Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-30
CITIZENS COMPLAIN
Hot Weather Encourages Letter
Writing.
MANY TRIALS OF MAI. SYLVESTER
Babies Midnight Cries Prove An
noyng.
" TRIALS OF MAI. SYLVESTER
BOYS ARE RESTLESS

'f-'i-hi<A% IN Il - ~ II
Maj. Richard Sylvester. chief OF police.
has been kept busy this summer that
he has not had opportunity to take a
few days OF and let the bass in the upper
Potomac know that he is still an angler.
As soon as the complaints become less nu-
merous and there is no need for his pres
ence In the city to look after the Chinese
minister and the residents of chinatown"
he will join his family on the mountain at
Harper's Ferry and cast his lines in the
Shenandoah and Potomac rivers
Warm weather complaints this year have
been more numerous than usual and a
greater variety Of subjects caused letter
writers to complain. 1t is the experience
of Maj. Sylvester that people enter more
protests and make more complaints during
the summer time than they do at other
seasons. This. # is believed. is partly due
to the fact that people have more time on
their hands and less to do at home There
are many men who do not go out Of the
city when they get their leaves of absence
and they find letter writing an easy way Of
occupying their time. How some Of them
think of complaints they make Maj. Syl-
vester does not understand. Neither does
he realize how some of the citizens can ask
so many impossibilities and expect the
police to do that which they should do
themselves.
The Small Boy Nuisance.
The small boy, Of course. comes in for
perhaps more than his share OF the COM
plants, and Major Sylvester is frequently
reminded of a conversation that occurred
between a prominent citizen and a police
official many years ago when he receives
complaints.
The citizen had been greatly annoyed by
a crowd of small boys in his neighborhood,
although his complaint did not show any
actual violation of law.
These boys will drive me crazy" he told
the official, and even If l move l may
get where there is a worse crowd"
There is a way to remedy the nuisance
complained Of" the official told the citizen,
and the latter already felt better at the
idea of being relieved.
What is it?" he anxiously inquired.
Drown all the boys, was the officials
response.
No further complaint was made about
the particular boys. Small boys, according
to the complaints received at headquarters
never do anything that is good. One rea-
son why there are so many complaints
made against the boys Major Sylvester
has often reported, is the lack of play
members the days of his youth when he
was in the west and had Fairgrounds that
had no end. There he could play cowboy
If he felt so disposed and not meet the fate
of the local rough riders"
Youthful Cowboys.
This organization of youths has played
cowboy recently. and II the police follow
the suggestions of people who are COM
planning there may be a repetition of the
San Juan Hill incident, in which the police
would undoubtedly come out with the
rough rider" record. Boys swimming in
the river above Georgetown cause the po-
lice trouble, as complaints are being made
about them almost every day. These COM
plants come chiefly from people who spend
their afternoons on the river in small boats.
Children who use small wagons on the
streets and sidewalks and sometimes col
Tide with pedestrians have been complained
of to the police a number of times. Numer-
Gus other complaints are received almost
every day about boys.
Barking dogs, providing cats, Growing
roosters, cackling hens, noisy crows and
sparrows annoy people in all sections of
the city, and those who write complaints
always ask for a remedy. There is a law
respecting dogs and chickens, but the per-
son to file complaint in court is the per-
son who is disturbed, SO that the police are
powerless In such cases. The killing OF
crows and sparrows and even cats is the
only way to prevent their annoyances. but
until there is animal and fowl killing
brigade established the suffering public will
have to stand the annoyances. Even the
determination of the caterpillar is a task
that some citizens want to place upon the
bluecoatS.
Even Babies Are Complained OF.
Major Sylvester is at a loss to know what
steps his officers can take to stop noises
made by infants. During the warm weather
when 30 many infants are sick and crying
their outcries have disturbed some neigh
bors who called upon the police to have
the noise stopped. An order TO close WIN
dows could not be enforced and the chief
of police knows of no way TO make The
little ones sleep. Complaints about the OBJ
struction of the streets by push cart mer-
chants as well as about the quality of some
of the goods they sell continually made
to the headquarters officers. Newsboys who
sell their papers early in the morning.
hucksters and drivers of ice wagons seem
to annoy many people, and lunch and clam
wagons are complained of because they
compete with business places and also OBJ
struct the streets. The scissors grinders
stiles by some people, and musical instru-
ments are complained Of because the music
they render is not always just what suits
those who are forced to listen to 1t. Ever
since the days of the horse car the RAPID
transit cars have been complained abo0
because of their speed, and now the auto
mobiles and locomobiles are coming In for
their share of the complaints. Seldom
day passes that citizens do not have some
thing to say about the speed of such
vehicles 1t is unnecessary to state THAI
repetitions of complaints consume consid-
cradle time of the police officials, but every
complaint received is recorded and an