his ap- pearance the next night. To their astonishment they found him in high glee. He flourished his ring, boasted of his bargain and said if any gentleman present had any twelve hundred dollar ring to sell for six hundred dollars he knew of a purchaser. When he was told that the ring was paste and that he had been cheated, he laughed at their folly. Bets were freely offered that the ring did not contain a real diamond. Two men bet a thousand dollars each. Two bet five hundred dollars. All were taken, umpires w^ere chosen. The money and the ring were put into their hands. They went to the first-class jeweller who had loaned the stone and who applied all the tests. He said the stone was a diamond of the first water and was worth, Avithout setting, twelve hundred dollars. The buyer put the three thousand dol- lars which he had won quietly into his pocket. He car- ried the diamond back and recalled his twelve hundred dollars, and with his paste ring on his finger went over to a Xew York sporting house. The man who sold the ring came in later, heard the news and departed. He wanted to get the ring back. He attempted to turn the whole thing into a joke. He sold the ring, he said, for fun. He never wore false jewels. He knew that it was 382 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. a real diamond all the time. He could tell a real dia- mond anywhere by its pecuhar light. He would not be so mean as to cheat an old friend. He knew his friend would let him have the ring again. But his friend was stubborn — said that the seller thought it was paste and intended to defraud him. At lengthy on the payment of eight hundred dollars, the ring was restored. All par- ties came to the conclusion, when the whole affair came out, that when diamond cuts diamond again some one less sharp will be selected by the original seller." THE SEVENTEENTH PRECINCT. When the Metropolitan Police District was abolished in 1870 New Lots was left without police protection. The Brooklyn Police Bill was amended so as to give au- thority to the Town Board to apply to the Police Com- missioner of the City of Brooklyn, under a requisition, for the appointment of as' many policemen as it was deemed necessary. Under this authority the Town Board of New Lots in 1871 made ai)plication for the appointment of three officers. The request was complied with, and W. F. Early, George Schlenk and Stephen Newman were appointed as Noav Lots policemen. At that time there was no station- house in the town ; the officers reported directly to Jus- tice Gertum at the court-room or the Justice's residence, and locked up their prisoners in the Ninth Sub-Precinct station-house, now the Fourteenth, on Broadway near Gates Avenue. Two years afterwards three more police- men were appointed and a building was rented on Lib- erty avenue near Smith, to be used as a lock-up. Not meeting the wants of the department and as a law had ^ BROOKT.YX'S GUARDIANS. 383 been passed giving authority to the town otiicials to build, they assessed the town in the sum of ten tliou- sand dollars for the purpose of erecting a Town Hall in some central location ; a plot of gi'ound fifty by one hun- dred feet was purchased from the late Horace A. Miller, on Butler Avenue near Atlantic, for the sum of one thou- sand four hundred dollai's, and a substantial two-story and basement brick building was erected thereon. It was formally handed over to the town on the 1 1th of December, 1873. In 1S77 the town officials were noti- fied by the then Police Commissioner of Brooklyn, Gen- eral Jourdan, that the city would no longer afford police l^rotection to the town. Accordingly, in the following- year, 1878, an act was j^assed, known as the Xew Lots Pohce Bill, which had been introduced in the Assembly by Col. John H. Bergen, authorizing the Supervisor, the president of the Excise Board and the Justice of the Peace having the shortest term to serve, to appoint three Pohce Commissioners, to have full control of the depart- ment. In June, 1878, Peter Sutter, Henry L. Wyckoff and John K. PoweU were appointed as such commissioners. A vacancy occurred soon after by the death of Mr. AYyck- off, and Richard Pickering, now editor of the Long Islcuicl Record, was appointed in his stead. The department then consisted of nine men, Avith William F. Early as captain ; Henry French and Peter J. Kennedy, sergeants. On the 1st of August, 1886, by an act of the Legislature, Xew Lots was annexed to Brooklyn and called the Twenty-Sixth Ward. The i)o- lice department in consequence passed into the liands of the city ; the Precinct was numbered the Seventeenth, and Sergeant French was appointed as Acting-Captain. 384 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. As now constituted the police authority of the Twenty- sixth Ward extends over an area of thirteen square miles, bounded on the south by Jamaica Bay, on the north by the Town of Newtown, on the east by Eldert Lane, and on the west by • Flatlands, Flatbush and the Manhattan Crossing. Captain Henry French was born on the 31st of Octo- ber, 18-1:9. He was appointed on the police force June 28, 1876. When the city refused to give police protec- tion to New Lots, French, who was then a patrolman, resigned and upon the organization of the New Lots Po- lice Department accepted a re-appointment, this time his position being that of a sergeant. He became cap- tain when the town became annexed to Brooklyn. The district is practically bucolic and not urban. In nationality it is largely German. Many of its people are engaged in tailoring and light manufactures, but a very large number are farmers and gardeners. Its police condition is excellent, the chief source of trouble being visitors from the city proper and from New York. The agricultural element affords some amusement in its con- stant ambition to become policemen and especially de- tectives. Captain French receives many letters from young men who feel that they were especially created to do de- tective work. Samuel Evans, who adds to his signature the letters, I. 0. 0. F. F. T. & T., asks : ^'Are you In nead ? I am a Borne dettective and am now a collectter and Farmr. Their is Nothing much going on, and I intecapate Becomeing same mentioned above. ^'P. S. You might find me something." HENRY FRENCH, Captain. I BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. 387 Mr. Evans, I. 0. 0. F. F. T. & T., was not sent for. A young man in Brooklyn, Avho is twenty-three years old, writes : I want a position. Am not afraid of work. I de- sire to learn to become a detective. Give me a show." An ambitious youth from Flatlands, N, Y., the adjoin- ing town, says : '' I am a young man of nineteen, and have learned telegraphy. Do you take apprentices? If so, please give me a chance." The telegrapher was informed that the captain is not a schoolmaster and has no time to go into the business. George Parker wants to know in what way a man can be- come a member of the Brooklyn detective force and sug- gests as a valuable fact that he is acquainted with three or four detectives in Suffolk County. Henry J. Harris hits from the shoulder and informs the world of his pe- culiar fitness for detective work in the following epistle : ' ' I come in my OAvn bluff way — that is, to begin in the middle and work both ways. I think I am a born de- tective, for my father was a detective when I was bom. I have worked up several tough cases, and have never lost a point yet. I have been slowly piping one of the strangest murder cases ever known, and all the regular detectives are on the wrong track. I want authority. I have dash and make up well. I am straight goods, all wool and yard wide. I do not fear Old Xick, and yet I am not hasty. If I had a commission I could work on several big cases that rewards will be offered in. " Sergeant Patrick Brophy was born in 1818. He took his position as a member of the police force on February 4, 1875, and was assigned to the Twelfth Precinct. A 3S8 Brooklyn's guardians. month later he was transferred to New Lots, where, after four years of service, he was promoted roundsman and in February, 1880, became sergeant. The Sergeant has effected many important arrests. Sergeant Wilham F. Early was born in 184:4. He joined, in 1858, the Second United States Artillery as a fifer and remained a soldier five years, receiving his dis- charge in Florida. In 187(i he was elected to the office of constable and a year later joined the police force. He was first a sergeant and afterwards captain of the New Lots Police. On the 3d of July, 1883, a new commission coming into form effected a change in the government of the New Lots Police. Captain Early took a stand against the new order of things, and in consequence re- signed his position. The same day he was reappointed, this time assuming the office of sergeant. He has made many good arrests. Sergeant Nicholas Contion was born in May, 1852. He was elected constable of New Lots and discharged the duties of his office with such excellence that he was re- elected on six different occasions. On the 15th of January he was appointed patrolman in the police force and became roundsnicm in July of the same year. Later on he was made sergeant. Sergeant Christian Eeimels was born in 1848. He was appointed patrolman on the New Lots force in 1878, and when the town was annexed to the City of Brooklyn was re-appointed and made sergeant of the new Seven- teenth Precinct. Detectives McNeany and Kortwright are attached to this Precinct, and are intelligent and faithful officers. The roundsmen are Fisher and Ringhouser. CHAPTER XXL Brooklyn's harbor police. The " Judge Mooue.'" — Its Description. — Where to Find It. — Where it Goes and When. — Its Captains and Crews. — Its Duties and Its Record. — River-Thieves, their Habits and Tricks. — A Model Dh'e. — The Old Charters of Dongan and CoRNBURY. — Private Piers. — River-Pirates. — Their Struggle With the Police. — Giving False Alarms to Their Enemy. — " Dutch Frank," the Pirate King. — Stealing a Hawser Under THE Captain's Nose.— Chased and Collared on Governor's Island by Officer Casey.— Who Stole the Rope. — Ted Perry the " Speculator."— Stealing a Canal Boat and Its Cargo OF Wheat. — The Police too Actlv^e for Them. — Disappear- ance OF A Truck and its Load op Sugar. — Officer McMahon Spoils a New and Ingenious Game at the Erie Basin. — The End of the Silver Gang. — The Combination Gang op Brook- lyn AND Staten Island. — Sergeant Eason's Gallant Capture — Officer McMahon Has a Long Chase. — Final Failure op Justice. — The Smoky Hollow Gang. — A Thief Makes a Bold Break for Liberty. — Sugar Stealing. — Thousands Wasted Wantonly. N November 18, 1885, a great improvement was effected in the police administration by the estab- Hshment of a steamboat-squad upon about the system that has been followed by the New York authorities for many years. A boat was purchased by the city government and named Judge Moore " in honor of the distinguished magistrate of the Court of Sessions. It has been in daily use ever since, and has become an invaluable protection to the vast water-front of the municipality. The ' ^ Judge Moore " is a handsome vessel, half -tug and half steam yacht, forty feet long, eight beam, and three and one-half 390 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. draught. Her build enables her to steam rapidly, and at the same time safely undergo the collisions, scrapings and concussions she is bound to meet in prowling about the wharves and bulkheads and passing into crowded sHps and basins. The vessel and crew, or squad, are at- tached ta the Fifteenth Precinct and are nominally com- manded by Captain Kellett. It takes a little daily rest at the foot of Atlantic Street, but nearly all the time, day and night, it is cruising along the water-front, which extends from Newtown Creek at Hunter's Point, along the East Eiver, Buttermilk Channel, New York Harbor and Growanus Bay to the foot of Sixtieth Street at Bay Eidge. It leaves usually at eight a.m. and re- turns at four P.M., when the crew is changed ; it then leaves again and returns after midnight. In summer it cruises all night. The first squad is commanded by Pilot Martin Casey, and consists of two deck hands or patrol- men and an engineer. The second, commanded by Pilot Fehx Brady, consists of two hands and an engineer. One of the deck hands, Philip Eodgers, is the relief pilot. The ' ' Judge Moore " does much more work than is usually believed. It pursues and captures river-pirates and recovers the booty, assists in quelling mutiny on ship- board, takes part in saving life and property at fires on the river-front or vessels, rescues drowning people, picks up derelict property, and intervenes in quarrels between seamen, stevedores and other maritime and semi-mari- time toilers. Its record in a year and a half is admirable, it having quelled two mutinies, arrested three sailors and thirty other persons, saved two lives (one by Officer Eodgers springing overboard and bringing the drowning man to the surface), and found and restored yachts, BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 391 boats, rafts and other lost property aggregating in value over eighteen thousand dollars. Besides all this work, it has driven the river-pirates out of business. The profes- sional river-thieves, the "Smoky Hollow" and "Red Hook Gangs," the " Canallers," the Gowanus and Bay Ridge gangs, the Eighth Ward " Hardscrabblers, " the Newtown and Wallabout crowds are all now things of the past. Before the steam-boat squad was instituted it was a difficult task to apprehend the river-thieves in the act. The moment they were discovered they took to the water, in which they were water rats and on which they were skilled and swift oarsmen. Beneath each wharf and in each bulkhead, were places, either left by the build- ers or constructed by themselves, to which they would swim under water and where they would remain for hours or until the officials had gone away. Beneath the pier of the Cornell property, now occupied by the Arbuckle Coffee Mills, they had constructed a floor and rude walls in which they lived, played cards, drank and consummated their plans of robbery and even murder. The police boat changed all this, making the water more dangerous than the land. As a consequence, the bolder spirits conceived their occupation gone and dropped their long careers of piracy, and only the more contemptible class, the sneak-thieves, remained. There is still a large element upon the watei*- front which requires to be watched and kept under subjection. Fortunately for Brooklyn, most of these are now in New York and intend to remain there. Another fact which protects Brooklyn are the provisions of the old Colonial charters of New York City— those of Dongan and Lord Cornbury. New York owned the 392 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. river up to the Long Island Avater-mark. As the pier and bulkhead line extends far past this limit, it is evi- dent that the metropolis still exercises a jurisdiction over our wharves, and is bound to capture and punish all v^rong-doers it may discover. For this reason the river- thief on the Nevr York side has to contend against the police of that city alone, but on the Brooklyn side he is compelled to run the gauntlet of the police of both cities. Another feature of the Brooklyn water-front, which is very noteworthy, is that it is nearly all under private and not public ownership. These owners are generally rich merchants or wealthy corporations, all of whom employ watchmen. Year by year this feature has grown, until to-day nineteen-twentieths of the property is in private hands, splendidly kept, watched and pro- tected. As a result of these many causes, or social and mu- nicipal factors, river thieving, or, as it might more ap- propriately be called, river piracy, on Brooklyn's shores is in a measure a thing of the past. Occasionally arrests are made, but they are of such a trivial nature compared with the depredations committed years ago that they can hardly be classed under the name. Fifteen to twenty years ago well organized gangs of men, known to the police as ^' speculators," plied their vocations along the Long Island shores, bidding defiance to the authori- ties. Often the thieves have been discovered at their work, but in the majority of cases the rascals were more than a match for the pohce and got off clear with their booty. In case an arrest was effected, the prisoner was pretty sure to be discharged, owing to the difficulty of producing the owners of the stolen property. From time Brooklyn's guardians. 393 to time valuable goods were discovered liidden under the docks and in other queer places, but it was seldom that the goods had to be hidden, as the thieves found willing purchasers in the numerous receivers who were generally on hand looking out for business. These river pirates displayed great boldness and cunning in their undertak- ings, and would stoop to any crime that would further their ends. Instances of their cunning are shown at every turn. On one occasion a number of men concocted a plan to steal a cargo of sugar from a vessel lying in the Erie Basin well off shore. To cover their work, the thieves caused it to be noised about that they would that night rob a floater anchored at a point in the river fully a mile from the vessel they in reality intended to pilfer. The police were on hand at the wrong place, and after waiting over two hom^s for the pirates, who did not put in an appearance, went back to the station, only to dis- cover the next day that they had been cleverly hoaxed and that the thieves had accomplished their purpose in another direction. A sharp watch was kept up for these jokers, but up to the present day they have not been dis- covered. One of the most notorious of the river pirates was Frank Schmidt, or, as he was more famiharly known, Dutch Frank.'' For years he carried on his thieving operations without interruption. His exploits were of a most daring character, and his name became familiar with all vessel owners and consignees. The authorities tried every means in their power to capture him, but did nut meet with success until the 13th of July, 1885, when they caught him and placed him under lock and key. On the day of his arrest, Dutch Frank,-' accompanied 394 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. by Bernard and Patrick Martin, two well-known dock thieves, visited the British steamship Sahsbury," which was then lying in the river at the foot of Pacific Street, and stole a hawser valued at fifty dollars. The Martin boys boarded the vessel, and mingling with a crowd of visitors managed to secure the hawser and a quantity of rope, which they passed in the presence of the captain and crew over the side of the vessel to Schmidt, who had remained in a row-boat close to the stern. The captain, who was on deck at the time, saw the act, and as Schmidt rowed off called to the tug-boat James A. Garfield," which he boarded and immediately set chase for the fast disappearing thief. Officer Martin Casey, in charge of the police patrol boat, the "Judge Moore," recognized in the fugitive the notorious Dutch Frank, " and getting up steam followed in the wake of the captain of the Salisbury." Schmidt made for Governor's Island and landed about two minutes before his pursuers. He struck inland for a hiding place^ but before he had gone a quar- ter of a mile was overtaken and after a short struggle made a prisoner. The * ^ Judge Moore " took Schmidt back to Brooklyn, where he was arraigned before a Police Justice and remanded for an examination. He was finally taken before Judge Moore, in the Court of Ses- sions, but he was not immediately tried. While the case was pending, another charge of stealing two hundred and fifty dollars' worth of rope from the ship "Stand- ard " was brought against him. This latter case came to trial, and Schmidt was found guilty and sent to prison for five years. Another successful thief was Edwin Perry, who also eluded the vigilance of the police for a number of years, 396 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. but was finally arrested and sent to Sing Sing for life for murder in the second degree. Perry built a small house on a float, and anchoring it at the foot of Montague Street carried on the business of receiving stolen goods. He did a thriving trade, having customers from three or four cities, and made a great deal of money. Perry transacted his business with such openness that it elicited remark, and Watchman Patrick Hayes was suspected of being in league with the receiver. A raid was made on the place, but the police found that their bird had flown. Nothing more was heard of Perry until the early part of 1870, when he was arrested as the murderer of Watch- man Hayes, who was shot through the heart while patrolling his post in front of Watson's Stores. The prisoner declared his innocence, but the evidence was too strong against him and he was convicted. He was afterwards pardoned and is now, to all appearance, lead- ing an honest life. The boldest deed ever committed by Brooklyn river- thieves was the attempt by flve men, four years ago, to steal a canal boat. This quintet of dare-devils consisted of Messrs. Walsh, Sullivan, O'NeiU, Bell and Callahan, who having learned that the captain of the canal boat, the John Bates " (which belonged to Starin & Co.), had gone to the theatre, seized a roAV-boat on the Brooklyn shore and rowed over to the Wall Street Ferry, New York, where the ' ^ Bates " was anchored. When they arrived there the thieves found the canal boat lashed to the side of a steamer; but this fact did not trouble them, as thej quietly cut the roi)es which connected the two boats, and haihng a passing tug-boat were towed over to the Boston Dry Dock, where they commenced to unload a valuable BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 397 cargo of wheat. Eoundsnian McMahoiij of the Eleventh Precinct, was an interested spectator of what had passed and recognizing in Walsh an old-time river thief he made up his mind to stop their little game. Going back to the Station-house, he secured the assistance of Captain Eeilly, who has since been made an inspector, and De- tective Looney. The three arrived on the scene of miloading just as the bags of wheat were being put upon a wagon, and the sudden appearance of the officers upon the spot so surprised the thieves that they were overcome with but little resistance. At the trial which followed Callahan assumed all the responsibilities of the crime, saying that he had hired the men to do the work. On this testimony Walsh, Sulhvan, O'Neil and Bell were released, and Callahan was sent to the Penitentiary for four years and eleven months. After serving three years of his sentence he escaped, but was captured three months afterwards in Xew York and brought back to serve out the remainder of his time. Almost as bold a robbery was experienced by Mr. Luther Westerbrook, a truckman, over thirteen years ago. Mr. Westerbrook had a commission to dehver eight hundred and ten pounds of sugar to the captain of a vessel lying at a dock near the South Ferry, on the New York side. It was in the afternoon when he undertook to dehver the goods. When he arrived in New York he could not find the vessel, and leaving his truck he went in search of it. He found it, but when he came to look for his truck it was gone. A diligent search failed to discover it and Mr. Westerbrook returned home with a heavy heart. Ten o'clock that evening the truck was found in South Brooklyn, with all its load of sugar 398 Brooklyn's guardians. removed. The perpetrators of this robbery were never discovered. Another style of river piracy, where the captain of a vessel combined with the thief to rob the owner, was unearthed a couple of years ago by Eoundsman Mc- Mahon. Jack Walsh and his brother Mike one dark night boarded the ''John Cody," one of Starin's boats, lying in the Erie Basin, and with the assistance of Cap- tain Lacken carried off twelve bags of wheat. Mc- Mahon watched the men unload their boat at the dock and saw them go away for a truck. One returned a quarter of an hour afterwards, and was arrested and taken to the Station. The roundsman came back just in time to capture the other thief who had returned with the truck. Mike Walsh was discharged from custody, but his brother did not fare so well, being sent to the Penitentiary for three years and six months. Captain Lacken, who was afterwards ai'rested, was sent to jail for twenty-nine days. Thomas Hunt, who was known as the leader of the "Silver Gang," five years ago was arrested by Eounds- man McMahon for stealing some block-rigging valued at forty-six dollars from the Boston Dry Dock, and was sent to the Penitentiary for three years and six months. The arrest and conviction of Hunt broke the gang up. It was composed of a dozen young desperadoes, chief among whom were Hugh Doherty, Bill Burns, Tom Hunt, Pat Murray and ''Ed" Eyans. None of the gang after the disbandment followed the river business, with the exception of Burns, who was arrested in about a year, but was not convicted. The '• Combination Gang " was made up of seven men. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 399 Three lived in Brooklyn, and disposed of all the goods they stole here in Staten Island, where their companions carried on their work. From Staten Island the remain- der of the gang sent the goods they seized to their Brooklyn companions, who got rid of them easily with- out fear of detection. Roundsman McMahon broke up the combination by arresting George Hoffman, the leader, as he was coming from Staten Island with some stolen property. Hoffman languished in jail for a while, but was finally discharged, as no owner for the property could be brought forward. On the 20th of August, 1880, Captain Campbell, of the old First Precinct Station-house, heard that a number of thieves had made their plans to rob a lighter lying at the foot of Joralemon street. Sergeant Eason was sent out in command of a force composed of Sergeant Bellew, Roundsmen Harold and Downing, Detectives Rhoddy and Lowery and six officers. At the dock the sergeant placed his men in concealment and started out to recon- noitre. He saw that the thieves were hard at work, but could not tell how many were engaged in the business. A signal brought his officers to the spot and before five minutes had passed three pirates were handcuffed, the rest escaping. The men gave their names as Joe Thorne, Bob Phiphand and Charles Wilson,, and they were indicted by the grand jury. A curious thing is that notwithstand- ing seven years have passed the thieves were never tried and are now at large, having been released on bail. The property recovered by the police in this haul was sixteen hundred pounds of sugar and two boats, all of which was returned to the owner. Joe Toole and a companion named Shay, earl} on a 400 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. morning three years ago, gave Roundsman McMahon a tough chase. The officer saw the men steal some sugar from a vessel lying at the Boston Dry Dock, and hiring a row boat he put after them. The thieves, see- ing that McMahon was gaining on them, hailed a tug- boat and offered five dollars for a tow. The offer was accepted and soon they were leaving their pursuer far behind. The roundsman discharged the seven chambers of his revolver at the fugitives, but did not hit them. Eo^ving into shore McMahon hired a wagon and drove at break-neck speed in the direction taken by Toole and Shay. When at the landing place of the thieves the roundsman arrested Shay, and after taking him to the station secured Toole, who had returned with a truck and was busily loading the stolen sugar. Despite all the trouble taken by the officer to arrest the men, they were never convicted owing to the same defect — that no own- er could be found, the vessel from which the things were stolen having put to sea. Early in March, 1884, Officer McLaughlin arrested two men who were acting in a suspicious manner around Martin's Stores. When brought before Captain Eason, of the Second Precinct Station-house, they gave their names as Frank White and Thomas Ward and upon be- ing questioned confessed that they were members of a gang that was planning to rob Martin's Stores. Acting on the information received the pohce arrested Phil White and Frank Williams as they were stealing goods from the stores. Ward, Williams and White when ar- raigned pleaded guilty, and were sent to prison for two years and a half each. Phil White was discharged. John White and Thomas Williams, two notorious BROOKLY>"'S GUARDIA>'S. 401 characters who made themselves a nuisance in the neigh- borhood of Wallabout Basin, were arrested two years ago for steahng, and sent to the penitentiary for two years and a half each by Judge Moore. The Smoky Hollow Gang" is now another thing of the past, thanks to the efficiency of Captain Reilly, and the Precinct and Central Office detectives. Its main headquarters were in the Sixth Ward in the neighbor- hood of South Ferry, but its operations extended as far south as Bed Hook and east to Wall Street Ferry. Few of them possessed the courage of the river pirates de- scribed ; in fact, all of them may be properly called the sneak-thieves of the water-front, k. favorite field for them was the immense district in the Twelfth Ward lying around the great Erie and Brooklyn Basins, then being constructed by Beard and Robinson. Here they reaped a continuous if not rich harvest by steahng tim- ber, workmen's clothes and tools and occasionally rob- bing vessels. The numerous shanties and deserted huts and sheds in the neighborhood, the tall grass in the salt meadows, Growanus Bay and the Canal offered them secure places in which to store their plunder and to dis- pose of it with impunity. Some of them must have been readers of yellow-covered hterature, as time and time again the pohce have discovered dens along the basins, filthy retreats in derelict canal boats, and deserted hovels that were fitted up in the most approved style of dime- novels and that contained odd collections of spoil from their many criminal exploits. Officer McKenna tells a funny story of one of the river-pirates: ^^I was near the foot of Jay Street one night, and was suddenly called by the captain of a brig 4:02 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. to come on board and arrest a robber. The captain had passed the evening with a friend, and on returning found his room in terrible disorder and several valuable articles missing. The watchman was on duty on the deck and declared that no one had passed him during the night. Leaving him to watch the companion-way, we rushed below and made a thorough search for the burglar. We worked like slaves an hour and then gave it up, concluding the thief had escaped. I was about to leave when some one sneezed. We sprang up and in a jiffy found the cause. The thief was a small and fright- fully thin young tough, who had concealed himself under the rumpled clothes of the captain's bed within five feet of where we were standing. He must have been there two hours and probably was nearly smothered. He pre- tended to be very drunk, but a few taps of the stick upon his soles sobered him up very quickly. He staggered to and fro as he went up the stairs and across the deck to the gang- way. Then like a flash he broke away from me, and jumped down between the ship and the dock. We stood waiting but he never came up. He must have swam under the water to the pier and hid himself on some shelf between the piles, because nobody was ever found, nor was complaint made of a missing man of his description. " One of the successful methods of thieves practised by the river pirates before the dock patrol was efficiently organized was to row under the docks, where, safe from observation, they could bore up through the timbers of the wharf into the sugar hogsheads which were stored above. It is frequently the case that when a ship is un- loaded at Martin's or Prentice's stores, the great hogs- Brooklyn's guardians. 