Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-10
Emergency Relief Through the Police

| To the Editor of The Evening Star:
The District Commissioners will take a
| most unfortunate and unpopular step if
| they sanction the proposition to take away
| entirely from the police force the distribu-
| ton of charity in time of distress. The
| time spent by the police in relieving want
and distress is more valuable to the COM
| munity in preventing crime than double
| that time spent in making arrests for
| trivial offenses. The police establish a new
feeling among the poor when they appear
in the double light of publishers of evil
doors and believers of suffering and want.
This double phase goes long ways toward
preventing the making of criminals. Take
away the latter character and the police
are merely, in the eyes of a large portion
of the poor, their natural enemies. Hunger
makes criminals, suffering makes crim-
nails. the sight of dear ones in distress
makes criminals, and the policeman when
he devotes portion of his time to pre-
venting this manufacture of applicants for
criminal degrees is performing in the high
est, noblest and most efficient way the du-
ties for which he wears blue uniform and
brass buttons. Every one acquainted with
police charity work knows how faithfully
that charity is dispensed. Last winter in a
time of deep distress the work of allevia-
ton to the credit of the police is an unfad-
ing honor to the men and their methods.
From personal knowledge 1 can say that
every dollar which passed through this
channel did its full work and more. 1t
drew the people closer to the law and the
relief extended was immediate. This brings
up another phase Of the question. The
policemen are on their beats constantly.
They are not making fitting and
occasional visits to different localities.
They are among their people weekly,
daily, hourly. They know the lives and
the history Of the poor, and when the
pinch comes they are in a position to make
their relief immediate and effective. The
police know whether the man or woman is
suffering and their action is prompt and
to the point. This naturally applies to
emergency cases, to the times when the
biting weather or other. causes tighten the
clutch of distress on the Threats of the
poor. For permanent relief, for devising
and carrying out plans for preventing dis
tress. for laboring on the lines of providing
work. and this Is the keystone of the char
ity problem, the associated charities has
its place and its work. work enough and so
far evidently too much, for any single or
ganization. Let them work out these
problems. but don't deprive the greatest OF
the three graces-charity-of the assistance
of her blue uniformed agents of mercy and
above all don't take the action on the
ground that policeman's duty is to punish
and not to aid the poor. One thing should
be borne strictly in mind, and that Is that
the great middle class want their emer-
gency charity dispensed by the police
Last year some $4,000 was contributed
through this channel The statement that
poor people would sooner apply to paid
relief agents than policemen shows as
little knowledge. of the situation as the
belief that six paid agents can az quickly
and as efficiently report on and relieve
emergency distress as 500 policemen who
do not have to leave their beats to perform
the work, which does not cost a single
dollar. T. C. N.