Show 74 STUDEXT LI EE and immediately commenced practice in partnership with an old school-mat- e Through the influence of his father he was given a position with the district attorney in 1888 For three years he remained in this work never allowing an opportunity for becoming acquainted with all the intricacies of the administration of affairs in the city to escape him He found that the laws were being used more for blackmailing purposes than to insure the peace and safety of the population The police department went hand in hand with the criminal classes whenever there was a possibility of making money by so doing The law was being subordinated to the greed of the persons who were supposed to enforce highly sensitive and moral nature of the young attorney revolted against these conditions Upon investigating he found that the “machine” the group of political stars was responsible for the deplorable state of things He discovered that a man so long as he allied himself with any party was necessarily a slave to the machine that to bring about better conditions one must leave the party organization and work independently He concluded that the honest man if he would remain in public life and retain his civic morals must shun any alliance with the “Ring” In 1890 the time for appointments came again Now was the year it-T- he time for Jerome to decide whether he would remain in office as a dependent of Tammany or resign his position and attempt a reform unaided except by Right and Justice Fortunately he decided to take the latter course He saw that in order to overcome the unscrupulous bosses he must awaken the moral sense of the people He must teach them that honest government is a question not of politics but of morals that “Party Loyalty” is merely an appeal to the patriotic natures of the voters and that the expression is used to justify a multitude of civic evils He made known his intention to leave the party ranks and was of course relieved of his duties in the district attorney’s office For the next four years he conducted a private law practice with his old partner In 1895 he became Justice in the Court of Special Sessions in New York City Here he began in earnest his fight against crime anti the shameless system of blackmail employed by the city officials His predecessors had considered their duty fulfilled when they had heard the evidence produced in a criminal proceedings and had rendered a decision based on that evidence But Jerome in his researches found that a judge has the right to obtain evidence himself in addition to merely listening to what witnesses give He accordingly began his unpre- - |