The Washington times., 1904-07-12
TOOTHPICK HURTS
EVEN IN GOTHAM
A Washington Regulation
ArOuseS the Metropolis.
NEW YORK POLICE ON ALERT
They Do Not Need Such Regulation
IN the Minds
Eve.

To chew. or not TO chew-toothpicks.
as applied 10 the copper on duty
is question which has passed beyond
local bounds. Hardly is the type cold in
winch Major SylVester's now famous
order was sent broadcast, and here this
morning the New York Herald" prints
three letters on the subject, showing
tnat the order IS attracting attention
In New York. Two of these letters are
IN the satirical vein. and all three in
reality express approval of the Majors
order. In the meantime the local force
continues in condition Of tOothpick-
The New York letters follow:
To the Editor of the Herald:
l observe with qualification I'm your
columns today that an order has been
issued in Washington fOrbidding mem
bers of the police force 10 chew tooth
picks While on duty because IT is ''Un-
oI1cerllke' and suggests that they have
been taking refreshments.
Why anybody should wish 70 chew
toOthpicks l do not understand, although
In the case Of policemen il may be that
tnere IS some occult connection between
the toOthpick and the locust. Perhaps
InClr use inspires deeds OF herOlSm. Tn
quesuOnably, a tOOthpick carried at a
sufficiently acute angle gives police
man an air of turbulence calculated TO
terrify and COW the malefactor.
But the new regulation affords pleas
ure for another reason. It indicates that
the authorities OF the Capital mean TO
pattern their policemen, IN the matter of
experiment after the shining example
or our own city. Everybody knows that
nowhere else IN the world Is there d
body of men so endowed with the graCes
of urbanlty and good manners as the
New York policemen.
Ask one OF them a question and OBJ
serve the Chesterfieldian pONteness with
which he Will don his helmet as he has.
tens TO answer, mark the coUrtliness Of
IA l. Tx 4. I'll.
he will go out OF his way TO serve you.
AS 20 chewing tOothpicks on or off duty
perish the thought. They would not
dream Of such a vulgar proceeding
ADMIRER OF THE FINEST
New York citN. July Il, 1904.
Blow at Americanism.
To the Editor of the Herald:
For the sake of the old days for the
sake of a purely American custom, i'm
mediate and indignant protest should
be made against the action OF the Wash
ingtOn police authorities in barring the
toothpick as an article of Washington
notice dress / see BY this morning
Herald" that hereafter policemen on
duty may not appear in public with
one in action. or vice versa, under Sc
we're penalties.
rivation but in the act / see another
blow al American custom. upon which
too many blows have showered In the
loved and INDUCED in. which marked
our Americanism more than territorial
boundary, have succumbed TO those
blows What has become Of the inaien-
able right Of the American to sit with
feet elevated on a railing, mantelpiece,
or q able, no matter WhereF Whittier
has flown the Omnipresent cuspidOT OF
other years2 What has become Of the
rampant chin Whisker. the hat so hIgn,
and the ceat so short. the square tOed
boot, the massive watch chain, the nasal
hf4 = fron q " ~
pie knife?
Gone. all of them, or seen only now
and then as the multitude Tushes down
the years, pitiful In their loneliness,
marked and remarked in their isolation.
Now they have opened war on the
tOOthpick,
Can anyone remember when the tooth
pick was not? It came, / believe, IN the
first days, when American pluck and
persistence wrenched the Drimeval Tor
est from the cruel red man and a pine
splinter grew TO be the badge the SYM
Dol OF the conQuerOr. It, OF its success
sor. home made or machine made has
been the aegis of Americanism ever
since. And now the city Of Washington
has driven the entering wedge against
the tOothDick The American public
cannot watch too keenly for the result
of this official blow at one Of its most
THOMAS G. HANCOCK.
New York, July II.
Should Stop Practice.
To the Editor of the Herald:
Let US follow the city Of Washing
tons example and issue an order
against all toOthpick fends. Civiliza-
ton demands il. society longs for it,
1t Is certainly disgusting to any lady
or gentleman visiting a restaurant 10
see the universal use OF tOOthpicks.
Some people eat them for dessert
Surely. IL folks must use tOOthpicks
let them do so in privacy, where no one
else can see them. but why anyone
must persist in this habit is a mystery.
Stop il by all means NJ. =.
Na~rr Tr1xr 1904