Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-12-08
TEXE POLICE PROBLEM.
The Prcscnt-s System, "a Eaiiurc-vhn. f..
fo DC E.5ne sbSnt Etl-esrictures anss
Suggestions BY u EeW.parcr Dctcc-
tive.

eNiiLatlOn Is IN" American Policeman He Is
TIE ba- s-n.s-cr on the shield of every American
CITY; an amazing satire on cur love and rever
eace FOR the law. We're he merely failure as
an element OF our social structure it would not
be so bad. but he is everywhere the supreme
disgrace OF the day. a DISGRACE that yearly grows
Imore AID more patent. and more and more Of
felsiye. Corruption f0Ur,shes in the police
mas care. crime wales fierce and careless. and
lar-c prcaiun - placed On brutaity-nias-
qJeradiHg as auth0rity-Of which be is the fore
most type.
Beng that visible fora Of the law most famil-
Ear to'thc people. lie should have iEsted
speCt f.'Gr AMI Obedience. He has succeeded
everywhere in exciting contempt. dSrespect
ard revOit To maze fun of TIE police. to sheer
al their efficiency. 70 laugh at their Clumsy at
teiHYts ~ detection, haya grown to Dc. through
po.ice Incompetence. instincts of all CITY dwell
els. Tire policeman is invariably made ri1icti-
l0us on the stage. lie j. unanimously lamrOoncd
in tine FlDcfs, &c is universally '-sasSed" in the
streets. or duty or OF. hut preferably while on
adty. lGr tAel Re Is The pany, lnIinG majesty
Of the law.
one of the wizened officers who kept the sa-
cred peace OF Salem city. Il tall aged man. Dor
ro"ed fOss.biy FROM a Hawthorne romance or
lett behind BY some careless century. remarked
on one occasion that more people were az
rested Cor sasSing the police than for any ether
crime Shades oi Claude Duvali Yet this. to
serious decree, is the n.oGern policeman idea
instsnt obedience to anything he may say
and he does not get it repeats the sentence in
choice profanity. often pUTcttiatu@ his words
with his club or he drags the innocent reInon-
str2Dt To the lookup on charge of '-disoIderiy
conduct" DisOhpdieGCe to himself is held to
be greater CiierSe than disObedencc to the
law With this idea of the statutes he terrfes
small BOYS and wOmcn-the criminal Classes
never.
As a man the ncwada-s policeman is brutal
Ignorant. stupid: or brutal. fairly educated. Gull
mag. From the second is manufactured an Of
tccr: the first always remains private officer
or private. his instincts have never had the
training: that controls nor the cultivation thai
re.ines The appointing power asks OF him.
no wants YOU appointed: How tall are you?
How strong: III the answer to the first ques-
ton is satisfactory a uniform is then
brought. and So wonderful is its make
that ani@noraIt blackGuard when thrust into it,
becomes at once capable officer. whose intel-
gence. virtue, courage ana sObrietE are yOuchcd
for with the star of authority. Yet this same
officer. when on duty is more apt to be drunk
than sober; he knows TO law other than his
own passion; he uses protane and vulgar Ian
RuaGe. to the shame of his commission: his adj
dress is coarse and familiar both with interiors
and superiors; to his political sponsors he is IL
sarvile turnkey; by DAY and by night he is sub
Ject to the paralysis OF hush-mOney. which not
lnfrequently assumes TIE shape of sly potatiOns
and secret sandwiches: he is so dear a friend
TO the gambler that the law must hire instru-
ments other than its own to gamblers
due notice is afforded that genius of police in
tent!OEs to SUPPRESS him. and sometimes so
much is the policeman with the criminal that
you cannot distinguish between Them savethat
the criminal is the more honest OF the two, The
Old proverb. set IL thief to catch thief" finds
living yeriiicatiOn every corner. and there is
Eo longer any doubt but that the proverb was
written for the latitude and longitude
OF the United States. And his
work is performed from no sense of
duty. but FOR what ne make out of it, either
In place or cash He Will stand i'm with the
thief rather than the law. if there is more to
gain 10y so doing; and he is ever ready to con-
Wet the wrong man. if he can thereby secure a
point for promotion. The neral law is to him a
myth; the local law piece of polished locust
The people are set OF ninepins. to be knocked
down at will. and the authorities the losers
whose duty it is to pay for the game.
Is THE PICTURE TOO BLACK?
"But. opposes the reader. ''th;s is too black
opicture; you have made your policeman too
much of a villain; | know policemen who are
honest, intelligent. faithful and courteous So
do i; but these are the unhappy exceptions-a
few rare exOtics amid acre of weeds. There
IL nothing have charged above but what has
been proved of the police of the United States
during the past year: not of one single man,
but of them collectively, of them typically.
Read this from the Philadelphia Record:
s sarha T osf g. 9
guilty to the larceny Of a tra1e ing-bag After the
his seq asss sss s
,anf ami ss that that the seeHsed was an old thief
graph from the k9eues gallery which bore striking
shss the attorney sTn a
ss as the en- he S M.e g: the
CERTAIN esbalistle marks tatoosd on his right arm;
% fer the ar M When 20
the & net single in ao the marx s
be found on either ARA of the prisoner.
And this. te!egraped to the New York Herald
from Frederick, Maryland:
An inquest held here to-day upon the body Of
John Isr 8e; Croft who shot election day bs fo
and the the entire testimony taken was to the
s t S had n not sssS
there hal heen large crowd OF eolored men around
% the Ss
hd me sar Porter Tsrss fs the the E.
drew to Croft After firing Couple of shots into
r1 M s Sas a9d
b. and ssy sfs Seso ar
counsel for the prisoner rorter were present but did
hour deii5sr tine jury rendered the following
the dna Of lsiss & s sss at f lbs
Of Poee Sf oe sq GSars s Fo wh
And this from the New York San:
FsE bs stsst o0tsnsa from
ssts T az Can't su1moas for Poiceman Eugene
yiolsn; and uneaedfor assault Tor threatenin. to
ehoothlm and for uuwarrsn:cd arrest Gr. Scheyer
last night seryei the Policeman Reilly
Mr. Scheyer, who mss several respectable business men
witnesses, said ''On thursday night walking
NJ sth avenue When near 35tl street noticed a
and woman QuarrellnT, ant at the moment the
struck the in tn. face with fan. The
man. who Was in citizens dress, but whom now know
20 be Policeman Eugene Reilly drew club fror,
hts pocket and struck the woman blows.
time kicking her. The fell and screamed
pirecusly for help. attracted by her
screams. and ], with my lends, up. As the man
kept continually beating the woman, many Grief.
Shame! shame" The man, who was dragging the
woman along the sidey ak IN brutal manner shouted
i body VIII
interfered with hi,. told him that he should no.
treat woman i'll the manner he doing. This
seemed TO drive HIM fairly crazy for he let of her
and srrang at me.
.T'n take you in. anyway he shouted.
II sax he was drunk. so simply said: TAX in
Then he put his hand back int his pocket
drew pistol which he put to my head. threatening
blow my head on The cro:d that followed us TO the
station greatly excitei and of those who com
posed 1t Cried Shame Shaple'
All the way to the staten the man treated
NE In such brutal manner that / have not
Yet recovered from the effects of the assault Even
fore the de L, while Sergeant Ravens
The complaint Reilly male furious assault upon me
~ nj str kent