St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-14
AMONG THE FINEST. I"
The st. Paul Police Department Sized Up
How it Stands Compared With
Other Cities.
Who the Officers Are and When They First
Struck the Beat in Uniform and
Billy"
The Efficiency of the Police Patrol
Alarm System and How 1t Works
Day and Night.
A Glance at the Municipal Court and
the Business Done There Dur
ing the Past Year.

St. Paul has a police force that she may
we'll be proud of. Although The number OF
policemen that patrol her streets and guard
her peace and welfare is much smaller than
that of any other city Of her size and pop.
ulation in the United States, the criminal
records of the city compare favorably with
any of them. 1t is the motto of the st.
Paul police force that ian ounce of proven
ton is better than pound Of cure" and OF
this ground they work, making their az
rests whenever suspicion warrants them II
doing so: They do not wait until crime
is committed before they attempt to place
a man in durance vile; thus they are able tC
keep out the army of crooks that otherwise
would undoubtedly rendezvous in the city
and pursue their vocation to a profitable eX-
tent.
At present there are eighty-fve patrol
men aud six mounted police. 1t is the DUTY
of the latter to scour the western, northern
and eastern suburbs of the city. and they
have done some etfectual work in the way
of arreSting horse thieves during the months
that they have been III service, Which is
since last July. The territory that these
men have under their eyes is a great stretch,
and the force is moi equal to the demand.
business and residence portions of the city;
the reiefs are so arranged that there are
but twenty-five men on the city beats be-
tween the hours Of and o'clock in the
evening and and O'clock in the morning.
This is considered
TOO GREAT A TASK
to impose upon that number of men, but it
is the best arrangement that can be made
with the present number of men. The Sue
cessful manner in which criminalities are
kept down under the circumstances is moth
ing short Of wonderful. During the past
wear twenty men have been added to the
force and the position Of lieutenant created.
The lieutenants appointed last March are
Isaac u. Morgan, in charge OF the day
force and Edward F. Walsh. The former
officer was appointed to the force in 1866,
and during the nineteen years Of his service
has proven himself faithful and efficient
member of the force; the latter officer was
appointed to the force in 1915, and
through his efficiency as a police
man. gained the honor that was
last March bestowed upon him.
AT the time that the lieutenantcy was
created two additional sergeants were ap
pointed making four in all, they being
Charles Roueau, appointed to the force
- o,
1872; A. NJ. Lowell, Sept. is, 1872, and
William Hauft, Jan. 4, 1875. In referring
to these officers, as well as the entire force,
it is enough to say that they thoroughly
understand their business and take COM
mendable pains in attending to it.
THE OFFICIAL HEAD
of the department now consists of John
Clark, captain, man of sterling qualities
yl,A oh in Tnh,1
Bresett, who has been identified with
the police force since 1857, hay
ing been appointed by John B.
Brisbin when mayor. His record as
q policeman and detective is one that he
may well be proud of, having brought to
justice some of the shrewdest as we'll as the
most desperate criminals in the Northwest.
June >, 1885, he was appointed captain of
the force by Mayor O'Brien, well deserving
the favor that was shown him. The list is
closed by the two lieutenants and four
sergeants already referred to. The chief
of the detective force, which consists of
five men. three regulars and two specials. is
John O'COnnOr, whose ability as a feneter
out of willy criminals is second to none in
the West. His assistants are Daniel O'Con-
nor, Thomas Kanealy, Daniel Ahern and
Michael Daily. the two last being detailed
men. All nave worked Ill manner
that reflects credit upon themselves.
Joseph Spiel is city jailor and William
O'Keefe. who was appointed to the force
in ~, is detailed to officiate as night jailor
A patrol wagon is run night and day,
Chip" Johnson and P. j. Casey having
held the ribbons over the horses alternately
for several years. There are four horses
employed in the department. During the
last year there have been about five thou
sand arrests made, which indicates that
the policemen haven't been asleep while
supposed to be Oh duty.
PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS
next year are now under consideration by
the council committee on police. These
will consist of the building of sub-police
stations i'll the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and
Seventh wards which will greatly tighten
the responsibility and labors at the central
station, with which the sub-statiOns will
have telephone and probably telegraphc
connection. The exceedingly rapid growth
of the city and the consequent increase of
arrests, has made these improvements nee
essary. The salaries of the members Of the
department are as follows: