The Press., 1889-02-14
{From Harper's Weekly, Feb. s) HOW THE POLICE HANDLE A STRIKE

dozen places in the city, Superintendent Murry sat in his cozy office at police head quarters, and smiled pleasantly when ask ed about the extra duty and fatigue which as matter of course must devolve upon the police in times of riot.
 ''My dear sir," he said, in his peculiar soft voice, with his usual easy, deliberate manner, ssthis strike conld go on for six months without occasioning single min ute of extra duty on one member of the force excepting the superintendent and the inspectors. It is the common impress sion, know, that the men are on duty night and day, and have to be in constant readiness at the stations; but that is all 8 mistake. A very simple arrangement of my own invention has done away with all necessity for such severe service. Of course there is no rest to speak of for me or my inspectors. I have been on duty since four o'clock Tuesday morning, with only four hours sleep, and have all my meals brought here. The inspectors have equally long hours. We are practically on duty twenty four hours day. Some of the captains have, of course, extra re- sponsibility, but those in whose precincts there is no tronble go on just the same as if there were no disturbance in the city"
 s"But how have you arranged it so well for the men p
 sTo understand it you must know how the police force is organized. It Is equal ly divided into two platoons and four sec- tions, the first and second sections form ing one platoon and the third and fourth sections the other. One platoon is off du. ty ordinarily each day, every man getting every other day to himself, but taking one-half of each night on duty, either from six o'clock till twelve or from twelve o'clock till six. Now at the time of the last long strike it became question with me how to do all the necessary work with out breaking my men down physically. After studying the thing carefully de- cided to put one platoon on the extra work and the other on regular work, so, as it is now, the men who are attending to the strike are-on duty every day, but are held in reserve at the station-houses every night. They really have less to do than if there were no strike. Of course that is because the companies are not trying at present to run night cars. There are 2500 patrolmen on the force, so l have 125O men to cover all important points with"
 "What plan do you follow in the distri- button" .-
 "Each inspector makes his headquarters at some place where trouble is to be ex- pected. Byrnes is at Grand street and the East river, Conlin is at One-hundred-and twenty sixth street and Third avenue, Steers is at Broadway and Fifty-frst street, and Williams is at the Sixty avenue car stables at Forty fifth street. Each has 8 large force at hand, and considerable reserve is held here, so that may send to any point where help may be needed"
 This somewhat dry detailed statement is of the utmost interest as showing the clock-like precision attalned by the New York police force, and will indicate some of the reasons why cars were run in this city as often as the companies could man them and send them out, despite the de- termined opposition of mob of strikers and their sympathizers.
 One of the strongest of Dickens's pen pictures is h1s description of the majesty of law, personifed in single slender DO. liceman overawing the most desperate criminals in their most secret haunts. It would need the pen of Dickens to- fitly describe the tremendous superiority of the stalwart bluecoats of New York to any mob they have ever yet encountered. It has never yet occurred that the angriest crowd has failed to scatter promptly be- 1O10 LILO Ou61du&Ab OA d b4udO OA vAAO0C men, armed as they are with clubs and ence of legal authority.
 "Have the men any special instructions governing their use of weapons i'll such emergencies as this ?" was asked of the superintendent.
 sThesregulations cover the ground" he said. "A policeman has full authority to use any necessary force in the discharge of his duties, and is never at liberty toause unnecessary force. It happens in conse- quence that patrolman is very often obliged to settle questions of law on which courts disagree. I have known several instances in which 8 patrolman's action was sustained by the court of appeals after the general term had condemned it. This is no light responsibility. A policeman may lawfully kill felon who is escaping arrest, but if the man be not felon, al- though the policeman believes him to be one, the killing is unjustiiable, and might be murder"
 Inspector Williams, who is by reputa- tion the most pugnacious policeman in New York, but who hardly deserves the implied reproach, was reported to have or dered his men last Thursday to "shoot to kill" in.case the mob used clubs against them. Whether he really said this or not is disputed, but there is no question that any man who attacks policeman with 8 weapon runs an excellent chance of forfeit ing his life
 "The police are certainly justiiable in using their revolvers if they are attacked" said the superintendent, in his softest and silkiest tones. He was as calm about it as if he were sending out for his supper in: stead of despatching aSfresh wagon-load of 8 dozen men to help Inspector Steers to scatter crowd. Remember, " he said to the roundsman who went in command, "I don't want the police driven back.
 'No, sir" said the roundsman, as quiet
 y as his chief.
 ""I am, sitting here," said Murray to the writer, 'like doctor with his finger on the patients pulse, watching these wires and speaking tubes and getting reports con- stantly of the exact condition of things all over the city. The means of communica- tion, however, are very much behind the time. Our telegraph system was all that could be desired thirty two years ego, but we have no telephone excepting connec- tion with the public system. This is like ly to be better soon, for the commissioners have $10O, ,0O0 which has been appropri- ated to establish such electrical communi- cations as may be needed, and they are ex- perimenting now. We need more patrol