The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-13
DRENNAN'S WISH,
Would Like to Get
Rid of Several
- Policemen.
THINKS THEM UNFIT FOR DUTY.
Talk Of a Pension System fol
Those Who Have Grown
Old in Service.

Chief of Police James M. brennan
would like to get rid of several members
of the Worcester police department who
have grown old in the service. There
are eight members of the department
who are totally unfit for duty as po-
licemen, he thinks.
At the present time there is consider
able talk among the police of inaugur-
ating a pension system and use as the
nucleus of a fund for establishing one
the police earnings for one year. At the
present time no matter how much ex-
ira duty a policeman does, he gets no
extra pay for it and If he is unable to
report for duty and does not get word
to the station house that he is sick, he
is locked days pay. Some of the
men in the department while they have
grown old in the service, are capable
of showing a record for duty day in and
day out during the year that would
more than compare favorably with re-
cords produced by younger men but at
the same time they would be utterly
unable to handle prisoner in proper
shape should he take it into his head
to put up a fight.
These men police officials think should
at least assure them that they could
live in comfort for the remainder of
their lives.
A fund could easily be established to
pension off patrolmen by using the
money which is taken in every year by
the policemen for outside duty and the
majority of police officials favor this
plan. They claim that although men
in other city departments are not pen
stoned they do not run the risk that
policemen do and for a man to be a
good policeman it is necessary for him
to be on the alert every minute he is on
duty. The result is that he grows old
in the service quicker than he would
in any other city department
The system that is favored by Chief
brennan is to give the men who have
become old in the service some light
duty in connection with the department
and place them on reduced pay. This
idea Is one that is looked upon as the
least feasible of all that have been put
forward as means of getting rid OF
deadwood in the police department
Police officials figure that if man is
not good enough to travel beat he
is not for an instant good enough tc
be a member of the police department
no matter what his berth may be, and
If move is made to get rid of the mer
1T should be one that would rid the de-
A fact that glares the department ir
the face is the veterans act, which al
lows veteran to secure an appoint
ment' without consideration of his
standing in the examination. Some OF
the veterans who are members of the
Worcester police department make first
class officers, and there are others who
are to be numbered among those who
are unfit for duty.
The men who are among those slated
for the axe should a pension system be-
come law, talk about the matter in
a different light. They are willing to
show their records and to place them
against the records of younger mem
bers of the department
Should an examination be held by the
city physician of every member Of the
police department a number of men
who are at present considered to be
first class officers would be among
those dropped from the list
The matter rests mostly with Chief of
Police James M. brennan, and it is uI
\ to him to make the first move. A
shakeup in the police department oc-
Cured a short time ago and the chief
sent seven men to Station to replace
seven men taken from that station and
brought to the Waldo street station
He stated that he made the move tc
tone up the service, but Station Of
HceIs sent " oldtloH IAN 10 see why
they are not as capable as men who
have been at the central station for
years officers in Station 2 territory
travelling with officers sent from Sta.
ton say they do not have to sweat
very much in keeping time with the
officers from Station i, and as a result
the majority of police officials are Of
the opinion that the chief might weed
the department out little and with a
few changes made by him on ideas OF
his own, and not on ideas OF others
would bring about better results.
Such strange moves have been made