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Show CRIMINALS AND POLIOE. The, opposition press, and especially the ovening church organ and tho morning 'Slnoot organ, aro constantly proclaiming to the world that Sail Lake City is a place where reckless and unrestrained criminality prevails, where tho police are paralyzed and ineffective, in-effective, and where murder and all sorts of crime aro allowed their sway practically unchecked. It is insisted dny after day by that press that Salt Lake City is a safe harbor and refuge of criminals, where they can apply their lawless activities without much danger of molestation, whore the police are so inexpert and so easily baffled that any sort of an adroit criminal can havo things about his own way. At the same time that the opposition press is doing this kind of work, a work that it has been doing for upward of five 3-cars now, tho lament is made that tho city is full of I hugs, toughs of every shade, and despcrndocs of the most reckless records and doods. It does not seem to occur to that press that the very conditions which they deplore havo been fostered, eucouragod, and helped by themselves. They have insisted that tho very stato of affairs which thoy now prctond exists in this city is tho natural result of the allegod ineffectiveness of our police force; whereas it is the effect of the acceptance accept-ance of their invitation by criminals of every class. The facts are. however, that no such conditions exist in any extraordinary degree in Salt Lake City. It is true that we have crime here; it is true that some of this crime is just as reck-Jess, reck-Jess, just as murderous, just as damnable damn-able as like crimes committed elsewhere. else-where. But the objection which wo make is I hat unfair emphasis is placod upon crime in Salt Lake City, and this place is held up as though recking with criminality and infested with bands of criminals of tho most evil character, and that these criminals pur sue their lawless course practically without hindrance. All (lint gives an absolutely fnlso impression. im-pression. That crime exists in this city, as it does in every metropolis, and especially in any city (hat is an international runway, as Salt Lake City is, experience has proved. But il is not true that Salt Lake City is crime infested above other cities of its importance and population, ft is not true that the police hero are inefficient; It is not true that they allow crime to stalk tho streets unchecked; the con-Ira con-Ira ry is the fact. The police forco of this city is a good forco, according accord-ing to its numbers; it does good work; it misses the catching of criminals a? little as any force in the country, proportionately. pro-portionately. Tho very fact that Salt Lake City is a runway of tho nations, that all peo.-plos peo.-plos pass through here from every part of tho globe, would properly suggest that the police force of Salt Lake City should be very much larger proportionately proportion-ately to the population than the police po-lice forco of other cities. Ju fact, however, the ratio of police to tho population is less hero than elsewhere. Our police force is smaller than it ought to bo. But that it is ineffective as comparod with other police forces, that it fails moro than other police fail, is wholly untrue. Tho Salt Lake police po-lice forco is doing and has been doing first-class work. Tt misses sometimes, as what police force docs not? But on the whole its work is satisfactory, crime is repressed as well hero as elsewhere (having here no reference to polygamy), and on the wholo the police force of this city is to be commended rather than censured, and this, we believe, is tho view that any candid, fair-minded person, coin-potent coin-potent to pass upon the question, will approve. . |