New York, 1895
Any decision in a matter of law made by Judge Cullen is entitled to confidence and respect. His Honor has decided against Queens county in the action brought by the Supervisors to compel the Warden of the Kings County Penitentiary to receive all tramps under commitment from this county and charge their maintenance to the state. Judge Cullen's ground for so deciding is that the law does not apply to persons roving about in the county in which they reside.
Judge Cullen's interpretation of the law is perfectly sound. It would seem from the decision that Counselor Wallace did not present the issue to the court in correct form. The decision indicates that the court was asked to compel the Penitentiary authorities to receive residents of Queens county who conduct themselves as tramps. By law and by right all such resident tramps are a county charge and can only be received into the Penitentiary under the terms of a contract between the two counties. Both in fact and in law the tramps who infest this county are not residents of the county. They come from all over the country and from Canada. It is these non-residents the Supervisors have sought to get into the Penitentiary at the expense of the state, and rightly so under the law, and if this point had been made clear to the court we think the decision would have been in favor of the Supervisors. They should try again.
It is a gross outrage to compel Queens county to provide a refuge in jail for thousands of these vagabonds at an expense of about $5 per week. They come here because they are wanted. The same tramp is committed to jail by the same officers from three to six times in a season. There are deputy sheriffs who make a business of arresting tramps, and there are tramps who make a business of seeking out the same officers for a bribe of tobacco and whisky. When the people reflect that there have been 300 of these vagabonds in jail at a time, costing about $1,500 a week, and that not one of them belongs in the county, they will see the magnitude of the load the Supervisors have been trying to shake off, and the seriousness of the blunder that has apparently been committed in presenting the case to the court.
—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, March 22, 1895, p. 4.
Showing posts with label tramps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tramps. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Railroad Wages Cut Down
New York, 1895
After the recent reduction in fares on the north shore of the Long Island railroad the company decided to reduce expenses. On Wednesday the ticket agents and brakemen in the employment of the road were notified that they would have to submit to a reduction of $5 per month in their salaries, to take effect on April 1. The ticket agents' wages will be reduced from $60 to $55, and that of the brakemen from $50 to $45.
Will Close the Track
It is a settled fact that the affairs of the Amityville Fair and Driving Park association will be closed up within a short time, and the association cease to exist. Three judgments against the association have been filed and the lease on the grounds, the track and other possessions will be sold by the sheriff.
Wallace Was Beaten
HIS CASE WAS NOT PROPERLY PRESENTED TO THE COURT.
Judge Cullen Decides that the Kings County Penitentiary Need Not Take Our Tramps Under the Conditions Outlined by Counselor Wallace.
Justice Cullen on Monday denied the application of Martin V. Wood and others, Supervisors, for a writ of mandamus to compel the Kings county charity commissioners to receive into the penitentiary all vagrants or tramps sentenced by Queens county magistrates. Justice Cullen says that in the absence of a contract between Kings and Queens counties the commissioners are right in their refusal to receive the vagrants and tramps. Justice Cullen holds that the act of 1885, chapter 490, which says that the tramps on conviction may be sent to the nearest penitentiary at the expense of the State, does not apply to persons roving about in the county in which they reside, but to non-residents.
Judge Cullen delivered the following opinion:
The application is for a writ of mandamus to compel the respondents to receive into the Kings County Penitentiary all vagrants or tramps who may be committed thereto by the justices of the peace in the county of Queens.
The affidavits on the part of the relator show that the offenders whom the respondents have refused to receive have been convicted of vagrancy. I think respondents were right in their refusal to receive these prisoners. The only authority for a sentence of imprisonment in the penitentiary instead of the Queens County jail is, when a contract has been made between the county authorities and the commissioners for the support of such prisoners. None such exists at the present time. By the act of 1885, Chapter 490, tramps on conviction are authorized to be sentenced to imprisonment in the nearest penitentiary at the charge of the state. But in law a vagrant is not a tramp. Tramps are defined by the statute cited to be "all persons who rove about from place to place begging, and all vagrants living without visible means of support, who stroll over the country without lawful occasion." It is further provided, that an act of vagrancy by a person not a resident of the state shall be evidence that such person is a tramp, and it is also further provided that the act shall not apply to persons roaming within the county wherein they reside.
