Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-07-03

Causes 20 which He Attributes De.
cline I'm the Force-The 9mect ~ the
Law Requiring Appointments from
the Army aud Navy-O0cers Said %
be Judged ~ the Number OF Arrests
They Make.
STAR man who fell In with q policeman
leisurcly pIodding his beat few evenings ago
| asked: "IIow does the force compare with that
OF ten years ago:"
"The truth is" said the "cop," shat the
| force now is not what 1t once was, but the man
| agement is not so much responsible 10 the
| law, although have sometimes thought that
| superior officers"
There are many new faces seen now on the
] force, }" suggested the reporter.
"Yes, aud for these the law is responsible"
answered the policeman. "Of course, You know
| navy is prerequisite for appointment on the
force. That clause was placed in the bill as q
ors IN war t,mes The men who served a aus ss,
for appointments on the force-40 years OF age
be looked to for recruits. There are hundreds
OF able.bodied young men who were born and
alsea IN the r,na , saS are In every way
but this barrier stands In the way, and the sol,
dfer and the sailor have the preference still.
cies filed have to write, am told, to the head.
quarters of regiments to ascertain when men
are about closing their enlistment in order to
keep q sufficient number OF applicants on the
list to select FROM"
SOLDIERS AS POLICEMEN,
"Does the fact that the appointees come from
the army effect the efficiency Of the forcef"
asked the reporter.
'sThat is q tender point" answered the "cop."
1.-THE fact is, though many of the recent APP
pointees are good men, as far as we can Judge
some come here with SO much Of the machine
ro akH<Ns,f tI,,t
use any discretion. Most Of them are nS sins IL
men, have no homes, and live at the police sta.
tions. taking their meals at market houses and
restaurants. The rule now at headquarters s
that If q mans name does not frequently APP
pear on the reports as making arrests he is not
considered good officer. The man going on at
$50 per month is looking to promotion TO 800
through the number of arrests he makes He
therefore uses no discretion whatever, and
seems to have no idea that his duties are other
than to make arrests, and is ever enumerating
his cases and looking out for new ones. You
have doubtless noticed the increase in the mum.
Der OF arrests and you now see the reason: A
few weeks ago 1t was in contemplation to reduce
two officers from the 500 to $75 class, because
they had been credited with but few arrests,
and 1t required some argument by their sups.
riOr officers TO keep them In their positions. The
fact Is that some officers who make but few ar
rests SO manage their beats to have but little
disorder, and these officers were OF that class
LESSONS ON GEOGRAPHY.
"Are not some Of the new policemen rather
ignorant of the geography Of the District?''
~ should say there are some. VIII, know
of one who called on q dismissed officer living
near the north end OF 18th street, to buy his
uniform, and after making his bargain said he
would go to his hotel by the 9th street cars and
get bis money. The dismissed officer asked
why he did not take the 9TH street cars, and he
replied: i always take the 9th street cars be-
cause when get to the B. q p. depot know
where am! Then there is story of one man
sent to Georgetown who, when he went on the
Aqueduct bridge, was not only puzzled as to
what river he saw, for he thought the Potomac
commenced at the Long bridge, but also won
dered much that there should be two rivers
taking the canal to be one) 50 near together.
tell you that this thing of instructing the new
men as to streets and locations Is no small
labor. Don't you think a little bit Of civil SER
vice examination, especially in the geography Of
the District, would come in well?'
1.-The fact is" continued the officer, "that the
soldier requirement., the classification of pri-
Yates, and the encouragement to make neces-
efficiency of the force. AS for classification of
the privates, it has done more to damage the
force than any other one thing. There might
be q probationary class for all new appointees,
for no one can tell whether man is ut for an
officer until he has had q practical test, and it
would not be amss to use the S75 cOmpensa-
ton for such. Then get rid of the idea that
man must make a certain number OF arrests to
prove his efficiency, and let the condition of his
beat for good order and absence of crime attest
his efficiency; treat the officer as q gentleman,
and you'll see some improvement There is
plenty of room for the force to grow in effi-
cheney, and tear that unless the law Is changed
we won't grow better fast"