Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-07-31
THE POLICEMAN'S LOT.
How Ii is Made Unhappy by the Night
Inspector.

now IL - Made Unhappy by the Night
Inspector.
! THE WAY THE OFFICERS GET CAUGHT-THE
| HARDSHIPs OF a PoLICEMAN's LIFE-SLEEP-
| LESS NIGHTS AND FOURTEEN HOURS OF
| DUTY-wHAT A "HOoDLE" Is.
| Look out for and arrest Richard Roe" read
the police sergeants at the several police sta
| lions at midnight "a few nights ago. wanted
| on a charge of horse stealing. He is q. one
legged coored man. five feet nine inches high,
| medium build, and wears a light moustache.
! If caught lock him up and notify headquar-
, ters" The sergean:s then footed on their
whistles, and the lines of policemen, first and
| second-class privates, standing in front of the
| desks wheeled about and started out of the
stations to their posts to look for a one-legged
| man. They also looked for a two-egged man,
| called the night inspector. There are good
| officers TO whom the hobgoblin of the night
| inspector brings no terrOrs. There are other
officers not so conscientious, whose idea of duty
well performed is that he has not let the night
| inspector or sergeant catch him violating the
rules. All the officers patrol their beats we'll
I Tor the nrst hour, keeping watch for the night
inspector and incidentally looking Tor the one
legged man. or tor any other suspicious charac-
ter. AT the end OF the hour the old officer
whose conscience has become pretty well worn,
takes his new partner, very likely, in the direc-
"ALL-NIGHT' HOUSE,
where liquor is sold under the cloak of eatables
The officer explains to the new one what he
must do To get MS nip and then puts him on
the watch. Presently the officer taps on the
door three times and suddenly a hand appears
holding .stovepipe and the "old regular"
swallows the contents 'Do it again., he
calls the new man to come while he goes to the
other corner to watch. The young officer takes
his nip and they walk of to patrol their beat,
tower strikes "One, and the officers make
their way to the signal patrol box to turn
ln, their hourly report. As each officer "turns
in he is anxious to know the whereabouts of
the night inspector, but that official has q
key TO the boxes and might be listening at the
telephone in another box, the officer does not
mention his name or title through the tele-
phone, but simply inquiries OF the station.
III the statiOnkeeper has any knowledge on the
subject he will answer yes, and give the lOca-
ton. A few more "stOvepipes' and the hour of
SIX q. IN. approaches, when the officers go off
duty for the day.
LOOKING FOR A RESTING PLACE.
While these officers are seeking something to
quench their thirst another pair of officers,
perhaps, are looking for a resting place. They
watch the tree-boxes, and seeing nothing OF the
night inspector, or Uncle Isaac as they some
times call him, proceed to secluded part OF
park ana take possession of a settee. One of
them complains of a sose foot and takes Oft his
shoes. Having disposed themselves comforta-
bly,, they are suddenly surprised by the form of
man approaching, and the sharp voice of the
have been there long enOugh?' The officers
think eyes," but say nothing. They get up, md
one tells how sore his feet are They talk awhile,
and then each goes his own way. AT roll-call
the next day the officers are presented with an
invitation TO be present at the next meeting OF
the trial board. They tried by board of
three lieutenants, who have no trouble to ren-
der a verdict, but are puzzled as to what they
shall recommend as u punishment for the
offenders. The matter is held under advise
ment for some days. Meanwhile the officers
anXiously inquire: "Have you heard any thing?"
Finally the board recommends that they pay
fine. ana the officers are very happy because
they were not dismissed.
NEW ONE CAUGHT.
After the young officer successfully drank his
"beer" with the old officer, he thinks he is all
right, and one night, while on duty with a new
officer. he plays the part of "old regular" and
attempts to break in his new cOmpanioH. The
schOOners are filled and emptied, but the night
Inspector just then puts in an appearance.
Having good timer he asks. The men turn
red and apologize, and think the matter will
there end. They are. however, presented with
Il copy OF charges, notwithstanding their apol-
Ogy, and "a hearing before the trial board takes
place. They are convicted of violating the rules
ofthe manual and are fined with the notice"that
afepetitiOn of the Ofense will work more serious
consequences" 1t sometimes happens that the
offenSe Is repeated and tEey dismissed.
oar noodle is burSted 10 pieces said South
ashillgton policeman to u STAR reporter some
days ago.
.'IIow 500" inquired the reporter
a new man gave away he answered
ave had the best noodle in the city, and we're
furnished the best beer but the new man gave
the snap away to the night inspector, and now
forced To abandon ii. Chickens, however, will
come home To rOost, and some day the new man
will be sorry for ii.
what will make him sorry?" the reporter
asked.
well, you see, these young fellows can't
stand much when they first come on the force
he answered, land il we get him with the
right man We walk his feet OFF,
"Hoodle is the poicemans term for any
Eh..r.
rest or reireshment. The act of resting or re-
fre>hing one SELLS called "hoodlng.'
THE HARDSHIPS OF a POLICEMAN's LIFE.
Policemen average fourteen hours duty out of
every twenty -four, nine of which are spent on
street duty and five reserve in the station
house. The temptation to "hoodle' is very
great. They are divided into two classes. OH
GERS of the FIRST class receive S15 and OF the Sec
Oild class 500 per month. The hours of the
serseants are not SO long as those of the pri-
Yates. They serve six hours Oh the street and
rive hours on reserve, leaving them average
OF thirteen hours TO be spent OH duty. 1t often
happens that when the midnight roll is
called a storm l. In progress or is on
its way, but the men have TO turn out
OF bed and go out INTO the storm. They
are not only exposed to- ali kinds of weather
but are liable 10 get into row and get badly
beaten or killed at any time. When in Il struggle
with "A prisoner the officers clothing gets torn
he is compelled to buy new ones. As darninc the
old ones VIII not always answer. While the
officers of one platoon are standing in the
station ready To face The storm the officers in
the other platoon are seeking shelter about the
station house ready to step into their quarters
when the others step out. During the early
hours oil the morning while officers on reserve
are trying To sleep III the station they are often
awakened by the yells OF drunken prisoners
and frequently IL woman locked up in Il cell
will create such DIS urbauce as to make il
npOss Die for any one within the station house
walls To- sleep Officers who in The station
refreshing themselves preparatory to going on
duty are sometimes Kept awake all night.
Besides arre>lIng persons for violating the
a me
and are obliged TO arrest escaped Iunatics and
deserters from The army and navy. The former
most always show light, ana IN many cases in
Jure the officer and ruiu his UNIFORM.
Zach month the officers required to con-
tribute one dollar each TO the benefit of the
policemen fund.- expecting ut some future
date To derive some benefit from the fund. As
tie matter now stands, IL policeman cannot de-
rna!Id al trial, but may he dismissed ut the will
81 bis superioIs. Fof that reason the officers
object To contributing to the fund
The Encore Nuisance.
To the Editor of THE EVENING STAR:
The citizens of Washington are enjoying a
fg. off,