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[The police imbroglio in New]

About This Item

  • Title: [The police imbroglio in New]
  • Date: 15 May 1857
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01356
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 15 May 1857: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Tara Ballard Kaylen Michaelis Kevin McMullen Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "[The police imbroglio in New]." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01356.xml (TEI)
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☞The Police imbroglio in New York appears no nearer settlement, and it seems conceded that the old Commissioners will exercise their office until the constitutionality of the law is decided upon.1. Hon. F. A. Tallmadge, the Superintendent, yesterday directed Chief Matsell to detail five men to protect the Health Officer on Staten Island; but the Chief refused to recognise the new authorities, and the new Superintendent proceeded to engage five men in the street, whom he invested with office as members of "the Metropolitan Police," and sent to Staten Island. President Draper2 sent to the Common Council of New York last night a similar letter to that received by the Brooklyn aldermen on Monday; but it was not acted upon by the Board.

Notes:

1. The Metropolitan Police Act of April 1857 was passed by the New York State Legislature in order to dissolve New York City's Municipal Police and replace them with the State-controlled Metropolitan force, overseen by a board of commissioners. This new force covered the combined areas of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Westchester County and was considered controversial in scope, with some parties arguing that the Act was unconstitutional. Embedded within the Act was a series of provisions that impacted both the sale of and access to alcohol. [back]

2. Simeon Draper (1806–1866) was elected to the Board of Police Commissioners on April 16, 1857, but he resigned before the end of his term due to what he perceived as the over-politicization of the force's appointments. [back]

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