403 heads of sugar or molasses lie on the docks several days, covered with tarpaulin, pending their removal by the lighters to the great refineries. During this time on many occasions half the contents of the lower tier of hogsheads were removed. The men working on the docks never thought of buying sugar for household use, but would fill their dinner pails from the hogsheads. This, however, was but a small item of the leakage. Along in the evening a couple of men in a stout White- hall boat would slink under the piei', and mth a large pump auger bore up through the wharf into the hogs- heads above and then catch the sugar as it ran down in bags which they had provided for the purpose. Four or five hundred pounds of sugar would be carried away in this manner, and as the pirates never took the trouble to plug up the holes enough sugar has been wasted in this way to sweeten the East River. Some times the auger would miss its aim and plunge up into a barrel of mo- lasses. Then the sticky fluid would descend into the boat amid choice river-pirate profanity. They would row the boat away and let the molasses run into the river. Coffee was occasionally stolen in the same man- ner, and it is not an extravagant estimate to assert that hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sugar and molasses have been stolen and wasted in this manner, probably more wasted than stolen. This method of thieving was for a long time practised, no doubt in many instances mth the contrivance of the dock watchmen. The trade was so good and so many were concerned in it that it became imperative that the storage men should take some action in the matter. The thieves did not confine their depredations to work 404 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. under the dock, but would grab a whole sack of coffee, or any merchandise portable enough to be carried in a row boat, and make off with it. Things came to such a pass that there was an investigation, many of the dock watchmen were discharged and a wharf patrol was organized. CHAPTER XXIL THE RAYMOND STREET JAIL. Fort Greene. — Its Edge op Buildings. — The Lock-up in 1830. — The New Jail of 1836. — The Old Court-House Made a Jail. — The New Jail of 1879. — Its Appearance and Entrances. — The Main hall and Office. — The Interior.— How it Looks and How it is. — The Black Marias. — The Women's Ward and Its Interior. — Warden Martin Burroughs and His Staff. — Keeper Shevlin. — Engineer Thomas. — Drivers Evans and Cassidy. — Their Courage. — The Warden's Duties and Re- sponsibilities. — Capacity of the Jail. — Civil Prisoners. — Their Hard Time — A House of Detention Wanted. — Disci- pline OF THE Prisoners. — Their Tasks and Daily Life.— Visiting Days and Visitors. — What They Say and Do. — Inglis, THE Suspected. — Unpopularity of Female Prisoners. — Prison Fare Not Hotel Fare.— Fuchs, the Murderer. — How Prison- ers Behave. — Old Offenders.— Odd Recreations. — Police Kindness. — Incorrigibility of "Revolvers" and "Rounders."— No Romances in Jail History. rriNE of the loveliest spots in the city is Fort Greene, or llJ Washington Park, as the Park Commissioners have re-christened it of late years. It is a graceful roll- ing hill covering nearly one-fifth of a mile square, and bounded by DeKalb Avenue, Cumberland Street, Myrtle Avenue, Jackson Street and Eaymond Street. Covered with velvet lawns, vigorous trees and shrubbery, and serpentine walks, it has long been a favorite resting-place for young and old. On it Washington made his last stand against the British conquest of Long Island. Its western edge, once a green meadow, is now set apart for four notable institutions. At the southwestern end is St. Phoebe's Mission, a beautiful building and a more 406 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. beautiful tribute to a departed daughter by her father, A. A. Low. In the middle are the City and Orthopedic Hospitals, two noble charities, whose only rivalry is in the excellence of their management and the skill and success of their physicians. At the northwest corner is an irregular pile of granite buildings and enclosing walls. One side faces Raymond Street and the other on the place where Willoughby Street would be if nature had not barricaded its way with Fort Greene. The surrounding neighborhood is rough, and contains mostly rickety tenement houses, stables, and ancient sheds and factories. Prior to 1836 the present site was occupied by a rude '^lock-up" or ^'coop," similar to those in use at the present day in provincial towns and villages throughout the United States. It afforded only a slight hold on any offender of the law who chanced to be detained there, and became inadequate to the increasing number of crimi- nals from the several towns by which it was used. By a resolution of the Kings County Board of Supervisors the corner stone of a new jail was laid and the building completed in 1836. Brooklyn was then little more than a village, and supplied the new structure with about the same number of inmates as Williamsburgh, Bushwick, Flatbush, Flatlands, New Utrecht and the other towns of Kings County. The building was a long and narrow stone structure, two stories in height and accommodating two hundred persons. It faced on Willoughby Street, and touched a brown-stone building used by the Board of Supervisors and various other county officials as a meeting- place. With the growth of the city and the annexation of BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 40Y Williamsburgh and Bush wick both jail and building be- came too crowded for further use. The latter was con- verted into a jail, while the former was made a store- house and omnium gatherum," which it has been ever since. The brown-stone building was an improvement upon its predecessor, but like it it proved eventually too small to accommodate the prisoners sent there from the courts. After many suggestions the county authorities selected a site for a new and commodious jail alongside of the old, and built the present structure. It was finished in 1879 and is to-day one of the best edifices of its class in the country. The old jail was re- fitted and made into a women's ward. The change was a wise one, as the two together seem adequate for a municipal population of two millions. The new structure is built of granite, three stories high. It is about twenty feet south of the women's jail and entirely surrounded by a wall. Its main entrance is at the top of a high stoop through a large doorway, protected by two heavy oak doors bound together with thick iron bands. The windows are large, regular and, as usual, hea^aly barred. The entrance for vehicles is through a lane between the south wall of the jail and the granite enclosure around the east side into the jail yard. It is paved with cobble stones, and has been the scene of many hangings and other spectacles of horror and sorrow. Along the entire frontage on Raymond Street is a space, between the walls and sidewalk, of about ten feet, which is kept as a lawn, but the grass is always suggestively withered and dead. The general idea con- 408 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. veyed to the stranger's mind as he gazes for the first tirae on the buildings, is the same as Dante said of the entrance to Hades : '^Abandon all hope ye who enter here. " Entering the jail at the main entrance you find a short hall which crosses another at right-angles. On the left is the warden's private ofiice, while just beyond is the door leading to the jail yard and thence to the women's prison. Turning to the left from the warden's office after crossing the main hall is the reception room, op- posite to which are the keepers' bedrooms. At the end of the main hall is the receiving or business ofiice, through which is the only entrance to the jail proper. On the second fioor of the front part of the building are the sheriff's quarters, while the third floor is used for pris- oners for debt and the living apartments of the war- den. The jail proper is built on the block system — two blocks, composed of four tiers or galleries, containing four hundred and thirty-two cells. Each cell is ventilated, and provided with a cot and the latest sanitary improve- ments. Each is eight feet long by five and a half wide. The walls are white -washed and painted outside ^vith disinfecting paint. The tiers are made of iron, while the floors are concrete over heavy blue-stone slabs. The lower floor is used for prisoners in bad health but not sick enough to be sent to the hospital. This enclosure is hghted by gas from sunset until sunrise, which, al- though it does not afford enough light for the prisoners to read by, makes the jail comparatively cheerful. At the extreme east end are two long sinks and two large tubs, which are used as lavatories. The ground floor BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 409 beneath the front part of the building is used for a stable, in which are kept seven horses. These are em- ployed upon the vans, or Black Marias," four in num- ber and built of iron, with separate compartments for men and women. Emerging from the main building, a walk of about fifty feet across a well-paved yard brings you to the women's prison or ward. This is the old building for- merly used as a court-house and meeting place for the Board of Supervisors. The inside of the building is all new and divided into square halls lettered from A to F. These halls contain eighteen rooms, each opening one into the other. Every room contains six iron beds, with mattress, sheets and blankets. Each hall has a separate wash-room. The first floor is only used for unruly pris- oners, the second to keep the i^risoners awaiting trial, while the third floor contains the short-time prisoners. Heavily barred iron doors connect the halls with the stair- way, but other than this the inmates are without res- triction. The rooms are well lighted by windows. The ventilation is of the best. The walls are hard finished, while the sub -base is of oak. The old male prison fronts along Willoughby Street, but is now only used as a store- house. Around the entire jail runs a wall fifteen feet high and two feet thick. As in all the counties of the state, the Sheriff of King's County is the legal custodian of the jail. As a matter of fact he is seldom there, the more important" duties of his office keeping him in the court-house. His deputy for jail purposes is known as the Warden. The present occupant of the office, Martin V. B. Bur- roughs, was an active member of the old Volunteer Fire 410 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Department, and since 1865 has held many places under the city and county government. He has long been an important political factor in South Brooklyn, and especially in the Eighth and Twen- ty-second Wards. For many years he was a member of a group of prominent Democratic politicians, which in- cluded Hon. John Delmar, Hon. Theophilus Olena, Su- pervisor Chamberlain, Supervisor Lake, Charles Vaughan, Col. Michael Bennett, Hon. John B. Longley, Col. John Meyenberg, Samuel Hemingway and others. Prior to 1885 he was a clerk in the County Treas- urer's office, under Hon. Henry H.Adams. Personally Mr. Burroughs is genial and popular, while officially he is one of the best disciplinarians the jail has ever had. The warden's staff comprises three keepers : Patrick Shevlin, Thomas Kinney and Patrick Urell ; a matron. Miss Mary Cunningham; a visiting physician, Dr. A. W. Shepherd ; two van-drivers, James H. Cassidy and Jos- eph Evans ; and an engineer, ex-Supervisor E. J. Thomas. Keeper Shevlin is admirably fitted for his place. Over six feet high, he is proportionately wide and muscular. His experience in positions of the kind is long and event- ful, he having served as watchman in the Navy Yard, a seven years' term as a keeper in the Penitentiary and four years in his present position. He bears an enviable record for heroism as a fireman, having rescued four lives in as many fires, at the imminent risk of his own. Engineer Thomas is also an old fire-boy with a record and is, besides, a war veteran. He served through the great rebellion and took part in the many naval battles under Admiral Farragut which opened the Mississippi BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 411 to the noi'thern forces. After the war he took an active part in politics and at one time was Supervisor of the Fourth Ward. ^latron Cunningham gained her knowledge by a long- experience as nurse in the Flatbush Lunatic Asylum, and at the same time earned a good reputation for kind- ness, firmness and industry. Dr. A. W. Shepherd, the visiting physician of the jail, is one of the best known and respected professional men of the city. He gained his present position years ago by his abihty and reputation, and not by attending primar- ies and conventions. He has remained ever since through all administrations and to all has given satisfaction. He enjoys a large and lucrative practice, and lives in fine style on the corner of Willoughby and Dutfield streets. Van-drivers Cassidy and Evans are known by sight to every man, woman and child in the City of Churches. They have driven the " Black Marias " for many years and have never yet lost an escape." Both are grave, taci- turn and patient men, and both are as muscular and courageous as gladiators. Evans has been known to knockout " six prisoners who made a simultaneous attack upon him, and scare them all without caUing for assistance. Cassidy has often faced armed ruffians de- termined to effect the escape of a pal, and successfully resisted and baffied their attempts. Though silent and reserved on duty, they are both genial and interest- ing men when released from ofiicial business. The duties of the warden and keepers are many and onerous. The jail is open under the statutes at all hours of the day and night, and one of the keepers is always on guard to open the door. They receive all prisoners, and 412 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. enter their names, addresses, terms of sentence and other memoranda upon the records. They make up the accounts upon which the Sheriff receives his monthly payments from the Board of Supervisors and the Coun- ty Treasurer. They are responsible for the prisoners and the property of the county, and also for the condition of the buildings and all their inmates. They receive visitors and conduct them through the cells, bring pris- oners from their rooms to consult with counsel, quell all revolts and insubordination, and oversee the work of house- cleaning and repairing required of the inmates of the jail. The present capacity of the jail is six hundred and eighty-two prisoners — four hundred and thirty-two males, a]id two hundred and fifty females. It has never yet been fully tested, the average number being two hundred and eighty, of which about fifty are women. The exact number Saturday night, April 23d, 1887, was two hundred and ninety-five. The prisoners come mostly from the City of Brooklyn, although there are always a number of inmates who are brought from New York and other cities to await trial, having visited Brooklyn to carry out their crimes and had their liberty long enough to leave Long Island. Not a few of the drunks" and one-day prisoners hail from New Jersey. The jail is used for both civil and criminal cases. This gross injustice works great hard- ships, as under the law a. man can be arrested civilly for an alleged slander or libel, a physician or a dentist for a mistake of judgment, a lawyer for differences of ac- count with his client, a husband for the misdeeds of his wife, an unfortunate merchant for insolvency, a divorcee BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 413 for non-payment of alimony, a witness belonging to some other state, and any person for an accident where- by a third party is injured. It would be but fair to place them in a House of Detention, to which no stigma is at- tached. To treat them as common criminals in every respect is a relic of barbarism. As their escape makes the Sheriff pecuniarily liable, while that of a criminal costs him nothing, the civil prisoner is watched with greater vigilance and kept in more secure quarters than is the wrong-doer. For this reason he is usually incar- cerated in the top floor of the building, where in sum- mer the hot roof makes the rooms a perfect purgatory, and where in winter the water in their pitchers frequently freezes. It is behoved that this disgraceful state of affairs wiU soon be remedied by the Board of Supervis- ors and that an appropriate edifice will be erected for civil prisoners only. The discipline enforced by Warden Burroughs and the keepers is admirable. The prisoners are awakened at 6 :30, A. M., and receive breakfast, consisting of a quart of coffee and a half pound of bread. All hands are then turned out of the ceUs and marched to the tubs, where each prisoner is compelled to wash himself thoroughly, soap and towels being furnished in abundance. A short time is allowed them for exercise and then they are re- turned to their cells. A certain number are assigned to the house-work. This consists of cleaning the corridors, walls and floors of the jail, the yard and stable, curry-combing and rubbing the horses, washing the vans, painting worn surfaces, distributing disinfectants. In the office the keepers are kept busy getting ready the prisoners who are to be taken to the different courts. 414 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. After they are safely in the vans and driven off, the prisoners whose terms have expired are discharged and the books written up by the keepers. By the time this is finished the vans begin to return from the courts with the morning's commitments. They are registered in the big blotter and their full pedigree taken. The last batch usually arrives about noon, and in time for a dinner consisting of meat, or fish, potatoes and bread. After those sent to the Penitentiary have started for their destination, visitors begin to arrive. Visiting days are Thursdays and Sundays, and the hours between two and four o'clock in the afternoon. On the other days of the week a number are admitted by passes from the Un- der Sheriff. On regular visiting days the crowd runs into the hundreds and comprises people from all walks in life. Take a seat in the receiving ofhce any Sunday after- noon and you will be interested during the two hours set apart for the visitors. At two o'clock sharp a keeper swings open the big oak door leading to the main en- trance. There, crowded together on the to]) step and very often on every other step down to the side -walk, is a crowd eagerly awaiting entrance. One by one as they pass over the threshold the keeper searches them. Noth- ing in the way of a knife, pointed instrument or spiritu- ous liquor is allowed to remain in their possession. They then pass along the hall into the office where, be- fore passing out into the tiers, they receive a ticket, without which they are unable to get out. Mothers, wives, daughters, husbands, brothers, friends and lovers — all look anxious and eager to see the one they love. All carry bundles of some kind and many huge baskets, filled with good things to eat, tobacco and wearing apparel. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 415 Few speak to the keeper, but pass on to the galleries. They know where the cell is and have been there often before. Now and then some new face appears and asks for a prisoner just installed behind the bars. They always look more careworn and troubled at first, and a mother asks Where is my son not giving any name. It is the first time she has ever been inside prison walls and slie thinks only of the son who has brought so much trouble to her heart. As time goes on and the weeks lengthen into months, the mother or sweetheart takes the situa- tion in a more matter of fact way; the prayer books and religious tracts are succeeded by light reading matter, which, with a cheerful countenance displayed by the giver, does more to brighten up the prisoner than aught else. When that fellow Inglis was here, suspected of being the murderer of Lyman S. Weeks," said Keeper ShevHn, 'Hhere used to be a little girl about fifteen, pretty and lively as a cricket, come to see him. She seemed to brighten the jail the moment she entered. She used to wear a blue dress and a big hat stuck on the back of her head. Inglis would be dull and moody all the morning, but after she had gone, with a pleasant ^ good-bye ' to the keepers, he would not show any signs of down-hearted- ness for thirty-six hours. And I don't think she ever hardly spoke of the alleged crime while she was at his cell door. " Over in the women's ward visitors are not so thick. The female prisoners seem to have fewer friends in the time of need. They are subjected to less solitude than the males and seldom require disciplining in any form. The vast majority are poor drunkards, who have lost 416 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. home, family, reputation, and hope through liquor, and who take incarceration with an equanimity that would be perfect were it not for the perpetual craving of their stomach and nerves for stimulants. At five o'clock on visitors' days the callers leave, and the debris they have left is swept up. At six supper is served, the bill of fare being the same as at breakfast. The table-ware is primitive, consisting of a tin cup al- most as large as a tomato-can, which irreverent jail-birds style a growler," a tin plate and sometimes a tin spoon. The food, though plain, is good and wholesome. It is varied from day to day, so as to give the dietetic varia- tion required by health. Its plainness is not relished by prisoners accustomed to other fare. Fuchs, the German who murdered his wife's paramour and cut the corpse into fragments, revolted against the white bread supplied to him, and although eager to escape the gallows threat- ened to starve himself to death unless provided with rye bread, butter and Swiss cheese. Nearly all the male prisoners, however, receive delicacies from friends and relatives, and so do not complain. Female prisoners appear habituated to privation and insufficient food, and receive their rations with some ap- parent degree of pleasure. At dusk the great hall-lights are turned on and at eight most of the inmates are doz- ing. The conduct of prisoners presents the widest varia- tions. Those who are hard drinkers in liberty experience the greatest pain. Some give vent to their feelings in fiendish yells and imprecations ; others Undergo a tem- porary illness in the nature of delirium tremens ; others again are so prostrated as to be hardly able to move ivom BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 417 their cots. To all of these is administered a nauseous mixture, con'feisting of cheap whiskey, iron, quinine and some drug with a disgusting taste. One dose generally cures the craving. Prisoners who are not drunkards seldom display their feelings by much noise. Those who are imiocent and those who have committed their first offense usually feel their disgrace keenly, and mope and brood in silence. Some break down and rival women in nervous attacks, weeping and hysteria. Others display a philosophic calm and wait patiently until they are transferred or discharged. Old offenders sometimes treat their incarceration as a huge joke, and keep up their spirit by ribaldry and pro- fane conversation. Others beg for reading matter and try to bury their thoughts in novels or books of travel. A third class try to while away their time in sleep, or in some occupation which requires thinking and careful at- tention. One German who occasionally receives a ^Hen- dollar or ten-day " sentence for disorder and drunken- ness, consumes every spare moment in durance vile in building full-rigged ships inside of narrow-mouthed bot- tles. The feat is a difficult one, and when successfully accomplished often realizes a few dollars for the maker. Another revolver," as those frequently imprisoned for drunkenness are called, is an old sailor, who in his sober moods turns out handsome toy sloops and schooners with remarkable quickness and skill. The short-term prisoners constitute a large majority. Most of them are ' ' sent up " for drunkenness ; a few for assault and battery or disorderly conduct. Their physical condition when they reach the cells is a high compliment to the police force. No matter how dis- 418 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. orderly or pugnacious they are, or how much provoca- tion they give the officer, it is exceedingly rare for the latter to lose his temper and use the club. As a result, the broken heads, bruised arms and sore muscles, so common to their class in other cities where the constable never tires of wielding the baton, are seldom seen at the jail. An unfortunately large fraction of this class of offend- ers appears to be incorrigible. Dr. M. Dugdale, who gave the subject great attention, once said before the Brooklyn Philosophical Society: "After many years the action of the alcohol and the habits produced by its use are no longer resisted by the human system, but affect the confirmed drunkard organically. He undergoes a change and can no longer modify his second nature, but remains a charge upon society all his life, and, trans- mitting his tendencies to the next generation, creates a new set of drunkards, for which the State is compelled to make provision." His views are confirmed by the opinions of Deputy County Clerk Daniel M. Tredwell, a distinguished writer — Hon. Eipley Ropes, of the State Charities Association, Justice Andrew Walsh and others who have studied the facts. It may disappoint romantic young ladies and lovers of fiction, but thus far in the history of the jail there has not been one instance of the innocent pursued by the villain being unjustly incarcerated. Of course num- berless w^omen, especially pretty ones, and many men claim that they are the victims of vile conspiracies. But in every case the Sheriff has record of, the woman turned out to be an adventuress or even worse, and the man to be a knave or a professional wrong-doer. The Brooklyn's guardians. 419 falsehood, however, is a profitable one. When joined with religious hypocrisy it dupes the missionaries who daily visit the jail, and invariably wins the sympathy and its practical expression from kind-hearted but fool- ish men and women. Generally these impostors are exposed by the police. Some officer who knows them learns of their incarceration and reveals their identity or record. These are added to the blotter and frequently offer a grotesque contrast to the imaginary pedigree " given by the offender. CHAPTEB XXIIL THE PENITENTIARY. The Bastile of Brooklyn.— Its Appearance and Beauty. — Its En- trance LIKE Dante's Inferno — The Interior. — The Cells AND the Oubliettes. — The Dreary Court- Yard. — The Fe- male Prison. — Bits of Beauty. — Decorating the Cells op the Unfortunates. — The Three Matrons. — Kate Manning, the Beautiful House-Thief. — Mrs. Melville, the Would-be Child-murderer. — Ella Larrabee, the Female Burglar. — Punishment. — Discipline. — Warden Green's Splendid Services. HE Brooklyn Penitentiary, Crow Hill, is rather pleas- ing to the eye ; its surroundings present a beautiful rural aspect. In front are great level meadows, thickly carpeted with grass and dotted with noble trees, under which cattle rest their broad sides and contentedly chew the cud. The four thoroughfares — Crown Street, Presi- dent Street, Nostrand Avenue and Eodgers Avenue — which surround the Penitentiary site are all of generous width and are beautifully edged with trees. The main edifice is built in the Middle English Castellated style of architecture, of a dark blue stone, enlivened occasionally by a white square of granite which adds greatly to the general appearance. Wide stone steps lead to the large entrance doors, and here all beauty ends. The high stone wall surrounding the block stamps it Prison," and the small turret on each corner, pierced with win- dows on every side, adds strength to the impression. ' Pull the old-fashioned brass bell, and in a few seconds masculine footsteps are heard along the corridor. Then BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 421 a man with a blue suit and brass buttons unlocks the barred door with a key that Peter would blush to car- ry. He swings the door slowly open and asks : What do you want ? " ''To see the Warden." Follow your nose if it be straight, until you come to a door labeled ''Office." The front door closes with a heavy clang and the world is locked out. Clatter, patter resound your heels on the corridor floor ; and in a brief space you are in the presence of Warden Green. With a most courteous manner, his blue eyes gleaming with pleasantry, he dons his coat and offers to show you the land in which he rules king over life's unfortunates. To the right is a door labeled "Long Term Prison," and to the left " Short Term Prison." The interior ar- rangements in both are exactly alike. Whitewashed walls, clean stone floor, and in the center a tier of cells from floor to roof, enclosed with iron balconies. The cells are small square apartments, holding a cot and wash-stand. They are kept spotlessly clean and often decorated quite artistically by the inmates. Little bits of outside life show themselves everywhere. Pictures cut from papers, of different people and places, are hung on the white walls. The iron doors are often draped with muslin curtains, giving prisoners a privacy otherwise denied. Every inmate is assigned a cell when he begins his sentence, and this is his home until liberated. Several dark cells with blind doors, or oubliettes, as our Gallic neighbors call them, occupy a conspicuous position. They are furnished with a hard bed, whose mattress is of planks, and are entirely devoid of light. An unruly prisoner is put in here, and is his own jailor. That is, so soon as liQ 422 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. repents, so soon is he liberated ; but until then he re- mains solitary, in darkness and with no nourishment but bread and water. When leaving the main building, the enclosed space does not look inviting. The several large red brick build- ings are plain and ancient in design. The wide walks are bare, and the few grass plots enclosed by small white fences do not enliven the aspect. The female prison has one hundred and nine inmates, of whom six are for life. Their cells are very neat and show the touch of woman in everything, which is painfully absent in the male quarters. The corridors are sweet with clinging vines and blooming plants, which are donated by friends and charitable persons to the prisoners every Easter. They are very tenderly cherished and when the term of one expires she always presents her flowers to some fellow- prisoner who is yet to remain behind the bars. If the prison is not crowded the life-prisoners are made as com- fortable as the Matron can contrive. They have two cells assigned to them, one being a bed-room, while the other answers as a parlor. These they are anxious to have look as nice and neat as may be. In several are small altars, arranged to the best of the prisoners' ability. During the day they sit in the corridor sewing and talk- ing quietly among themselves. Some few work in the shoe factory which stands some one hundred yards dis- tant. They generally long for occupation and welcome work as a boon. The women are entirely under the control of the- ma- tron, Mrs. McKearan, a pleasant -faced, silver-haired lady. Mrs. Cannion is the kitchen matron and Miss Dun- lea vy matron of the shoe-factory. There are some twelve BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 423 female colored prisoners, one serving a life term for kill- ing her child. Among the notable prisoners is Kate Manning, who stands at the head of her profession as a thief. She has been the subject of many a newspaper item and is singularly interesting. In appearance she is tall and slenderly built, but of beautifully rounded pro- portions. Her complexion is fair and her hair yellow. She is said to be a jDerfect mistress of six different lan- guages and to be equally well educated in other branches. Her hfe in prison differs entirely from that of other con- victs. She never makes any acquaintances nor permits the least conversation between herself and the other women. She receives no letters and writes none, and she never has a visitor. There has never been a time when she earned reproof. Her work is done well and with de- spatch, and she has never been heard to make a complaint or to ask a privilege, although she stands in favor with all the matrons. Kate has twice escaped from Sing Sing, and it seems almost impossible to keep her locked up when she wants to get out. Her system of thieving is to engage herself as a domestic servant in some well-to- do household and, after working for three days at the most, to disappear with the valuables. What becomes of them and who assists her has never been known. She is very anxious to keep people from seeing her face. When visitors go into the jail she always runs and hides. Her movements are quick and graceful. Where she goes when released they never know, but she is always brought back. Never before did she express the least re- gret at her actions, but the last time she told Miss Dun- leavy, matron of the shoe factory, that she would en- deavor to keep outside of prison walls forever hereafter. 