Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-11-30

"DahEe't
!" air Of the speaker left no room for
.,, Quiet. unassumins. without
co.,. - nravado. this answer came 10 me
- man who has parollcd the city
,oacer than have lived. an officer
Nus never known taom one day to The
yo- somelninE over thirty years.
+rai saR msnt tahe hiin TO deatn of
So" Ia some Ga!k alley on In the
hallway OF ii nest OF crime.
80 ans IN hat are the great
ices OF your occupat.on?" And
o. g.aat his answer meant. Dan
never thak OF it, lie meant
&c mai he never stopped to weigh
:, % measure II.
sg &a0sc. is there.
1ss M. g.e appreciate what 1t means TO
o.aucr al The law. he ci.tereace
IN me lie OF a policeman and that
man IN any other walk OF life is
-. i.us,aation. IL in gong homo at
,t.l meet an officer, and your
fa8ous his for a few blocks. YOU
ard NaR together, man with man,
gl q shade of difference. Yet. II
~, Ion aesp or 4 shot. or the sound Of
f.7. comes from All alley as black az
tie policeman goes into the gloom to
,,..1. unknown danger. while you so on
.t af;y own business and wonder why
,-y man iaEes a job on The police force.
fceman cannot shrink from q
,..-t,a merrill lie must so in and flNd
~. 4-ou1.c Then. if he meets a danger.
a al tcai GGnger. he can ge. hep
las sine But If minutes wait
-re-s me commission OF q crime or the
s.rrr q criminal. he must act on the
,rs.e-i. even though his own life so out
.- the attempt. There is no eXasgera-
.r7r fn this. The death of four men and
~, serious injury OF twice as many more
=, fge Richmond police force within the
-sst t.r.rty-sl% years is convincing proof
la, fuly can easily be the path 10 death.
u neal5 be difficult to analyze and put
,,-,nafatiye values on the various CAN
r,-s which lie in the path of a police
Pe-hars. the greatest and most desper-
,s rerl which can confront a police
nan is one Of which Richmond has seen
ht lrle-the fury OF riotins mob.
witness The Killing Of seven policemen
fr the throwing of dynamite bomb in
CHICAGO in 1885,. A riot can spring up III
m hoBr. rs did the one on Church Hill
taw weeks ago: and no man can tell
rrat the mob may Go before il sobers
,ga or ten. or even fifty policemen
AGAINST such crowd as some mans
Nash decd might set in motion at any
msrgte2 Chat before the wind
Next 10 The peril Of the mob is Its next
or i5ir the danger of a raid against
s.7e~icr and criminal force Let one.
o. Two or three. policemen get in cor
ra- with twice as many desperate thieves.
,rtg the criminals surrender? If they arc
iaIS l,IIf
enc NAV come tonight or tomorrow.
Who knows! And when they CO come
they mean death on one side or the other.
or both.
Then comes the thing above all others
that tries the iron in a mans nerve-tle
grim and desperate death struggle be-
weon officer and criminal when the one
surprises and attacks the other in the
darkness OF the night. 1t comes every
TOW and then. The patroltnan finds
door or a window open and goes into
The factory. or the bank, or whatever il
nav be. to see what is wrong. Some
zines lis petty thief who gives UP
fC-thwith and goes 10 the station in the
v-a con. again it may be a gentleman
40 is following the professional line of
burglary In such a case, ii the two
meet face 10 face. without an avenue for
the era cksman's escape. if is-Uell he
laughs best VINO shoots first. One or the
other must lay down his arms or pay
The penalty.
After this the phases Of danger come
rfa; and fast. AS fixed rule the man
whose occupation is crime is more des-
agrale when cornered than the one whose
criminal act is q first offence. The pro-
tlssonal criminal usually knows some
ming Of the inside of prison walls He
nay have crimes laid UP against him in
every State Of the Union. In such case
sixty-Gay term in jail might mean d
Hla-sentence Or a hanging. For it takes
but a lew hours for the news 10 reach
tie uttcrmnst ends OF tne land; and If
Maine or florida. or Oregon OF Arizona
wants The man all that stands in the
WY is little necessary red tape.
The CnsperaGo knows this. and for ne
theft Of 50-cent scarf-pin. may put up
d $40 0l3 fight An officer who grapples
with q thief is not necessarily fighting
The man for stealing a waicn from So
1ud-so's bedroom. That may be the spe-
else particular deed that caused the
'ragble; but The man may be counting
nle chances of fifty Indictments. and
Hi,l take any risk before he gives up.
The criminal Of sudden impulse. or the
haIf-acciGental sort of criminal is
different l.ind Of animal. II the list of
MS crimes is small. ana II CONVICTION
would mean but six months in jail. he
would hesitate before taking human,
life In exchange for an uncertain liberty.
These are easier to handle; but even with
such cases. particularly if the offender be
had negro. with a knife or a gun. the
chances for something serious aare far
from being slight.
There are two men in Richmond to-day
"hu have escaped death rs narrowly
ron can escape IT. One is Sergeant r. J.
Erooks. who was shot by the burglar
Shaw on the morning Of March Il. 1856.
The other IS Private Percy r. Minor.
who was shot by q young negro thief
Nv 10 1897.
Percy Minor whose record was one OF
more man ordinary rerve ard daring,
anproache7 two notwithstanding ne
eEoes on EIGHTEENTH street. at about half
pasJ o'clock in the morning. He accost-