Waco evening news. (Waco, Tex.) 1888-1889, 1889-04-25
A 6urderous Policy.

lOrCe ueb Dee0 urBeu tnrOu8u us COL
umns. The conviction that tho policy
Of keeping the police Of Waco 20 low
has grown, not out Of theory, but from
observations during many years back,
made in the dead hours Of night when
good men were asleep and from an in
innate know ledge Of city life. That con.
viction Of the imminent, imperative
and immediate necessity for q large in
crease Of the police force has never
been changed but has strengthened.
The city councils Of the city are in
our opinion committing serious, sui.
cidal and criminal policy in keeping a
police force totally inadequate to the
safety and protection of life and prop
erty. That Waco has been singularly
exempt from great crimes is no argu-
ment for small police force, it is an
argument for large one that the city
may be kept so. Let the present sui
cidal policy continue and its condem-
nation will yet he made in innocent
blood and shocking murders that will
make the city authorities particeps
criminis. Why should not the city
be properly oficered ? Is it on the
ground Of economy That is damna-
bic economy which leaves life at haz.
ard for saving. And human life in
Waco is daily and hourly at hasary in
this city from the inadequacy of the
police force. Five policemen to city
Of twenty thousand inhabitants, or less
than five counting the marshal. The
police force consists of nine men, one
for East Waco, day and night, and
eight for west Waco, a day force Of
four men and night force Of four, and
two Of that four mounted to enforce
the COW ordinance and dog ordinance
and protect the suburbs, which actual.
ly gives for the city proper two police
men to ten thousand inhabitants. Ten
thousand inhabitants in the fire limits
and virtually two to four policemen on
night watch. Those two or four police
men are forced to be on the square, on
Austin street or about the depots, and
this leaves the bulk of the fire limits
absolutely defenceless. 1t is only
few nights ago that q decent colored
boy coming from church with his girl,
was caught almost within stones
throw Of the centre of the city, torn
from his girls side and his heart cut
almost out by an assassin. The foul
and damnablc murder was committed
almost as safely as if the murderer and
his victem had been in the heart of
Africa, and it was made safe by that
horrible policy which keeps the police
force too small for its duties. The
assassin, who ran the
dirk into the heart Of that young man,
knew what the police force Of Waco
was and where the police were and had
to be-, and the guilty, murderous
thought which led up to the murder
was fostered and nourished and
strengthened by the fact that the
police force was almost nothing.
From that murderous thought, which
there is reason to believe, sprang up on
through the brooding thought
which incubated that murder during
night, the safety of the con-
templated murder was moving
thought. AS the assassin stole from
the shadow Of the church and crept
like cat after his victim, chief among
the throbbing arguments with which
he screwed up his resolution to the
stabbing point was, that there were
no policemen to interfere. 1t may
not have come to him in that way, but
the conviction of safety arising from
the lack Of policemen led up to that
murder as sure as that there is q God.
He knew, as every one knows, that
with our present force it is the muir
derer that is safe in Waco, and not the
victim. The blood Of that murdered
boy is not yet vanished from the side
walk on Second and Clay street, and it
cries out from the ground, not only
against the murder, but against the
police policy Of tie city which was an
alder and sbettor Of that murder.
Fort Worth has twenty-five police
mon, a marshal and . deputy marshal.
Austin has twenty policemen and .
Waco has nine policemen
and q marshal. If Waco had had
twenty policemen on the night of that
murder, it might have been pre-
vented. The fact of the number
might have chilled the murderers
purpose, and there would probably
have been a policeman near to
have prevented it because with
. full force Of men the marshal could
dispose them where they were likely to
be needed. We repeat that that murder
on Sunday night ten days ago was made
safe and easy and probably led up to
BY the inadequacy Of the police force.
The county officers are set of brave
and efficient men and their presence
goes largely to the safety Of the city,