424 Brooklyn's guardians. Mrs. Melville, who chained a child to the floor in order to get the money that would come to her in case it died, sits quietly sewing in the whitewashed corridors all day long. She talks to her fellow- prisoners about her deed without the least show of feeling. Her excuse for the outrageous treatment of the helpless child is that she found the stair-carpet torn, and it hurt her to think the child was so naughty and ungrateful to her. All the pris- oners when in company talk over what they were put in for and tell how it was done with a great show of brag. " Some even tell how they killed husband and children as we would relate an interesting story we have read. One of the life prisoners has a very gentle face and manner. She does her duties carefully and is very quiet and sad. Some twenty years she has been confined within four walls. What for ? Well, she had a brutal husband who used to come home dmnk and beat her. She was com- pelled to work to maintain herself and child. One night, being driven to desperation by the blows of her cowardly husband, she picked up her baby, and rushing from the house determined to cast both herself and child into the river. On the muddy banks the wretched woman stood. One silent kiss — she was long past tears — and she threw her baby far out into the rushing waters. One tiny scream smote the mother's ears and awakened the crazed memory ; but with it the child sank and its little innocent soul left its body forever. Eealizing what she had done the mother left the river and wandered aim- lessly back into the city. Of course she was arrested, tried and sentenced for life, while the cause of it all was left quietly alone by the law. Among.the other life prisoners is Mary Brooks, who was BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 425 convicted of poisoning her step-daughter, but is beheved to have poisoned fifteen persons before the commission of that crime. She is a large, loosely-built woman, with a hard countenance — one that looks capable of committing such deeds. She has been twenty-five years in prison. Polly Frisch has already served twenty-seven years of a Ufe term for killing her husband and two children. She is about fifty-five years old and looks good for twenty years yet. The histories of all these life-term prisoners, in fact, are more or less interesting. The rules governing the female prisoners are very simple. They are required to rise at 5:30 a. m., break- fast at 6, go to work at 7 and toil until 6 p. m., with an hour for dinner. They can retire at any hour they please. Warden Green does not now allow the women to receive male visitors as he did formerly. Whenever a good-looking female was sentenced, a whole regiment of uncles, cousins, fathers and brothers were sure to haunt the prison on all sorts of excuses, and the privi- lege was thereupon withdrawn. Romance is often found within prison walls. Wives have met with husbands whom they had not seen for years. A great many people have heard of Ella Larrabee, who is famous in her line as a burglar. She recently served her third term, which was for three and a half years, and earned her release last May. When she was serving her second term her mother came to see her one day, and as they were about to part the male prisoners came marching to their cells from the work-shop. The visitor caught her daughter by the arm, and pointing to one of the prisoners said: "Ella, there is your father." There were no screams or fainting, as in novels or modern 420 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. melodramas; no happy reconciliations, but the young- girl looked quietly on the father, in convict garb, whom she had never seen before in her hf e. It seems that when a young man the father belonged to a good family. In a foolish moment he won the love of a servant in his own household, and in a short time was a father without being a husband. Consequently, when the mother had been delivered and was able to be about, they came to Brooklyn and left the wee babe on a doorstep. It was found by a policeman and shortly after adopted by two good, honest but childless people. They did their best to rear the girl in ways that were straight, but from the time she could creep she would take things without ask- ing permission. She kept on in her dishonest ways until she became an expert thief and finally landed in jail, as all such experts do. Long before this period the father had wearied of his humble love and the two had drifted apart. Quite strange to say, each, unknown to the other, kept track of the child ; and when she went to jail on her first term her mother visited her and introduced her- self to the woman she had deserted in babyhood some twenty years before. Ella had no love for the new mother, but the acquaintanceship was maintained. The father had married several times in the course of these years, and had donated many f oundhngs to doorsteps and charitable homes. He had needed some extra money and tried to obtain it by means which the law condemns, and being caught, was sent to prison. He knew his daughter was there, and so they met. When released, he offered to take Ella, but she refused and returned to the parents of her adoption to stay until her mania for larceny once again sent her to jail. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 427 She has worked in the shoe shop in the Penitentiary, and is skillful in every branch of the trade. There is something appropriate in this, as it was her small foot- prints which she left in the ground at the scene of her last burglary that led to her arrest. Her prison life was gilded with quite a romance. She had only been under Warden Green's charge a few months when a young farmer, Daniel Shrague, from Connecticut, pre- sented himself one day at the prison and begged for an interview with the fair young offender. To the surprise of Ella, the young man declared that he had fallen in love with her after reading the reports of her exploits in the papers, that he was more and more charmed now that he had met her, and that he was willing then and there to make her his wife, if a pardon could be obtained. He even went so far as to tell Warden Green that if a minister could be summoned he Avould marry Ella on the spot and take the chances of securing her liberty after- wards. On Mr. Green's advice, the young farmer from Connecticut agreed to postpone the nuptials until Judge Moore, who imposed sentence, was communicated with. Judge Moore refused to recommend a pardon for Ella, and Mr. Shrague returned to his Connecticut farm, but not until he had most solemnly proinised to marry Ella as soon as her term was completed. For several months Ella continued to receive love-letters from Connecticut, but they grew less and less effusive in their protestations of affection, and finally ceased altogether. When Ella, however, discarded her prison garb and Mr. Green es- corted her to the door, she recalled the young farmer's promise of two years ago, and, looking around, asked: Where is Mr. Shrague?" There was no response, and 428 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. with a smile Ella bade Mr. Green good-bye and departed with the Rev. Mr. Bass, the chaplain of the institution, who had taken a great interest in the reformation of the young woman and made arrangements to provide her with a home a considerable distance from Brooklyn. The male convicts wear gray striped suits, and the fe- male prisoners plain waists and full skirts of coarse blue cloth. None of them care to read much, but they all like to attend service on Sundays. They have Catholic service in the forenoon and Protestant in the afternoon. Many of them attend both. The men are all employed in the shoe factory. They work very quietly, but they do not like to keep silent. Like women, they want to talk, but great placards say: ^'The men employed by this firm are under no consideration allowed to talk or speak to the prisoners. " Nor are prisoners allowed to converse during the day. The keepers say the quickest way to subdue a man is to enforce solitude. It kills a man quicker than anything else would, and keeps him from talking. There are 404 long-term male prisoners and 329 short- term prisoners in the Penitentiary at the present writing. The prison has been open to the public some thirty years. The largest number of prisoners ever sentenced in one year was one thousand five hundred and seventy. There are some fifteen bigamists now suffering the penalty of a too warm heart. The rules of the place allow them to see wife No. 1 if they wish, but refuse to admit the others. Quite up to human disposition, they never want to see No. 1, but always long for the last one added to the list. One who is now in prison has had six wives BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 429 in his short time. Becker, the expert forger, who flooded Turkey, Italy and France with counterfeit money, is one of the conspicuous guests. He got §64,000 on a note from the Trust Company, and was offered $250 a week by the Bank of France if he would do work for them. He refused with scorn. He is a rather prepos- sessing man of medium height and weight, brown hair and gray eyes. He is pleasant to talk with, and im- presses one as being very intelligent. The management by Warden G-reen deserves especial credit. While a strict disciplinarian, he does his best to improve the moral, intellectual and physical condition of his wards. Many prisoners enter duress suffering from serious diseases. Nearly all are discharged in a condition of good health. For tho3e who desire instruction or read- ing every facility is provided. Strange to say, the con- victs do not seem to take much to books or literature of any sort, unless it be a local newspaper or some sporting periodical. Mr. Green says that he was astonished when he first took office at the indifference displayed in the premises by the prisoners ; that though they have hours and days of leisure during their terms of sentence, they seldom express a desire to use the works in the library which the courtesy of philanthropic citizens has presented to the Penitentiary. In the few instances where revolt threatened the lives of the keepers and the safety of the inmates, Warden Green has displayed a cool self-possession and a superb courage worthy of admiration. Each case was quelled, and the ringleader or ringleaders punished in almost less time than it takes to tell it. Besides the discipline so sturdily maintained, Warden Green makes it a special 430 Brooklyn's guardians. duty to keep the buildings and grounds in the best sani- tary condition. In crowded places of this character there is always danger of disease ; jail fever, malarial troubles and epidemics are matters of everyday occurrence. Only eternal vigilance in such cases can preserve the health of the inmates. Cleanliness, disinfection and prompt med- ical attendance enable Mr. Green to succeed in his en- deavor — an endeavor whose success is an affair of most pleasant notoriety throughout the land. The convicts, despite the Constitutional Amendment which was passed, prohibiting contract prison-labor, are still engaged upon that kind of work, in pursuance of a contract between the authorities and the Bay State Shoe and Leather Company. The business done by the cor- poration this way is vast and very profitable. As it re- quires some time to teach a man to learn one of the forty- five arts now required to make a shoe, it is clear that long- term prisoners are much more remunerative than short- term ones. For this reason the public officials for many years have pursued the uniform policy of restricting the short-term prisoners as much as possible to the jail in Eay- mond Street, and of not sending long-term convicts to any one of the State's prisons, as under the Revised Statutes they have the po^\ er to do. The treatment of the convicts by the corporation is in the main just and equable. While instances of serious harshness, injustice and cruelty are frequently published, most, on investigation, prove to be gross exaggerations, and very many to be purely myth- ical, while those which are fully authenticated are ex- tremely rare. CHAPTER XXIV. POLICE COURTS AND JUSTICES. The City Police Court. — A Handsome Structure. — Justice Andrew Walsh. — First District Court. — Its Extent. — Justice Massey.— Second District Court. — Justice Kenna. — His Career. — Third District Court. — Justice Naeher and His "Crank" Callers. THE CITY POLICE COURT, NE of the finest structures of its kind in the coun- LJ try, is located on Adams Street, near Myrtle Avenue. It was built in 1886 under the direction of Parfitt Bros., and covers a plot about 52 feet wide by 119 feet deep, extending from Adams Street to Flood's Alley. The style of architecture is Eoman, and the materials used in its construction are brick and terra- cotta, with a little blue-stone. The court -room is situ- ated on the second floor, and measures about 41x43 feet. It is well lighted by five large windows and a skylight. The judge's apartment faces on Adams Street, while adjoining is the private examination room. The clerk's room is immediately in front of the judge's private oflice. Besides the justice, there are eight persons connected officially with the court — the chief clerk, his two assist- ants, a stenographer and four officers. Police Justice Andrew Walsh, who presides over this court, is forty- eight years old. At the age of fifteen he entered the book-binding establishment of G. C. Mann, Fulton Street, 432 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. New York City. Having served his term of apprentice- ship, he soon evinced an interest in pohtics, and v^as elected to the Assembly in 1863. He served two terms and was subsequently appointed court clerk by Police Justice John Quincy Adams. When Justice Buddey succeeded Mr. Adams he re-appointed Clerk Walsh, who continued to occupy the position until 1869. Before the year mentioned, however, he had been nominated by the Democrats for Police Justice, and was elected by a large and handsome majority. On May 1, 1869, he took his seat on the Bench, and was subsequently re-elected on three successive occasions by the people, each time with a very large majority. In 1880 he was appointed by Mayor Howell, and by Comp- troller Brinkerhoff in 1884. Justice Walsh, in his official capacity, is known to be just and impartial ; he is quick to detect guilt, and only levies heavy penalties where he thinks they will do the most good. Mr. Walsh is con- nected with a number of charitable societies and insti- tutions. He is Treasurer of the Eoman Catholic Orphan Asylum Society ; ex-Treasurer of the Central Parnell organization ; Chancellor of Concord Council Catholic Benevolent Legion ; President of the Fifth Ward Demo- cratic Association, and a member of the Emerald Asso- ciation and St. Patrick's Society. FIRST DISTRICT COURT. The First District Police Court-house, at the corner of Court and Butler Streets, was originally an old Methodist meeting-house. In 1860 it was purchased by the city and converted into a court-room, with Michael Walsh as judge. Justice Walsh served four years, and was fol- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 433 lowed, at irregular intervals, by John Delmer, Daniel Ferry and Garret Bergen. In ISS-t the present incum- bent, Frederick S. Massey, was appointed judge. His term of office will expire on May 1, 1889. The territory embraced within the jurisdiction of the First District comprises the First, Sixth, Twelfth, Third, Eighth and Twenty-second Wards, and includes within its bound- aries about 200,000 people. Justice Frederick Sterling Massey was born on April 8, 1839. Upon leaving school he entered upon a niercan- tile life, but all his spare moments were devoted to the study of law. In 1867 he was admitted to the bar and appointed chief clerk to the District Attorney. He remained in this position until 1869, when he was elected President of the paid Fire Department. After serving nearly ten years in this capacity he was appointed to the office of President of the Department of City Works. In 1880 he again began practicing law, and in the three years that followed achieved his reputation as a first-class counsellor. At the death of Justice Francis B. Fisher in 1883, lawyer Massey was appointed in his place. In 1885 Justice Massey was re-appointed and transferred to his present position. He is a lover of all athletic sports, and in his younger days was a fine base ball player. He was a member of the first nine of the old Atlantic Base Ball Club, and at the convention of baU clubs in this city to arrange a match with the old Philadelphias was chosen a player on the championship nine. He was also one of the twenty-two baU players who played the first English Cricket Eleven that came to this country. . Albert C. Wheeler, chief clerk to Justice Massey, was born in October, 1852. He had been ten years as a elerk 434 Brooklyn's guardians. in. Wall Street, New York, when he received his appoint- ment as Chief Clerk in the Auditor's Office under Albert Ammerman. In 1881 he became clerk of the First Dis- trict Police Court under Justice Garrett Bergen, and when Justice Massey took the Bench was re-appointed to the same position. Mr. Wheeler is a hard worker and a great help to Justice Massey. The other attaches of the court are seven in number. There are two assistant clerks, a stenographer and four officers. SECOND DISTRICT POLICE COURT. The Second District Police Court is situated on Gates Avenue, near Eeid. Though neat and well built, it is hardly adequate for the business transacted. When erected, that portion of Brooklyn was very sparsely set- tled — to a very large extent consisting of fields and farms. Its natural growth and the wonderful impetus given to building by the Elevated Railroad have now converted the waste into a thickly populated community; and as a consequence the business transacted at this court is very large and important in character. In fact, the percentage of petty cases — drunks, etc. — is smaller than in any other district court. For the most part the cases consist of family troubles, which cannot be sum- marily dealt with, and which occupy considerable time. It requires a thorough knowledge of people at large, a quick intellect and a large amount of common sense to properly transact the business of this court. All these qualities are possessed in a marked degree by Thomas P. Kenna, the handsomest police justice in Brooklyn, who presides over it. Brooklyn's guardians. 435 He is forty-three years old. From 185S to 1869 he was employed hy Marston & Powers, coal merchants, at the corner of orth Tenth and First Streets, and left to ac- cept the office of Secretary of the Excise Commissioners. After his term of office had expired he was elected Alderman of the Fourteenth Ward, and two years later Supervisor. In 1877 he became General Clerk of the Police Department, and in 1880 was elected Justice of the Peace of the Third District Court, in Grand Street. In 1884 Justice Kenna established himself at the corner of Fulton Street and Boerum Place, and began practicing law. He had just built up a good business, when in 1885 he was appointed a Police Justice and assigned to the Second District Police Court. He is a natural-born wit, and his sayings at times make even the stern and solemn- looking court officers smile. He talks freely with the reporters attached to his court and helps them in every way to secure news. He is a mem- ber of the Cecelia (German) Singing Society, the Consti- tution, the Kings County Democratic Club, the Washing- ton Club, and was for a number of years foreman of old Engine Company No. 5. He was elected the First Vice- President of the Democratic General Committee upon its formation and has remained in that position up to the present time. THIRD DISTRICT COURT. On the corner of Humboldt Street and Montrose Ave- nue, in a large white-painted frame building on the second floor, Judge Naeher dispenses justice in the Third District. The court-room is large and airy, is painted blue and furnished with a number of benches. It is divided into three compartments by railings ; one for 436 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. the spectators, one for the prisoners, counsel and officers, and the other for the Judge, who sits behind an ordinary station-house office bar and dehvers sentences to divers in- toxicated persons every morning. Ten days or ten dol- lars " is probably the phrase mostly heard in this apology for a court. All sorts of petty grievances and family troubles are aired here, and curious indeed are the stories related by some of the cosmopolitan population, com- posed of Germans, French, Itahans, Swedes, etc., of that vicinity. Numerous cranks of all kinds make life a burden to ' ' His Honor. " This court was organized on May 1, 1881, aiid the average number of cases brought before it in a year is six thousand, giving an income of about $5,000 per annum. The present location of the court-room is in every way unsuitable, and there is a rumor that Judge Naeher is to have a handsome court built alongside of the proposed new station-house of the Sixteenth Pre- cinct, at the corner of Lee Avenue and Clymer Street. This court takes in the Fifth, Sixth, Sixth-Sub, Seventh and Sixteenth Precincts, and there is always on a fine morning a large number of individuals of both sexes waiting the arrival of the jovial judge who is to decide their fate. Judge Naeher is generally acknowledged to be an able lawyer, as well as an impartial administrat- or of the law's penalties. Chief Clerk George Wren was born on April 29, 1837. He has served two terms in the Assembly, and was ap- pointed to his present position in 1880. Justice Naeher has probably more experience with those of the human family that have been more or less bereft of their reason than any other magistrate iu Brooklyn's guardlaxs. 437 Kings County. These unfortunate creatures flock to court with all sorts of stories which are created in their imperfect brains. Just why he is a favorite with this class it is impossible to determine, but it is a fact that his court is visited by hundreds of such people. His kind disposition and patience with those who have com- plaints to make are well known. Be this as it may, these people go to Justice Naeher and interfere greatly with the workings of the court by occupying time that should be devoted to real offenses and by sending court officers long distances with warrants to arrest mythical persons. A short time ago Court Officer Miller went seven times to as many different places to arrest the husband of a woman who said she and her five children had been abandoned by their natural supporter. After each fail- ure to find the person for whom the warrant was issued, the woman would return to court and give a plausible reason why the man was not found. A new address would be given and another search made, to be followed by another failure. After the seventh trip it was found that the woman was a harmless unmarried crank. An- other case is that of a respectable-looking old lady who visited the court every day for several weeks and re- mained until removed by the janitor. When at last her presence attracted attention, it was learned that she wished to have a private conversation with the Judge. She was accommodated, and in the Judge's private room she told of a cruel husband who had deserted her for a younger woman. Not satisfied with leaving her to battle alone in the struggle of life, he had concocted plans to have her murdered. The statement went all light until BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. she became excited, and then she said ^hat he had secured the aid of witches to help him in his diabohca] plots. The witches would penetrate the ceiling of her bed- room and hang down over her bed. They could not drop so long as she kept her eyes open, but if she should ever close both eyes she knew the witches would drop, and then she would be killed. It was evident that the woman was insane, and she was told that the witches would bother her no more. She went home, but the next morning found her in the same chair, and she made numerous visits to the court before she was con- vinced that the presiding magistrate could not help her. The following letter was written by a daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Brooklyn. She is to all appear- ances perfectly sane, and goes out into society with her mother and sister. On one point she is mentally un- balanced, however, and her hallucination is that robbers are constantly making victims of herself and members of her family. The letter was written May 21, 18S7, but as the young lady's correspondence is watched, because she would send many such letters if allowed, only this letter out of many reached its destination. Here is a copy of the letter : Brooklyn, May 21, 1887. The Hon. Charles Naeher : . Sir: Having written to District Attorney Eidgway, who is an intimate friend of my family, and also to Chief Campbell, of the Police Department, about an important matter, and not having received proper replies from those persons, I address you in behalf of justice. I now appeal to you. A son of my friend and neighbor Mr. Smith, has been a wel- come visitor at my father's house, but he has betrayed the con- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 430 fidence bestowed on him by us all. Many valuable keepsakes have mysteriously disappeared from our house recently, and I set a watch on all visitors. I saw this young man steal my mother's diamond ear-rings two weeks ago, and I have no doubt that he is the one who stole all we have lost. Now, what can we do to recover our goods and insure our- selves against further loss without disgracing our friends or causing the young man suffering ? I know you will advise me, and I will make no movement until I hear from you. Yours truly, The cranks \vho visit Justice Naeher's court have each been given a number and it is quite usual to hear one of the clerks or a lawyer call out '^Number forty-nine, Judge," when a person is telling His Honor that he wants a few moments' private conversation. The num- ber, whether it be forty-nine or some other, puts the magistrate on his guard and saves him a great many conversations with cranks. All dangerous cases, and those in which the afflicted are in serious trouble or want, are promptly transferred to the Commissioners of Charities. This body has the person examined by competent physicians. Most of those found insane are sent to the asylum at Flatbush. A large minority are turned over to relatives and friends. CHAPTER XXV. THE COURT OF SESSIONS. Judge Moore.— His Early Life. —Admitted to the Bar.— Recog- nition OP Merit. — He is Elected Assistant District Attorney, — The Right Man in the Right Place. — Made Judge op the County Court. — His Marriage. — A Fitting Tribute. — An Honest, Upright, Just and Mercipul Judge. — How Various Grades of Criminals are Dealt With. fT is seldom a court loses its identity in a man ; but owing to the ability, reputation and long service of the presiding magistrate the Court of Sessions in Kings County has been lost in its judge, Henry A. Moore. Of the many talented men who have occupied its bench and enjoyed the confidence of the public, none have ever achieved such a success. Considering that he is now in his fourth term, it is no wonder that the history of this court is to a large extent a part of his biography, and that he and court should be a single individuality in the public mind of the city of Brooklyn. His life, uneventful in adventure, is representative of the careers of many of the great leaders of the land. It was on one of those days when the wind holds Wagneresque concerts around the corners of old houses, tints the noses of luckless pedestrians and plays havoc with hats, that Henry A. Moore made his debut to an admiring father and mother. He was such a plump, brown-eyed boy, and blinked so wisely and questioningly BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 441 at the light of this world and the admiring faces above him, that they foretold great things in store for him. It was the 23d of March, 18:20, when this babe was welcomed to tliis life in a house on Bridge Street, near Johnson. Mr. Henry A. Moore, the father, foreseeing, it may be, the brilliant future that lay before his child, ^visely determined to give it all the training and advan- tages so necessary in this modern age of pressure and competition to insure what is fehcitously called a good start in the world. As early as 1833 the name of Henry A. Moore, Jr. , is found registered on the roll of the public school. He proved a bright and interesting pupil. His memory even in boyhood was quick and powerful, his assiduity great, and his reasoning powers strong and well balanced. After finishing this course, the highest then obtainable in the city of his birth, lie begaii the serious work of life by entering as office boy and student the law offices of the ffi'm of Lott & Murphy^ afterwards L. M. Murphy & Vanderpelt, whose offices were then in an old stone building still standing near, Fulton Ferry. This firm was acknowledged as the leading one of Brook- lyn, and its members had a national reputation for forensic and legal talent of the highest order. Mr. Moore began his studies with them in 1840. In those days a law clerk's lot was not a happy one. Law schools had not been invented to manufacture jurists by the whole- sale, and politics had not opened a convenient back door for ambitious ward statesmen to enter the ranks of the profession. In 1847 he was admitted to the bar. In the intervening seven long years of hard work he had gained a thorough practical knowledge of law and, what was to be of equal value to him in the future, a widespread BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. reputation for generosity, kindness, courtliness and probity. After being admitted to practice, he secured offices of his own on Fulton Street, corner- of Cranberry, a locality which was then the business center of Brook- lyn. Here his career was one of never-failing success. At twenty-eight he was everywhere regarded as the peer of the oldest and most influential practitioners. He had, moreover, what they had not — youth and popularity of the best sort. His purse began to increase with his grow- ing practice. Party leaders recognized his value as a man and as a representative, and this recognition is always utilized in the United States by embodiment in election or appointment. Thus it was that in 1849, with scarcely an effort on his part, but with the hearty support and action of the political leaders of the time, as well as of his many friends and clients, he was made Assistant District Attorney, a position then more sought for and of greater public esteem than it is to-day. Finding they had put the right man in the right place, and that he was in every wise competent to fill a high public office, the public decided to try him in another and more important position. As Assistant District Attorney he had proved an able prosecutor and a fearless official. At the same time he had always been easy of access by the public and had invariably shown the rare ability to temper justice with mercy when demanded by the circumstances of a case. These are the qualifications which make a great magistrate. Little wonder was it, then, when he was nominated for Judge of the County Court and elected in the fall of 1851 by a handsome majority. It never rains but it pours. The genial Judge decided to fill the cup of happiness to overflowing, and to set an example to those BROOKLYN'S GUARDIAXS. 