New-York tribune., 1878-11-26
POLICEWIN is. CITIZEN.

Ii u more than four weeks since the news
parcrs astoundcd NcwIork with the an
nouuccmcnt that a Broadway bank had been
robbed of three million dollars in broad day
light and so far not Il trace Of the robbers
seems TO have been discovered 1t is nearly
three weeks since dead body was torn from
It's rcsting-place in the midst of one OF the
most dcnscly populated portions of this city,
and it could not have disappeared more com
plctcly if it had been swallowed up IN the
great deep. People are already asking them
selves whether these extraordinary crimes are
to remain among the police mysteries like the
Nathan and Rogers murders. Persons of Il
sarcastic turn Of mind show disposition TO
be anxious about the safety of the Eqm-
table Building inquire whether the East
River Bridge has been stolen yet, and profess
To have had confidential assurances from the
Police Commissioners that, with 1000
"polcemcn on duty" it would be impossible
for burglars to take the Worth Monument
over any Of the ferries without attracting at
tcnuon Thercsult ofall which is that the police
men. who whatever their faults are, always
get full share of criticism, are more roundly
abused than ever, and there Is one universal
chorus of dcnuncatiOn' and riGicule directed
against the force.
It seems about time to say q word for the
policeman Of the period. No doubt there ARE
brutcS IN blue-mcn armed with the club ana
revolver who are not fit to be trusted with
either; policemen who ought to be- feeling the
grasp OF the law rather than laying It on
other mems shoulders policemen who shlrk,
policemen who conniye at crime, policemen
who take bribcs But We must not overlook,
therefore, the silent and loyal service of the
many who never get into the newspapers be-
cause they have no chance to show hcIOism
and never become conspicuous by violations Of
duty. The faithful watchman who PAGES his
beat night aud day, III the bitter cold of Winter,
in the fatal heat Of summer, IN rain and scet,
at dawn and midnight and noon, Is very
modest public servant; but who will deny his
usefulness and who will venture to assert that
"A very large proportion of our policemen to-
day do not belong To this humble and dcscry
ing class Some OF them have distinguished
themselves by bravery and humanity; others
have grown gray in the service. ltmay wound
the honest pride of many of Them to find their
uniform the butt Of every man who thinks
himself a wit. Policemen may have feelings
who knows
But there are two sides. even to the contro-
vcrsy over the two great crimes which are al
ready sinking beneath the current OF the town
talk. If citizens do not do their whole duty
by the police they can hardly expect the whole
duty of the police from them, or nther, when
done il cannot be eticctual. The directors OF
the Manhattan Bank gave the combination of
the yault-lock to poor, weak-spirited janitor,
and then when their vault Had been gutted,
calmly requested the police TO recover those
bonds. Suppose that we all fell into the easy
habit of leaving our front doors open at night; ;
how many times $500 policemen would it
take to recover the stolen goods? An unsuc-
cessful attempt to steal Mr.. Stewards body
WAS made month before the attempt
which Succeeded, but it was not re-
ported to the authorities. How can the police,
giving them credit for vigilance and entire
fidelity, fight against such odds 7 1t must be
remembered that there is only one policeman
to 400 citizens, putting the former in the
round numbers already given, and putting the
population of the city at an even million. But
if citizens make a habit of offering all the
facilities to the thieves and none to the
authorities, we shall have to enlarge the
police force very materially-say, to about
1OO, 900 men!