Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-23
PRAISE FOR THE FORCE
ENCAMPMENT CROWDS WERE
WELL HANDLED.
Maj. sylvester's Admirable Arrange
ments-Strangers Carried Away
Pleasant Impressions Of City.

"The admirable manner in which the po-
lice force of this city handled the big
crowds during encampment week." said
prominent District official this morning.
reflects great credit upon the force as an
entirety and Major Sylvester and his men
have again proved to our citizens that the
police force Of the capital is entitled to the
praise freely given by resident and stranger
alike.
with the streets crowded with tens OF
thousands OF strangers from all quarters
and of all classes there were no instances
Of police brutality so often witnessed under
similar conditions in the metropolis; there
were no reports. in fact, of inciviltty or any
other reports except those which reflected
honor upon the force. Policemen along the
line of parade on the occasions Of our great.
pageants are frequently placed In very try
ing positions, and are under more or less
strain to preserve that civilfty and equa-
nimity of temper which ought to be the first
requisite of q peace officer. In this. the lat,
est instance in which the capital demon.
strated it's ability to comfortably house and
care for any number of visitors, our. police
force acquitted itself splendidly. and we are
all glad that we can make public announce
| ment Of that important fact.
Those who tarred with us during the
week went away not only with pleasant i'm
pressions of Washington and its people, OF
the incompatible weather, and other favor
able conditions, but with an understanding
that our police force is composed Of a lot
of athletic, intelligent men, who were ever
ready to politely answer Questions which
must of necessity be constantly repeated,
and who were always willing to do all In
their power to make the stay of the
stranger agreeable.
Comparison With Other Cities.
"And all this in spite of almost continu-
Gus duty for week. 1t is no easy matter
to walk in crowd, and it Is work of the
hardest kind to handle throngs Of people
pushing and pressing in different directions.
Yet 1t was all done quietly, easily and with
out friction. In addition Captain Board
mans detective force testified its efficiency
in handly. corralling crooks and those
visitors whose presence Is not desired in
this city during crowded weeks or at any
other time. Both the detective and police
forces lived up to their well-earned reputa-
ton for efficiency.
Both of these forces, however, are too
small and it is to be hoped that Major Syl-
vesters recommendation for additional men
will be granted by Congress at the ensuing
session. In fact, / do not believe that 1t Is
generally understood how large a territory
our police department is expected to pro-
tect. There Is only one satisfactory way to
show points Of this nature, and that IS by
comparison with other cities.
Thus our police force covers an area Of
over 1900 acres greater than the police force
of St. Louis, or, to be exact. our force COW
ers A, 800 acres and the police force OF st.
Louis 10000 acres. We have only 600 men to
distribute over this large territory, large
portion Of which is thickly settled, while
the police force Of st. Louis numbers ESQ
men. If our police force were concentrated
for duty within what we term the city linn
Its of Washington alone it would be none too
large, but when 1t comes to giving ade-
quate protection to the entire District of
Columbia it Is too limited, and ought to be
increased by not less than 100 men