448 of his calling who selfishly wrap themselves in the mantle of celibacy, hy taking a wife. He had lost his heart to a beantiful young lady, Miss Fannie A. Elwell, of Brooklyn, and wisely offered to share with her his name, home and future. The love was mutual and they were married in 1852. The union Avas a happy one and was blessed with children, who promise to follow in the footsteps of their parents. When Judge Moore's term of office expired in January, 1856, he resumed the practice of law, and became again a leader of his profession. The three years upon the bench had been invaluable. To the brilliancy and dash of the advocate they added the dignity, thoughtful ness and wisdom of the ermine. Unlike others who, having once tasted the sweets of public life, are ever after averse to retirement, and who persist in obtruding their personality upon the people. Judge Moore was seemingly satisfied to remain in the seclusion which a successful law office, a hand- some practice and a happy home yield to their possessor. During these years he devoted his time to reading, study and public affairs. He was of a group of men who, despite the unpatriotic tendencies engendered by power, wealth or social position, are willing and eager to aid in solving the endless problem of social amelioration and good popular government. In the newspapers and other records of the time his name is constantly found identified with those who did so much towards making Brooklyn what it is to-day — ^the finest and best city of homes in the world. Such services are always appre- ciated. In 1871 he was again elected County Judge. The years 1877 and 1883 saw even greater public honors heaped upon him, witnessing his election a third and BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. fourth time, but unlike the first and second, as the loved and unanimous nominee of both the great parties into which the citizens of Brooklyn are divided. A fitting tribute and a just estimate of Judge Moore vras well expressed by the orator in the Eepublican County Convention that indorsed his nomination, when he said : There are times in the progress of political events when it is wise and proper to break party lines and con- sider exclusively the fitness of the individual for the office for which he may be nominated. Nowhere does this law, if the term ' law ' can be applied to what most men regard as a rare exception, apply with greater force than to the judiciary. Politics may determine the development of a nation ; it may create or destroy local, general and even dynastic tendencies ; but politics should be never permitted to invade the clear, calm atmosphere which should light the courts of justice. It enters not into justice, it is not found in mercy, nor has it place in that judicial wisdom which through all the ages has made the magistrate a chief among ten thousand, and the position a synonym for the highest learning and the noblest character. When, therefore, an antagonistic political organization name a tried and valued public servant for a judicial office in which he has given satis- faction to the public, I approve their choice and indorse their nomination. Even though that party be bad to the heart, yet if the man is just and upright and capable, I hail the action as I welcome the lily that emerges from the darkest and most hideous moi'ass. Therefore, when in this fast and populous district the great Democratic organization nominates for County Judge and presiding BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 445 magistrate of the Court of Sessions a gentleman who has for years been an ornament to that bench and an honor to the City of Brooklyn ; who in private life en- joys a deserved reputation for purity, probity and intel- lect ; who is known everywhere as a scholar, a jurist, a cosmopolite, and above all a gentleman ; who has made himself the terror of the wrong-doer, the friend of the unfortunate, the confidant of the troubled and sick at heart, and the respected arbiter of the contending, I glory in their action and take pleasure in being able to approve their choice. This, gentlemen, was done by the Democratic County Convention in nominating the Honorable Henry A. Moore for County Judge, whom I now formally nominate to be the candidate of this body of representative Republicans. " Personally, Judge Moore is a very fine-looking man. He is about five feet ten inches in height and 200 pounds in weight. His face is large, commanding and intellect- ual in expression. His hair and beard are an iron gray, and his brown eyes beam kindly upon sinners as well as friends. He has a pleasant home at 562 Washington Avenue, where he lives with his wife and family. His children — three boys — are Charles F. Moore, who occu- pies a position in the Park Department of Brooklyn ; Jolm F. Moore, who is Deputy-clerk of the Court, and Joseph H. Moore, a merchant of New York. Judge Moore has a host of friends and admirers, won and kept by his genial manners and unfailing courtesy. His administration of his office is quick and thorough. The trial days attract crowds of spectators and disengaged lawyers, who come to learn his example. The day he sets for pronouncing sentence is one of 4-1:0 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. great interest. Testimony that cannot be legally pro- duced on the trial is heard in mitigation of the penalty. The patience, kind-heartedness and courtesy of the Court now come into full play for the first time. The position of the Judge is one of great delicacy. While he gives the criminal the benefit of a doubt in every case, he must take care that clemency does not interfere with justice. He deals with the most desperate men and women. Before his eyes roguery is daily committed. Liars combine to clear the guilty. Every artifice is re- sorted to to excite sympathy. Sick women, w^ho have no connection with the case, are brought into court to work on the feelings of the Judge. Pretended mothers and sisters cry and sniffle at the bar. Babies are hired for a day in court. All this is known to the magistrate. Atrocious criminals plead guilty to a minor offense, or throw themselves on the mercy of the Court ; such get the full penalty of the law notwithstanding. A prisoner to whom clemency can be shown is sure of a merciful sentence if he pleads guilty. When a heavy penalty is pronounced, it is uttered in a mingled tone of sincere regret and judicial sternness, prefixed by the remark : ' ' My duty compels me to sen- tence you to the full term allowed by the law." The great mass of prisoners in this Court are young, from sixteen to thirty. Whether sentenced or discharged, they get good advice or healthful warning. Frequently citizens of respectability and high standing are brought up for assault and battery, or for breaches of the peace. In such cases respectability and standing- avail nothing. '^You are old enough to know better than to commit the offense with which you are charged." BROOKLYN'S GUARDIAXS. 447 Some claim a lenient sentence on the ground that they agree politically with his honor. Prisoner, if you are a Democrat you ought to know hetter than to do as you have done. I shall sentence you to the full term al- lowed by law.'' In sentencing, as well as in trials, he is prompt, clear and brief. His charges embrace only the points in the case that the jury have to consider. No impertinent counsel rides over him. When a noisy limb of the law stupidly objects to a question, he says, ^'I shall admit the question. You can take your exception. " The tone and manner indicate that nothing more need be said. The Court is co-ordinate in its jurisdiction in criminal cases with the Court of Oyer and Terminer, over which presides any justice of the Supreme Court of the State. It has jurisdiction of all crimes committed in the county as well as the city. The police magistrates have the power to try and sentence all criminals guilty of misde- meanors. The Court of Sessions, or Sessions," as it is commonly called, tries only cases where indictments have been found by the grand jury. The grand jury is a body composed of twenty-three members. They are required by law to appear in open court and present their indictments through their fore- man. All criminals have a right to a trial by jury. If, when arraigned before police magistrates, criminals de- mand a jury trial, they must be sent to the Court of Sessions. No one can spend a day in the court -room without interest and profit. By no other officer who represents the city and county is the law better upheld, justice more honorably or humanely administered and crime more surely punished, than by the Hon. Henry A. Moore, in the Kings County Court of Sessions. CHAPTER XXVL POLICE AND EXCISE TRIALS. TiiR Commissioner's Authority.— The Wise Robbery. — "Bouncing A Fighting Drunk."— Malicious Complaints.— A Mounted Squadman with a Poor Memory.— Drunk in a Cellar — Con- duct Unbecoming an Officer. — How Tradesmen Use the Com- missioner AS A Collection Agency.— A Usurer Beaten at His Own Game. — Excise Trials. — Conduct of Trial. — Liquor Dealers and Lawyers.— History of Excise Legislation.— The Oldest Excise Law in America.— Hotels Must Serve Drinks — Schenck Beer and Lager Beer.— The Different Offences op Saloon-keepers. — Perjurers' Paradise. — A Typical Case of Lying.— Conviction.— Revocation— Appeal and Review.— The Law's Delay. HE Commissioner of Police is given a quasi- judicial authority in order jbo preserve the discipline of the force. This authority comprises bringing a member of the police before him, examination under oath and pun- ishment by reprimand, degradation, fine, suspension and dismissal. Unfortunately he has no power to punish for contempt, and no authority to enforce obedience to his subpoena. This enables shrewd lawyers to spirit away dangerous witnesses with almost absolute impunity, which sometimes results in a serious miscarriage of justice. Complaints against officers are made by fellow-members of the force and rarely by private citizens. The major- ity are for shght infractions of the rules of the depart- ment, a goodly number for entering saloons or drinking, while on duty, many for conduct unbecoming an officer BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. 449 and very few for serious offences. Violations of the rules ai'e of common occurrence ; in fact they are un- knowingly committed by the best men of the force. Thus in the case of the Wise robbery, a burglary that was perpetrated after midnight by expert thieves of the best class, the fact was not discovered by the police until the following morning. This being technically an infraction of the rules, the captain preferred charges against the sergeant and two officers, who were tried, found guilty and dismissed I After a few days had passed, however, they were re-instated and treated with the same respect as if nothing had happened. It seems unjust, at first sight, to make the non-discov- ery of a crime an offence on the part of an officer on duty, but it has been found by long experience to be the only method of securing and preserving a high discipline and esprit de corps. Along with this rule should be placed those which require explanation from a patrolman for absence from his post, for not wearing gloves on certain occasions, for carelessness in dress, for being a minute late, and all similar regulations. Violations of these minor rules are punished by reprimand and for- feiture of pay, seldom exceeding five days' salary. In these cases it is often difficult to tell truth from false- hood. A policeman is called by a friendly proprietor to eject a fighting drunk" from a saloon. He enters the place and awes the would-be pugilist into abject con- trition. The other guests intercede and he departs. Or he may enter the place, take a drink and depart. In both cases he is seen by his roundsman, who lodges a complaint against him. The testimony against him is the same in both cases. Generally the second case 450 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. is. what occurred, and generally the fxrst case is alleged in his defense. The commissioner in such cases depends largely upon the appearance, habits and record of the accused. If these be good, the complaint is dis- missed ; if bad, he is reprimanded or fined. The rules are at times taken advantage of by people to gratify their malice against officers they dislike. One officer was brought before the board five times in three months by a liquor dealer w^hose license he had caused to be re- voked. Against a patrolman whom he hated, an un- scrupulous roundsman brought ten charges of this class. In the last case he tried to strengthen his complaint by false swearing, but was detected and expelled from the force. Drinking is another fruitful cause of trouble for police- men. The prevalent vice of the American people, drink and drunkenness, has, it must be confessed, passed into the ranks of the police and there worked the same dam- age it has done everywhere. While an officer who drinks in moderation can do his duty properly, the slight- est excess renders him unfit to be a policeman. For this reason the rules are stringent against drinking and intoxication. They are obeyed by nearly all the mem- bers of the police. But there are black sheep in every flock, and the policeman who yields to temptation is reg- ularly brought before the board. He tries his hardest to escape punishment and often succeeds. In these trials there is often considerable fun and remarkable prevari- cation. One or two instances may show the manner in which such cases appear. Officer X, of an up-town station, was so much under the influence of liquor at half-past six in the evemnfif as BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 451 to be unfit for duty. It was at the end of his tour of (Uity, and glancing with a very weary expression in his eyes at Commissioner Carroll, he sighed '^not guilty." He was one of the mounted squad, and a fellow-ofhcer said he saw him sitting very unevenly in his saddle with the reins in his left hand while his right grasped the steed's mane. Now and then he would sway from right to left, until the knowing animal stopped at the stable and kindly allowed him to dismount. This operation proved a little too much for the officer, who failed to get his foot out of the stirrup in time, which caused him to sit quietly down in the gutter and await developments. Captain Y, noticing from the station-house window that something was wrong, hurried to the fallen officer and accused him of being intoxicated. After Officer X had gotten his foot out of its fastenings, he steadied him- self and led the horse into the stable. The captain was surprised and demanded an explanation. They went together into the station-house. Officer X refused to allow the captain to smell his breath, and shut close his mouth, but owing to a severe cold in the head was com- pelled to release some of the fumes which, ascending the captain's nasal organ, increased the evidence against the officer. This was not all. He attempted to walk a crack in the floor but made a miserable failure of it, and finally wound up by telling the captain he hadn't been on any horse at all and proving himself incapable to distinguish a six- spot domino from a blank. Before the Commissioner he averred that it was all a mistake and that the captain knew nothing about it. I was stiff from my long ride," he continued ; £^nd 452 Brooklyn's guardians. with the exception of staggering a httle, did as I always do." How about the breath ?" ^^Why, I had just eaten an apple and suppose that tainted it a little." Do you remember falling off the horse ?" No, sir ! never fell off a horse in my life." ''KoUedoff?" No, sir (indignantly). I have not drank anything in several months." I understand the horse was very much excited just after your return. How about that ?" ^ ^ No more than usual. The animal is very high-strung and hard to manage." It was a good defense, but as the horse had a spavined leg, was never^ known to object to anything and the captain's smelling powers were very good. Officer X received a severe punishment and it is said never ate any more fruit while he was on the force. Officer D, of a station down in South Brooklyn, was found on Sunday in the doorway of a liquor saloon in the act of giving a whisky glass to the bartender. With an honest expression beaming from his big blue eyes, he told the Commissioner that his presence in that doorway was to see that the Excise Law was properly enforced. I had learned that two men were in there drinking and only done my duty." Yes, I know all about that," retorted the questioner, ^^but what were you doing with the whisky gla^s ?" " Why, I saw a man at the bar drinking ; I asked the bartender what was in the glass. He said it was water, and that the man was very thirsty because he'd eaten BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 4:):> some salt fish for dinner. I didn't believe it, but when the bartender brought the glass for lue to smell, I had to believe it." The man was let off with a reprimand. On a cold, rainy morning in March, the wind howled around the corners and into every nook known to the patrolman where seclusion could be sought without leaving his post. The rain was fine and cold as ice, and froze as it fell on the sidew^alk. Officer Z had been faithfully performing his duty since midnight, and as the time drew on toward six o'clock he became thoroughly chilled. Not a soul was out except those who had to be, and they hurried along at a rapid pace. ''There's Sharkey just opening," said the policeman to himself as he spied a frisky little bartender pulling up the shades and unlocking the door. ''Ain't it cold — I ! !" he continued, as he crow^led closer into the corner of a coal-box in front of the grocery store opposite Sharkey's place. "Blessed if I'll stand it any longer. " He made a bolt for the saloon and hurriedly drained a bar glass filled with whisky. Three minutes later Officer D entered and explained that there wasn't a solitary place open on his beat. More whisky found its way inside the two rubber coats, and then the noble guardians of the peace sought refuge behind an inviting stove. Five minutes more rolled by. The door opened again and Roundsman X walked in. "Gimme a Jamaica rum hot, with some ginger in't," he said to the bartender. "Coldr "Yes." "Terrible night." "Yes." 454 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Grimme s'more ginger — thanks then the mm and ginger vanished. ' ^ Seen any of the boys ?" ^'Naw." ''Tough night?" "Yes." Bang went the door and the two men behind the stove offered up a silent prayer of thanks and waited their chance to get out unseen. They absorbed more whisky, however, and then started for the door. It opened before they reached it, and in stepped the same roundsman. He had only gone a block before growing very cold and so had returned. He pi'eferred a charge against the two men, who were fined thirty days' pay each, while the roundsman came out Scot free. A similar case was that of a well-known patrolman connected with a precinct in one of the upper wards. Officer A, who figured most prominently in the case, is still on the force. Vi) to the time in question his record had been perfectly clear from the slightest taint. No one could say he had committed the slightest offence until one afternoon in the fall of the year, when the roundsman found him missing from his post. No trace of the officer could be found. The roundsman bore no love for the man, and made up his mind to find out what had become of the j)atrolman. He glanced into every saloon and haunt of the officers, but no trace could be found. He did not Avant to return to the station-house and report him missing befoi^ he found out what had become of him. Over an hour slipped away and the roundsman was puzzled. He was standing in front of a handsome brown-stone mansion BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 455 pondering what next to do, when a colored servant (male) emerged and asked him to sample some liquor just arrived from abroad. The darkey remarked thar's anudder of'cer inside an' he's got pretty full." The roundsman Avanted no more coaxing. He hurried in under the stoop and down the cellar stairs. There sat Officer A on a keg of nails, fast asleep, with his head gently resting against the gas meter. His coat was open and his hat hanging on the corner of the coal-bin. Thinking the officer good for another hour's sleep, the roundsman hurried to the station-house, and called the xaptain and a sergeant to view the scene. To the sur- prise of all, Officer A met them within a block of the house and saluted pleasantly. The roundsman was somewhat put out, but reported the case. The officer swore the whole charge w^as a falsehood and brought the servant to back up his statement. The Commissioner pondered a long while before he fully made up his mind. He then remarked : You've always had a good record, but as I remember that nigger as an old-time chicken thief, his corroboration of your denial don't go very far and I fine you one month's pay." Under the head of conduct unbecoming an officer" the Commissioner has a wide range of latitude. Discourtesy to private citizens, insults or insulting language, chal- lenges to fight, threats to inflict physical or other injury, neglect of wife or children, profanity and disorderly con- duct, are a few of the long list of unseemly acts which are thus covered. This rule has been construed to include the deliberate non-payment of just debts by extravagant officers. It is therefore popular with tradesmen and impecunious doc- 456 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. tors and dentists. The procedure is somewhat peculiar. If the officer admits the debt, he is ordered to pay it off by instalments at so many dollars a month. If he denies the debt or disputes the account between himself and the creditor, the Commissioner dismisses the case and relegates the latter to the civil courts. If he estab- lish his claim there and obtain judgment, he can then invoke the rule successfully. In this case the Commis- sioner generally makes a stricter order and requires the instalments to be much larger than they would other- wise have been, and also requires the debtor to pay the costs and disbursements, as well as the original bill. The court in these matters does not stand upon law, but al- lows equity to exercise full sway. Where a money- lender has discounted an officer's salary at 20 per cent, per month, and in order to avoid the fact of usury, had compelled the unfortunate borrower to buy a second- hand coat at a cost equal to the discount, and then brought suit before the Commissioner for the alleged value of two coats, that official gravely decided that the garments did not fit and ordered the debt cancelled so far as the police department was concerned by the return of the coats. These, it must be added, were handed over immediately to the usurer. In both police and excise trials every witness is sworn, except where parties or their counsel agree upon facts, and all testimony is taken down in full by a stenographer. In both kinds of trials the Court of Appeals has held that an accused person is entitled to be represented by counsel and to enough time to retain one in. All decisions by the Police Commis- sioner are reviewable by a writ of certiorari to the higher courts. These appeals succeed but once in five, BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 457 a smaller ratio of revisals than obtains in the great courts of the State — a high compliment to the Com- missioners who have acted in a judicial capacity. In many cases where a policeman has committed so serious an offence as to merit dismissal, he is allowed to resign instead of being tried and convicted. The resignation thus wi])es out the complaint and leaves the offender a comparatively clean record. EXCISE TRIALS. Complaints against licensed liquor dealers to the Board of Excise may be made by either the police or by private citizens. As a matter of fact they are nearly always made by the former. Among their general duties is a surveillance of all saloons to prevent or punish the viola- tion of the laws by which they are governed. Beyond this they constantly receive special instructions to visit liquor stores on Sunday in citizen's clothes to secure evi- dence against delinquents. The law, with all the difficul- ties attending its execution and the popular feeling in favor of more liberal statutes, is well enforced. Of the licensed places in Brooklyn, fully one -third are closed on the Sabbath ; one -third admit callers through open side or back doors, and one-third do business with regular customers, who are recognized by some one on watch before they are allowed to enter the place, which is barred and bolted. When a violation is discovered, the officer arrests the bartender, w^aiter or proprietor wiio serves him with a prohibited drink, and enters a complaint be- fore the Board ; in some cases the complaint is lodged without a preliminary arrest. A notice is then served by the police upon the license-holder to appear before the 458 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. Board on the next convenient trial-day and defend him- self against the specified charge. In the trial of cases before the Commissioners of Excise, the prosecution is conducted by the Board in about the same manner as complaints are heard by police magis- trates. In exceptional cases the counsel for the Board of Excise is called upon to prosecute. The accused is nearly always represented by an official of the Brooklyn Liquor-dealers' Protective Association or by a lawyer retained by the Brewers' Union. The litigation is usually very quiet and monotonous, but in some cases becomes fierce and vindictive. The proprietor of a famous hostelry in Fulton Street, near Flatbush Avenue, was at swords' points with the police for four years. In that period he or his employees were arrested thirty -eight times, were prosecuted by the Excise authorities thirty-four times and prosecuted them in turn in the higher courts twelve times, making a total of eighty-four cases. The Excise and police finally won and their opponent, an impoverished man, was forced to give up his establishment and begin the struggle of life anew. In the conduct of these cases neither time nor trouble was spared by the police or the accused. The entire his- tory of the Excise legislation of the English-speaking race was ransacked, and valuable compendiums made for the benefit of the Commissioners and the police force. So thoroughly was this work done that after the many briefs and articles were filed with the Board, lawyers from all over the country came or sent to Brooklyn to obtain copies of the researches for use in litigation. In these researches many interesting discoveries were made. Brooklyn's guardians. 459 Thus, for example, it was learned that the first Excise law, as such statutes are known, upon the American Continent was drawn in ^' Breukkelen " and published in "Hemsted, Longe Island, March 1, 1G64.". A copy is preserved in the Brooklyn police archives, wliile the original — barely legible — exists in the clerk's office at Hempstead, L. I. A copy of this quaint old law may be of interest to the reader : INN KEEPERS & ORDINARYES. No Person or Persons shall at any time under any pretense or colour whatsoever undertake to be a Common Victuler keeper of A Cookes shopp, or House of Common entertainment, or pub- Hque Seller of wine Beare, Ale or strong waters by retail or a less quantity than a quarter Caske, without a Certificate of his good behaviour from the Constable and two Overseers at least of the parish wherein he dwelt and a Lycence first obtained under the hand of two Justices of the peace in the Sessions upon pain of forfeiting five pounds for every such offence or Imprison- ment at the discretion of the Court. Every Person so licensed for Common entertainment shall have some Ordinary signe obvious for direction of strangers, within three Months after the Licence granted under penalty of twenty Shillings. Every Person Licenced to keep an Ordinary shall always be provided of strong and wholesome Beer, of four bushels of malt, at the least to a Hoggshead which he shall not Sell at above two pence the quart under the penalty of twenty Shillings for the first Offence, forty shillings for the Second, and loss of his Licence. It is permitted to any to Sell Beer out of Doors at a penny the Ale quart or under. No Licenced Person shall suffer any to Drink excessively or at unseasonable hours after Nine of the Clock at night in or about any their houses upon penalty of two shillings sixpence for every Offence if Complaint and proofs be made thereof. If any quarrel or disorder doth arise from intemperate per- sons within their house, the Person so licensed for not immedi- ately Signifying the same to the Constable, or one Overseer at the Least, who are authorized to cause the peace to be kept, shall for every such neglect forfeit Tenne Shillings and every person found Drunk in or about any of their houses shall forfeit 460 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. two shillings Six pence. AnA for being the author or accessory of the breach of the Peace and disorders, or for Tipling at un- reasonable hours shall forfeit tan Shillings and for want of pay- ment or in case they be Servants and neglect their Masters occa- tions They shall be sent to the Stocks an hour at least. It shall be lawful notwithstanding for all Licenced Persons to Entertain Land Travellers or Seafareing men in the night season when they come on shore or from their Journey for theire necessary refreshment or towards theire preparation for theire Voyage or Journey. And also all Strangers, Lodgers, or other Persons may freely Continue in such Houses, when theire Lawful Occa- tions and business doth require, Provided there be no disorder amongst them. Every person so Licenced for the Entertainment of Strangers with their Horses, shall provide one or more Enclosure for Sum- mer Hay and Provender for Winter with convenient stable roome And attendance ; upon Penalty of two Shillings Sixpence for every days default, and double Damage to the party wronged. No Licenced Person shall unreasonably exact upon his Guest for any sort of entertainment, and no man shall be compelled to pay above eight pence a Meale, with small Beer only unless the Guest shall make other agreement with the person so lycenced. No Licence shall be granted by any two Justices in Sessions for above the terme of one year, but every person so Licenced before the expiration of the said Terme shall and are hereby en- joyned to repair to the sessions of that Jurisdiction for renew- ing their Several Licences for which they shall pay to the Clark of the Sessions two Shillings Sixpence, or shall forfeit five pounds as unlicenced persons. All Offences committed against this law shall be determined by the Constable, with two or more of the Overseers who are impowered to Collect and receive the Several fines or distrayne in case of non-payment rendering accompt thereof as is else- Avhere required. That Inn Keepers or Ordinary Keepers, shall not bee obliged to put any perticuler quantity of Mault into their Beere, but they shall not sell theire Beere above two pence the quart, nor any Liquors above twelve Shillings the Gallon, under the penalty of twenty Shillings for each Gallon so Sold. Pro- vided alwaj^s, and it is to be understoode, that noe man is hero- by hindered from buying for his own private use, any quantity of Liquors. And it shall and may bee Lawful for any Person, to sell such quantity to him, so that hee doe not sell it againe by retaile without a Licence. Brooklyn's ouardtaxs. 