Vagrancy as defined by the code of criminal procedure, section 887, may consist of very different and distinct offenses, such as abandoning the offender's family, appearing in a public highway with ones face painted, covered or disguised. It would seem that under the act of 1885, it may be that any such act committed by a person not a resident of the state, would constitute the person a tramp. But in such case it would be an essential element of the offense that the person should be a non-resident of the state. The two offenses are therefore in law wholly distinct. The other questions raised by the parties can be determined when a case arises that presents them. Motion denied with ten dollars costs. The Supervisors should cause the case to be properly presented to Judge Cullen. If they do, they will win. THE FARMER knew before the argument that Mr. Wallace would be beaten on his own papers.
—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, March 22, 1895, p. 1.
After the recent reduction in fares on the north shore of the Long Island railroad the company decided to reduce expenses. On Wednesday the ticket agents and brakemen in the employment of the road were notified that they would have to submit to a reduction of $5 per month in their salaries, to take effect on April 1. The ticket agents' wages will be reduced from $60 to $55, and that of the brakemen from $50 to $45.
Will Close the Track
It is a settled fact that the affairs of the Amityville Fair and Driving Park association will be closed up within a short time, and the association cease to exist. Three judgments against the association have been filed and the lease on the grounds, the track and other possessions will be sold by the sheriff.
Wallace Was Beaten
HIS CASE WAS NOT PROPERLY PRESENTED TO THE COURT.
Judge Cullen Decides that the Kings County Penitentiary Need Not Take Our Tramps Under the Conditions Outlined by Counselor Wallace.
Justice Cullen on Monday denied the application of Martin V. Wood and others, Supervisors, for a writ of mandamus to compel the Kings county charity commissioners to receive into the penitentiary all vagrants or tramps sentenced by Queens county magistrates. Justice Cullen says that in the absence of a contract between Kings and Queens counties the commissioners are right in their refusal to receive the vagrants and tramps. Justice Cullen holds that the act of 1885, chapter 490, which says that the tramps on conviction may be sent to the nearest penitentiary at the expense of the State, does not apply to persons roving about in the county in which they reside, but to non-residents.
Judge Cullen delivered the following opinion:
The application is for a writ of mandamus to compel the respondents to receive into the Kings County Penitentiary all vagrants or tramps who may be committed thereto by the justices of the peace in the county of Queens.
The affidavits on the part of the relator show that the offenders whom the respondents have refused to receive have been convicted of vagrancy. I think respondents were right in their refusal to receive these prisoners. The only authority for a sentence of imprisonment in the penitentiary instead of the Queens County jail is, when a contract has been made between the county authorities and the commissioners for the support of such prisoners. None such exists at the present time. By the act of 1885, Chapter 490, tramps on conviction are authorized to be sentenced to imprisonment in the nearest penitentiary at the charge of the state. But in law a vagrant is not a tramp. Tramps are defined by the statute cited to be "all persons who rove about from place to place begging, and all vagrants living without visible means of support, who stroll over the country without lawful occasion." It is further provided, that an act of vagrancy by a person not a resident of the state shall be evidence that such person is a tramp, and it is also further provided that the act shall not apply to persons roaming within the county wherein they reside.
Vagrancy as defined by the code of criminal procedure, section 887, may consist of very different and distinct offenses, such as abandoning the offender's family, appearing in a public highway with ones face painted, covered or disguised. It would seem that under the act of 1885, it may be that any such act committed by a person not a resident of the state, would constitute the person a tramp. But in such case it would be an essential element of the offense that the person should be a non-resident of the state. The two offenses are therefore in law wholly distinct. The other questions raised by the parties can be determined when a case arises that presents them. Motion denied with ten dollars costs. The Supervisors should cause the case to be properly presented to Judge Cullen. If they do, they will win. THE FARMER knew before the argument that Mr. Wallace would be beaten on his own papers.
—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, March 22, 1895, p. 1.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Bleeding the Tax-payers
New York, 1895
The Rascally Work Which the Standard is Defending.
