The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-19
On THE NIGHT INSPECTOR
Stories Told by Policemen Who
Once Fooled the ''0ld Man"
One BIuecont Found II Necessary to
Sprint Over Thin Ice to Escape the
EiGIInnf How the Watcher for
"HoodIers" Was often Surprised.


'.HoodIersr Was often Surprised.
No more arduous and unpleasant task
falls to tine lot of guardian of the peace
than that assigned to the night inspector
of police Sergt William w. Jordan
now acceptably fills the position. Early
and late. fair weather and foul, he must
be on the streets, for with him much re-
sponsIbility rests. Formerly two night
inspectors watched over the force during
hours of darkness, so that policemen had
to look wei to their duties lest they fall
under the ban of official displeasure.
Now Inspector Jordan covers the entire
city
The duties of the night inspector are
as numerous as they are eXacting. He
must start on his rounds at o'clock Mt
night, not to return until daylight shows
In the east. lie must visit station houses
on Capitol Hill, in Georgetown, Ana
costa Southwest Washington. and the
swell northwest as well. lie must visit
beats of 200 policemen, and talk with
many of them: others he must see, him
self unseen. as he watches for any viola
tion Of the rigid regulations Of the de-
partment He must keep careful watch
on stationkeepers while in their midst,
especially should sergeant be patrolling
his rounds of the precinct, and decide
many knotty problems which oftentimes
suddenly arise. In fact, he is the per
sonal representatives of the Superintend-
ent of Police during the hours of dark
ness.
Stories almost innumerable are told by
veterans on the force of their experiences
with night inspectors in bygone days.
Some of these tales are interesting and
decidedly novel. At Headquarters there
are detectives who, when policemen
in the precincts had narrow escapes from
detection by night inspector Tales
told by these men give an idea of diff
culties under which both policemen and
inspector labor TO perform their respec-
tive tasks.
One detective formerly did duty along
the river front in Southwest Washing
ton. On several occasions he met the
night inspector on the edge of his beat
as he returned from lark in the neigh
borhood. Once he had to leave his beat,
order to escape detection. This rarticu-
lar detective told his comrades the other
night Just how it all happened. He said:
Il was doing duty on the river front:
It was midwiner and very cold. Ice was
thick on the river, but not quite heavy
enough to carry a man with absolute
safety. The Office of the Harbormaster
was ON my beat. as were several other
places Of shelter. so as rule was fairly
comfortable. OF course, l stood in with
watchmen everywhere, and when the
wind howled too hard l did not lose an
opportunity of seeking shelter beside
red-hot stove.
One night l went on the trick of
duty from midnight until morning After
] o'clock, after having beer around my
beat 4 couple of times. l sought shelter
I'm the office of one Of the steamboat com
panies along the Seventh Street wharves
| had no idea the inspector was about.
and stayed beside the stove half an hour
or more. Just as / was getting ready to
move l heard a whistle, the signal of
the night inspector. 1t sounded mighty
near. and / sent the Waterman to the
door to look out Soon he reported that
l was trapped, for the inspector was
standing on the corner almost opposite
the office, waiting for me to answer his
call. Apparently he knew / was off my
beat. As he did not move for five min
utes and at intervals blew his whistle.
I watched him through a crack in the
door.
There was nothing to do but run for
it or be caught like a rat in a trap. so
decided on the former course. | slipped
out, of the office on the wharf. thence on
the treacherous ice. and started up the
river toward a wharf at the upper end Of
my beat. Ice cracked beneath my feet
at every step, and as I ran ] entertained
visions Of an icy bath and possible death
by drowning.
The inspector was blowing his whistle
all this time, but paid no attention unth
] got safely on the wharf and out on the
street at the end OF my beat. Then I
began to blow as hard as / could walk
ing meanwhile toward the inspector
Evidently he was greatly surprised, but
he soon Joined me and asked where | had
been while he was searching for me
chuekled when he told me how he had
been blowing, and assured him the wind
had carried away the sound of his
whistle. Nothing more was said about
the matter, though I believe that to this
day old-er-the inspector is suspicious
about that night
Another story told Of the same inspec-
tor is from the First precinct. Two po-
licemen were assigned 10 a beat below
Pennsylvania Avenue northwest. They
went on duty at midnight. After a num-
Der of turns about their beat il oc-
CURED to them that it would be more
agreeable to sit by a warm fire than TO
be exposed to the biting wind and occa-
sional fiurries OF snow.
There was al that time a watchman
stationed in a small shed in Il Street
near the lumber yards, and he kept a
fire blazing in a little box stove within
the shed. The policemen made the shed
their temporary headquarters. and on the
night I'm question were about 10 seek
shelter there when the night inspector
was sighted coming down the street The
policemen stood In the shadow Of huge
pile Of lumber and watched the inspector.
who was looking for them
According to the story afterward toId
the inspector, failing to discover the DO
licemen hiding I'm the shadow laid him
self down on the top OF q pile Of boards
directly behind the shed I'm which the
Waterman sat beside his red-hot stove.
Apparently the Inspector was watching for
somebody, and the policemen concluded
he was lying In wait for them. However
this may be. the policemen beat a nasty
and cautious retreat from the neighbor-
hood. Half an hour later they returned