461 BREWERS. That no person whatsoever shall henceforth undertake the Calling or work of Brewing Beere for Sale, but only sucli as are known to have Sufficient Skill and knowledge in the art or Mis- tery of a Brewer. That if any undertake for victualling of Ships or other Vessels, or Master or owner of any such Vessels, or any other person shall make it appear that any Beer bought of any person within this Government do prove unfit, un- v,^holesome, and useless for their supply, either through the in- sufficiency of the mault or Brewing or unwholesome Cask, the Person wronged thereby shall be and is hereby enabled to re- cover equal and Sufficient damage by Action against that Per- son that put the Beer to Sale. Another interesting discovery was that while it is illegal for an inn or hotel keeper to sell or give away alcoholic drinks to the pnhlic on Sunday, it is his legal duty to provide a guest with food and drink at all hours of the day or night, Sunday notwithstanding. It seems paradoxical that a hotel-keeper should he fined and imprisoned for selling a drink to one man, and fined and imprisoned for refnsimj to sell a drink to the next. A third discovery, prohably of more interest to brewers than any one else, is that it is legal to sell ' ^ small beer " — that is, beer containing two per cent, of alcohol or less — at all times ; and illegal on various occasions to sell ' ' strong beer," which includes lager beer, and ordinary ales and porters. This discovery enabled and still enables the brewer, retailer and public to dispose on Sunday of unlimited quantities of "Schenck" beer, "Sommer" beer, ^' Excelsior" beer and Weiss " beer. The offences for which liquor dealers are arrested or tried before the Excise Board are Sunday sales, selling after hours, selling to minors, false impersonation and keeping a disorderly house. In the vast majority of cases the accused are guilty, and twice out of three times they 462 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. are acquitted. The acquittal is due in maixy instances to legal technicalities, but in most cases to monumental lying. So universal is this that the excise trial- room is known as the Perjurers' Paradise. Probability, and even possibility, never appear to be taken into consideration by some saloon-keepers in defending themselves before the Excise Board. A recent case well illustrates these peculiarities. Scene : Trial-room of the Board of Excise. The saloon- keeper is formally sworn and kisses the Bible with a resonant smack. Commissioner Carroll — Mr. Beers, Officer Ketchum swears that last Sunday you were violating the law ; that you had a man on guard at the door who admitted him to the bar-room, where ten men were drinking lager and other beverages at tables and eight were drinking whisky at the bar ; that you were behind the bar ; that he took a glass of beer and paid for it and then arrested you. What have you to say ? Saloon-keeper (with an air of injured innocence) — Not guilty, sir ! Commissioner — What were you doing there ? Saloon-keeper (with conscious pride) — You see, it was Sunday, sir, the day we clean up, and I and my bar- tender were in the saloon at work. I was behind the bar washing glasses and my man was just going out the door, which was carefully locked, to get some soup when the officer came in. Commissioner — What were the men doing in there ? Saloon-keeper (with expression of political power) — I'm President of the Steinmuller Mutuals, a benevolent BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. 463 organization, and they're members, and we were talking about our annual ball. Commissioner — Were they drinking beer ? Saloox-keeper-^Xo, sir ; they all drank ginger ale. Commissioner,— Were the others drinking whisky at the bar ? Saloon-keeper — Xo, sir ; cider. Commissioner— Do you keep cider in bottles labeled Rye and Bourbon, Cognac and Old Tom ? Saloon-keeper — Certainly, sir ; in all sorts of bottles. Commissioner — Did you sell the officer lager '{ Saloon-keeper — Xo, sir ; I sold him Schenck beer ; that's the only beer I sell on Sunday. It looks like lager and smells and tastes like it, and only an expert chemist can tell it from lager. Here's my brewer's certificate proving it, and here's the analysis and certificate of Dr. Dontremus proving it also. That's all there is to it. Commissioner — Have you any witnesses ? Saloon-keeper — Of course ; I've got six. Mr. Seeds. Mr. Seeds (red-nosed, ragged and filthy, and suffering from delirium tremens) — Yes, sir. (Is sworn.) Commissioner — Were you present on this occasion ? Mr. Seeds — Wen de cop come in \ Cert. Commissioner — Were you drinking \ Mr. Seeds — I was wrastling with selzer and ginger pop. Old man Beers don't sell nothing on Sundays. X'o one else drank an}i:hing but temperance stuff. Commissioner — Ever arrested ? Mr. Seeds (proudly) — Yes, thirty times, by a conspir- acy of policemen, a put-up job for drunkenness, and five times by bartenders who tried to lick me. Mr. Beers produces Mr. Bung, Mr. Winehole, ^Iv. Tap- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. pitt and Mr. Eisman, who strongly resemble and who corroborate Mr. Seeds. Commissioner— That's enough. Beers, look here. I am morally certain that you violated the law, and that you and your witnesses have perjured yourselves. I haven't enough legal evidence to convict you. The next time, however, I shall have, and I'll break your license. Mr. Beers, witnesses and friends depart in high glee for the nearest saloon. The effect of a conviction before the Board is the revo- cation of the license and the disability to hold another for three years thereafter. The latter punishment is avoided by the proprietor renewing his license in the name of his bartender, brewer, or of some friend. When, however, the place has become notorious by repeated violations of the law, or by being disorderly and disrepu- table, the Board frequently refuses to license it to any applicant. This refusal is absolute and, strange to say, is not reviewable by the higher courts. A judgment or conviction may, however, be appealed to the Supreme Court, and in cases of legal error be reversed and dis- missed, or sent back for a new trial. As a stay of pro- ceedings is usually granted on appeal, and as the license expires in a year, liquor-dealers in trouble frequently take this course, and by intentional delay throw the case over until the license has expired. This practically terminates the case and enables them to proceed as if nothing had ever happened. CHAPTER XXVIL THE NEWSPAPERS AND POLICE REPORTERS OF BROOKLYN. "What they are. — The Eagle's War on Gambling Dens and Dis ORDERLY Houses.— An Expensive Lesson to a Rich Gambler.— The Standard's Attack Upon Pool-sellers. — The Argus Vers- us the Brooklyn Ring. — The Times and the County Institu- tions. — The Police Reporters. — Where they Congregate. — The Detectives' Room. — "Associated Pres.s" Work. — Beats. — A Tale OF AN Execution and a Reporter. — A Newspaper Man that Could Telegraph. — Relations of Press and Police. — Arrests. — The Blotter. — Libel. — Morality of Police. HE daily press of Brooklyn consists of the Brooklyn edition of the World, a morning daily; the Eagle, Times, Standard-Union, Citizen and Freie Presse, even- ing journals ; and the Revieiv, Netvs, Inn-keepers^ Journal and Greenpoint Blade, weeklies. All are well managed and capably written. The dailies deserve especial men- tion for the care, skill and intellectual ability with which they are conducted. All of the Brooklyn newspapers have been of vast use to the police, as well as to the public, for their successful efforts in attacking the evils which, always incidental to the growth of a great city, have from time to time blemished the fair record of the City of Churches. The Eagle, ever since its birth, has waged war to the knife against gambling dens, low dives and houses of questionable character. So zealous and so thorough has it been in its good work that scarcely any disreputable place has ever been started within the city limits but 466 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. what within thirty days thereafter it has boen exj)osed in the news items, denounced in an editorial or described in a special notice to the pohce. Rich gamblers and wealthy proprietors of houses of ill-repute have repeatedly opened establishments in Brooklyn, and have been willing to pay any amount — even up in the thousands — for silence and blindness on the part of the Eagle and the police, but in no case have ever succeeded. Within a brief period their places have been raided, or they have accepted the delicate hints of the Eagle or the captain of the precinct, and returned to the metropolis. The lesson thus taught was so severe as to attract the attention of the sporting and criminal classes of the country. One place on Schermerhorn Street, broken up through the Eagle, was fitted up specially at an ex- pense of over $5,000 and had been opened in the most extravagant style to attract custom. Before the proprie- tor had recouped his expenses, in his own language he was "several thousand behind the game." He was com pelled to leave by the police and a few words in the news columns. The closing of two similar establishments in Pierrepont, near Fulton ; one in Adams, near Myrtle Avenue ; one in Fulton, near Johnson, and one in the Halsey Building, can be likewise charged to the credit of the journal mentioned. Its course toward disorderly houses was equally belligerent and effective. The Standard-Union, which has just appeared in the journahstic field, has had no opportunity as yet to dis- tinguish itself in the same manner. But the Standard, Union and Argus, of which it is the heir and successor by repeated amalgamations, did good work for the morals and BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 467 welfare of the city. The Standard, at the l)eginning of its career, attacked the pool-rooms of Brooklyn, which were then numerous, and busy day and night. The at- tacks were at first laughed at by the pool-sellers, who had money, influence and popularity behind them. The laugh died away into surprise and terror when raids, arrests, conyictions, fines and terms of imprisonment of the gamblers rewarded the efforts of the little journal. The Argus made a special effort for municipal reform. It was assisted uniformly by the Union and Times in its endeayors and from time to time by the Eagle. It started an agitation for simplicity and responsibility in the goyernment, home-rule, the abolition of sinecureship and, aboye all, retrenchment, economy and honesty in the City Works. In eyery issue it presented these ideas in some form or another to the public and so aroused public interest as to bring about the reform-era, which started mth Comptroller Frederick A. Schroeder and has continued in an unbroken line to the present time. The Times, while strongly sustaining its colleagues in their attempts to ameliorate the condition of Brooklyn, has made a specialty of reforms in the county institu- tions, the Penitentiaries, the Insane Asylum and the Poorhouse. Its editor, Hon. Bernard Peters, has long been recognized as an authority in such matters, and has enriched the columns of his paper with the fruit of his studies and obseryations. His work and that of his j carnal greatly accelerated the destruction of the abuses which at one time preyailed, and at the same time in- creased the respect and confidence of the public toward both editor and paper. 468 BROOKLYN 'S GUARDIANS. .Fur their police news, each paper has one 9r more men stationed at Pohce Headquarters in the Municipal Build- ing. The reporters doing this branch of work must naturally be shrewd, as the papers depend on them to get the inside facts of every important case that comes to the department. When these facts are secured the case must be followed into court to see what settlement is made of the matter. Perhaps the best -known police reporter doing business for Brooklyn papers is Thomas J. Beales, who is at pres- ent employed by the Citizen. Mr. Beales is an English- man and has had over twenty years' experience in this kind of work. He began his career as a reporter by writing for the Newark Advocate, from which paper he went to the New York Star. After writing for the Star for over a year he came to Brooklyn and became attached to the staff of the Union. With the Union he stayed three years, and then went to the Eagle. He again re- turned to the Union and then, again changing, he for a second time become police reporter for the Eagle, with which paper he remained until three years ago, when he retired from newspaper work. When the Citizen started he was sought out and offered a position, which he ac- cepted. Mr. Beales has done some excellent work in his time and still continues to be a valuable aid to the Citizen. He is married and has children. Samuel B. Moore does the same work for the Standard- Union that Mr. Beales performs for the Citizen. Mr. Moore went on the Union when a boy and worked himself up to his present position. He did Greenpoint news when he was but seventeen years of age, and was afterwards the writer of Williamsburg news. From BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. this latter place he was assigned to Police Headquarters, where he has heen for over seven years. Mr. Moore's work has heen entirely satisfactory to the Union. He has distinguished himself on several occasions, the most noticeahle being his report of the Hettrick murder, which occurred in 1SS5. He succeeded in getting a confession from Thomas Armstrong, the murderer, and before the other newspaper men could get the news, the Union, containing Mr. Moore's account of the confession, was being sold on the street. Mr. Moore is twenty-eight years old, is married and has two children. The Eagle has its police news written by Charles R. Cook, a bright young Englishman. Mr. Cook did his first newspaper work for a paper in Jacksonville, Florida, but after a few months he came to Brooklyn and secured a position on the Eagles staff. He is thirty-one years of age, is a bachelor and has been with the Eagle about five years. James A. Wood writes the police happenings for the Brooklyn Times. Mr. Wood became reporter for the Times in 1874, and after writing for four years he resigned his position and. with his brother, went to East on, Pennsylvania, and there started a weekly paper, which did not meet with success and was suspended after a short time. He came back to Brooklyn and was re- employed by the Times, for which he is now writing. Mr. Wood is a Scotchman, is thirty years old, married, and is the father of a large family of children. Of the men employed as Brooklyn police reporters for the great Xew York papers, Frank A. Brockway is the oldest in the business. For a quarter of a century Mr. Brockway has been writing for the Associated Press. 470 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. He is fifty-six years old and gained his first newspaper experience with the New York Mail and Express. Mr. Austin 0. Plunkett, the Herald man, is an old soldier. He was a member of the Second Division of the One Hundred and Seventieth Regiment of New York and was wounded during the siege of Petersburgh at Reams Station, Virginia, August 25, 1864. When Mr. Plunkett returned from the war he was a captain. During the Fenian invasion of Canada he acted as correspondent for the Herald and wrote some excellent articles, which were largely read and commented upon. In 1866 Mr. Plunkett came to Brooklyn to take the place of police reporter. The gentleman is 45 years of age and has been with the Herald twenty- six years. William Crook is at headquarters for the Sun. He is an Irishman, thirty-eight years of age. Mr. Crook was first with the Union, for which paper he did police work for over five years. He then went to the Argus and remained with it until it was merged into the Union. He was next em- ployed by the Eagle and three years ago went to the Sun. He has performed some creditable work, and is held in esteem by all his co -laborers. William Palmer has been for seven years police reporter for the Trihune. He suc- ceeded his brother Archibald, who performed the same duties for the Tribune for four years. Mr. Palmer is thirty -two years old. The Journal is supplied with the news by Tyler F. Blackwell, who has been on this paper over four years. Mr. Blackwell has had long experience at the work, hav- ing been with the Tribune a number of years. Frank Fisher, an intimate friend of Governor Hill, writes for the Star. He was a reporter on the staff of the Govern- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIAXS. 4:71 or's paper in Elmira, N. Y., and has only been with the Star a year. Sanders F. Shanks has been employed by the Times for three years . He is a son of W. F. G. Shanks, one of the editors of the Tribune, smd is twenty-four years old. William Sieman is police reporter for the Staats Zeitung. He was formerly connected Avith the Freie Presse and Long Island Anzeiger and has done good work for all three papers. Last, but not least, comes Edmund S. Linehan, one of the brightest reporters at Police Headquarters. The World has had the benefit of Mr. Linehan's services about a year. He wrote his first article for the Montreal (Can- ada) Star, and was sent to Xew York as correspondent. While at that work Mr. Linehan w^as offered a position on the Union and accepted it. He became police re- porter and remained in that caj^acity until he went with the World. Mr. Linehan is but twenty-tw^o years old, but has performed some excellent work. Mr. Linehan's exploit with a double murder which occurred on the barque Mozart, lying at the foot of Baltic Street, in August, 1 885, in a great part made his reputation. He learned that a murder had been committed at the place, and hastening there he got all the particulars and sent the news to the Union, which had an extra on the street announcing the crime before it was reported at Police Headquarters. When Captain Jewett mysteriously disappeared, Mr. Linehan worked day and night to find out the cause. He finally dis- covered it, and the result was that the World published over a column about the matter before the Brooklyn papers knew the facts of the case. These and many 472 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. other pieces of good work have made Mr. Linehan a val- uable assistant to any paper. Many of the best-known Brooklyn journalists have served an apprenticeship as police reporter. Kenward Philp, John Nolan, William Muldoon, Frank G. Spooner, William McFeeters, George Spinney, William J. Gaynor, Ernst Pardessous, Norris Clowes, James McDermott, Archibald Gordon, Marc Cook and William Hudson are a few of the more prominent who have achieved feats worthy of mention in this field of labor. The city authorities have assigned a room to the press in the top floor of the Municipal Building. It is light, comfortable and well ventilated, and equipped with the cracked desks, leaky inkstands, the treacherous chairs, sputtering pens and vile paper which seem necessary to report orial life. The favorite room of the fraternity, however, is the detectives' room at Headquarters. It is '^nearer to news," more comfortable and sociable, and it is fre- quented by detectives and other police officials who are companionable and interesting. Both rooms are in daily use by the press, those who prefer quiet and order when working using the Mansard, while the rest seek the pleasure of official company. The relations of the reporters among themselves vary according to instructions from their superiors. Every police reporter is supposed to send his paper every item of interest that occurs at Headquarters or that is report- ed from the precincts. The amount of news he gathers, the style in which he treats it and, above all, the stories that he exclusively gets and reports, measure his ability and standing. As every man has his own method of working, it is clear that the police news in the various BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 478 papers Avill vary as the men vary who represent them. Every now and then the reporters combine into an associated press," each contributing all the news he has gathered to all the rest. The result of the combination is that all the papers have a larger and better amount of news than they enjoy when each reporter works for him- self. But all of them have the same news, none hav- ing more nor less than any other. This may happen once or many times before the combination is detected or is forbidden by the newspaper. The old rule again l)revails and each man works for himself. However friendly one scribe may be to another personally, yet the rivalry thus required of him leads to all sorts of queer practices and tricks more than worthy of the bitterest hostility and even malice that the brain can devise. A good story in this regard is told of a well-known Brooklyn journahst, who was assigned to report the exe- cution of a murderer in a country town. He arrived at the jail the night before and went immediately to work upon the case. He learned that the hour for the hang- ing was at any time between ten o'clock and twelve ; that though, as a matter of courtesy, the sheriff respited the criminal till the last moment, he had the power of execution at the first-named hour. He also learned that there was no other train until eleven o'clock next morn- ing, and that unless they used horses, no other reporters would be there until that time. The desire to get a ''beat" with this journalist was an instinct. He immediately conceived a plan to obtain one and in i)ui'- suance of it visited the sheriff. To that astonished offi- cial the reporter, after expressing sympathy for the criminal, the criminal's family, the hangman and the 474 Brooklyn's guardians. sheriff himself, put the query whether, if the condemned so desired it, he could be hanged at ten o'clock instead of noon. The sheriff answered in the affirmative. The reporter then called upon the criminal, put him into good humor with cigars and, it is said, other delicacies, and then asked him how his family were situated. The poor devil, in whom vice and sin had not crushed out all that was good, burst into tears, and after deprecat- ing his own fault said that they were penniless and that he would do anything to get them a few dollars. The reporter offered to give the family fifty dollars if the condemned would request to be hanged at ten instead of noon. The offer was promptly accepted, the sheriff called in to ratify the contract and to hold the money in trust. He consented to both and received the money. Next evening, after completing a newsy biog- raphy of the condemned, with some pleasant remarks about the sheriff, the reporter attended the execution, which came off at ten sharp. When life was pronounced extinct and the corpse cut down, he rushed to the tele- graph office and engaged the telegrapher to forward no other message until his work was done. For a few dol- lars the operator consented. The report was put in and as it was being telegraphed he finished the description of the hanging. Eleven o'clock came, the train arrived, and the reporters ran e7i masse to the jail, where, to their unspeakable astonishment, they found the affair all over. Writing a brief account from the statements of eye-wit- nesses they raced for the telegraph-office. Here, to fheii disgust and indescribable profanity, they found the Brooklynite in possession of the wires. He had sent the whole story and was now telegraphing the Bible from BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 475 Genesis I. 1, in order to prevent the news reaching any afternoon newspaper excepting his own. It is hardly needful to state that he succeeded absolutely and that his journal had the greatest beat of the year. In another case holding the wires was not so success- ful. One Saturday afternoon last winter a reporter on The Citizen received instructions from Managing Editor George Gordon, at twenty minutes of four, to catch the four o'clock train at Jersey City and report a secret meeting of glass-blowers then on strike at Glassboro', N.J. ^' Xo train to Glassboro' or any possible way to get there,'' said the ticket agent ; but by the kind aid of a freight train on the West Jersey road, the reporter arrived at his destination at just half past ten that night. The snow was about a foot deep and more coming down every minute. The meeting was over, and several reporters from Philadelphia in possession of the facts refused to ' ^ give up" to the scribe from Brooklyn. How- ever, he followed them to the telegraph office, about a mile from the town, arriving just as the Philadelphia Record man handed his copy to the operator. Considerable growling from the Brooklyn man ensued, but it was of no use. He seated himself beside the operator, looked downcast, but kept writing on the backs of telegraph blanks. The Record man's story was fin- ished ; but to hold the wire and score a ''beat," he com- menced to repeat what had already been sent. "Hold on," said the man from Brooklyn. ''Give us a chance. We don't want to be beaten." " What's the matter with you ?" answered the Record man. " Nothing, only I'm a telegraph operator myself and 476 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. having just copied your story, want to send it to Brooklyn. " At first the reporters didn't beheve his statement, but when the Brooklynite took the operator's chair and sent his own copy they thought differently. The relations between the police and the press are con- ducted almost exclusively through the police and other reporters. Every policeman keeps a note-book, in which he is required to enter details of all important cases. These are condensed and entered upon the station-house blotter, which also contains a record of arrests, crimes, fires and other events in which the officers are officially interested. Each precinct sends daily to headquarters a report which contains in brief form all the important facts of the blotter, and especially a statement of arrests and crimes. To these, excepting in a few special instances where the ends of justice require it, or great social or political influence is brought to bear to keep their con- tents unknown to the public, the reporters are given access and make from them the memoranda on which are based their stories. Most of the arrests are "drunks and disorderlies," of no interest to the public excepting when the luckless offender has some social or professional position, when his peccadillo is described in glowing colors. An actor, minister, dude, or Sunday-school and church official who is apprehended for intoxication is a delicious bit of news to every professional scribe. Poli- ticians, newspaper men, lawyers and sporting men are, of no value in this regard, probably for the reason that the event with them is so common as to be a matter of course. In cases of crimes or arrests of journalistic importance, BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 477 the reporter visits the station-house, and there interviews the accused, the officer, detectives and any witnesses he may find. When the occurrence is newsy, he notifies his office and has one or more reporters to help him. Besides these visits by the pohce reporters who come direct from headquarters, there are others. Nearly all city editors make it a point to ''cover" th? station-houses once or more a day, and so gather news as well as utilize employees at leisure, assist space-w^riters and break new men into harness. A third class of visits is from free- lances, who drop in to gain information which they can make into new^s items or specials. These they sell to the papers which they believe will pay them the highest price for their Avork. The police are also of great use to the press in giving information in regard to lost, missing and fugitive per- sons, processions, mass meetings, fires and accidents, the record and reputation of candidates, officials, civil liti- gants and prominent men, and in fact in regard to almost anything of general interest. In publishing police news all first-class newspapers have the same practice. The news must be accurately written and verified. The law- as to libel allows an editor to publish in full a correct account of any occurrence, but punishes with heavy damages, fine or imprisonment garbled, distorted or ex- aggerated statements which tend to inflict injury upon private reputation. In publishing accounts of police trials, the newspapers usually treat breaches of duty in a humorous, and seldom in a serious, vein. Those that appear in the Eagle, the Times and i?et7"ei(; are generally the most complete, and are always good reading. On the other hand, grave offences committed by policemen 478 Brooklyn's guardians. receive a greater condemnation than those by men in private hfe. The cases of Sergeant Crowley and Officer O'EourkCj and many others, are still too fresh in the pub- lic mind to need enlarging. Thus far the Brooklyn police have had a singularly excellent record in this respect. In the past ten years only one felony has been committed by an officer — that was bigamy (and let it be added in palliation of the offence) superinduced by ex- cessive mother-in-law. CHAPTER XXVIIL Brooklyn's criminal lawyers. Relations of Lawyers and Police. — Prominent Barristers. — Fran- cis A. McCloskey. — A Help to Justice. — Tricks Whereby the Guilty Escape. — How Billy Leete was Acquitted at Sessions. — The Way a Boarding-house Fiend Works. — An Irate Landlady. — Coney Island Gamblers Deceive Anthony Comstock. — Detect- ive Lowery's Story of a Beautiful Blackmailer.— The Method OF an Ingenious Adventuress. — Transparent En^t:lopes. — A Woman and a Lawyer Outwit Justice. — Exposure a Good Card Against a Complainant. — The Political Machine as a Legal Remedy. — The Beecher-Tilton Trial — The Prosecution of Commissioners Flaherty and Bennett.— Police Court Juries.— Excise Trials a Farce. — Beer Xot Intoxicating. — The New York Life Insurance $70,000 Forgery.— District Attorney Ridg- way's Famous Trick.— Criminal Lawyers Poorly Paid. — Shysters AND Pettifoggers. — Their Poverty and Misery. — Criminal Law- yers IN Politics and in Office. (JT FEATURE of Brooklyn social life is the zeal with /ij which crimes of every kind are prosecuted. In most cities there is a very large element who would rather let small offences go unpunished than lose the time and trouble required by law to convict the offender. Another class, especially large in New York, relies entirely upon the District Attorney's office, and the other machinery of justice, and refuses to expend money in punishing a criminal, even when the wrong has been committed against themselves. These classes are remarkably few in number in Brooklyn. Not only are wrong-doers 480 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. prosecuted, but the desire to see abstract justice done goes as far as to bring the most trifling disputes into court . This tendency borders upon the ridiculous when, as sometimes happens, a six-foot policeman brings a small boy into court whose sole offence has been the accurate use of a putty blower, or calling names at some fancied foe. On the other hand it largely adds to the income of the six hundred practising lawers of the city. These in the main are able, intellectual and cultured men. Only about one -tenth accept retainers in criminal cases, the vast majority knowing but little of criminal law, and attending exclusively to real estate and civil litigation. A few brief sketches of some of our most prominent criminal lawyers will not be out of place in a police his- tory. Among the best known are: Francis A. McCloskey, Gen. Benjamin F. Tracy, once United States District Attorney and afterwards Judge of the Court of Appeals ; Hon. James Troy, ex-County Judge ; Hon. George G. Eeynolds, ex-City Court Judge ; Gen. Isaac F. Catlin and Hon. Samuel D. Morris, both ex-District Attorneys; Hon. Henry A. Moore, County Judge ; Hon. James W. Eidgway, the present District Attorney ; Hon. Mark Wilbur, United States District Attorney ; John H. Kemble, Jere Wernberg, John U. Shorter, William J. Gaynor, Jesse Johnson, John F. Clark, Edmund B. Barnum, Thomas E. Pearsall, Baldwin F. Strauss, Henry B. Davis, Eobert F. Payne, Henry Meyenborg, John C. Maguire, Anthony Barrett, A. W. Gleason, Patrick Keady, Samuel Hemingway, Frank W. Angell, David T. Lynch, James T. Williamson, Charles J. Patterson, and John E. Bergen. