Evening star., 1903-07-27
NEW SCHEDULE OF PAY
COL. SYMoNs SUGGESTS INCREASE
FOR PARK POLICE.
Force Improperly Named, He Says, In
adequate in Number and In
sufficiently Paid.


charge of public buildings and grounds, in
his annual reports to the chief of engineers.
submitted today. recommends new sched-
ule of pay for the force of park watchmen
or policeman follows: First sergeant in
charge. 81 coo year; second sergeant, 500
a year. and men. $40 a year each.
I especially desire to invite attention,
says Col. Symons. to the force of park
watchmen. which force is improperly
named. inadequate In point of numbers and
insufiiciently paid. The designation of
watchmen does not describe the members
of this force and their duties. They are
strictly policemen. with all the powers OF
the regular police force. and their duty Is
to maintain proper police control over the
parks. This requires a great deal of deli
cacy on the one hand in dealing with wo-
men and children. and on the other. the
toughest and most dangerous kind of police
work in dealing with toughs and offenders
OF all kinds. The duty of the men is not
simply to watch the parks. but is also to
protect the respectable people, especially
women and children in their full enjoy
ment. and unmolested by bad men and dis
solute women. 1t would be a satisfaction
to the men of the force and aid them in
the performance of their duties. to be desg
mated as policemen. for offenders are some
times averSe to being cautioned by watch
men, and question the authority of a watch
supposed that no one but policemen have
authority to do so. In all the large cities
of the country of which 1 have knowledge
men doing similar duties are designated as
park policemen. and it is therefore recon-
mended that instead Of park watchmen this
force be henceforth called park policemen
in all appropriation bills and reports.
Increase Recommended.
The force Is inadequate in point OF num-
bers, and 1t Is urged that an additional ser
geant and eleven men be added to 1t. The
one sergeant in charge of the force Is over
worked. During the day he has to ride on
his bicycle over the whole city inspecting
every Watchman, and also inspecting the
outlying reservations not looked after by
Watchmen. He has to come to this Office
every morning to make his report and re-
ceive instructions; he has to spend several
hours a day at the Police Court several
times week. and in addition he has to in
spect the night watchmen In the parks three
times a week There should be second
sergeant to assist him.
Many Of the most important parks have
but one watchman, who patrols them but
eight hours out of the twenty-four These
watchnen have in addition from FIVE to
twenty outside reservations to look after,
some Of them nearly mile distant. Their
hours of duty are generally from s am. to
noon and from pm. to pm. 1t is just
as necessary to have these parks patrOlled
from noon to pm. and from to II D. m.
as at any other hours. During the off
hours park loafers take advantage Of the
absence of the watchmen to do about as
they please and subject respectable people
to annoyance.
new schedule Is submitted Of the park
watchmen. or more properly, park police
| men. required. which 1T is recommended be
adopted and provided for. This new sche-
dule increases the number of men from 81
| to ~. with first and second sergeant In
addition:
How Men Are Selected.
''The park watchmen are selected from a
special list prepared by the civil service
commission. which guarantees men of ex-
! pertence and very high qualifications. Not
withstanding this. the Washington park
watchman Is probably the poorest paid
| man in the United States who has police
duty to perform. He has practically the
same duties as the metropolitan police; the
same intelligence and physical qualifica-
tions are required of him: his moral char
acter must be good: his discipline is much
the same: he has as many arrests to ma ke
as the average policeman: he runs the
same risks as to injury from vicious people
as the man doing duty on the street; his
duties are more exacting, as half Of his
duty hours are spent in cautioning people
about violating the rules of the park and
in looking after children: he has uniform
to buy once year in order to look neat: :
yet the pay of these watchmen Is only 500
per month.
1.-The District government required the
street railway companies to pay their
crossing police officers s75 per month for
less exacting and laborious duty.
Contrasted With Regular Force,
1.-THE lowest grade on the metropolitan
police force receive s75 per month. and the
officers who serve five or six years faith
fully receive 800 per month. Moreover, IL
they are injured in the line Of duty or
become unfit for service through sickness.
complete certain number of years OF
faithful service, they are placed on the re-
tired list with an allowance of from $40 to
$50 per month from the fund toward which
the park watchmen 30 largely contribute:
that is. from fines and forfeitures of col
lateral from cases brought before the Police
Court by them. These benefits they do not
receive and there Is nothing for the park
watchman to look forward to II he happens
to be injured in the performance of his
duty so as to make him unfit for further
service or II. after years Of faithful per
formance Of duty. he becomes too old
longer to perform police duty.
1T is also recommended that the neces-
sary legislation be adopted. providing that
all fines and forfetures OF collateral from
cases brought before the Police Court by
United States park police shall be held and
reserved for the benefit of the United States
park police under rules similar to those
now in force for the metropolitan police OF
| the city"
FINE WAS EIGHTY DOLLARS.