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THE GREEN BAG
run those fellows away from here with those cameras, and if you can't do it, knock them in the head and send them to me," The camera men were thereupon assaulted and driven from the streets and their cameras destroyed. Six responsible gentlemen filed with the Board of Public Safety charges against the Chief of Police based on these facts, but the Chairman of the Board replied in a letter approving the action of the Chief and declining to have him arraigned. The charges have since disappeared from the records of the Board of Safety. At another precinct on registration day a Republican election officer recognized a repeater as living in Cincinnati and told him to leave. Thereupon two policemen entered the polling place, arrested the elec tion officer and while they held him, one on each side, he was struck in the face by the repeater and knocked over. The police declined to arrest the assailant, and the Police Court Judge imposed a fine of $19.00 on the Republican officer who had been assaulted (the lowest appealable fine is $20.00), and put him under a $1000 real estate bond to "keep the peace." On registration day a roving gang of repeaters armed with black jacks and revolvers and led by an ex-fireman, a con spicuous Democratic worker who was ap pointed to office soon after the election, assaulted Republican officers all over the i ath ward, unchecked by the police. The police, though constantly appealed to all over the city for protection from such assults, did not interfere with or arrest a single such assailant on either registration or election day. In fact at one precinct on election day where a certain county constable arrested an election offender under a warrant, several policemen attacked the constable, beat him up, took his prisoner from him, arrested the constable and his deputy and took them to the police court, where they were tried by one of the Demo cratic candidates, sitting as special Judge, and fined $30.00.
At the 1 2th Precinct of the gth Ward on election day the police inaugurated a con dition of riot and a reign of terror to prevent any Republican officer of election from serving. A policeman, an old and notorious election offender who had been indicted repeatedly for offences against the election laws, entered the polling place And dragged the Republican Judge out on the sidewalk where four policemen cursed and assaulted him in the presence and with the approval of both the Chairman and the Secretary of the Board of Public Safety. The first policeman then threw him into jail, slapped his face several times, and threatened to kill him if he came back to the polls. A prom inent lawyer witnessed the assault and appealed to the Chairman of the Board of Public Safety to protect the man's life, and the chairman ordered the police to lock up the lawyer also, which was done. A poor cripple who had consented to take the Republican judge's place was next arrested by the police for so consenting and sent to jail and his cane thrown away. A leading business man who, when asked, simply agreed to go on the cripple's bond, was also sent to jail and put in a cell. The Repub lican Challenger was then assaulted with a black jack by the Democratic Challenger and by a bartender whom the police refused to arrest. The Republican clerk, a very small man, was next assaulted by a Demo cratic thug, and he was carried away unconscious with his jaw broken, and the new Republican Judge, a young college graduate, was attacked in the presence of the police with a black jack, and his head covered with blood. The policemen arrested the Republican Judge, but not his assailant.' and also cursed and arrested two merchants of high standing, one of them the Republican Challenger, who simply inquired why the judge had been arrested. When the judge was bailed out later he was too badly beaten up to serve as election officer. Eight arrests for no cause whatever were made at this precinct before 7 A.M.
