Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-04-19
BROWN HAT POLICEMEN
DUTIES OF THE MEN STATIONED
AT RAILROAD CROSSINGS.
A Position That is in Great Demand
A Thousand Applicants and
No Vacancies.

do you know the most sought after jobs
| in the gift of the District Commissioners
The question was asked by man at the
District building the other day who is thor
| oughtly conversant with municipal affairs
Several people guessed at the answer, but
! not one struck it right.
'"They are positions on the force Of spe-
| cal policemen stationed at the street rail-
| road crossings" the man of information de-
clared.
There are but thirty seven men regularly
| employed on this service, with four more
acting as substitutes. making total Of for
| ty-one entitled to wear the blue coat and
brass buttons of a metropolitan police Off
GER. The street railway crossing men are
distinguished from their brothers Of the
regular force by wearing brown helmets in
stead of the black "bonnetS' prescribed for
the full -fedged policemen.
There are no less than one thousand pairs
of covetous eyes constantly riveted upon
these forty-one positions, and 1t is almost
worth the life of the Commissioners for
them to announce the fact that vacancy
has occurred. In such an event there is a
horde of office seekers to be encountered
next day at the District building and the
one thousand and one applicants are nearly
| all on hand to seek appointment. Many of
them are accompanied by their influential
hackers and the result Is a run on the Com
| missioners such as might be made on a
| ment. The brunt Of the battle with office
seekers in this particular must be borne
by Commissioner John W. Ross, who has
supervision of the police department.
The street railway crossing men are not
regular members of the police force and
are not paid out Of District revenues, but
by law they are placed under the superyi-
sion of the police authorities and thus come
finally under the direction of the Commits
SionerS - Al.
The post of a street crossing officer
seems to hold out a decided fascination for
certain class of men, or else it must be
regarded decided Siaocnro. This fact
is proven by the tigures, which show there
are more men who want positions at the
crossings than are DESTROYS of becoming
| members of the regular force. 1t must be
remembered that the4road ito the regular
force is a good deal more difficult to travel
than that by which man becomes a
crossing bobby" For the regular force
a civil service system is in vogue and the
candidate must also be superb specimen
of physical manhood. The crossing Off
GERS appointed without civil service
examination and without passing the Zig
orous physical examination required of
the regulars. Thus it IS that nearly every
candidate who fails to secure a place on
the regular force becomes a seeker after
appointment in the crossing brigade.
Applications on File.
Senators and representatives in Congress
are besought by constituents from neigh
sioners to appoint them on the crossing
force. To meet the demand for positions
there would have to be a street railroad
on every street in Washington and an
ofncer stationed at every crossing.
In a big book in the Office of the secre-
tary to the board of Commissioners a list
or the applicants for Office is keDT. The
original space assigned for applicants for
street-crossing 5illats was crowded in a
lew Gays. New spaces had to be found and
1G tI,nt HI
applicants will monopoliZe the entire vol
ume. A list of the office seekers was re-
Gently prepared in he order OF precedence
arranged in accordance with the filing of
Inc Applications. 1t was task requiring
several days and the sum total reached
up to 971. Since then additional appl;ca-
tons nave run the total up to more than
| thousand.
An interesting story is told on a repre-
sentative in Congress in this CONNECTION
The representative recommended a constit-
ings.
Mr.; Commissioners the representative
| SAID, '! feel that you should appoint this
| man without delay You may not realize
IT, put 1t Is a fact nevertheless. that I
nave not single appointee on this force"
Ihlrty-seVen regular positions on the
| force The Commissioners replied by call
| ing attention to this ia ct and saving that
| nothing would please them better than To
| be able to take care Of all the worthy men
| recommended to them by the senators and
1 representatives. But, they explained, there
are only thirty-seven positions on the force
at best. and if the entire squad should he
dismissed or resign at one time there would
| NOT De enough vacancies to assign one po-
sltlon to each state, to say nothing Of as
| signing one to each senator and represen
| tative in Congress.
In Great Demand.
AS has been stated. a number of applica-
| tions come from those who have been un-
| successful for some reason or other in their
| endeaVors to obtain appointment on the
| regular force. Another large contingent
Of applicants is composed of street railway
employees who have been thrown out of
work or to whom the lazy life at the cross
| ing seems to be a sinecure. The motormen
ana conductors have to gaze upon the po-
ileemen In passing their posts. and the job
| mas appealed to a. great many of them
| The largest class of applicants, however,
are men from the states who have come to
| washington seeking employment at the
! hands OF their representatives or senator's
| and who have singled out the crossing off,
| GERS post as their especial mark The
| staff of officers now on duty at the cross
| ings is an able one. They have already
| proved their worth in a number of in
| stances, having prevented accidents by the
| score and having helped, pedestrians from
| POSITIONS or danger innunerable times On
| one occasion at q downtown crossing a
woman was riding wheel along the street
and was about to cross directly in front
| of rapidly moving car. The crossing DO
liceman saw her in time and throwing his
| arm about her waist actually lifted her
| from the wheel and swung her out of
| harms way. The bicycle was wrecked
| From financial point Of view the officers
| at the crossings are on a par with the
| lowest grade Of privates on the regular
4 force, receiving SIS a month Their salary
1 Is paid by the street railway companies
| whose tracks intersect at the points where
| the men are stationed. The officers are en-
| titled TO no leave of absence or sick leave
| and every day they are unable to work a
| substitute Is called In and his pay deducted
from the salary of the regular man. A
bill Is now pending In Congress, however.
| granting the crossing. officers both sick and
| annual leaves, with pay
Their Varied Duties.
| Few people in the District outside of po-
lice circles are acquainted with the duties
| the crossing officer Is called upon to per-
form. In the first place. he is charged with