Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-16


pend almost wholly upon their friends to
send them news In order to have II printed
In the paper the day Il occurred. Frequent
ly the writer's assigned to duty at head
quarters remained in ignorance OF what was
going until they were given information
through the columns Of the papers. Shortly
after the force was organized n system Of
telegraphy was introduced. which was OF
material assistance to the members OF the
force, especially to the men in the detective
office, who were always anxious 10 learn
what was going on in the matter OF thefts,
murders or other crimes. While this sys-
TEN was a decided Improvement, It was a
poor forerunner OF the present telephone
system. In order to cover the city properly
years ago the services OF several reporters
were necessary. while now only one reporter
Is needed TO do the work. save when an
emergency arises demanding a quick de-
tailed investigation OF important and
complex situation. The work OF the police
has also been lesseued by the use Of the
telephone. and criminals do not have the
same opportunity to get away as they did
formerly. 1t requires but a few minutes in
stead OF hours to give headquarters infor-
nation that a crime has been committed.
and as the telephone is handy many
more cases are reported. Years ago people
but now they hasten TO the police authori-
ties, no matter how small an amount IS
stolen. and many of them will make repeat
ed visits to keep the headquarters men on
the alert for the offenders.
How the Police Are Informed
When anything unusual happens with
! In the borders OF the District nowadays
| the officers on duty in the several stations
must telephone headquarters without delay.
| These reports are placed on hook for the
! benefit of the newspaper reporters. unless
| 1t Is something that the department wants
| TO keep from the press. and then The re-
| porters must do the best they can by means
of what is technically known as "hustling"
! to learn the facts Such instances are not
| very numerous now, although there was
time when officials of the department were
| anxious TO keep news from becoming public.
| This was especially true with regard TO
| robberies when the number OF such depre-
| dations so greatly exceeded the arrests that
| the detectives and their chief considered
| publication a reflection upon their abil-
| ity to cope with the thieves. On one occa-
| sion, many years before Major Sylvester
| was appointed chief. the newspapers more
| than evened up matters with the depart-
| ment. Victims of the light fingered gentry
| were requested TO notify the papers of their
losses, and so great was the number print.
ed In the papers that the police gladly re-
scinded the order and opened the complaint
books for inspection. With the improved
method Of sending information to head
quarters it is possible for the police to learn
OF the commission of a serious crime long
before the perpetrator has had an oppor-
tunity to get away. and the publicity given
to the case by the press does not check the
| cause of Justice.
1t also makes 1t possible for The Star to
inform its readers OF such occurrences a
| few minutes after they have happened.
Up-to-Date Reporting.
A single instance will show how quickly
news is given the public by a wide-awake
| afternoon paper like The Star.
Auditor Morris Of the War Department
| was shot few months ago, and his as
| sailant Immediately attempted suicide. The
| shooting occurred at twenty-five minutes
after o'clock in the afternoon. A tele-
phone message to The Star from reporter
| at police headquarters simply announced
| that an official in the Winder building had
been shot. An emergency reporter was start
ed Immediately for the scene, but quick as
he was. he found that another Star
porter from police headquarters had arrived
on his bicycle before him. Then the news.
Star office over the telephone from various
sources. The Star reporter on duty at the
Treasury Department busted himself in
! learning the records of the two men.
| A reporter was dispatched to the Post
Office Department. where tho assailant
| had been employed. to learn something
about him from that source. In the
| meantime the minutes flying, but
the composing room Of The Star was pre-
pared. The first column of the first page
of The Star was kept open for this particu-
lar story. At ten minutes of o'clock. only
| twenty-five minutes after the shooting the
detailed account began TO come over the
| telephone, and 1t was taken on a type
writer by very fast operator. The re-
porter who sent the particulars OF the
shooting was at police headquarters. mile
or distant, when the assault was
made, and it was five or ten minutes before
the police department was informed. But
in twenty-five minutes from the time of the
shooting the reporter had learned of 1t, had
| reached the scene and had telephoned
complete account to The Star office. This,
| of course was followed by other details.
which were put into type rapidly as pos
sible, and the whole account made over
column in The Star. At twenty-one and
half minutes after o'clock, not yet hour
after the shooting, the form was locked up
and sent to the stereotype room, and at
thirty-one minutes after 3 clock. one hour
and six minutes after the pistol was fired,
The Star was on the streets. on its regular
scheduled time and the complete story OF
| the murder and attempted suicide was be-
ing read by hundreds of people.
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