The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-17
Divorcing the Department From
the Patronage System Has
Had the Effect of Adding 10 its
Efficiency
CHIEF STONE CLOSING
SECOND YEARS SERVICE
His Administration of Affairs of
the Office, Especially in the
Matter of Finance, Has Drawn
Attention to Him-Chief Does
Criminal Hunting

Chief of Police William ]. E. Stones
second year as the head Of the Wor-
cester department is drawing to close
and those who have watched his adj
ministration have found him well quail
fed to fill the position from every
standpoint. At the City Hall Chief
Stone is regarded one Of the best
financiers that ever parcelled out the
annual appropriation, and the state
ment comes from man in a position
to know. To The Spy man the official
said: with the police department d.
vorced from politics and allowed to
proceed in it's legitimate field, with q
capable and honest head who will
stand by right and permit no wrong,
Worcester is more than favored with
a very efficient police chief"
The total appropriation for the police
department for the year was fixed at
$143, 461 49, OF this amount there re-
NAMED October /, $19,602.S9, and
chances are that the department, with
q. small increase, might work through
the year without an additional appro-
priation, although 1t is doubtful, as IT
took $11, 742S9 to run the department
during the month Of September.
The chief has given every attention
to his work and to one who has seen
the police records daily the name of
Chief Stone placed against an arrest
of much Importance is not at all an
uncommon sight On every case Of i'm
portance there is a standing order at
Station l that he is to- be called, as
it is his intention to familiarize himself
with every possible detail of the work
Of his men and in this he has been,
in a very great measure, successful
Chief Stone knows the laws and has
made it a practice to enforce them
Justly yet firmly. He has been fear
less and active and has made study
Of the people with whom he has to
deal He has also made it a point to
study his force and knows its strength
and defects.
Chief Stone has always in his off,
cial capacity looked for way in which
to help his fellow-man and never gives
a thought to crushing him. The maxim
known to police throughout the coun-
try that TT is easier to kill with kind
ness than with a club is one to which
he subscribes.
To the average police officer the fact
that brains are Of much more i'm
cred and although Drawn is an es-
sential needed in every good police Of
ficer, they are not expected to intro
duce it at every opportunity.
The man charged with patrolling the
streets, provided he fails In his work.
is the person to be charged with the
neglect of duty. Persons as a general
rule never give a thought to the off,
Ger patrolling a beat but if anything
occurs, such as a robbery or break
the chief or the officials are held re-
sponsible for it, Chief Stone has en-
deavored to make his officers under
stand that the sooner they realize their
work is a trust, the better 1t will be
for them, and has also impressed on a
few that a policeman is expected to
do more than draw alary. In all
large bodies Of men, matter how
fattering a reputatic enjoy, as
a whole, there will b. ID the mall
igner, the duty shirk1 the man
who requires attention
Worcester officers ar -Ot in any way
the exception to cas- as found the
world over and there are not a few
Of the finest" in Worcester that are
about so years behind the time in abil-
ity to perform their work, although
years rest lightly on their shoulders.
Chief Stone does not have the pick
OF his department and is obliged to
do with the material at hand He has
unless obliged to do so, but when an
officer does get a "call'' he gets the
real thing and there it ends. The chief
never talks of his officers to outsiders,
but from reports received at Station
and some that officers make out
themselves occasionally a night school,
made up entirely of primary grades,
would not be out CT place.
But a month ago an officer had occa-
sion to make out a report Of an acct
dent. He arrived at Station 1 about
/ O'Clock in the morning. At he was
sitting out in the drivers room IN the
barn with a pencil and piece Of paper
At 230 O'Clock he was still there. At
3 o'clock he turned in his effort and it
was a wonderful work Of grammatical
construction.
In all, the report did not consist Of
more than 25 words. All words, with
one single exception, were misspelled.
The officer has been in the department
some time.