Cop learned his lesson

Indianapolis Star, Aug. 12, 1913

A TOWN MARSHAL'S BLUNDER

Caspar Schuck, who was assistant town marshal of Brookville until a day or so ago, has lost his job because of his mistaken notion that it was a part of his official duty to enforce the law. He conceived this idea, presumably, from the fact that his oath of office enjoined the aforesaid task upon him.

In pursuance of his theory, at all events, he proceeded to arrest Mr. Frank Moniger on a charge of keeping his saloon open after 11 o'clock. Here is where the deputy marshal was in error.

Mr. Moniger did not deny that he kept open after legal hours; on the contrary, he admitted that he did keep open all night. But he was deeply injured and righteously indignant because he had been singled out as the object of official attention, when Deputy Marshal Schuck must have known, as all citizens of Brookville knew, that all the saloons of the town ran open night and day.

The attorneys for Moniger scorned Schuck bitterly for his discrimination, and the jury was so influenced by the legal eloquence that it failed to agree on facts which were not denied and was dismissed. 

But the matter did not end there. As the story goes, so impressed were Brookville's citizens by the outrage upon Moniger that a group of them made complaint to the Town Board and at their suggestion, the deputy marshal was dismissed from office.

Whether the guileless man had acted upon the theory that if he could get one lawbreaker punished, the moral effect on the others would be good, or whether me meant to arrest the others in their turn is not known, but whatever the case, he will not now have an opportunity to proceed further.

It would be interesting to know what would have happened had all the saloon keepers been arrested at one time.

Would the citizens have arisen en masse and driven the deputy marshal out of town?

And is it henceforth to be the rule in Brookville that when a thief or other lawbreaker is arrested in that town, all other thieves shall be arrested simultaneously, lest the feelings of one be hurt? If not, why not?

Note: Most likely Schuck was a bit of a jerk, but the Star didn't know that. His replacement Adam Peters said he'd make sure all the saloons followed the law. Schuck was given the half-month's salary due him.

Board adjourned.