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 481 Francis A. McCloskey, counsel to the police commis- sioners, was born in Broiklyn, July 28th, 1800. He first attended public school No. 5, which school he left while in the graduating class to go to St. Francis Xavier College, New York city, where he graduated with high honors in the class of 1881. He entered the Columbia College Law School, where during his two years' course of study he was noted for close application to study and as a man of great intellectual powers. In June of 1883 he was graduated. In May 1883, a month prior to his graduation from the Columbia Law School, he was ad- mitted to the bar, and a short while after his grad- uation, entered into partnership with his brother Henry, with whom he distinguished himself by winning several important law suits. On Feburary 1st, 1886, he was appointed successor to Albert E. Lamb, as counsel to the Police Board, which position he has filled with great credit, having only lost one case of the many he has tried,* and has probably given more legal opinions than any one of his predecessors in the same length of time. It is also a part of Counsel McCloskey's duties to defend policemen when sued for false arn^st or for assaults. Among the many suits of this kind was that of Captain McKelvey, when the amount involved was about five thousand dollars ; the suit was tried three times, in every one of which the counselor was success- ful. He also defended Policeman Patrick Hayes, who was sued for two thousand dollars for false imprison- ment, where success again crowned his hard efforts, and more lately he defended Policeman Duffer, who shot a man during the strikes in December last ; it seems that 482 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. the strikers assaulted the officer and attempted to take his club from him. In self-defence Duffer was com- pelled to draw his revolver and shoot one of the disturb- ers. The trial lasted for some time, and Mr. McCloskey obtained his discharge. He also assisted, at the request of Lawyer Geo. Elliott, in the defence of Policeman Wasserman, who was tried at about the same time and on almost the same charge as Officer Dutfer. Among his other duties is that of defending the action of the Police Commissioner in removing subordinates. Shortly after his appointment. Commissioner Carroll re- moved Patrolman Hayes for assaulting a citizen ; and the officer having taken the matter into court, it was held that the action of the Commissioner could not be interfered with. Again: Two bridge keepers in the employ of the city, having been summarily removed, sued out a writ of certiorari to compel the Com- missioner to reinstate them. Upon the case being argued, Mr. McCloskey contended that the Commissioner had absolute power of removal, and in this contention he was supported by Justice CuUen, before whom the case was tried. Not so very long ago, also, the j^olice boat ''Judge Moore" picked up a canal boat loaded with coal, and the crew of the ''Moore," through Mr. McCloskey, libelled the owners of the coal for salvage. The decision of Judge Benedict is now being looked for with anxiety by the parties interested, for the reason that the point involved — whether a policemen has a right to salvage — is a novel one. Being counselor to the Police Department, he is, of course, also counselor to the Excise Board, and has several important cases now pending which keep him very busy from early morn to FRANCIS A. McCLOSKEY BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 485 late at night. Mr. McCloskey is a tall, slim young man, and looks to be a little older than he really is, which is probably caused by his close apphcation to study, which has also, perhaps, been the cause of his wearing glasses. He has auburn hair and light sandy mustache, and to gaze on him one would wonder that one small head could contain all he knew. The relations between the bar and the police are, and haye always been, cordial and intimate. It is a matter of every day occurrence for lawyers to volunteer their services to policemen in trouble, or to present to their clients receipted bills after the case is over. On the other hand, the police extend every possible courtesy to the profession. Paradoxical as it may seem to many who have not thought upon the subject, this state of affairs insues to the public weal and to the detriment of the criminal classes. Nearly all professional lawbreak- ers Avho come to Brooklyn are known more or less to the police and the bar. Arrested, whether red-handed in the act or merely upon suspicion, the moment a criminal is arraigned he is almost always identified and revealed to the court by either one or the other. The practice of employing an experienced lawyer to prosecute in- creases the danger to which a "crook" is exposed. These causes must be added to the efficiency of the Dis- trict Attorney's office, the superb conduct of the Court of Sessions and the admirable discipline of the pohce, in explaining the dislike of criminals towards visiting Brooklyn, and their anxiety and terror when appre- hended upon any charge. Despite the foregoing, the guilty frequently escape through the ingenuity and shrewdness of the lawyers. This was well illustrated in 486 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. a 'trial in the Court of Sessions. The accused, WiUiam F. Leete, ahas Billy Leete and Billy Smith, was a pro- fessional thief of the kind known as a " boarding-house fiend." He would select some fashionable boarding- house, and, through the aid of accomplices, learn what jewelry and precious stones were owned by the guests, how much money they usually carried, where they kept their valuables, their rooms, habits and weaknesses. After he was thoroughly informed, he would call in the morning at an hour early enough to prevent liis meeting the ladies in the house aiid sufficiently late to escape the gentlemen on their way to business^ and would engage a room, paying a week's board in advance. The next day he would return at the hour when most of the in- mates were out, and would express surprise that his trunks had not arrived. Eetiring to his room on some pretext, he would rapidly break and enter the other dwelling rooms with skeleton keys, and ransack every bureau and trunk. By knowing in advance his prospec- tive booty, he succeeded nine times out of ten in securing it and escaping in safety. On the occasion in question he was arrested several days after the robbery, but no trace nor clue could be found of the stolen g..)ods, which amounted in value to $2,000. He was tried, and the only evidence against him was the testimony of the landlady, who identified him beyond cavil. Leete's counsel bad- gered her until she was white with rage, and then draw- ing a letter from his pocket handed it to her with the request that she would read it, and then tell him if it were true. As the inference to be drawn from the ac tion was that the witness had written a compromising or contradictory statement, the attention of both judge Brooklyn's guardians. 4^7 and District Attorney was turned to the letter. In (Ik^ half -minute the reading consumed, the prisoner changed seats with his hrother, who had been sitting behind the counsel. The jury saw the act, but it was noticed by no one else. The reading over, the letter, which of course, had no connection with the case, was given to the Dis- trict Attorney, who perused it while the examination continued. You swore that this is the man. Can you not be mistaken ?" ^'No," she arswered not half looking at the prisoner, " I can't and you can't fool me." '^Will you swear that that young man with the blonde mustache (pointing to a youth on the other side of the court room, who immediately turned purple, to the amusement of the court, public, and especially the jury) is not the man Of course I will I" with great vehemence. "Will you swear this is not the man f pointing out the prisoner. " No, that isn't the man. He don't resemble him in the slightest. " " Are you absolutely certain ?" "Perfectly!" At this point a sharp court officer detected the strat- agem and reported it to the District Attorney. He made an indignant appeal to the couit, who, in turn, adminis- tered a scathing rebuke to the counsel, prisoner and brother. But the evil had been done, and the identifica- tion was worthless. Though judge and jury were morally certain of Leete's guilt, yet upon the evidence the latter were reluctantly compelled to find a vei'diet of not 488 Brooklyn's guardians. guilty. The prisoner was discharged, to continue his criminal career, while the landlady and the unfortunate guest who had been robbed departed to their home breathing a strong desire to lynch both Leete and lawyer. A similar deception was practiced during Gen. Catlin's administration as District Attorney. Anthony Coni- stock, after many threats, caused a raid to made upon the Coney Island pool sellers. The gamblers wei e fore- warned and took measures accordingly. Of more than twenty arrested, not one gave his real name, but nearly all gave the names of their brothers, or of men who re- sembled them in face and feature. All gave bail to appear before the Sessions. When the trials came on, some months afterward, all the accused, their friends, bondsmen and witnesses packed the court room. The first case was called and the complaining witness put upon the stand. The moment his gaze fell upon the prisoner his face fell, and at the first material question he broke down and could not identify the accused, who was promptly discharged. The same farce marked the next four or five trials, until the District Attorney gave up the entire business in disgust. The year following all the indictments w^ere buried forever by a nolle prose- qiii. False personation is only one of many methods adopted by criminal lawyers to secure the release of their clients in seemingly hopeless cases. Detective John Lowery, of the First Precinct, tells a story which, as a picture of life in a great city, is well worthr re- peating. Mrs. Robinson, alias Miss May Roberts, alias Mrs. Agnes Darling, boarded in 1884, in Johnson street, near BROOKLYxN'S GUARDIAXi?. 489 Adams. She was a strikingly handsome brunette, who dressed with exquisite taste and whose manners were faultless. To the landlady and guests she was known as a very respectable and religious young widow, whose husband had left her enough money to live upon in com- fort. In reality she was one of the brightest and most unscrupulous adventuresses that ever came to Brooklyn. Her mode of doing business was ingenious and unique. In the morning, after making a careful toilet, she would stroll down Montague street and cross over to New Yoi k by the Wall street ferry, about the time the solid busi- ness men go to their offices. She never flirted, especially with young men ; and never, under any circumstances, with those who did not bear the appearance of v/ealth ; but to florid, elderly, wealthy gentlemen she gave the idea, however, that she could be safely addressed with- out the usual formality of an introduction. The result always was that when she reached the New York side she was conversing with some future victim. They would make an appointment for the same day or the next, and nearly always it w^as kept. Her conduct at even the most delicate times was something to earn the praise of the most fastidious. She never asked, nor even hinted for money in the early stages of each attachment, but pleaded love at first sight as her overwhelming mo- tive. An admirable actress, she flattered and cajoled each middle-aged admirer, until he regarded her as an angel. Meantime, she wormed from him all the infor- mation possible about his business, family, children, and especially about his fair friends. Two or three weeks after their first meeting, and when she had enough of his secrets for her working-capital, she would 490 BROOKl YN'S guardians. send a piteous appeal for one or two hundred dollars. It generally came, and when it did the victim began a series of experiences in blackmail that were to last for months and even years. When it did not she played a card that was a novelty to all the force. Taking a sheet of heavy note paper, she wrote on it in a bold hand and with a coarse pen. On the first page would be : "My Darling- How can you be so cruel to one whose only fault has been to love you too well in the estimation of the world ? For Heaven's sake pity me in the distress you have caused and send me the trifle you have promised." And on the last page of the sheet : " Come back to me dearest, because I cannot live without you. Love and many, many kisses. Your loving May." This she would fold and enclose in a half -trans parent, steamboat-paper envelope, and address it to her admir- er's home. As it would probably fall into the haxids of his servants or children before it reached us, and as it was easy to half -read the letter through the envelope, it would generally frighten him into a prompt remittance the same day. How many susceptibles she victimized in this manner will never be known. But her time came at last, as it does to all criminals. Her last con- quest was a wealthy merchant who, however false to his vows and susceptible to immoral women, possessed great grit and determination. He received one of these letters, and immediately retained a Montague street law- yer, who, in turn, engaged a detecti ve. The investiga- tions of the latter, though carefully conducted, were re- ported to Mrs. Roberts, who retained a lawyer in turn. The first lawyer wrote her to call upon him ; she called, BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. declined to talk, but made an ap})()intnient to see him and his client the next day. Meantime she had given her own lawyer a statement of the relations between her admirer and two women of high social standing, and also several letters from them, that she had purloined from her present foe. Her lawyer wrote to them, asking them to call. They complied, and were horrified to find their secrets in his possession. They left in search of their former lover, whom one of them found on his Avay to Justice Walsh's for a warrant against Mrs. Roberts. It is needless to remark that the warrant was never ap- plied for, and that the trouble ceased, so far as she was concerned. Nevertheless the matter was reported to Capt. James Campbell, who made it so unpleasant for for Mrs. Roberts that she shortly after left Brooklyn for Chicago and has not since been heard from. The best evidence of her skill was afforded after her departiu-e by the discovery of the names of five of her victims. Three of them were prominent and successful lawyers. This practice of winning hopeless cases by threats of exposure or counter- persecution, is much larger than is generally known or believed. Nearly every family, in fact, every person, has some skeleton in the closet, and however closely the secret may be kept, it is usually known to a number of people. The misdeeds of youth, the indiscretions and follies of women, and the crimes committed under terrible temp- tation or intense passion, are all capital for unscrupulous lawyers, and are too frequently used as invuhierable defenses for wrong-doers. Many criminal lawyers carry in their memory an inexhaustible stock of this kind of information. Others BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. keep scrap-books filled with published accounts of cases involving local scandals. Few, if any, hesitate to use their knowledge to protect a client, no- matter how guilty they know him to be. In this respect they are under great obligations to the police, who invariably know all the gossip and whispers affecting every one upon their beat, and who are never loath to lend a help- ing hand to their friends of the bar. Another favorite expedient of criminal lawyers to defeat the ends of justice, is the employment of the political machine. Brooklyn, from a politician's stand- point, is admirably organized. At least one-half of all the Eepublicans, one-third of the Democratic, two-thirds of the Labor, Socialistic and Prohibition voters are enrolled in the registers of the Ward Associations. Beyond this, the active party leaders of each ward and even election district, have private memoranda of the political proclivities of^ all w^ho live in their districts. Nearly all the criminal lawyers are more or less promi- nent local politicians, and occupy important positions in the machine. By applying their own influence, and that of the local leader of the district, in which a com- plainant or important witness resides, they are often able to induce, the one to withdraw an action, or the other to keep judiciously away from the subpoena- server and the court-room. The political machine is put to its hardest use in trials involving large amounts, or the social or political status of prominent men. In the famous Beecher — Tilton — Moulton litigation, and in the bitter legal war waged against Commissioners of City Work, John W. Flaherty and George C. Bennett, BROOKLYN*S GUARDIANS. 493 Purveyor Milne and Superintendent Dady, not only were all the witnesses watched, their weaknesses learned and their records searched, hut every juror upon the panel-list was suhjected to similar treatment hy picked politicians. When a juror w^as called in either case, a slip was put into General Tracy's hand in one case, and into Judge Troy's in the other, giving as briefly as possi- ble the characteristics and availability of the man for the purposes of the defense. In the police courts this prac- tice is carried to absurd lengths. In excise cases the absurdity becomes broad farce. Public prejudice in Brooklyn is very strong against temperance spies and persecutions. In nearly every case the talesmen are habitues of saloons, w^ho are hard drinkers and whose feehngs tow^ard the Prohibitionist are those of the dog toward the cat. If there be any possible explanation of the usual conduct of a bar, they will adopt it rather than the natural inference of the sale and delivery of liquor. They have been repeatedly know^n to find that beer, ale and wine are not intoxicating ; that porter, lager and whiskey cocktails were ginger ale ; that an absolute stranger opened a bar and sold drinks all day, w^hile the innocent landlord sat upstairs, unknowing of tlie fact that he was robbed below ; and that rye, bourbon and cognac were cider, by the mere pasting of a label with that w^ord superscribed upon the bottle. A frequent strategern is the skilful manufacture and publication of exaggerated or false statements in regai d to the personality and social standing of a prisoner. A few^ years ago the New York Life Insurance Company was defrauded of 8T0,000, by a forged check. In the ''gang'' that accomplished this was a skilled criminal, BROi ) KL ^ N'S GU AKDl A N S . named or known as Charles W. Ponters. Shortly afterwards, while being shadowed by the best detectives in New York, he committed a number of crimes in Brooklyn, and was arrested for one almost in the act. His two lawyers knew that the moment his arrest was published, his past record would be laid bare and a dozen witnesses come forward to prove his reputation. They also knew that the press would publish the fact as a matter of news. Before the case was called, in Judge Massey's Court, all the facts concerning "C. Warren Pontious, a wealthy railroad man had been given to the press. A package of wild-cat Western bonds and mort- gages in his possession had been magnified into $50,000 U. S. four per cents., and the luckless criminal was transformed. Some one immediately volunteered and went bail, and the complainant, satisfied that he had done injustice to a high-bred gentlemen, withdrew the proceeding, declared he had made a mistake, apologized, and when all the parties had left the court- room, treated them to champagne and Reina Victorias. The New York detectives never dreamed that the man they were in search of had passed through a dangerous adventure, and one in which they could have put an end to his career for a long time. The rules of evidence afford any number of loop-holes through which jail birds crawl out. District Attorney Ridgway availed himself of one, in defending a saloon- keeper who was charged with a violation of the excise law. Two women, who were crusading on their own account, in the cause of temperance, entered the saloon Sunday afternoon, in the guise of topers, and easily in- duced the proprietor to sell them a pint flask of whiskey. ^ BROOKLYN'h GUARDIAN'S. 495 The next day they made complaint, and he was arrested and hrought hefore Justice Walsh. Ridgway took six similar flasks and filled them with various fluids, making one so noisome that it made itself known the moment it w^as hrought into the court-room. The woman took the witness-stand, testified to the sale and produced the criminating fiask. Ridgway took it from her hands and placed it on the table in front of the Judge. Then from the pockets of his coat he produced the six flasks, and in a moment mixed them so that it was impossible to detect the original. Then turning to the witness, he said, ^'Now, Madame, you have said that you can tell whiskey when you try it. Please examine these flasks and inform the court which contains wiiiskey and which does not ! " Then, adding in a melodramatic aside to a brother lawyer, loud enough for the witness to hear, but not the Judge, If she smells or tastes one of them, she'll be sick for a week." The witness naturally refused to test the flasks, became frightened, and admitted that she might be mistaken in her judgment, and that the stuft' she had bought might be any yellow fluid with a spirituous flavor. She was promptly excused, and the saloon- keeper liberated. Another efiicacious strategem, is what is known as the sympathetic act." As a matter of fact, few professional criminals are married. Nearly all, however, live in improper relations with abandoned women of all types. Among these are a few who are handsome, talk well and act better than many star artists upon the stage. In small cases, such as petit larcency. assault 496 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIAX9. and battery and the like, the lawyer sends for one of these to assist him. Her work is always artistic, and frequently successful. She dresses herself in a neat, but very worn and shabby black dress, stains her shapely hands with chemicals until they are pitiable to contemplate, rubs an onion on her nose until her eyes are red, as if from weeping, and then, with two or three pretty, but even shabbier children, trained and hired for the purpose, calls upon the complainant. The familiar story of the starved wife and children is told, while she sobs and the juvenile chorus weeps. The complainant, his wife and family finally sympathize, relent and promise not to prosecute. Sometimes they even give her money. She retires grate- ful, and the prisoner is discharged for lack of evidence. Owing to the fewness of crimes and the absence of a criminal class in Brooklyn, the legal business produced by them is small and unremunerative. It may be ques- tioned if Greneral Tracy, General Catlin, or Judge Troy, the three leading practitioners, draw $3,000 a year, apiece, from this element of their practice, while twenty - five younger lawyers may derive $1,000 each. Below these, however, are a large number of unfortunates, whose office is the dwelling room in their flat, and an equal number " w^ho carry their offices in their hats." The condition of these attorneys is pitiable in the extreme. They are nearly all pictures of poverty itself. They reach court early in the morning and hang around, either in the trial-room or the corridor, accosting every incomer for business, or watching for a friendly police- man to give them a hint as to what prisoner requires a lawyer. When luck is good they may get two cases, at BROOKLYN'S GUARDIAN?^. 497 $2.00 each ; when extraordiiiaiy, a s5.00or even a $10.0() counsel fee. When passable, they clear one or t wo dollars ; when bad, twenty-five or fifty cents, a pawn- ticket, a cheap silver watch or several glasses of whiskey, and when very bad, nothing at all. It is generally supposed that these unfortunates have been brought to their present condition by dissipation and vice. Such is seldom the case. Most of them were law-clerks, or office boys, who, as soon as they are admitted to the bar, started to practice on their own account, with little or no money the first one or two years of their profes- sional career. Law seldom pays living expenses during this period, so that necessity, in such a case, would drive a man to the wall, or into practicing in the manner described. Others are attorneys from the country or other cities, who think there is a field for them in Brooklyn, and who go there with little money, little influence and no acquaintanceship. There are so many of both classes and so little business to be done, that were it equally divided among them, it would barely afford a decent livelihood to each one. But through the competition engendered, and the superior shrewdness or unscrupu- lousness of some over others, each year witnesses the success of one or two who open offices and do well, and the non-success of all the rest. It also witnesses their increase by a dozen new faces. One feature of the criminal lawyers is worthy of mention. More candidates for high elective and appoin- tive honors have been chosen from their ranks, in proportion to their number, than from any other class or profession. They have filled the County Judgeship, 498 BROOKLYN'S GUAKDIANH. the District Attorneyship, the United States District Attorneyship and the Supervisorship-at-large. They have been aldermen, supervisors, assemblymen, senators, City Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Appeals Judges, and to their credit, have almost invariably given satisfaction to their constituencies. At the present time, (1S8T), they occupy no less than twenty official positions of importance in the municipality. CHAPTER XXIX. THE POLICE PEXSIOX FUND AXl) OTHER MATTERS. Origin of the Fund. — Appointment of Officers. — Their Powers. — Rules and Regulations. — Trustees to Serve Without Pay. — The Sources from which the Fund is Drawn. — Who are En- titled TO Receive Pensions. — Proa'isions for the Widows and Orphans. — For Disabled Members of the Force. — The Retired List. — Condition of the Fund at the Present Time. — The Dog Tax and How It Swells the Pension Fund — Police Matrons. — Lost Children. — A Good Average Sample. — Civil Service Re- form. — The Annual Parade. — Conclusion. n:^X June 15th, 1877, an act to create a police pension UJ fund for disabled and retired policemen in the city of Brooklyn was passed, constituting the Board of Po- lice and Excise and the Ccmmissioners of the Sinking Fund a Board of Trustees of the pension fund ; and giv- ing them the power to choose one of their number as chairman and of appointing a secretary. The Treasurer of the Police and Excise was to be the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees; said Board of Trustees to havecha:ge of and administer said fund, and from time to time to invest the same, or any part thereof, as they shall deem beneficial to said fund. They also have the pow er to make all necessary contracts, and to make payments of said fund of pensions granted in pursuance of the act of June 15th, 1877. The Board of Trustees are the legal successors of the Trustee or Trustees of the Police Life Insurance Fund then in exist- 500 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. ence. The Boai'd of Trustees have the power of estabhshing, from time to time, such rules and regu- lations of the Police Pension Fund as they may deem best, and are compelled to report in detail to the Com- mon Council of the city annually, in the month of Jan- uary, the condition of the fund with the items of their receipts and disLuisements on account of the same. No payment whatever is allowed by said Trustees as reward, gratuity or compensation to any person for salary or services rendered, or for said Board. The Pension Fund consists of : First.- The capital, income, interest, dividends, such deposits, secureties and credits then belonging to the Police Life Insurance Fund, with the addition thereto from time to time of Second. — Ten per centum of all moneys paid into the Bureau of Excise for licenses. TJiird. — All fines imposed by the Board of Police and Excise upon members of the police force ; and Fourth.— All rewards, fees, gifts, testimonials and emoluments that may be presented, paid or given to any member of the police force on account of police services, except such as shall be allowed by the Board of Police and Excise to be retained by such member ; and, Fifth. — All lost or stolen moneys remaining in the house of the Property Clerk for the space of one year, and for which there shall be no lawful claimant, and moneys arising from the sale of unclaimed property; an"d. Sixth. — A sum of money equal to fifty cents per month for each member of the police force and attache of the police department, to be paid monthly by the Comp- troller of the city to the Board of Trustees of the Pen- Brooklyn's guardians. 