Certain constables and deputy sheriffs in the town of Jamaica are doing a big business in tramps, sending from six to twelve a day to the county jail. The expense of arresting, committing and conveying the tramps to jail falls upon the town. The constable or deputy supplies the tramps with tobacco and some whisky. The cost of committing a tramp is from $8 to $12, according to the distance traveled. A pretty bill is therefore being run up against the town. It is nothing short of a conspiracy to bleed the tax-payers, and the Standard is helping it along. The town board should not audit the bills of deputy sheriffs for this work. They have no authority to make the arrests. Some time ago, when these deputies were in a similar conspiracy to draw blood money from the town, the town board, to put an end to it, passed a resolution that no bill of a deputy sheriff would be audited except for services rendered at the request of a justice of the peace. That resolution has never been rescinded. Its strict enforcement is demanded at this time.
Shelton Avenue Lines Mixed
The commissioners appointed to award damages for the land to be taken for the extension (west) of Shelton avenue, Jamaica, held a meeting at the Surrogate's office on Tuesday and finished the taking of testimony. Engineer Conklin testified that he had made a survey of the proposed extension and found that the stakes as laid out by the former surveyor were set six inches to the north of the true line. The avenue as sought to be extended by this application is not a continuation of the avenue laid out on the village map. Emma Sterling, Emily A. Brown, and Maria Sauer testified as to the value of their lots on the Fleet property. Counselor Gillen summed up on the part of the village, Counselor Monfort for property owners, and Counselor Cromwell for Aaron A. Degrauw.
Cases Before Justice Gaynor
Justice Gaynor presided at a special term of the supreme court at the Court House, in Long Island City, on Monday. The calendar contained twenty cases, including four against Long Island City, which, with several others, went off for the term. The action of ex-Gov. Flower against M. F. Claven and the improvement commissioners of Long Island City to prevent the commissioners from going on with the improvement of Borden avenue was set down for argument in Brooklyn. J. Rufus Terry has a similar action pending.
Justice Gaynor dismissed the suit of ex-Mayor Gleason against Mayor Sanford to recover rent for the old Grand avenue school-house. The plaintiff did not appear.
—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, March 1, 1895, p. 1.
The Rascally Work Which the Standard is Defending.
Certain constables and deputy sheriffs in the town of Jamaica are doing a big business in tramps, sending from six to twelve a day to the county jail. The expense of arresting, committing and conveying the tramps to jail falls upon the town. The constable or deputy supplies the tramps with tobacco and some whisky. The cost of committing a tramp is from $8 to $12, according to the distance traveled. A pretty bill is therefore being run up against the town. It is nothing short of a conspiracy to bleed the tax-payers, and the Standard is helping it along. The town board should not audit the bills of deputy sheriffs for this work. They have no authority to make the arrests. Some time ago, when these deputies were in a similar conspiracy to draw blood money from the town, the town board, to put an end to it, passed a resolution that no bill of a deputy sheriff would be audited except for services rendered at the request of a justice of the peace. That resolution has never been rescinded. Its strict enforcement is demanded at this time.
Shelton Avenue Lines Mixed
The commissioners appointed to award damages for the land to be taken for the extension (west) of Shelton avenue, Jamaica, held a meeting at the Surrogate's office on Tuesday and finished the taking of testimony. Engineer Conklin testified that he had made a survey of the proposed extension and found that the stakes as laid out by the former surveyor were set six inches to the north of the true line. The avenue as sought to be extended by this application is not a continuation of the avenue laid out on the village map. Emma Sterling, Emily A. Brown, and Maria Sauer testified as to the value of their lots on the Fleet property. Counselor Gillen summed up on the part of the village, Counselor Monfort for property owners, and Counselor Cromwell for Aaron A. Degrauw.
Cases Before Justice Gaynor
Justice Gaynor presided at a special term of the supreme court at the Court House, in Long Island City, on Monday. The calendar contained twenty cases, including four against Long Island City, which, with several others, went off for the term. The action of ex-Gov. Flower against M. F. Claven and the improvement commissioners of Long Island City to prevent the commissioners from going on with the improvement of Borden avenue was set down for argument in Brooklyn. J. Rufus Terry has a similar action pending.
Justice Gaynor dismissed the suit of ex-Mayor Gleason against Mayor Sanford to recover rent for the old Grand avenue school-house. The plaintiff did not appear.
—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, March 1, 1895, p. 1.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
