The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-04-13
81. Paul's Unrivaled
- Police Force. 4
When 1t Is Under
Chief O'Connor's Care
Crooks Give the City
q Wide Berth.

ter of self-preservation with them, and
while they have no open organization or
method of securing information, the
wise ones" know every chief in every
large city in the country.
Any crook simple enough to come to st.
Paul receives an order to visit headquar-
tiers before he has brushed his travel
stains eff He knows what this order
means, and he comes and is shown into
the office of the big one" as they call
the chief Here the crook is informed
that there is nothing doing in this
town and he is told that he had better
leave in a hurry. Those who do not
know Chief O'Connor personally have
heard much of him, and they are wise
enough to take his Tip" for all its worth,
SO that their stay here is brief. The eff
ficacy of this system depends to great
extent on the personality of the chief,
and the present incumbents fitness for
his Office is demonstrated by the absence
of professional crooks from the city. 1t
is the old adage that IAN ounce of pre-
vention is worth a pound of cure" and 1t
is carried out to the letter.
Efficient Police Commission.
The police force Of the city is under the
government and control of a board of
police commissioners, who are appointed
by the mayor. The force is responsible
to this board, which handles all its af-
fairs. 1t is composed of President G. L.
Haas, D. w. LAWYER, L. L. May, Foelsen
and r. T. O'Connor. The present board
is the first in ST. Paul, and the success
that it has had in police matters has war
ranted it's continuance Under its regime
the expenses of the force have been cut
down. and several innovations that have
proven entirely satisfactory and bene-
fetal have been introduced.
One Of the new ideas is the permanent
downtown squad which consists of
twenty-four men, who patrol the down
town business portion of the city during
the day. Their beats are never changed
and they work days entirely. In this
manner they know every nook and cram
ny in their territory, and every person
that has business there. These are po-
licemen that nearly everybody knows,
and they are well worthy of the pride
the city has in them. All of them are
large, muscular, square-shouldered men,
dressed neatly, and their general ap-
pearance is prepossessing. They are men
who are capable of meeting any emergen-
cy coolly and effectively. The little child
that has lost its way is directed that it
may understand and the maddened horse
that dashes down the street is brought
to a standstill, frequently at the risk of
the officers life. Every day there are
dCcldStllS Oh d serious character that
are prevented by these men, who are
always ready to nip them in the bud.
During the hours of the day when street
traffic is thickest and the streets are
crowded, these policemen stand at the
intersection of the streets and control
the traffic so that neither the teams or
pedestrians are delayed, and no person
is run over.
Directly under Chief o'Connor are
Capts. Clark and Hanft. Capt Clark
has charge of the day force, and Capt.
Hanft assumes command at night. Both
are police officers of years of experience
in their line of work.
Capt Clark is the senior captain of
the force. and has been an officer for
twenty-five years. He was appointed to
the force in April, 1871, under Mayor
Lees administration. In the spring of
1875 he was promoted from patrolman
to sergeant, which position he held for
three years. In 1878 he was again pro-
NOTED to be captain, and in 1882 he was
made chief, holding this office for ten
years. A change of administration drop
ped him from the force until 1894, when