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Show Plenty erf 0. Henry Material In teeord . c of Police Profee Over in the City Hall is a volume containing more than 000 pages of questions and answers given In connection con-nection with the city administration's Investigation of tho police department and there are human interest dramas of one, two, or thro acts in about every 25 pages of he volume. Here is one of these dramas. The scene is the Ogden police headquarters. headquar-ters. The principal character is Roy Woodard, former business agent of the teamsters' union. He is under 90 days sentence of the district courL Near the head of the stairs leading to thu basement are two barrels of wine. Woodard invited to help himself. Mr. Woodard is at the barrels, tapping them and running the contents into containers, such as buckets. Merry scene as the wine is drunk. The scene changes and Mr. Woodard Wood-ard Is over on the street corner. Hei meets friends and invites them to go to the police station and have have a drink. Scene changes again. Mr. Woodard and friends are partaking of liquor from the two barrels, which stand near the head of the stairs in, the Ogden Og-den police station. Another Little Drama Here is another little human interest inter-est drama as revealed by the lesti-j mony in the transcript. j The scene once, more is the police! station. The principal characters this' time are two "green" patrolmen, at sergeant of police, two Chinese gamb-i lers and $47. The "green" cops have' just arrested two Chinese gamblers at j the point of their pistols and have seized the $-17 as evidence. An alarm j is sounded. The cops are called into, the sergeant's office The scene j changes. It is the sergeant's office. The cops are giving a raking over tho j coals and (old to have the charge r'e-i duced to vagrancy. Frightened "green"' cops, obey orders. Chinks leave after posting $10 each for their appearance. The $-17 evidence money is missing ( without record of where it went. Curtain Mysterious Conference j Here is another. Alleged draft evaders arrested. Taken to police station. Sergeant enters. en-ters. Orders men taken lo a room up- stairs.' Scene changes to snid room.. Sergeant and alleged evaders in con-' fab for many minutes. Later alleged , evaders leave room and jail' saying,: "Well I'm glad he left us enough to' buy a meal." : Curtain. And here is still another one. j 1-Jnergellc but uhini' ated police an-; nounce they have evidence against a disreputable house and everything Is ripe for a raid. "Hold on, a minute," says a superior officer. "I have something else for you to do just now." Business of doing do-ing the something else. When this is done police find no use to raid. Somo 'body has given :he "lip." Curtain. " Still Another And here is ouo more. The scene is the police station. The locker room of the police officers is shown. Enter a theatre owner with a sack of coin. Rag containing about $200. He wants it left in a safe place. Sergeant enters. Says he will put it in his locker. Business of moving bottles of liquor to make room for the sack of money. Several standing around view the operation and com-iment com-iment on the number of bottles in the locker. Several hours elapse. It is morning Theatro man comes for ' his money. Locker is opened. Money, is there Bui. liquor is gone. I "Curses." explains the sergeant. "I didn't know 1 was working among a bunch of thieves. Curtain. Scene the Same And one more. The scene Is the police station. The action takes place near tho room in ,vhich evidence liquor was supposed to bo kept. Member of force is forcing forc-ing Yale lock with case knife. Thirty-six Thirty-six pints aro removed from locker. Business of washing door with soap and water to remove finger prints. Scene changes to billiard hall. Part of liquor left here. Hours pass. Owner Own-er "rettfrns. Finds it has been stolen. Exits, saying: "Heavens, aren't there any honest men in this world.' And the story might be told of the arrest by one sergeant of a foreigner with a young Ogden woman and of tho release of that foreigner by another an-other sergeanL There Is a wild "scone jin the office of the chief and one ser- ! geant resigns. Open to Public Tho transcript of the evidence is part of the minutes of the city commission com-mission now and therofore it is public pub-lic properly. Anybody can examine the volume. The matter was made a part of the public record at last night's meeting when Commissioner J. Ray Ward, superintendent su-perintendent of public safety moved that the evidence be referred to the committeo of the whole and city at-torny at-torny for further action. Commissioner Ward reported as fol- . lows. "To the honorable board of commissioners, commis-sioners, Ogden City, Utah. "Honorerd Sirs: "In accordance with a resolution adopted by the board o" commission-1 era on the sevonth day of January, 1920, I havo conducted an investigation investiga-tion of the police department. "Investigation will materially aid me in tho reorganization of the police department upon the basis of efficient public service. "A shorthand reporter was employed employ-ed to take the testimony and a transcript, tran-script, has been made and is herewith submitted to you. "I recommend that the transcript be referred to tho committee of the whole and tho city attorney for further consideration. con-sideration. "I desire to commend Royal J. Douglas, Doug-las, the assistant city attorney for the thorough, efficient and enthusiastic manner in which he assisted me in conducting this investigation. "Respectfully submitted, (Signed) "J. R. WARD. Superintendent of Public Safety." Commissioner Ward says the investigation inves-tigation cost $297. He calls attention to his having made sixteen changes In the police department. The testimony tends to show there: was little, if any. system in the police department Nobody seemed to be' responsible re-sponsible for anything. J About the Liquor i According to the evidence there was 1 168 pints of liquor in the evidence! room April 2L last, when tho property was listed for the government. Thet transcript evidence disclosed that quantities of liquor were brought into the police slation from April 21 until the new administration took hold. But when the new administration' look charge there were only five, quarts of liquor in the evidence room and this was undrinkable, except by ! those with cast iron stomaehs. The evidence discloses there was no, record kept of where the liquor went, i George Shorten city sanitary ln-j spec tor, testifies that not to exceed 100 pints was distributed through the health department. He says 100 pints' was rho maximum. But there is no record as to what happened to the rest of the liquor listed April 24 and the liquor seised by the police after April 21. i With regard to Roy Woodard, who escaped from the police station Christmas Christ-mas eve, the evidence discloses that Woodard did just about as he pleased around the jail and at times even had , possession of the keys to the jail. He ;also carried money and was said to havo had about $200 in his possession just before he left the jail Chrislnw i eve. ! The. records also tend to show that j certain rooming houses and other us lablishments had protection. , Testimony also tended to show that I when draft evaders were .arrested j money was collected from them on thf I grounds that it was to be used to send I telegrams inquiring as to their regir-'tration. regir-'tration. Commissioner Ward says thai all such telegraph charges wore borne by the government and that monoy , should not have been collected for isuch purpose, if it was used for such : purpose. There is one case in which a woman ! ; proprietor of a rooming house says she paid outymoney to a police officer. This woman declares she paid $L to Sergeant A. B. Jensen. ' When Jensen was called as a wit ness he denied all these charges. |
