The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-03-22
N LONDON lND
N E[H YORK
Comparison of Two Metro
pOIitan Police Forces.
LONDON CLAIMS MUCH
OverIookS Two Thirds of the
Evils.
LONDON CLAIMS MUCH

i ork Wofh are Oll1efeIt. because OF us
physical conditions of the cities them
selves and also the contrasting DISPOSE
tons of the two people. that a compari
son is almost impossible.
don't believe that there is in the worlC
a set Of men who can compare with thu
police force of the city of New York il
the case OF an emergency or where per
sonal valor is concerned. In our force
we have some SHORTCOMINGS, which al
times undoubtedly we pay too much at
tention to.
1t is becoming the habit in New York
TO cast reflections upon the New York
police, and the great majority Of the
reflections are unjust. The sins of a few
are carried as a reflection upon the en-
tire force. The London populace has a
greater inclination to obey implicitly and
quickly the demands Of the police than
the New York populace.
1t is a noteworthy fact that our crowds
on festive and political occasions are the
best natured crowds in the world, and
the use of the club or other force in man
aging such crowds is seldom, if ever, re-
sorted 70 or necessary.
AS to the physical and mental standards
OF the two police forces. our men are GER
tainly larger and heavier, and are in a
great many cases too heavy. I believe
the mental capacity of the majority can
not be surpassed by that of any other
police force.
The London police are younger. The
London regulations require that a man
must be under twenty seven before he
enters the force, whereas we give a max
imum limit of Thirty. l believe it to be
advantageous to make the maximum age
limit twenty-five.
In the management of street traffic we
have made sporadic attempts to make
our traffic obey the rules of the road, but
they have not been strictly enforced and
have not been carried out for a sufficient
length of time to make any great i'm
preston upon the large number Of drivers
we have. There is little or no tramway
traffic in London, whereas the most of
our streets are taken up by street car
lines. This makes a large portion of our
traffic inlexible, as it occpies the center
OF the streets.
The drivers themselves maintain a large
portion of discipline by insisting upon
other drivers keeping in their places.
of the bus driver when he comes in con-
tact with the hack or cab driver.
The London cabby has wholesome re
gard for his license, ana win not jeop-
ardize il. If ne receives several sun
monses" to appear before a magistrate
for the violation Of the rules of the road
he is liable not to have his license re-
newed and that means taking away his
bread and butter.
Traffic in New York is very much i'm
peded by our builders. They are given
permits TO use one-third of the street
for the storage of their building material
In London but one-half of the sidewalk is
given them. Long and heavy beams can
not be hauled through the streets during
the day and thus block transportation
but must be delivered at night and taken
care of by the contractors before the
traffic opens in the day
Brick. mortar. lumber and other mater
ials are delivered in such form that they
are quickly taken from the avenues by
dorriclzs and stored inside the building
enclosure. For instance. the brick reach
the builder piled in crates which the der
rick can readily pick up and deliver in
side
/ think that we lose sight Of the fact in
SAticising our traffic that New York Is
~<ay undergoing a reconstruction which
viii probably last for some years. Old
New York is passing out and new Now
York, with its magnificent Office build
ings. is rapidly being built The under
ground system has torn up our streets
and restricted traffic. but that evil viii
a.-.-r
completed in London the pavemcnts are
kept in perfect repair-the asphalt never
allowed 10 become broken or full Of holes.
The enforcement IF the various rogllla-
tons and ordinances in London is more
easily carried out because they have a
larger force there. They are handling
london with I..-e. men. whereas we have
short of 900 men. II n man in5s n burg
lar in his house IN New York he PUSHES
cut FOR a policeman. and when he doesn't
ind him standing in the block he saws
the police are doreGct ard no good. He
forsets that the rarrolman on that beat
may have sixteen other blocks TO take
care Of and that he cannot be in al sew
enteen blocks at the same tino.
The pror ortion OF 0ou-co-nuiS~for,ed Of
hcers-that is. men who hold tho corre-
spending positions 90 our. roundsrren and
sereeants-is very much greater in Lon
Don than in New York. the proportion
being about one n seven or eieht where
as ours is about one t. nearly ten.
Al present We use fifty per cent Of
our force both day and night In Lon
don sixty per cent IS used ar uieht ard
forty per cent in tho daytime The pa
trolman on post VIII be visited there rct
less than Eve times dur-ng his TOM OF
patrol duty. whereas vge are far-rrre+.
8: We can have our patr7lnsn visited more
than once.
The London policeman Is not --ail near
y as much as the New York policeman.
1t takes about twelve years To obtain a
salary Of about $40 Per aunum. whereas
orr men start in with q salry u $50
However. The London police an's salary
IS augmented by an amount OF clothing
supplied him which is Sufficient 70 keeD
him in . neat appearance.
The hours Of dutv in I19.3cu ar sfrht
hours Ter doy-thc day hours beinw di
vided into four hours on duty. fonr hours
OF and four hours or. the night tour
being eicht hours long in one Srrrteh
The nisht tour is somewhat relieved bv
the Patrclman having half an hour or 70
get supper. between halC-rast one and
two a. m. tn pes, ~ that tine hslar
doubled and the men are required % so
g the precinct stations. where they are
supplied with a hot meal.
The men are provided with barricks in
which the unmarried men live There IS
no force held in reserve. These unmarried
GeR have their swn individual rooms aid