601 sion Fund, from moneys deducted from the pay of mem bers and attaches of said force on account of lost time. Seventh. — The sum of three dollars per day, or for any portion of a day, for each member of the police force or attache of the police department whose services may be required by any corporation, association, person or per- sons whatsoever, for the performance of any police duty (except in criminal cases) outside of the city of Brooklyn, which sum, in each and every case, shall be paid to the Treasurer of the Board of Police and Excise for the ben- efit of the Pension Fund. The Board of Estimate of the city is authorized and directed by resolution of said board to appropriate from the excise moneys derived by the Board of Police and Excise from licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors ten per centum of the moneys so derived, and the Comptroller shall draw his warrant in favor of the trustees of said Pension Fund, and the Treasurer of the city shall pay said warrants out of the moneys received from said licenses. The Board of Police and Excise have the power to grant pensions to any member of the poKce force or attache of the pohce department from moneys from the Pension Fund, to be paid by the Board of Trustees as follows : (1.) To the ^\ddow of any member of the police force or attache of the department who shall have been killed while in actual performance of police duty, or shall have died from the effects of any injuries received whilst in the actual discharge of such duty, or who has died after ten (10) years' service in the police department, provided such death shall not have been caused by misconduct on his part, a sum not to exceed three hundred (S300) dollars per annum. BROOKLYX'S GUARDIANS. (2.) To any child or children under eighteen years of age of such in ember of the police force, killed or dying as aforesaid, but leaving no widow ; if a widow, then after her death, to such child or children being yet under the age of eighteen years, sujh pension as the Board of Pension and Excise shall from time to time award and order, not to exceed three hundred dollars per annum. (3.) To any such member of the police force or attache of the department, who, whilst in the actual performance of police duty, and by reason of the per- formance of said duty, and without fault and miscon- duct on his part, shall have become permanently dis- abled, physically or mentally, so as to be unfitted to per- form full police duty, a sum not to exceed three hundred dollars per annum. (4. ) To any member of the police force or attache of the department who shall, after ten years' membership, become superannuated by age or rendered incapable of performing full police duty by reason of disability or dis- ease contracted without misconduct on his part, a sum not to exceed three hundred dollars. (5.) To any such member of the police force or attache of the department who shall, after fifteen years' mem- bership, become superannuated by age or rendered incap- able of performing full police duty by reason of disabil- ity or disease, four hundred dollars per annum. (6.) Any member of the force or attache of the department who has or who shall have performed police duty for a period of twenty years or upwards shall, upon his own application in writing, be retired from service and placed on the police pension roll, and thereupon Brooklyn's guardIxVns. shall be awarded, granted and paid from said Folic - Pension Fund, by the trustees thereof, an annual sum during his lifetime equal to one-half the full pay of a member of said police foice of the rank of the member so retired, provided, however, that no i)ension so granted shall exceed the sum of one thousand dollars per annum. (7.) In every case mentioned in sub-divisions three, four and five of section four of this act, the Board of Police and Excise shall determine the circumstances thereof in its discretion, and may order the retirement from service and payment of the pensions mention' :d in this act, but only after the certificates and recommenda- tions of the surgeons in writing shall be on file, as re- quired by the provisions of this act, under such rules and regulations as they may prescribe, but all payments on account of said Police Pension Fund shall be made quar- terly, by check or draft upon the trustees of said sum, signed as said trustees may direct. Pensions to wi lows shall terminate when the widow shall re-marry ; and pensions to childrei: shall terminate whenever the children shall respectively arrive at the age of eighteen years. The Board of Police and Excise may, in its discretion, order any pensions granted or any part thereof to cease, except to members of the police force or attaches retired after twenty years' service, as pro- vided in section five of the act, but in all such cases the said Board of Police and Excise shall file with the trus- tees^of the police pension fund a written statement of the cause which determined them in ordering such pen- sion to cease, and nothing herein or in any other act contained shall render the granting or payment of such pension obligatory on the Board of Police and Excise, or 504 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. upon the trustees of the pohce pension fund, or charge- able as a matter of right upon said pohce pension fund, except as provided in section five of this act. In determining the term of service of any member of the pohce force, or attache of the pohce department, under the provisions of this act, service in the late Metro- politan police department, and subsequently in the police department of the city of Brooklyn, shall be counted and held to be police service in the police department of the city of Brooklyn for all the purposes of the act. No member of the police force or attache of the ])olice department, shall be awarded, granted or paid a pension on account of physical or mental disabihty or disease, unless upon the certificate and recommendation of the Board of Surgeons of the Department of Police aLd Ex- cise, which shall set forth in detail the cause, nature and extent of the disability, disease or injury of each mem- ber of the police force, or attache of said police depart- ment who may be placed upon the pension roh, and said certificate shall distinctly state whether or not such dis- ability, disease or injury was incurred or sustained by said member of the pohce force or attache in the per- formance of police duty and without misconduct on his part, and such certificate shall in each case be filed with and entered upon the minutes of the trustees of the Po- lice Pension Fund. An act to amend chapter four hundred and thirty-eight of the laws of 1877, entitled '^an act to create a pxAice pension fund for disabled and retired policemen in the city of Brooklyn," was passed June 14, 1886, and was amended so as to read as f ohows : The police pension fund shall consist of. BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 505 First. — The capital, income, interest, dividends, cash, deposits, securities and credits, now belonging to said police life insurance fund with the addition thereto, from time to time, of Second. — Twenty per centum of all moneys paid into the treasury of excise for licenses. TJiird. — All fines imposed by the Commissioners of Police and Excise upon the members of the pohce force, and Fourth. — All rewards, gifts, fees, testimonials and emoluments that may be presented, paid or given to any member of the police on account of police service, except such as shall be allowed by the Commissioner of Police and Exci e to be retained by said members, and FiftJi. — All lost or stolen moneys remaining in the hands of the property clerk for the space of one year, and for which there shall be no lawful claimant, and moneys arising from the sale by said property clerk of unclaimed property : and, Si.vth. — A sum of money equal to tifty cents per month for each member of the police force and attache of the police de artment, to be paid monthly by the comptroller of the city to the treasurer of the board of trustees of the police pension fund from money deducted from the pay of members and attaches of said force on account of lost time : SeveiitJi. -The sum of three dollars per day, or for any portion of a day, for each member of the police force or attache of the police department, whose services may be required by any corporation, association, person or per- sons, whatever, for performance of any police duty (ex- cept in criminal cases) outside of the city of Bi-cM^klyn, 506 buooklyn's guardians. which sum in each and every case shall be paid to the treasurer of the board of trustees of the police pension fund for the benefit of said fund. The Board of Esti- mates of the city of Brooklyn is authorized and directed from time to time, by resolution of said board, to ap- propriate from the excise moneys derived by the Com- missioners of Excise from licenses' for the sale of intoxi- cating liquors, twenty per centum of the moneys so derived, and the comptroller of said city shall draw his warrant in favor of the trustees of said pension fund, and the treasurer of said city shall pay such warrants out of the said moneys received for said licenses. Eighth. — A sum of money, equal to, but not greater than one per centum of the monthly pay, salary or com- pensation of each member of the police force, to be de- duct ed monthly by the comptroller of the city from the pay, salary or compensation of each and every metnber of the police force, and the said comptroller is authorized, empowered and directed to deduct said sum of money as aforesaid and forthwith to pay the same to the treas- urer of the police pension fund; provided, however, that any attache of the said police department, who, at the time of the passage of the act, shall have served seven years and upwards upon the said police force shall be entitled to the benefits of the provisions of this act upon payment by him of a sum of money equal to one per centum of the monthly pay, salary or compensation of the said attache, as hereinafter provided for in the case of members of the police force. All the moneys de- rived from sources mentioned in this section shall be paid over by the ofiicers and persons having the collection or custody of the same to the trustees of the said police brooklYin's guardians. 507 pension fund, and shall belong to and be invested as portions of said fund. Section 5 of the Act of 1877 is amended to read as follows: Any such member of the police force or attache of said police department who has or shall have performed police duty for a period of twenty years or upwards shall, upon his own application in writing be retired from service and placed upon the police pension roll, and thereupon shall be awarded, granted and paid from said police Pension Fund by the trustees thereof an annual sum during his lifetime equal to one-half the full pay of a member of said police force of the rank of the mem- bers so retired, provided that in the case of an attache of said police department he shall have served for not less than seven years as a member of the police force of said department, to entitle him to the benefit of the pro- visions of this section. All acts and parts of acts incon- sistent with the provisions of this a t are hereby re- pealed. This act to take effect immediately. The following is a resume of the last report presented by the Board of Trustees to the Common Council : Receipts. Cash balance January 1st, 1886 $29,105 89 Fines and lost time 2,065 08 Percentage of rewards, etc 96 91 Contributions , 3,125 00 Sale of unclaimed property 387 16 Justice Walsh under chapter 577 50 00 Twenty per cent, of Excise fees 56,075 0:» Interest on bonds and deposits 1,351 77 $92,256 81 Disbursements. For pensions $51,415 26 Cash balance November 30th, 1886 - 40,841 55 Total $92,256 81 508 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. This year the Legislature passed an act giving fifty per cent, of the dog t ;x to the Pension Fund. The dog tax amounts to $2.50 for each dog, to be paid by the owner of said dog, and as there are about ten thousand dogs in the city, makes the full tax about $25,000, half of which, $12,500, will this year go in to the Pension Fund. The fund now has on its roll one hundred and fifty-seven pensioners. POLICE MATRONS. A new special feature of the department has just come into force, which will commend itself to every one. At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen on May 2tl:th, 1887, the Committee on Police and Excise reported resolutions appointing a number of Police Matrons. The committee in its report said that : ' 'A committee of the Kings County Woman's Association appeared before your committee and stated that women and girls are brought into court ( harged with crimes of which they are innocent. As one case recited before your commit- tee : That a young girl was arrested and charged with the crime of larceny. The case was investigated by the then Matron. It was found that the girl was innocent, and that the charge was made for the purpose of pre- venting her leaving the family where she was employed. The Police Matron system was adopted in Portland, and subsequently in Boston and Philadelphia, and is now in successful operation, and a large number of women who are now leading lives of purity and usefulness have been saved from prison by this method. Your committe j are of the opinion that justice and common decency de- manded that the women and girls brought into court BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 500 (many for the first time) charged witli misdemeanors, should have the presence and assistance of a person of their own sex, in an official capacity, to whom they can tm'n.-' The committee also reported the following : Resolved, That the Comptroller be, and he is hereby authorized and directed, to set aside the sum of s-l-,55(i from the contingent fund for the purpose of paying the salaries of the said Matrons for the year 1887. Resolved That the Board of Estimate be requested to appropriate the sum of $11,400 in the budget for the year 1888, to provide for the appointment of the Matrons at each of the police precinct stations. Little wanderers, who have toddled away from home in the wake of a procession, or a hand-organ, and lost sight of familiar objects, are picked up by the police every day and come under the care of these matrons. They seldom know where they live, and frequently a youngster, just big enough to go alone, is found two or three miles away from home, having escaped the dangers of street crossings and car tracks in some unn accountable way. When the distracted mother comes, there is a scene. It is almost a waste of breath to tell her that the child will be brought in before night. She knows that he has been run over, has fallen into the river, or has been kidnapped. It is the settled conviction of the mothers that there are bad people who do nothing but prowl about the streets, looking for a chance to steal stray children. It never occurs to her that it must be some ex- traordinary purpose that would induce a bad man to burden himself with thirty or forty pounds of helpless humanity, given over to habits of kicking, squalling, and being hungry. She wants the whole detective force 510 BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. turned out at once, the hospitals searched and the rivers dragged from Harlem to the Battery. A woman comes in, nearly a lunatic from anxiety and fear, and clamors for her Jamesy." Jamesy was the darlinest bit av a kid iver was born. Sorra a wan av 'em on the street was the good av his little finger. And sure he was drowned." What was he like ? ^' Sure hadn't she been tellin' yez ? Like ! Like ! why, mam, he was like the sunshine that comes in the windy. And some villain of a thafe had stolen him. Look like, is it ? Dade, and he was the picture of his father. Two boys niver looked more like the wan than Jamesy an' the ould man." The door had just closed, when a shrill cry of joy was heard outside. At the foot of the steps the mother had met a policeman, leading by the hand a very small bit of a boy vnth aggressively red hair, and a face upon which a thick coat of dirt vainly essayed to extinguish a vigorous crop of freckles. The boy was Jamesy. The mother swooped down upon him and snatched him up before the surprised policeman knew what had happened, and she was bolting for home cry- ing and laughing in one breath, and scolding and kissing indiscriminately, when the policeman seized her by the arm. He had to make a report of the case to the ser- geant, but she knew nothing of that. She had found Jamesy, and that was enough. What more had the police to do with it ? ''Now, ye'llnot have him! Ye'U not be puttin' me Jamesy in jail bekase he wint around the corner a bit. He niver done no harm. Sure, I'll larrup him myself, an' his father '11 skin him alive for skippin' about the BROOKLVW'rt GL AKDlANS. 511 street an' giving ye all the bother. But ye'll not take up Jamesy, the hit child as manes no wrong, will ye now V At last she is persuaded to hring the child in and wait for the record to he made, never letting the unperturbed youngster out of her arms. CIVIL SERVICE REFORM. Eeaders of this volume will have noticed many in- stances in the biographical portion of officers who have obtained promotion under civil service rules. The system of civil service examination is undoubtedly of the greatest benefit in handling any large body of the public servants. In the first place, applicants for positions on the force must be men of reasonable mental attainments, as well as of the necessary physical requirements. Under the old hap-hazard system, it was quite possible for men of a certain height and certain strength to be imposed upon the force despite the fact that they might be utterly incapable of coming up to a fair average standard of abihty and judgment. This the new method does away with entirely, and the average intelligence of a Brooklyn policeman to-day compares favorably with the average intelligence of any like number of men engaged in com- mercial pursuits. But what the citizens of Brooklyn will most appreciate is that civil service divorces the police from politics. At present, for example, while the head of the department is naturally a Democrat, having been appointed by, and being responsible to, a Demo- cratic Mayor, yet many of his aides and many of the rank and file of the force are Eepublicans, and hold their positions because they have proven themselves capable 51- Brooklyn's guardians, of filling them acceptably. This is as it should be, for if politics should be divorced from anything, certainly they should have nothing to do with the vast machinery that regulates public order. Strict impartiality and absolute neutrality on the part of the police are imperatively necessary in communities which exercise the right of manhood suffrage at the polls; for every citizen, what- ever his political persuasion may be, whether he call himself Democrat, Republican, Prohibitionist, or what- not, should always be able to know that he has a clear and untrammelled right to walk to the polling booth and deposit his vote under the protection of the preservers of the peace. Brooklyn is so pre-eminently one of the birthplaces of new and advanced political ideas that its citizens should and do take a deep interest in watching the development of anything that tends to purify the administration of public affairs. Civil Service is justly regarded as one of the most im- portant steps taken since the v\ ar to purify the political atmosphere, and its strictest enforcement will undoubt- edly command the support of Brooklyn's citizens at all times. Indeed, it may be said that a Brooklynito cares little whether his mayor or police commissioner be Democrat or Republican, provided he honestly f .ilfils the duties of his office, with a view to the public welfare and in accordance with the laws of good municipal govern- ment. Under the eyes of enlightened public sentiment no municipal officer of Brooklyn would dare attempt to make his office a mere appendage to partisan leaders, for he would know well that swift and crushing rebuke would come to him from the citizens at the polls. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that our city politics are so ^ BROOKLYX'8 GUARDIANS. .M3 inextricably woven Avith our national politics that they can never be entirely separated ; but probably this can never be wholly remedied, at least so long as the great parties preserve their present minute local organization. Granted this, it is indeed gratifying to find that the good features of both local and national government re-act on each other ; and the gradual growth and strength of national civil service reform is having its effect upon municipal government with a very great impulse. But lovers of American institutions can certainly pride themselves upon the constantly increasing betterment of the conduct of our government, for certainly the pres- ent generation enjoys an infinitely purer administration of affairs than did the last. Twenty -five years ago the idea seldom, if ever, occurred to any one that a public officer should be appointed simply because of his merits. Offices were looked upon as the spoils of the victor, and parcelled out without question or criticism among the successful gladiators in the political arena. Every dis- tinguished politician had his troop of henchmen, who expected to be, and naturally were, quartered upon the public treasury and supported by the public, not prim- arily for performing the duties of their office, l)ut for the support and maintenance of the political chieftain's power. That this has not wholly passed away is true. That a certain section of our citizens still, from the force of habit, believe in such notions, is likewise true. But the number is growing smaller and smaller every year, and it is to be hoped will grow smaller and smaller yet. Absolute perfection in the public service cannot, of course, be hoped forthio side of the millenium, but it can 514. BKO()KI.^ k'h guardians. be reasonably approached ; and it is with a just pride that the citizens of Brooklyn can declare that their city is in the front rank with the most advanced and enlight- ened communities. POLICE PARADE. On Tuesday, May 18, 188T, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, five hundred and fifty uniformed men and of- ficers of the Brooklyn Police force formed in line at the fountain on Bedford Avenue. 1 1 was the occasion of the ilrst annual parade of the Brooklyn Police Department. Just prior to the word to march everything was in con- fusion, policemen seemed to be everywhere, hurrying, scurrying here and there in the hot broiling sun. Stran- gers in town would have no doubt mistaken it for some riot, which the entire force of the city had been called upon to quell. Tu a person who lived in the city, how- ever, the burnished helmets, polished buttons and clean uniforms told a different tale. They were no war or riot uniforms. Far from it. And right here it may be as well to remark that great attention is paid by the d apartment to the uniforms of the men — the best and most suitable cloth being selected — and certainly no body of ' ' blues " looked handsomer than Brooklyn's " finest " upon this occasion. Shortly after two p. ni., the word to march was given. As if by magic all noise ceased. The men were all hi line, and had started before many of the spectators who had left their points of vantage could regain them. In the van was the mounted squad under the command of Sergeant Johnson. His men all well-built, well- BROOKLYN'S GUARDIANS. 515 drilled and nearly all of whom had seen service in the cavalry during the civil war, presented a magnificent and imposing appearance. Their horses, with glossy hides and well cunibed manes, answering to a touch of the knee, resembled pieces of mechanism. They, too, looked like their riders— splendid — and seemed to appreciate the thunders of applause from the excited and admiring host of spectators who thronged each side of the street. Following them came the drum corps of the Ninth Eeg- iment, N. Y. S. N. G., with Conterno at the head, and di- rec'Jy behind, Superintendent Campbell in all the glory of a bran new uniform, looking hale and hearty and every inch a policeman. At his side, made fast by a many colored cord, was a club, also bran new. By his side marched Inspector Reilly, tjie head of the detective force of this city. After them came the 550 men. They were divided into two battalions of nine companies each, with fourteen files full. Inspector McLaughlin was at the head of the first, and in command of the companies were Captains McKelvey, Campbell, Leavey, Ennis, Murphy, Brown, Folk, Dunn and Brennan. The second battallion was under the command of Inspector Mac- kellar, the senior inspector, and, acting as his aides in command of the rear nine companies, Captains Jewett, Lowery, Rhodes, Druhan, Kaiser, Eason, French, Kel- lett and Kenney. The only captain not on i)arade was Captain Woglom, of the Fifth Precinct, for whom a walk of six miles was physically impossible. He was put on duty at headquarters, and did all that the superintendent usually does when there. The colors carried were the beautiful flags presented by Messrs. Wechsler & Abra- ham, several smaller flags, and a city flag, presented by 516 BROOKLY^'S GUARDIANS. Commissioner Carroll. The men wore for the fnst time the new summer helmets, and every uniform was ad- justed so carefully that even the eagle eye of the inspector could find no flaw or spot. The route was from the fountain through Bedford Avenue to La- fayette, through Lafayette to Schermerhorn Street, to Clinton, through Clinton to Eemsen, and through Eem- sen to the City Hall, where they were reviewed by Mayor Whitney, Commissioner Carroll and Deputy Commis- sioner Dallon, who expressed themselves as extremely gratified at the display. No doubt the citizens felt so too, to think that such an imposing and efficient force guarded their interests. After passing the Hall they marched to Gallatin Place, Fulton Street, where they disbanded, not once in all the long, hot, six mile walk requning the use of the patrol wagon or ambulance which accompanied them. Although so large a force was taken away, all the posts were covered as usual, 254 men being left on guard, 190 of them being regulars and the remainder being called m from detailed positions. With this last picture of Brooklyn's Guardians our record comes to a close. Much more could have been written if space allowed, but the limits of this volume are reached and the writer must lay down his pen. If he shall have succeeded in bringing somewhat closer to tiie public the gallant defenders of their homes, lives and property, his task will have been a pleasant one, and his reward will be the consciousness of having labored in a worthy cause. It is also his hope that the publication of a work like this may have a good effect upon the police force itself However imperfec.ly the task is done, yet surely it wiix BROOKLYN'S GUAKDIANS. 517 make a policeman think a little better of himself to find that he is deemed worthy of record side by side with other public officials. May it not arouse a laudable ambition in the breast of every member of the depart- ment to figure in future histories for future generations ; to know that a gallant deed will find its proper applause, andthat an act of heroism may be embalmed in imperish- able print. It is always well to do one's duty, and phil- osoi:)hers tell us that the consciousness of having so done is the greatest of rewards; but there is a natural and proper desire on the part of every man to hear those grand and simple words : Well done, good and faith- ful servant." JOHN W. FOWLER, DANIEL F. LEWIS, President. 7 ^re a surer. THE LEWIS^*° FOWLER MANUFACTURING CO., 27, 29, 31, 33 & 35 WALWORTH ST., Bet. Park and Flushing Ave., BROOKLYN. OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. R. R. Castings and Supplies A SrECIALTY, CONTINENTAL MORKS (Ne;ir V.th and 23d Street Ferries. ) BROOKLYN, (Greenpoint,) NEW YORK. THOMAS F. ROWLAND, rresidm^. (Jas plaint of eu(^ry deseriptioi^. Iro9 ai^d St(^(^l l/(^5sels. Plans, Specifications and Estimates furnished for every description of Engineering Work. ICsta"blislie(i 15 Years. Roebuck's Wire Screens and Weather Strip. Exclude Cold, I Vind, Snow and Dust. WIRE SCREENS Fit any Window. [Also, Screens and Screen Doors to lorder. Estimates given. pOEB UCK's -WEATHER^ S T R .1 P S OOORS &'WIND0WS AT ROEBUCK'S WEATHER STRIP DEPOT, 164 Fulton St, near Broadway, New York. BOONEKAMP MAAGBITTER. The ouly genuine is the original, invented in 1815 by A. E. Boonekamp, at Antwerp Belgium, It has upheld its reputation ever since as a sure cure for Dyspepsia, or other troubles of the stomach. To be taken in water, cordial or liquor. Where quick relief becomes imperative, in such cases as Cramps, Dysent^-ry, etc., It shf)uld be taken in its pn:e state. The market is flooded with all kinds of imitations, some imported from Germany, and sold under the name of Boonekamp, of Maagbitter. Only the original carries the seal and signature of the inventor. '°'=T."^'a;d"'ca„ada. AUGUST IMMiG, BROOKLYN. IS". Y. Ofiice, 5 ir iiroaa Street, THE BELT LINE FIRE. Central Park, North and East River Railroad Comvanv, ioth Av., 53D and 54TH Sts. New York, June 3, 1887. Messrs. Morris, Little & Son, Brooklyn, N. T.: Mv Dear Sir: The work of removing the eleven hundred and sixty burned horses from the ruins of our stables at 54th Street and loth Avenue having been completed, we wish to express to you our thanks for the prompt and efficient aid rendered by your corps of men in the disinfecting and deodorizing of ourpiemises. What promised under the hot weather, un- less soeedily cared for, to become offensive as well as dangerous was, by the use of your Solu- ble Phenvle, rendered harmless. Tiie test of the properties of the compound was a severe one, but all the conditions of that test were fully complied with, and the result was perfect success. We had used the Phenvlk in our stables for some time, and had found it valuable, and now we are pleased to commend it to others. We can highly commend it as a disinfectant and deodorizer. We are very truly yours, G. HILTON SCRIBNER, President. Used in the Police and Fire Departments of Brooklyn and other large cities. Send for circulars. MORRIS, LITTLE & SON, 1 73 North 1 Oth St., Brooklyn, E. D. jLLSGOOD, RASCH & CO., WHOLESALE GROCERS, Jay, corner Sands, St., - Brooklyn J. G. HURLIMANN, MANUFACTfREK OK RIBBONS,.-^ Nos. 235 to 245 Lyncli St., Brooklyn, E. D. Salesrooms: 472-474 BROOME STREET, - NEW YORK. EXCELSIOR ELECTRIC CO., MANUFACTURERS OF ELECTRIC LIGHT MACHINES AND LAMPS, F*la.tiiig and. Refining Xlacliines, FACTORY, 198 to 216 WTLLOUGHBY ST., BROOKLYN. Office, 9 Dey Street, - - New York. Wm. Hochhausen, Supt. and Electrician. Geo. D. Allen, Gen. Manager. THE H. UNDERBERG-ALBRECHT Boonekamp of Maag-Bitter IS IMPORTED BY LUYTIES BROTHERS, )?>rEW YORii:( None genuine without the neck-label bearing sis:nature and trads-mai k of Lun ties Bros., New Yo"rk. F. W. H. Nelson. ^\". F. H. Nelson. NELSON BROTHERS, wholesale and kktail okalers ln COAL AND WOOD, Main Office & Yard : 50s to 5*24 Hamilton Ave., near Third Ave. Wharf and Pockets: Hamilton Ave., Smith St., and Gowanns Canal, Telephone Call. No. 803. - - BROOKX-^YT^, PC. Y. LEHIGH AND RED ASH COALS A SPECIALTY. STHRIN'S City and River RANSPORTATION CO. Freight Forwarded to All Parts of the World. Principal Office, PIER 18, N^ORTH RIVILR, GREENWICH STONE QUARRIEST MM. H. RITCH St SONS, Proprietors. DEALERS IN Building, Foundation, Pier and Under-Pinning Stone OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, ALSO CONCRETE STONE. STONE YARD, FOOT OF TAYLOR ST., BROOKLYN, E. D. Orders received at Mechanics' and Traders' Exchange, 14 Vesey St., N. Y., Box 192. Quarry Address, PORT CHESTER, N. Y. NORMAN HUBBARD, ' SOLE MANUFACTURER OF THE I mproved NIMMA Steam P ump. Engines, Boilers and Machinery. Pulleys, Shafting and Hangers a Specialty. Hydraulic Blowing Engines for Church Organs. Hydraulic Elevators for Buildings. 93 97 Pe^^i St., Brooklyn, Y, FREDERICK W. STARR, LUMBER -^^ND • TIMBER, Yard, Foot of i^tk St., South Brooklyn. . Xeleplione Call, " Brooklyn 435." PETER TIMM'S SOJST. 281 to 285 North Sixth Street, Brooklyn. Long Island Ice & Coal Company. OFFICE AND DEPOT, Third St., near Third Ave., Brooklyn. Best quality of Coal constantly on hand. Orders by Post or Telephone Promptly aitendtd to. Telephone Call, 142 Brooklyn. ^. POLHEMUS & SON. LIDGERWOOD MANUFACTURING CO., ZMarLxifactiarers? of Improved Hoisting Engines and Stationary Engines, Also makers of Superior Stationary and Marine Boilers for all purposes. Office and Salesroom, 96 Liberty St., New York. Works ^ Cor. Dikeman, Ferris and Partition Sts. , Brooklyn. JOHN BARNEY, —Dealer in— Blue5t09e of fill De5eriptioF}s, Sills, Lintels, Cirli, Gutter, Wimi, etc., etc. Tard, Comer President Street S Third Av., BROOKLYN. ^^^ ^ Brewed b.r\\ bottled b y _ 5eadIeston-6c-WoerzT E^ra 291 WlOT'iSTraMEW YORK^^miD Or^zr) by f^jf^,! Cj^rd proiwpfly tMwd.zt. fc.g^eKs) HANDREN & ROBINS' Erie Basin Dry Docks, (Private Wire to Dry Docks.) AND ALBANY STREET IRON WORKS. SHIPYARD, ENGINE AND BOILER SHOPS, Erie Basin, South Brooklyn, N. Y. IRON WORKS, MACHINE AND BOILER SHOPS, Washington Street, N. Y. STEAMSHIP REPAIRS A SPECIALTY. Office, 126 Washington St., NEW YORK. (Telephione 42 K"ew.) GEORGE MALCOM, Brewer and Maltster, EXTRA FINE CANADA MALT ALES AND PORTER, A. G. SCHOLKS, (Successor and Son of H. B. SCHOLES.) COAL : AND : WOOD, 632 Kent Avenue. pt-, qf Rodney St, 9^ Brooklyn, BROOKLYN, E. D. C^FIT^L. $S00,000.00. New ^ York ^ Warehousing Co., COTTON STOB AGE, Brooklyn, C. K. Wallace, Sec. & Treas. , Ft Van Brunt & Conover Sts. , OXNARD BROS., Fulton .'. Sugar .•. Refinery, Cor. Dock: and. Water Streets. CHAS. S. HIGGINS & SON, LI BELLE BOUQUET TOILET SOAP, And Other Pure Milled Toilet Soaps, H. A.GRflEF'SSON 40 COURT ST Importer of Wines, ETC. Sole Agent for United States and Canada, of the TIN PES PRINCES CHAMPAGNE, aud Monogram Cognac CROSS, AUSTIN & CO. DEALERS IN 4(-LUmBE R i^ MOULDINGS, BRACKETS, Etc. Corner Kent Avenue and Cross Street, BROOKLYN, N. Y. M. CROSS. S. AUSTIN. J, H. IRELAND. ESTABLISHED 1832. VALENTINE & COMPANY, MannfactuTers of High Grade COACH AND CAR VARNISHES & COLORS 245 Broadway, New York. 68 LAKE STREET, Chicago. 153 milk street Boston. 21 rue de lappe, Paris. ESTABLISHED 1830. WILLIAM WALL'S SONS, ]\Ianuf acturers of all kinds of ROPE, DRILLING CABLES AND TORPEDO LINES. For OIL WELLS a Specialty- (Any length required up to 3,500 feet.) Coarse, Medinm and Fine Lath Yarn and Bailing Ropes, ITALIAN, RUSSIAN, AMERICAN AND JUTE PACKING, Office. 1 13 Wall St.. Warehouse. 