The times., 1899-10-21

The announcement made yesterday by
Major Sylvester that November had been
selected as the date for the annual parade
and drill OF the Police and Fire Depart
ments, and that the week preceding that
date had been selected for the purpose Of
the annual inspection and driH Of the po-
lice. has been joyfulIy received. Every
where a manifest enthusiasm is seen and
The keen interest in the events extant for
several days has materially increased Both
events have been anXiously looked forward
to for some time and speculation and not
little anxiety as to the probable dates
have been rife. Now however. that the
dates have been decided upon, general
air of satisfaction prevails
The joint parade Of the Police and Fire
Departments is, Of course. a matter Of
great interest TO the bluecoats and fire lad
dies alike but the men under Major SyIves-
ter consider their inspection and drill,
which is an annual event, in competition
for the John b. Wight prize, a silk flag
to be an affair paramount to everything
else that occurs during the year
The result of the inspection and drill
not only determines which of the nine
precincts has the best appearing and best
drilled policemen, but also determines
which precinct shall have the honor of car
rying the prize flag in the parade, and the
honor of having it adorn their station
! house during the ensuing year.
At present the flag Is held by the men OF
the Eighth precinct, who wrested it from
Lieutenant Amiss' men at No. 1 station in
1898, at the second annual competition
The flag was donated by Commissioner
Wight in 1897, and was won for the first
time by the police of the First precinct.
Immediately after the presentation of the
flag to the department a considerable
amount of keen interest and enthusiasm
was created which grew after the first
award of the trophy, and then rapidly in
creased, until now it can properly be called
genuine and unstinted rivalry.
The police have known for some time
that the coming inspection and drill would
occur sometime in November, but on Just
what date they had no knowledge. While
they were anxious concerning the date they
did not by any means lost interest. but on
the contrary, their ardor increased. The
result is that for some time past the
various lieutenants have been working
hard with the men in their commands and
with the assistance of the several sergeants
have been doing yeoman work. Now, how
ever, that the date has been definitely an
nounced for the parade and the first week
of November set aside for the inspection
and drill, the labors Will be increased as
il is task of no small magnitude to get
the various bodies Of men in proper shape
to withstand the scrutiny OF the keen
eyed inspectors, and present a drill that
viii not only pass muster with the judges,
but be the means Of winning the coveted
trophy.
Major Sylvester has not yet definitely
decided on the personnel of the inspecting
| party, whose members will also act as
| judges of the drill. The major will Of
course be one of the party, as Will Captain
| Austin. A third member of the party Will
more than likely be Lieut. Col. Burton r.
Ross, of the Washington Light Infantry,
| while the fourth, who has not yet been
/ selected, viii be an officer of the Regular
! Army inspectors Pearson and Cross will
aid Major Sylvester and Captain Austin
in the work of inspecting the various drill
squads Of the precincts, while Lieutenant
! Colonel Ross and the army officer viii pass
on the merits Of the drills put up by the
men.
It is probable that a full week will be
consumed in the inspection and drills as
it will be impossible TO get 10 more than
two stations on any day, and some days
only one precinct can be visited. 1t must
be understood that while the inspection
and drilling is going on routine matters
must not be neglected, and Major Sylvester
can only devote a portion of his time to
the coming event. However, the task viii
be completed within a week, and then
/ the flag viii be awarded TO the successful
precinct and viii be carried by them in
the parade on November Z