Honolulu Republican, Volume IV, Number 499, 17 January 1902 — POLICE INTENDTO MAKE THOROUGH RAID ON VAGRANTS [ARTICLE]

POLICE INTENDTO MAKE THOROUGH RAID ON VAGRANTS

Porto Ricans Will be Gathered Id and Scot to Other Islands. BROWN'S DISBELIEF IK VIGIUNIES High Sheriff States That Every Man Has a Right to Protect His Own Horae. Doe* Not With to Have Every Citizen Carry a Gun—Porto Rican# Re»pon*ibie for Mott Burglaries and Hold-Up*—Are a Lazy and Cowardly Class of People. High Sheriff Brftwn. when seen by Republican reporter yesterday afteri >nn (save his view# on the present ei- iemle of burglaries anil holdups a ii follows; • I i» I •v. that the large number of i.ii.-inployed Porto Ricans. who are r.ov hanging around in this city, are i*-s;*in»ible fot the greater number of t • burglaries and hold-ups that have i- I'iitly ot urred They are a lazy, thii ving class. They do not want to unit Many of them are absolutely • t.'ut- They have to get fooil HI sun way, so they choose to pet It by I Uy thieving. Most of the reeent burglaries have been of a very petty k nil. which confirms my lielief that Ihi Porto Ri> alls are responsible for them. Petty and Cowardly Class. ' They are also doing a great part <■ th* hold-ups. This was demonstrat cd by the attempted hold up of a hack a few da>s ago. when three Porto R . aiis were capfured. Those people n not what would be called "had rien" by the pollee. They are too i• Uy aud cowardly for that. Most of tln-ta ua'< not a i-ent as tor instance, out of that batch of 26 who were arr. - ted for vagrancy the other day. ii had not a penny, while the others only possessed 10 or lii cents each. It is true that at times some are found with or s*■•' on them but they • m in be very miserly and would iniher beg or steal than spend their money. The police arc How trying to colli . t all these loose Porto Ricans, and we intend opening a regular crusade i n them tn a few days, arresting every l*nrto Rican who does uot work, and has no visible means of support, (or vagrancy.

To Work on Plantation*. \rrangetnents arc being made to send thorn to plantations on the other Islands as quickly as wo Ret them. tnJ descriptions of each man will l*e s. n; to the district sheriffs, who will tt>< n keep close tab on them and be ■ a.iy to arrest them for vagrancy as -eon ;is they quit work. 'There is a rule which has been m’.opted by the plantations that no Porto Ru an can set a Job without Mowing a satisfactory certificate of sPscharge from the plantation where h« worked last, but this rule will prdbabty he suspends for the time t :-g We will make a point of sending the Porto Klrans to the other islands so as to prevent them from drifting back to Honolulu, as would t. the case if we sent them to the plantations along the railroad line. Waterfront Men Suspected. While 1 am certain that most of the burglaries and hoW-ups have been committed by Porto Hieans. still I believe that white men have been con-e<-n< -1 in most of them. These men probably hail from the waterfront, before we had American laws here any man who left his ship without the captain's permission was arrested a des. rter. Now, under the Amuri> an laws, a sailor can leave his ship w hen he pleases, and the consequence is that a Urge number of hard characters are drifting on the waterfront. We are try iag to get rid of these men by arresting them for vagrancy and' shipping them from here as fast as we can.” • Dialtkec Vigilance Committee*. When asked about hl» opinion conMorning the organization of vigilance

< mmitteev. MrJ VArd; "I think, th> talk abour •ngHwnre committees - utterly absurd It would lead to every man carrying a gun In hia pocket a thing which 1 am decidedly not In favor of. Moat of the citizen* here | are not used to firearms and the end 1 would probably be mat some Innocent person would get shot. It is quite another thing that a man should be ready to defend his home. A man's home I? his castle, and he has a right to defend it. If a man burglarizes a bouse the theory that ne is going to commit a crime and that he may possibly fake life to, attain his ends. As a consequence the occupant has a right to shoot a person whom he catches in an actual act of burglary- Of course you cau not shoot a roan just because you catch him on your premises, but In a case like that of Mr. Cneek. Cheek certainly would have been justified in shoot ine his man if he really had a knife. “I’nder the statutes I do not believe that I have a right to grant anyone a license without also giving him a police commission and a badge, which 1 certainly do not intend to do. aud have the town full of specials. Let every man look out for his own house and the police will do the rest.”,