National Republican., 1885-11-06
Tho District Police Force.

lhat the NUMBER OF pOllCemen pfONllci
for by Congress in the District Of Columbia
is entirely inadequate to the work required
Of the force is n fact which ought to be re-
peated, with increasing emphasis, until the
wrong complained of is remedicl by opprO-
pirate legislation.
The proper protection OF persons and
property and the maintenance of order de-
mard that the force should be increased
without delay, and 1t seems scarcely poss,-
bic that, with a full knowledge Of all the
material facts before them, our lawmakers
will fail or even hesitate to authorize the
employment Of additional men and provide
for their compensation.
The whole number Of privatcs on the
force, as at present constituted, is 2lO-93
OF the first and l45 OF the second class. Or
this number % are on detached service,
leaving but III Tor regular patrol duty.
IL VIII give the reader some idea OF the
inadequacy OF the force, In the matter OF
members, to state that some of the heats
are eleven miles long and that there is but
one patrolman to square mile Of territory
to be covered Ofcourse the greater portion
OF the men are stationed in the central
parts OF this city, so that in sections remote
from the center there Is but one man to
several square miles-a condition OF things
suggestive OF the oyster soup served at
church festivals
As If 1t were not enough to give an officer
one to two miles OF territory to care for,
there is such parsimony shown in providing
lamps for streets and alleys that the patrol
men have to feel their way through many
narrow thoroughfares on dark nights, when
II proper illumination were allowed they
could look through them, detecting by
glance what they now have topatiently and
| painfully search for.
There is no other American city where
the proportion Of men to the ground cov-
cred is so small as 1t is in Washington.
| There is no other American city, we hon
estly believe, whose citizens would tolerate
lawmakers who failed to provide more
ample means for protection than we have
here But as our care-takers are the senators
anu representatives In Congress assembled
we must take what we can get. Still, we
have right to pray for more-"and as in
duty pound VIII ever pray"
Considering the limited facilities at their
disposal, the vastness OF the space over
which their few men have to be deployed,
and the restrictions which the law imposes
In the selection of men, our police authori-
ties are wonderfully successful in their we'll
systematized and Jealous efforts to repress
crime, arrest yiolators OF law, and preserve
order in the streets and other places Of pub
lie resort.
This city is exceptional In that 1t has Il
larger proportion of the brutal element
than almost any other There are thousands
of ruflians in the District of Columbia who
do little or no work, but manage to live in
some mysterious way. They are though
customers" looking upon the police as
their natural enemies and ready for row
atany time.
The fact that, infested as 1t is with such
characters, Washington is one Of the most
quiet cities ON the continent, that drunken
ness is rarely seen on the streets, and:that
crimes are, as n rule, speedily detected, is