The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-25
PURPOSE OF PATROL BOAT.
Its Advantages to the Police Force
I'm Protecting the Wharves.

I'm Protecting the Wharves.
An Improvement in the shape Of a pa
troll boat for use along the river front
is now under consideration by the police
commissioners. and is likely to be adopted
within a very short time, provided salts
factory arrangements can be made for the
purchase OF a suitable boat, at figure
within the reach of the appropriation for
the present year.
The idea of having such an addition to
the police department has been consider
cd before, bur was never put into effect.
The necessity for 1t, however, has en-
phasized itself of late, and the matter
came up for discussion before the police
commissioners at their last meeting, the
need for the boat having been suggested
to the commissioners by Chief McDer-
mott. The commissioners, without any
dissension, were Of the opinion that there
was a stringent necessity for such a pro
vision, in order to carefully patrol the
wharyes, and they directed the chief to
see what amount would be needed to pur-
chase a suitable boat, what it would cost
to keep il in service, and to furnish the
commissioners with all other preliminary
information relative to the adoption and
use of such a feature.
AT the next meeting, 1t is understood that
The chief viii have everything before the
commissioners, that they may proceed to
put the scheme into immediate effect pro-
vided they decide that it can be done with
out cramping the department or running
the expense accounts in excess of the pres
ent appropriations for the department
Chief McDermott, who is making a
strong effort to have the patrol boat fea-
ture adopted by the commissioners, was
seen with reference to it. He said that it
would be a great Improvement to the de-
partment. The wharves are loaded with
cotton at this time and frequent COM
plants are made of its being stolen in
small lots, though in the majority of in
stances it cannot be missed at the time, es-
pecially when taken from lot of 1900 or
500 bales. 1t is the opinion of the chief
that cotton is stolen by thieves, who work
their way along the river in boats and row
away with one or more bales. They can
use a grab hook, the chief said pull cotton
or produce from the vessels or the wharves
to their boats and steal away with but
slight possibility of being caught. Even
were a policeman 10 see a thief in the act
of committing a theft along the wharf,
there would be no means of catching the
law-breaker until he had had every chaTce
in the world Of escaping But this would
not be the case if the department was
running this class of thieves down when
they were detected.
my idea and that which l suggested to
the commissioners" continued the chief,
lis to have a small naphtha yacht, sufH-
cient TO conveniently carry two patrol
men. This yacht should be equipped with
a strong search light which would en-
able the patrolmen to keep a vigilant
watch over all property as they passed up
and down the river. 1t would also have
the effect of putting a stop to the running
of any depredating boats which might be
running in the river, because, with such
facilities Il would be practically impossi-
BILE for a man to escape in an oar boat
when pursued by a speedy yacht, no mat
ter what his advantages might be in the
way Of distance.
But another principal advantage to be
gained by such a feature added to the
police department would be in reporting
fires which might be discovered along the
river front, either in vessels or buildings.
The alarm could be turned in by the boat
patrolmen with more promptness, I think,
than could be expected of the patrolmen
on foot. ] find these to be some of the
main advantages which are obtained from
The patrol boat service that has been in
long use by Baltimore, and which visited
some time ago"
In addition to the boat feature which the
chief is endeavoring to add to the depart
ment, he also contemplates recommending
the adoption of the Bertillon system of
measurement, which is now in use in a
great many of the more important south
ern cities, including Atlanta, Chattanooga,
Birmingham and others. This Bertill0n
system IS one of the most perfect in keep
ing up with criminals that has ever been
discovered. The plan of 1T iseto keep the
measurement of the criminals in lieu of
the photographs, which has been the meth
Cd employed all along by police and de-
tective organizations. 1t is said to be so
complete in point of detail of description
and measurement that there is but little
possibility of error. The central office of
the bureau is in Chicago, where the meas
urement and description Of all noted Grim
inals are kept on file. In the event of the
capture of suspect I'm this city the de-
partment could, were it q member, obtain
such description of the Chicago office and
ascertain, with but little doubt, whether
the party filled the bill of the one for
whom he had been taken by the arresting
officer No two men are of the same
mea surement in body and limbs, and meas
uremeut including minute measurements of
the fingers, ears, nose mouth and so
forth. The total cost in adopting the sys-
tem il is said, would be something like
500, but the chief does not calculate on
obtaining it before the beginning of the
year He stated that, with the patrol boat
feature and the Bertillon system, the Sa-
vannah police force would be equal to
any other in the United States
IRESBYTERIAN CHILDREN RALLY