56 & 57 South St YORK, Y. MOLLER, SIERCK & CO., SUGAR REFINERS, 502 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn. Office, 90 WALL STREET. N. Y. CITY. C. G. COVERT'S SONS, DEALERS IN LUMBER and TIMBER, PLHNING HND SHW MILLS, Jniictioii of Granil Street and Metroplitau Ayeime, AND CORNER SCHENCK AND ATLANTIC AVENUES. Brooklyn City Railroad Co. OFFICES, 8 S 10 FULTON STREET. H. M. THOMPSON, Secretary. DANIEL F. LEWIS, President, Greenpoint. Greenpoint via Franklin St , First St., Classon and Myrtle to Fulton Ferry. Flushing Ave. Greenpoint via Graham, Flushing and Sand St. to Fulton Ferry. Myrtle Ave. City Line via Myrtle Ave. to Fulton Ferry. Gates Ave. " " Gates, Greene and Fulton Ave. to Fulton Ferry. Putnam Ave. Broadway, via Halsey, Putnam and Fulton Ave. to Fulton Ferry. Fulton Ave. East New York via Fulton Ave. to Fulton Ferry. Flatbush Ave. Flatbush via Flatbush and Fulton Aves. to Fulton Ferry. Third Ave. Greenwood via Third and Fulton Aves. to Fulton Ferry, Court Street. Greenwood via Court and Fulton Aves. to Fulton Ferry. Fort Hamilton. Greenwood via Third Ave. to Fort Hamilton. Hamilton Ave. Greenwood via Hamilton Ave, to Hamilton Ferry. Furman Street. Hamilton Ferry via Columbia and Fui man Sts. to Fulton Ferry. LEONHARD EPPIG'S GBRiMANIA BREWERY, •.• 24 to u GEORGE ST., .-. COR. .-. CENTRAL.-. AVETv^UE, BROOKLYN, E. D. Telephone Call, 89 Williamsburg.- J. E. SIMPSON & CO., GENERAL CONTRACTORS AND BUILDERS OK Simpsons .*. Improved . Dry Dock, 35 Broadway, - NEW YORK, CHESEBRO, WHITMAN & GLIDDEN, .M.-VXlFACTrKEKS OK m — LADDERS, — # Step Ladders, Painters' Trusses, Swing Stages, Scaffold Horses, Flag, Scaffold and Awning Poles. SCAFFOLDS PUT CP FOP FA'FSCO PAPYTFPS. .'. LADDERS OK ALL DESCRIPTIONS MADE TO ORDER. 220 Pacific St., near Court St., - Brooklyn. D. p. CHESEBRO, W. S. WHITMAN, W. L. GLIDDEN, New York. Brookly.v;. ELEVATOR AN^r> MILLS Om S. W. BOWNE, DEALER IN ^ay, Straw, (^rain, Piour, Peed, ^c, GOWANUS CANAL, NEAR HAMILTON AVENUE, South Brooklyn, NICK. DAVIDS, COAL aS5 wood, 47 & 49 SACKETT ST., BROOKLYN. Telephone, 1375 Brooklyn. STANDARD POLICE CLOTHS Used by the Brooklyn Police Department. Sawyer, Burt & Manning, SOLE AG-KNTS. JOHN SCHLEGEL'S U/t^ite U/ii^e ai^d Qder \/i9e(5ar, MANUFACTORY : 132. 134, 136 & 138 TWENTY-SECOND ST., SOUTH BROOKLYN. ATLANTIC YEAST~CO., The Most Reliable Compressed Yeast In the World- Jay & John Sts., Brooklyn, L. I. White Wine and Malt, also PURE CIDER VINEGAR, E MB IRE riKEGAB WORKS. JOSEPH WEIL, (^ity Dre55ed I^efri(5erator B(^<^f, 264 Hudson Avenue. - Brooklyn. aA^BE ISAACS, WHOLESALE BUTCHER, 244 and 246 Hudson Avenue. Always on hand a select stock of Sides, Hinds, Ribs, Chucks, etc. ICE HOUSES OPEN FROM 4 A. M. TILL 7 P. M. Xeleplioiae Call, 728. OAKLEY & KEATI^^G, 40 Cortlandt Street, New York. Factory, 135 to 145 Manhattan Avenue, BROOKLYN, E. D. MiarLTafactvii'ers of FOR INSTITUTIONS AND HOTELS. Send, for Cataloj^iae. VIRGINIA PII^eTn'oOAK WOOD. FAMILIES SUPPLIED BY THE CORD OR LOAD. Yard : Nos. 32, 34 and 36 Morton Street. Telephone Call, 237 Williamsburg. BROOKLYX, E. D. LINDLEY Z. MURRAY, Dealer in PURNITURL, (^ARPETS ^LiMm, Nos. 59, 61 and 63 Myrtle Avenue, bk.ook:lyn[, n. y. U. S. & BRAZIL MAIL STEAMSHIP CO. BETWEEN N K W YORK (Via NE^WF^ORX NKWS, VA.) AND ST. THOMAS, BARBADOS, (Connecting vqr West Indies, Central America, Etc.) Para, Mara^iham, Pernambuco, Bahia AND RIO DK JANKIRO. • OOraEOTING POE SANTOS, PAKANAGUA, ANTONINA, SANTA OATHAKIM, KIO GRANDE DO SUL, PELOTAS, POETO, ALEGEE, MONTEVIDEO AND BUENOS AIEES. Tills is the only Steamship Line Carrying Passengers from the United States to the East Coast of Soiilh Africa. Jennings Lace Works, Silk Laces, Silk Gloves, Mitts, Etc. Silk Guipure^ Spaiiisli, C'hantilly and Blonde, Lace Edgings, Flouncings, Scarfings, etc. Pure Silk (IoikIs only. First and Largest Manufacturers in America. Awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals and Diplomas. FARRELL LOGAN & SON, IMaiavilaetiireris of HIGH AND LOW PRESSURE BOILERS AND TANKS, Gasometers, Stills and Sugar Pans of Every Description. Also Machine Work. Commercial and Clay Streets, OliEElVFOIlVT, - JVEW YORK. FSOMFT MIT^mTiQlS GIVEN TO REPA£R£N:@. Telephone Can, Brooklyn, 780. Wholesale and Retail Dealers in oo Philadelphia and Crotou Fronts, Commou Hard Brick Of all kinds. Lime, Lath, Cement, Plaster, Sand, ILair, Fire Brick, etc. Also, -^1- TIMBER HND LUMBER. 1^ Hemlock, Spruce, \'ello\v Pine, Oak, White Pine, Walnut, Ash, Etc. Hamilton Ave. & Gowanus Canal & 9tli St. & Gowanus Canal, BROOKLY]V, ]V. Y. WEIDMANN COOPERAGE C^ SU&AR, PLOUR MD m BARRELS Half Barrels, Kegs, &c., AND DEALERS L\ Molasses Hogsheads, Casks, Shooks and Barrels, Also Staves, Heading and Hoops. A Large Supply Constantly on Hand. OFFICE AND FACTORY, FOOT OF N. 6TH STREET, onnected with Telephone, Wilhanisburgh 19 BUOOKLYI*^', E 13 BOORUM & PEASE, Manu/actiirers of BLANK BOOKS AND PHOTOGRAPH ALBOMS, Salesroom and. Office, 30 and 32 Reade Street, New York. Factory, BRIDGE AND FRONT STREETS, BROOKLYN. S. WiLLETS Haviland. John a. Havilanu. Telephone Call, "Brooklyn 1158." S. W. & J. J^. H^A^IL^^^D, =— = F L O U R, 44, 46 and 48 WASHINGTON AVE., Cor. FlusMng Ave. BROOKLYN. Opp. TVallalDont Market, Esta^blishecl 183B. Rock • Spring • Distillery, FRANK SEAMEN, Proprietor. Distiller, Importer and Wholesale Liquor Dealer, 52 to 64 North Fourth Street, Brooklyn, E. D. Telephone Call 403 'WilliaiTisbnroili. FRANCIS S. HAAS & SON, IRON FOUNDERS, Cor. Bushwick Avenue and Scholes St., Brewers' Work a Specialty. BROOKLYN, E. D. Castings fo?' Buildings, Machinery, Ornamental Railings, etc. MAXl F.\Cri. KER OF Enameled, Mosaic aod Venetian Window (jiass, TILES, DISKS, BULLS' EYES, JEWELS, GLASS CANES. Corner Boerum and White Sts., Brooklyn, L. I. 1. O. NELSON & SON GOHL Ix::::^ . f - .f i. f i .1 . The Best Grades of Coal at the Most Reasonable PriceC' References to any niiniber of prominent Corporatioris and Individuals. MAIN OFFICE DEGRAW ST., ON GOWANUS CANAL, 25 Atlantic Ave., near South Ferry. 356 Fulton St.. cor Red Hook Lane. 840 Fulton, near Vanderbili Avenue. Z. O. NELSON. W. H. NELSON. SWEENEY BROTHERS, Quarriers, Manufacturers, Wholesale and Retail Dealers in North River Blue Stone, Office and Yard outte" iNG Cor, Beiord & FliisMi Ayes,, ^''^^^r^ CROSSWALKS, TRrMMINGS SIDEWALKS. BROOKLYN, E. D. BUiLDINGS BRANCH YARD, EAST NEW YORK. T , I. ^LoLis 15. Pkahak. Chaf. P. Shepakd. PRAHAR & SHEPARD, Manufacturers of Mktal Goods, 58 CENTRE ST., NEW YORK. P"'actorv, 124, 126, 128 and 130 Pearl Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Long Island Boof Company, Cor. Atlantic Ave. and Fort Greene Place, BROOKLYN. J. Sc I. LEVY &L COMPANY, Commission Dealers in Chicago Dressed Beef & City Dressed Mutton & Lamb. Meils Delivered free of Cliarge to aoj Part of tbe Citj. Teleplione No. 918 Brooklyn. HERMAN aH^TILFS, CURER, mm AND DEALER III PROVISIONS, 59 and 6i Piospect Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. HKM. # ^ BKCON. e ^ LKRD. GEO. D. KIMBER & SON, MM Iftmls & Tools, Stem & Gas Mors, 15-21 Nassau Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Brooklyn Managers since 1863 for Tatham &l Brothers' Lead Pipe and Sheet Lead. Telephone No. 227 Brooklyn. TELEPHONE "No. 433 WILLI AMSBURGH." N^. & M. Y, Wholesale Dealers in Refrigerated City Dressed Beef, Johnson Ave., Plank Road, Brooklyn, E. D. ANCHOR LINE, Transatlantic, Mediteffanean and Indian Steamers, Regular Weekly Service of Fast Steamers to GLASGOW, LIVERPOOL, LONDONDERRY, QUEENSTOWN. Passage Rates as low as by any First-Class Line. Drafts on the old Country at Lowest Rates. Letters of credit furnished for travelers. Henderson Brothers, General Agents, 7 Bowling Green, - A^EJV YORK. THE MeW Yofl^ \ Hew Jeri^eJ Telephone do. Connects witH SIXTEEN THOUSAND SUBSCRIBERS In NEW YORK, BROOKLYX, JERSEY CITY and Yicinity. ALL POLICE AND FIRE HEADQUARTERS Connected by Direct Wires. For information, apply at General Office, 16 SMITH STREET. BROOKLYN. JOHN MORTON, ALBERT MORTON. JOHN C. MORTON. ■ JOHN MORTON & SONS, WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALERS IN MASONS' BUILDING MATERIALS Philadelphia & Croton Fronts, & Common Hard Brick of all kinds. Lime, Lath, Cement, Plaster, Plastering Hair, Fire Brick, Etc., CARROLL STREET & GOWANUS CANAL, Telephone 556, Brooklyn. Baroolsilyarx, Y. EDWARD FREEL, GENERAL CONTRACTOR, NO. 209 CLIFTON PLACE, ,8. L^Jr^ifAvB. Brooklyn, U. Y. Telephone Call, Bedford 52. Special attention paid to Water Works, Sewers and anything that requires special experience in that line. W. H. BIERDS, [Successor to T. H. BIERDS.] Sash, Blind & Door Manufacturer, Cor. President St. and Third Ave., TELEPHONE No. 653. BROOIdvY:^". HARD WOOD DOORS A SPECIALTY. T. O'SHKA, BROWN STONE YARD, Cor. 1 2th St. & 2d Avenue, Brooklyn. ALL ORDERS PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. CHARLES S. LYNAN, Wholesale and Retail Dealer in North River and Pennsylvania BLUE STONE, FLAGGING, SILLS, COPING, STEPS, Etc. Also, Rubbed Sills, Mantels and Hearths, Planed and Sawed Stone, constantly on hand. OFFICE, COR. CLINTON # FLUSHING AVES., BROOKLYN. f\efr\(( ^tat\or)ery 9 paper ?o. Man-u-factxirers of Wrixinq Papers, in pads and tablets. 59 DuANE Street, - - NEW YORK- m mi mmmm mmi Oak-Banned Leather Belting. OFFICE AND SALESROOM : 84 and 86 Gold Street, - - NEW YORK. MOSES M^Y, Wholesale Butcher, Johnson Ave., Brooklyn. THE GUTTA PERCHA AND RUBBER M'F'G COMPANY, RUBBER GOODS, Belting, Packing, Hose, Mats, Matting. Etc. Brooklyn, N. Y. FACTORIES: San Francisco, Cal. S. L. FOWLER, STEAM POWER, 55 FuRMAN Street, Brooklyn. DEMUTH BROTHERS, 89 Walker St., New York. Faetory, Newtown Creek, Bpooklyn, Manufacturers all kinds FANCY GLASSWARE. Water Gauges and Tubing for Brewers and Engineers a specialty. F. A. VAN IDERSTINE, HIDES * AND * FAT 272 Hudson Av., Brooklyn. The Bradley OFFICE AT WORKS: 174 Front St., - Brooklyn, N.Y. WILLIAM TAYLOR & SONS, COLUMBIAN IRON WORKS. MANUFACTUKERS OP HYDROSTATIC PRESSES FOR COTTON AND LINSEED OIL AND OTHER PURPOSES. General Machinery for Oil, Paint and White Lead Manufacture ; Steam Engines, Mill, Hoisting, Mining and Wrecking Machinery, also Castings for Store Fronts, Columns, Girders, Lintels, etc. 23 TO 39 ADAMS STREET, - - BROOKLYN, N. Y. Srass and. Iron Castinors of every description. HAVEMEYER Sugar Refilling Comnany Office, 112 WALL STREET, Hector C. Havemeyer, Preset. W. F. Havemeyer, Vice Pres't. ^, at 17 TIT' TT"/^ D Jno. E. Searles, Jr., Treas'r. ''5* I\ ll VV I Ul\I\. C R. Heike, Sec'y. MANUFACTURERS OF PURE REFINED SUGARS^ WALTErTt . KLOTS & BRO.. DEALERS IN LIME, LATH, BRICK AND MASONS' MATERIALS. FIRE BRICK, FIRE MORTAR, Etc. Main Office, SOUTH ISyiNXH ST. & KK]S^T AVE Yards: P'oot of South 9th Street, Grand Street and Newtown Creek. Washington Ave. & Wallaboul Canal, "R P O O R" I V NT F D Foot of North i2th Street, D IS. W IX I i\ , . Also JFoot of RivingtonL Street, NF^W.YOI^Iv. TELEPHONE CONNi CTIONS. in[ NORTOH mumi m spring coMPii, 41, 43 and 45 South 5th St., Brooklyn. LYON M'F'G CO, No. 59 Fifth Ave., New York City, General Agents for United States and Foreign Countries. BRASS GOODS M'F'G CO, MANUFACTURERS. stamped Brass, Silvered and Tin Goods, Caps, Labels for Cans, Key and Bagrgage Checks,Hyatt's Patent Improved Brass and Iron Spring Bolt?,for fastening Window Screens, Cabinet Ware, Closet and House Doors, etc. The best and cheapest Bolts in the Market. Patent Mirror and Pin Cushion Business Cards. Round and Oval Mirrors for Perfume Bottles, etc. Agents for the sale of Hickcox Manufacturing Co.'s Patent Tin Handle Mucilage Bi'ushes. Bronze & Plated Thimbles, Roses, Escutcheons, Drop Bases, etc. 88 Chambers Street, ISTEW YORK. Factory, 253 and 254 State Street, BROOKLYN. Specialties and. INTovelties Made to Order. Henry N. Hooper, Pres't, on the Premises. Is.\.\cH. Gary, Treas., 196 Fulton St., Brooklyn. RELIABLE STEAM POWER CO., Office. 260 Plymouth St., Brooklyn. FLOORS AND ROOMS TO LEASE WITH POWER. Corliss' Engines and Appliances in Duplicate to Insure Reliabilitj of Power. Steam Heat and Elevators. Buildings running through from Water to Plymouth Streets. Near Bridge Street. Distant ten minutes walk from the Bridge or Fulton or Catharine Ferries, and two blocks from Bridge Street Ferry. EMPIRE STATE FLINT GLASS WORKS. F. THILL, M'f r of Syphons, Urn Jars, Ring Jars, Fish Globes, Vases, CHIMNEYS, FOUNTS, RETORTS & RECEIVERS, Also, all kinds of Glass for Chemical Purposes, and a general assortment of Flint and Colored Glassware. 104 to 112 Kent Atc, Cor. Taylor St,, BrooHyii, E, D, HURD, WAITE & CO., RELIABLE DRY GOODS AT BOTTOM PRICES. ^ WilllcHTLi H. Jories^, DKAI.KK IN Northeast Corner 3d Avenue and Baltic Street, DUBOIS m IVA TCH % CASE m CO., MAXUFACTIRERS OF FINE QOLD WATCH CASES. A Specialty in Raised Gold Ornamentation. 2 2 ^0 26 Morton Street, - - BROOKLYX. New York Office, 2 JOHN ST., Cor. Broadway. L. C0:MJBRE]M0:N'X, Sole ^^ent. RANKIN & ROSS, Dealers in BROWX DORCHESTER AND OHIO FREESTONE, Cor. Bond and Carroll Streets, Brooklyn. Telephone Call, 614 Williamsburgh. LEVY H0NT^ call, BROOKLYN, 103. J. G. Jenkins, President. Capital, 8300,000. George D. Betts, Cashier. Surplus, 8555,000. pirst j^atiopal BapK- BROOKLYN, N. Y. Organized, 1852. S PR AGUE NATIONAL BANK OK BROOKIvYN, Commenced. Business, - - _ Jnly 1, 1883. Capital, $200,000. Surplvis and Undivided Profits, $53,840.00 N. T. SPRAGUE, President. WM. HARKNESS, Vice-Pres't. F. K. SMITH, Cashier. ALBERT MOST, Dealer in COAL AND WOOD, 50 to 58 Sackett Street. Near Ha.tiirton Ferry. BROOKLYN. I. STRUBBL, IRON .\ RAILING .'. WORKS, FIRE ESCAPES, Cemetery Fj^tx^^^; and all kinds of House Work })roniptly attended to. 33 & 35 SOUTH 1st STREET. Near Kent Avenue, BROOKLYN, E- D- lf\:mE MORK K SPECIALITY. Telephone Call, 655 Williamshuigii. GEORGE S. HARRIS, WALLAB0U7 BLUE STONE YARD, Wholesale and Retail Dealer in A large supply of Sills, Coping, Curb, Mantels, Lintels and Steps on hand. Flagging in all its branches. YARD : COR. KENT aVl. AND HEWES ST. JOSEPH G. MILLER, HOUSE MOVER, Shoring, Sheath Piling, Boilers, Machinery and Iron Work Set, &c. No. 280 Kosciusko Street, Near Throop Avenue, Box No. 36, Mechanics and Traders UP OO Iv' T VNF Exchange, 363 Fulton St. DXVWWIVL^liN. Also 405 Pearl St., New York. Established 1848. Telephone Call. Nassau 104. Incorporated 1870. WM, GABBLE EXCELSIOR WIRE MANUFACTURING CO,, Warehouse, 43 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK. Factory. 147, 149 and l.nl Union Avenue, ami ^i, 81. 81; and 88 Ainslie Street. Brooklyn, K. D- Manufacturers of Superior Fourdrinier Wires And all kinds of Copper, Brass and Iron Wire Cloth, Copper. Brass and Iron Wire, 3Ieat Safes. Sieves, Coal and Sand Screens. Bird Cases. Rat Traps and Wire }^ ''il^ of every description. Cylinders and Dandy Rolls 3Iade and Covered to order. A Superior article of Wire for Hrnshinakers constantly on hand. J. S. ROCKWELL & COMPANY, MANUFACTURERS AND IMPORTERS OF Every Variety of Sheep Leather For Bookbinders, Boot and Shoe, Hat, Pocket Book, Bag, Album, Suspender and Organ Manufacturers. ENGLISH AND FRENCH CHAMOIS. 1 01 /6>j Dttane St,, New York, i8 HIGH STREET, BOSTON. THE LONG BRANCH HOTEL, Corner Fulton and Sands Streets, - Brooklyn, N. Y. E. W. BLISS COMPANY, Plymouth, Pearl, John and Adams Streets, Office, 17 ADAMS ST., - Brooklyn, N, Y. Builders of Machinery for Working Sheet Metals. Draining, Power and Foot Presses. Drop Presses for Forging and Stamping Double Seaming Machines for Round, Square and Ovaf Work. Circular Shears for Hand and Power. Squaring Shears for Foot and Power. Canning Machinery. Dies of every description. Petroleum Can Machinery. Special Macliinery. A^o. 177 JMONTAGUE STREET, Capital (Full Paid), - - - $1,000,000 Mainly invested in U. S. 4 per cent. Bonds, at par and a LARGE SURPLUS. Allows interest on deposits. Deposits are subject to check at sight, or return- able at specified dates; Issues certificates (if deposit. Desirable depository of funds awaiting investment. Authorized by special charter to act as executor, adndn- istrator, guardian, trustee or any otlu'r iiosition of trust; is a legal depository for iiKiiiey iiaitl into court. Acts as rcgistiar oi' transfer agents of stocks and bonds, and is trustee for railrc.'ad (^r dtlirr torpdiTitidU mortgages. Pecidiar advantages are dei'ived from having tlie Trust Company act in any of the above capacities. Will e-xiM'utt' ovdci's for purcliase and sale of United States bonds or other investment securities, rjx.ii dcjiosit of cash or approved security this company will guarantee letters of cretlit and pay all draft.s under same. RIPLEY ROPES, President, EDMUND W. CORLTES, Vice-Pres. JAMES ROSS CURRAX, Secretary. FREDERICK C COLTON, Assistant Sec'y. TRUSTEES Josiah O. Low, E. F. Knowlton, Henry K. Slieldon, A. A. Low, Alex. M. White, John T. ^Martin, Cornelius Wood, Alexander McCue, Frederick Cromwell, William II. IMale, MicliaeK iiaiincey, E. W. Corlies, John P. Rolfe, Ripley Ropes, Wm. B. Kendall, H. E. Pierrepont, Abram B. Baylies, II. W. Maxwell. IcSliane's Crown Stoneware Laundry Tubs I atent Applied for. AT ABOUT THE COST OF WOODEN WASH Tl'BS. THE WOODEN WASH TUB MUST GO. Because it Leaks. Because it ahsorbes filthy and soapy wash water, rendering it offensive to smell and injurious to health. Because it splits and warps, separating joints and leaving bleeding places for Poaches and Water Bugs. Because ^ffC.*»haiie*S Crown Stoiienare I..aunG ISLAND. Gmess' Stonl AND Barley Wine THE ABBEY, # 585 Fulton Street, Chops, Steaks, Rabbits, Etc, Club Soda. BROOKLYN. N. Poulson. M. Eger. B. E. J. Eils. HECL^ IROIST WORKS, POULSON & EGER, NEW YORK. Works and Main OfBce, North 10th, North 1 1th and Berry Sts., BROOKLYN. E. D. Salesrooms, 216 and 218 West 23rd Street, NEW YORK. AMERICAN (CALIFORNIA, OHIO, MISSOURI, VIRGINIA,) WIISTES and BR^:N^DIES, 144 Fulton St., opp. Bridge Entrance, BROOKLYN, N. Y. WINE CELLARS, 53, 55 and 57 HENRY STREET. E. P. GLEASON M'F'G COMPANY, 181 to 189 Mercer St., New York. Glass Factor}^ Greenpoint. Importers of Shades, Chimneys, Laya Tips, Prisms, Fancy Colored Globes, Gas Hooks, Etc. Manaiactarers of Gas Burners, Etched, Sand Blast and Electric Globes, Patent Annealed Chimneys, Lanterns, Etc. We hereby inform the pubHc that our Refined Sugars consist solely of the product of raw Sugar Refined. Neither Glucose, Muriate of Tin, Muriatic Acid, nor any other foreign or deleterious or fraudu- lent substance whatever is or ever has been mixed with them. Our Sugars and Syrups are absolutely unadulterated. Havemeyers & Elder. The Decastro & Donner SUGAR REFINING CO, OFFICE, 117 Wall Street, NEW YORK. Manufacturer of Superior HOUSEKEEPERS' HARDWARE Garden and Floral Instruments and 3Iechanics' (Small) Tools, Factory and Office, 249 to 253 Plymouth St., Brooklyn, N. Y. J^"ew Yorlc "Warf^lioiase, S4 IDu-ane Street. Established 1866. Incorporated 1885. HENRY VOGT & BROS. M'F'G CO. IVIaiixafaetrirers of" HIGH AND LOW PRESSURE BOILERS, AND HENRY YOGI'S PATENT TUBULAR BOILERS, Office, 9 Kent Avenue, Late, 516 1st St., Brooklyn^ E, D, Works, 61, 63 and. 65 "N'orth. ISth Street. J^. O'D O N N E L L, JVIanvifactTzrer and IDealer in l^eu/ 9 §^c;o9d-j^aI7d plour 9 Su(^ar Barrels, also, Lard Tierces, Whiskey and Vinegar Barrels constantly on hand, Cor, PARK CLASSOX AVENUES, BROOKLYN, SCHUETZEN PARK, Third Ave. & 50th St., SOUTH BROOKLYN. Committees of Lodges, Societies, Churches, Clubs, Posts, Shooting Orga- nizations, etc., are respectfully invited to inspect my large Park for Engagements. JOHN DOBBIN, Prop, H. P. Journeay. L. S. Burnham. Hugh Boyd. JOURNEAY & BURNHAM, Innporters and. Dealers in DRY aOODS, 124:, 126 S 128 A tlantic St,, and 121, 123 S 125 Pacific St, Manu-factnrer of TRUCKS, CARTS & WAGONS Of Every Description. Jobbing: Promptly Attended to. 173 to 187 North Second Street, - BROOKLY^f•, E. D. Telephone 610 "Williams'bvi.rj;. STANDARD POLICE CLOTHS Used by the Brooklyn Police Department. Sawyer, Burt & Manning, SOLE AOE^^TS. ESTABLISHED 1850. MARTIN WORN & SONS, Manufacturers of Walnut, Mahogany and Ash O CHAMBER FURNITURE, WARDROBES, I> Sideboards, Chiffouiers, etc., Bunk and Office Fixtures. Office & Warerooms : 103 to 109 Humboldt Street, cor, Seigel Street. Factory, 127 to 133 Seigel Street, - - BKOOKIiYN, E. »., T. JOB PRIITIIG- ESTABLISHMENT. Mercantile and Theatrical Printing, Wood Engraving, Litlioorraphing, Etc. NO. 38 MESEY STREET, NEM YORK. Telephone Call, " Nassau 76 " Robert F. Gillix\. Jos. H. Tooker. Ph. Dillon. T. Haves. J. T. E. LITCHFIELD & CO., DEALERS IN Michipo aod Canada Pios Lomiief and Spruce Timbef, YELLOW PINE FLOORING AND WAINSCOTIVG, THIRD STREET, SOUTH BROOKLYN. Oia GJ-owaniiS Canal. Directions for Reaching Third Street. — From Fulton Ferry, take Third Avenue, Smith Street or Court Street Cars. Telephone Call, 378 Williamsblrgh. FRANCIS E. FRITH, (Late Frith Brothers.) Steam Kindling Wood Factory AND FAMILY AND (GROCERS' COAL YARD, 118, 120 & 122 Olasson Avenue, 43, 45 & 47 Schenck Street, brook: IvYN. Dealer in Virginia Pine, Oak and Hickory Wood. Wood by the Cord, Load or Bundle.' Coal by the Ton or Cargo. LEAVY & BRITTON BREWING CO. Crystal Sprip^ Breu/ery COR. JAY AND FRONT STREETS, BROOKLYN. -A ^K^^^f PETROLEUM JELLY. Grand Medal at the Philadelphia Exposition. Silver Medal at the Paris Exposition. Highest Award at the London Medical Congress. USED AXD APPROVED BY THE LEADIM PHYSICIANS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA. THE MOST VALUABLE REMEDY KNOWN For the treatment of Wounds, Burns, Sores, Cuts, Chilblains, Skin Diseases, Rheumatism, Catarrh, Hemorrhoids, Sunburn, and for every purpose where a liniment is needed. Also for Coughs, Colds, Sore Throat. Croup and Diphtheria, Dysentery, etc. PRICE OF PURE VASELINE REDUCED. Size No. — 1 ounce bottle, ----- 10 Cents. 1— 2 " 15 " 2— 5 " 25 " Half lb— 8 oz. tins, 35 " One lb— 16 oz. tins. ------ 50 " VA SELINE CONFECTl ONS. Agreeable Form of Taking "Vaseline Internally. THE TOILET ARTICLES MADE FROM PURE VASELINE SUCH AS POMADE VASELINE. The purest and best dressing for the hair extant. It is elegant, healthful and clean; will cure and prevent dandruff; contains no animal matter, and will never become rancid; IVill make the Hair grow when nothing else will. PRICE OF POMADE VASELINE REDUCED. Size No. 1—2 ounce bottle, ----- 20 Cents. 2—5 " 35 " VASELINE COLD CUE AM, Will allay all irritation of the skin and keep the complexion smooth, soft and clear. Su- perior to all Cosmetics. For use after shaving, and chafing of infants it is unequalled — 20, 30 and 50 Cts. VASELINE CAMPHOR ICE, For the lips, pimples, blotches, chapped hands, skin and local irritation, - 25 Cents. KOR. SAIvK BY Alvlv DRUGGISTS. CHESEBROUGH ••• MANUFACTURING ••• CO., 24 State Street, New York. F^i. WILCOX. WILLET THOMPSON. BROOKLYN NEEDLE WORKS. Sewiiiii IVIac'liii-ie Neeclle.s. Fine Iron Castings, Tool and Pattern Making, General Machinists, Screw Cutting, Die, Pr«ss and Interchangeable Work. Special Hat Machinery, Plain and Ornamental Japanning. SI, 23, S5 &c 27 WJJTl^LJ^lSr S^PREEX, near FviltorL Ferry, BROOKLYN, N. Y. BROOKLYN MILL LUMBER CO., Atlantic and Schenectady Avenues. And all kinds of Lumber, Doors, Sash Blinds, Posts, Mouldings, Cabinet Trimmings, &c. ESTIMATES GIVEN FOR LARGE OR SMALL CONTRACTS. Telephone, Bedford 33. C. & R. POILLON, Shipwrights, Cmtlkers & Sparmake^s, Ship Yard and Wharves foot of Clinton St., Brooklyn. 224 SOUTH STREET, Telephone New York 528 N.^ssau, NE"Wr YOHiK Vessels of every description repaired in the most thorough manner, and at the lowest rates. Masts and Spars furnished with dispatch and warranted to be of the best material. Spars for shipment or home use, Oaic Timber and Plank, White and Yellow Pine Timber, Deck Plank, Knees, Locust Treenails, Oak and Ceiling Wedges, Pitch Oakum, etc. Timber cut to any required form at shi:>rt notice. 4^ Vessels taken up on any of the Docks and Railways in New York and Brooklyn. C. M. MEDICTJS, iM.\NUFACTL"RER OK PARLOR AND DINING ROOM FURNITURE. 45, 47, 49 De Kalb Avenue, BROOKLYN, N. Y, HENRY C. FISCHER, Iron Kounder, NOS. 234 TO 242 GREENE STREET, GREENfPOINT, BROOKLYN, E. D. ESTABLISHED 1870. FRANK PEARSALL, Professio nal Phot ographer> PORTRAITS, LANDSCAPES, TIEWS of BUILDINGS, Exterior and Interior. Instantaneous Pictures of Animals, Driving Turnouts, Equestrians, Boats, Yachts, etc. Crayons, Water Colors, India Inks and Mina- tures reproduced from old and faded pictures. The Compact Camera for Tourists. Amateur Supplies* Negatives Developed, Printed and Instructions Given. 28,000 NEGATIVES ON HAND FROM WHICH DUPLICATES CAN BE ORDERED. Styles introduced : Studies in Sepia, Non-Distorted Photo Prints, Tadema Panel, Life Size Photographic Portraits, Bijou Imperial, French Gray Imperial, Inventions Patents Granted : Compact Camera, Pearsall Improved Camera, Flexible Focusing Screen, Ruby Plate Holder, Pearsall Vignette Attachment. 298 FULTON ST., BROOKLYN. 23rd Street Pier, Brooklyn, WILLIAM M. TEBO, Steam Dredging, Ship Building, WHARFAGE, TOWING AND COAL. Steam Dredging — River and Harbor Improvements ; Estimates furnished for any depth. Ship Building — Dry Docks and Ship Yard at Pier ; Repairing executed with despatch . Wharfage— Excellent facilities for laying up of vessels and discharging ballast. Wintering and Fitting Out Yachts a Specialty. Towing— Powerful Tugs for Sea and Coast Towing, fitted with wrecking apparatus ; also to charter for excursions. Coal— Steamers coaled at any hour of day or night. Wood and water on pier. NEW YORK OFFICE: 23 SOXTTH STrLESEST. JOHN S. LOOMIS, ■^'iBROOKLYN CITYi*- Moulding & Planing Mill LUMBER, TIMBER WOOD MOULDINGS. MANUFACTURER OF DOORS, SHADES & BLINDS, Cornier Baltic and Nevins Streets^ p. 0. BOX 98. J3i«ook:i-^y::v. JAMES E. KELSEY. JOHN LOUGHLIN. KELSEY & LOUGHLIN, DEALERS IN COAL-^- AND WOOD OF THE BEST QUALITY. (Established 1847.) MAIN OFFICE, 27 ATLANTIC AVE., DEPOT, Gowanus Canal, Nevins ST., Foot of Douglass St. rp«..oxB No. BROOKLYN, N. Y. PRATT'S ASTRALtOIL. SAFE, UNIFORM, RELIABLE. THE VERDICT OF THE PUBLIC AFTER TWENTY YEARS' TRIAL IS, THAT IT IS IN IN ALL RESPECTS THE FOR FAMILY USE EVER MADE. PRATT MANUFACTURING CO., NEIV YORK. WL. ABRAHAM, ^iatnowb^^ ^|atcfi.ei), IjcMjcftij-, 509 FULTON STREET, BROOKLYN, N. Y. REPAIRING A SPECIALTY. GEORGE GRAUER^S RIDGEWOOD PARK, Myrtle Avenue, RIDGEWOOD, L. I. I". O. Address : Glendale, L. I., - QUEEN'S COUNTY. Telephone Call : 13 Williamsburg. Best Accommodations for Picnics, etc. The largest Pavilion Platform in the United Slates. 150 X 150 Feet. ASK YOUR FOR Or, acme licorice PELETTO. Best goods in the market. Manufactured by YOUNG & SMYLIE, 58 to 64 South Sth Street, - B ROOKL YJV, N. Y DICKERSON & BROWN, MANUFACTURERS OF OTE, STIFF km SOFT FELT HATS, 44 TO 52 Kosciusko St., BROOKLYN, N. Y. E. A. DicKERSON. Benj. J. Brown. A. A. WEBSTER & CO., MANUFACTURING ^ILIIEIiSMITIIS • JEllERS • HIID • OPTICIS, 241 & 243 Fulton St., - BROOKLYN. (Successor to R, A. Robertson & Co.,) MANXJIHACTUREI^ OF" ANTO DEALER, IIV ShLOok:^, Hoop^, Lumber. STAVES AND HEADING. Yard, Foot of Noble St., Greenpoint. - - 9 L D SLI P, * N E W YO RK . Warehouse, 45 Fulton St., New York. Manufactory, Nos. 1197, 1199, 1201. 1203, 1205, 1207, 1209 and 1211 DeKalb Avenue, BROOKLYIST, NEW YORK. HOWiVRD & MORSE, MANUFACTURERS OF dopPEB, Bimss AID moil Wire Cloth, WIRE WORK, WIRE FENCE, RAILING AND GUARDS. COPYRIGHTED <1H. F. BURROUGHS S CO.,I> ) DEALERS IN ( LIME, - BRICKS, - LMTH, ) AND ALL KINDS 0F( MKSONS' BUILDING MHTERIHLS. {Foot of Taylor Street, by the Wallabout Bridge, ) Telephone Call, 428 Williams- Kent Avenue, foot of Hooper Street, ) burgh. Newtown Creek, Junction of Grand Street and ) Telephone Call, 471 Williams- Metropolitan Avenue. > burgh. TAYLOR & COMPANY, 66 TO 76 Berry St., BROOKLYN, E. D- Corner jSTorth T'enth. St. Castings for Electrical Work a Specialty. JOSEPH T. PERKINS, Mianvilacturer of WORSTED AO CAIELS' HAIR TAEIS, KENT AVENUE AND HOOPER STREET, and Wythe Avenue & Hewes Street, . BROOKLYN, N. Y. CH^S. FROEB & CO., 75 Tompkins Avenue and J 34 and 136 Hopkins Avenue, MONONGAHELA PRIVATE STOCK WHISKIES, IMPORTERS OF WINES, BRANDIES. Etc. WILLIAM J. MATHESON & CO., MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS, Frincipal Office, No. 20 CEDAR STREET, Branch Houses: Boston, Philadelphia and Providence. NEW YORK. NEW YORK STAMPING COMPANY, 47 'i'o 53 South Fifth St., Brooklyn, E.D., N.Y. U.S.A. MANUF^ACTLIRERS OF" BUY YOUR DRY GOODS FROM S. WECHSLKR & BRO., THE FOPULAR, DHY OOODS HOUSE, Fulton and Washington Streets. J. T. STORY, DEALER^ IN «COAL, YARDS H--^ Nos. 164 to 176 Kent Avenue, Between Rodney and Keap Streets^ AND COR, NEVINS & DEGRAW STREETS, BROOKLYN. KENYON & NEWTON, Lumber Merchants, AND MANUFACTUKERS OF Sashes, Blinds, Doors, Mouldings, Etc. Office, 528 UNION STREET, Near Third Ave?me, Brooklyn, N. Y. A. P. WERNBERG, Wholesale and Retail Dealer in COAL & WOOD KAMIIvY TRADE A SPKCIAIvXY. Main Office and Wharf, THIRD STREET, ON GOMKNUS CKNKL, Branch Offices, CLINTON & FLUSHING AVES. TELEPHONE 595. BROOKLI-,' YIVo WILLIAM SPENCE, Dealer in all kiiids of ALSO OAK, PINE AND HICKORY WOOD. Cor. Flatbush Avenue & Livingston Street and Cor. Baltic Street & Third Avenue, •^1- CKRGOES SUPPLIED ON LIBERAL TERMS. 14- BROOKLYN. BUSHWICK GLASS WORKS. WILLIAM BROOKFIELD, 45 Cliff Street, New York. ]VIan."u.factii.rer of Bottles, Carboys, Demijohns, Insulators, Etc. Every Description of OREEN AO AMBER GLASS BLOWN TO ORDER. TParticialar Attention Faid. to iPrivate Moulds. BROOKLYN WIRE NAIL GO", BROOKLYN, E. D. Charles H. LBoyer. IHranlc "SST . I5<>;.'eT*. L. BOYKR'S SONS, Lighterage if Transportation 90 Wall Street. New York City. Branch Office, South Fifth Street Pier, - Broolclyn, E. D. QUICK I>ir»ATCH. HARVEY W. PEACE CO., {Limited;) MANUFACTURERS F~ Q S OF EVE^RY DESCRIPTION; Circular, Mill & Gang, Cross-Cut, Hand, Back, Butcher, Compass, Wood, (or Buck) BAND SAWS, PATENT PLASTERING TROWELS, WITHOUT RIVETS. 189, 191 and 193 Keep Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Henry W. Shepard, Pres. John J. Hinman, V. Pres't. Robert Seaman, Treasurer. IRON CLAD MANUFACTURING CO., MamafaetTarers of Specialties in. GAiyiNIZED AND TINIED IRON WAEES, .A.LSO, STEEL SODT^ W^TER EOUNT^^IIS^S, Factories, Brooklyn, N. Y. 22 Cliff Street, New York. ABENDROTH & ROOT M'F'G CO., lVIar».ufact\ar'ers of o CORNER CONCORD & PRINCE STS,, BROOKLYN, N. T. -^1- Peter Bertsch., -I^ Carriages, Business Wagons, Trucks, Fire Apparatus and Railroad Cars Painted in a First-Class Manner. Signs of all kinds, Plain and Ornamental. 364, 366, 368, 370 <& 374 Broadway, BROOKLYN, E.D, Established 1863. Telephone Williamsburgh, 474. JOHN J. HAYES, ENGINEER - AND - machinist; <$or\)qv \{qY)t ai^d WJe^t Streets, One block from loth and 23d St. Ferries, GREENPOINT. L. L W. A. A. BROWN, President. W. K. CLARKSON, Secretary. H. L. GREENMAN, Vice Pres't. R. McC. COLLINS, Treasurer. Budweiser Brewinff Co. (LIMITED.) F^rankilin Avenue, Dean and Bergen Sts., BROOKLTI, I. T. J. W. BROWN. Vice-President. H. C. BROWN. Secretary. LONG ISLAND BREWERY, 81 TO 91 Third Avenue, BROOPCLYN. dick & meyer, Sugar Rekinkrs, 110 Wall St., New York. Refinery, Foot or North 7th and North Eighth Streets. - - BROOKLYN. THOMAS F. TAYLOR, COAL YARD, 5S8 TO 594 Kent Avenue, Foot of Wilson St., BROOKLYN, E. D. LAWRENCE ROPE WORKS, Makers of all Kinds of C-O-R-D-A-G-E 160 Front Street, NEW YORK. MEDITERRANEAN New YOFk JUl AX I ) MYI&AZIOM GEIEMLE ITALIIII Sailing between New York and all Mediter- ranean, Adriatic and Black Sea Ports, Leaving Mediterninean Piers, Broolilyu, semi-monthly. SUPERIOR ACCOMMODATION FOR PASSENGERS. PHELPS BROTHERS # CO., AGENTS, 31 Broadway, - NEW YORK. NEW YORK —AND South Brooklyn Ferry Co. Running from Pier 2, East River, at the Battery, to 39th Street and 2nd Avenue, South Brooklyn. First boat leaves Brooklyn at 5.30 a. m., last boat leaves Brooklyn at 10.30 p. m. First boat leaves New York at 6 a. m., last boat leaves New York at 11 p. m. Boats leave each shore on the hour and half hour. J. W. AMBROSE, President WILLIAM A. STEPHENS, FRANCIS H. BERGEN, Treasurer. Secretary. Offices : Pier 2, East River, IfEW YOEK. STANDARD POLIO E C LOTHS MANUFACTURED BY Bijrli9(5top U/ooleF) Qp.. WINOOSKI, VERMONT. In Use by BROOKLYN and other large Police Departments through- out the Country. ^AiuYGR, mw & mmninG, SOLE AOENTS. 86 and 88 Franklin Street, NE W YORK, 68 Chauncey St., Boston, Mass. I 1 /