Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-11

which is thus made in their appearance.
During the Ii spect:ons such vests are i'm
mediately condemned and the purchase of
new garments ordered. This change in the
vests because Of the excessive heat is not
deemed necessary by the officials, for the
reason that during the severest of the hot
weather the men are allowed to go with
cut their vests.
An Officers Dress Coat.
The frock or dress coats, which give the
officers neat appearance, are worn only
about six weeks in the sp,ingtime, and
then they are laid aside for the sack coat,
which is more comfortable. Although the
frock coat gives the officers such a neat
appearance, they are not allowed to wear
them on state oc, aSicns, but are compelled
to wear the sack cats, in order that they
may not look so we'll. This is more espe-
cially the case with those officers who have
to attend the Presidents receptions. The
officers have an idea that this is done be-
cause some of the people interested in the
receptions fear they will present an ap-
pearance calculated to cause the belief
that they are members of the army or
navy.
There is no secondhand dealer in police
clothes, but men who retire from the force
under charges are usually willing to dis
pose of their garments at a sacrifice, espe-
cially the vests and helmets, and new men,
and even those who have seen years of
service. are willing to purchase them. The
uniforms and hats are row furnished by
out-of-town firms. An out-of-town firm
makes the clothing, and has done SO for
several years. Soon after the captains IN
spe,:ticn is finished, man from the firm
holding tie contract is sent here to take
the measurements of the men, and later on
the garments come alcng. each mans
clothing being in a separate package. They
are all received at police headquarters, and
from this point they are distributed to the
different stations. the patrol wagons being
pressed are
Capt. Austin has some of the men at
headquarters look after this part of the
work, and then when the clothing has been
tried on the misfit clothes are sent back for
alteration.
While Capt. Austin is very particular
about the general appearance of the men
On the street. some of the lieutenants fail
to see that the men are properly dressed
before leaving the station. They are sup
posed to pass inspection each time they go
out on duty, and If the lieutenant fails to
See that the men are properly dressed, the
sergeant has a duty to perform. But men
are frequently permitted to go out of the
stations wearing clothing which would not
pass inspection. and Capt. Austin has at
station to make a change which will make
them more presentable. Inspections are
made twice year, spring and fall, but this
Is not the only branch of the service over
which the captain acts as inspector. He
has to Inspect the property of the depart
ment generally. particularly the horses
harness and wagons. and no horses are ever
pouSht by the department until their con-
oltion has been passed upon by Capt
Austin.
The TrOublesOme Poster.
Probably the most troublesome branch of
his work as inspector is that of making
weekly inspections Of the theatrical posters
intended for fences and store windows
Each week the captain either goes to the
theaters or the bills are brought to him
for inspection, and he finds many of them
mat are unfit to be displayed, and when
condemned some of them have to be de-
stroyed. Many Of them, however, are not
SO bad that the objection cannot be over
come, and this is accomplished by pasting
dates and location announcements over the
Objectionable parts Of the bills. As rule
the theater people do mot object to the cap
tain's rulings, and promise to cover the OBJ
ject1onable parts of the posters, but the
Dill posters sometimes fail to execute the
work properly. When the captain gives an
order ne means It, They are therefore re-
SpecteQ and generally ohayed