In today’s world, major national political conventions in the United States are subject to the highest levels of security. The federal government oversees everything from the obvious site inspections and participant screenings to perimeter control, flight restrictions, and drone monitoring. Governmental systems are also established to fend off cyber-attacks on public water systems and power grids.
All these measures are put in place for just one week of political events! So what security measures were taken in the past? Not so much…
Security in the Early 1900s
In writing my book, Election Day: An American Holiday, an American History, I took the opportunity to examine what happened when the Democratic Party took a forward-thinking step and decided to hold a convention in the western part of the United States—a first for the era. Denver was seen as a somewhat more accessible than other locations, and the date was set for July of 1908. The city pulled out all the stops for a fun time for conventioneers. In addition to parties and tours, Denver arranged for a train to bring in a car-full of snow so that visitors could see and feel what “real snow” was like.
Security Control
City administrators did give serious thought to security. The Denver Police knew safety would be important, so they added sixteen additional officers to the force so that they would have additional police protection.
Sixteen? We can’t help but wonder… It doesn’t seem like very much, but then there’s the “rest of the story.” Perhaps they could do with fewer “new hires” because in 1908, it was not uncommon for men to take security issues into their own hands.
The Denver Post (July 7, 1908) reported that the Tammany delegation, traveling by rail from New York to Denver, was angered by a pickpocket who lifted from one of their men a wallet containing $500 and train tickets.
Once the theft was discovered, an alert was sent out, and all passengers and crew on the train were searched. When the wallet was recovered, the owner received the return of his train tickets, $500 cash, $8.35 in silver, and a Waterbury watch. The Tammany fellows that nabbed the pickpocket also pried out the gold fillings in the thief’s teeth.
What Then?
So did they hold the fellow captive so they could turn him over to the Denver police? No, of course not.
The robbery occurred in Ohio, so the Tammany fellows held on to the crook until the train was crossing over a river far from nearby towns. At that point, they simply tossed the man off the train.
The Denver Post reporter concludes: The next time a pickpocket starts out to rob a delegation of prominent Democrats, he would do well to skip the men from Tammany Hall.