The evening times., 1899-06-27

| The keepers at some Of the police sta
tionhouses are going to have trouble II
Major Sylvester carries out his intentions
regarding them.
Shortly after Mr.. Wight was made a
Commissioners of the District there was es-
| tablished at Police Headquarters a bureau
| Of information for the benefit Of the de-
partment in particular and the public in
general. Here it was intended that all
information to be retaiied by the police
| would be given to citizens. 1t was very
| good institution from the start and was Of
great benefit to the police.
In the first place. messages, known as
"lookouts" were sent to all the stations by
the telephone operator at the bureau.
When a crime is committed in one precinct
and the criminal escapes, the station
keeper Immediately notifies the bureau
operator. who in turn notifies all the other
stations. The police department operates
telephone system OF its own and the
switchboard is so arranged that the bureau
operator can talk to all Of them at the
same time.
This greatly aids the police as notice
to arrest criminals can be sent to all parts
OF the city simultaneously and the police
can be put on the alert in very short
time; that is, provided the stationkeepers.
whose office it is to help the bureau.
do their duty.
All the trouble that will come to the sta
tionkeeper will be caused by the failure to
report as required. Besides their duties OF
keeping police records, some of the sta
tionkeepers, il is said, assume the respon-
sibility of editing these reports and some
times Of suppressing them altogether In
this way they act as press censors and
prevent the public from getting news that
il should have, or, at least they delay its
publication until it is no longer news. it
is charged that some of the stationkeepers
do not always perform their duty in this
respect and consequently some things are
about to happen.
Yesterday a boy was killed by falling
from the Rock Creek bridge at NJ Street.
a report of the matter was made to the
stationhouse about IL O'Clock. The sta
tionkeeper. it is stated. received the news
with languid air and recommended the
perusal OF a morning paper which had been
rudely interrupted by the reception of the
report
The report was not transmitted to the
bureau of information Immediately. as it
should have been. Major Sylvester has
often ordered that this should be done;
that the ink should not get dry on the re-
port before it was duly communicated TO
the police station. But it appears that
this particular stationkeeper thought that
he knew better. Anyhow he did not re-
port the death of the boy until late in the |
afternoon
Major Sylvester has ordered that the |
matter be investigated.
short time ago the major said that 4 |!
who suppressed reports |
should be dismissed from the service, and |
II reports hold true this particular station |
keeper is regarded as a candidate for dis |
missal.
Major Sylvester is not pleased with the |
in which the stationkeepers do
their duty in general and propose to have |
a thorough stirring up of the force. On |
a number OF occasiorN reports have been
from four to twenty-four hours late in |
coming into the information bureau. and
no excuse for the dilatory action can be
made.
1t is probable that a very interesting
order will be published by the Superin-
tendent Of Police for the benefit of the
and that they will not be
at all pleased to read il.