Evening star., 1877-12-22
POLICE DEPARTMENT.

WASHINGTON, ID. u, Nov. y, lSiI,
President Of Citizens EJecutire Committee.
Sir:-Assuming that Congress will cOncede
"a permanent provision on the part of the
General Government for proportional pay
ment OF the expenses OF the District of Column
bia. your committee on Police Department un-
derstand you to desire from it information
upon the following points:
lst Is any rule Of proportional expenditure
Tor police purposes fixed by existing statutes ;
and if so, what?
Sections 36fi7-s, of the Revised Statutes. ap-
plicable to the District of Columbia, fix such
rule. viz: twO-thirds by the United States and
one e-third by the Dstric: of Columbia : and sec
tiOns 310l-2 impose upon the District the addi-
tlOnal expense OF furnishing station houses and
of lighting and warming the same.
BY the organic act of August g. 1861. the
United States bore the entire expense of the
force but by the act of June 25, 1854, re. 1i7 "
l3. p. l59 the salaries of the police force were
increased titty per centuna, which increase
was required to be paid by the District author
tiles: Thence arose the foregoing rule of two
thirds by the United States and one third by
the District; and the same was perpetuated i'm
the abOye-named sections OF the Revised Stat
uteS.
Until the expiration of the fiscal year ending
June 81, lS!6, Congress appropriated each year
the requisite amounts TO meet this statutory
rule Of proportional expenditure, viz: $26.270
part of the District. [Stats. at Large, vol Is,
p 3S5. For the years 1877 and 1878, however,
and without changing the rule of expenditure,
Congress only appropriated s15o,OOo. on part of
the United States, and required an equal
amount from the District. A deficiency of
$500 was thus created on part of the United
States over and above what their own statutes
require their Police Commissioners to pay, as
the Treasury department Will only pass vOuch-
ers on the twO-thirds and one third rule of pro
pOrtiOnal payment.
There is no such increase of the District
quota as would seemingly be the case, because
from its proportion the District Commissioners
now deduct all the rents, repairs, fuel, and
other expenses of station houses which had
previously been paid by them outside Of and
additional to the appropriation.
1t follows, that if IT took 500. go to pay the
twOthirds of expenses fixed by United States
Statutes, and to be paid by the General Gov
ernment, and Congress only appropriates
$4,000, there must be a shortage of $55, go
at $50 per month, or IL $50 per annum, and
above stated shortage would compel a reduc-
ton OF seventy-se patrolmen, which would
hundred and twentythree men 1.-THE number
authorized by existing law beingt two hundred.
ID. Should the rule OF twOthirds by the
United States and One-third by the District be
cpR'eepsd Il Certainty should Excepting the general
benefit of protection to the persons and prop
two men twice year when the District Col
lectOr Is receiving payment OF taxes at too late
an hour to bank the same day, the District
police force. On the other hand, the drafts T hS
The United States, direct and incidental, are
large and continuous. In one form and another
the details required on part OF the United
States regularly take off about one third of the
entire force, leaving only about 100 men for
street duty. There are only l79 patrOlmen in
the District at the present time; and the per-
fOrmance of street duty by them inures with
at least equal benefit to the United States as to
the District. Even In matter OF arrests, the
greater part are for violation of United States
laws and the revenues derived therefrOm by
way of fines go directly to the United States
and not to the District. The United States
should at least pay the proportional rate fixed
by existing statutes, and to meet same Congress
should appropriate 30, as was done from
1854 to 1876 inclusive, instead of $l5O000, as was
done i'm 1877 and 1878.
3D. Is an increase of the police force neces-
saryr
Ii most certainly is. The only way to meet
the diminished appropriations has been to
omit filing vacancies, as same occurred In