The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-05-07
5.2OO BLUECOATS on PARADE.
TRiFFIC SQUAD, STAR FEATURE
or THE POLICE SNOW.

Nledil-t ruWds AlOng Line u March
--ne,lew by Mayor and NiF. aieAdOO.
The most impressive thing about the
roIice o trade yesterday was not the glitter
and the gold buttons, the bands the crowds
or the cheering. II was an incident which
bappened when Mayor Mcclellan. standing
be,ore the crowd which had packed into
uadi.on SQUARE TO help review Ne York's
army Of peace preservers presented by proxy
the Rhinelander medal the highest honor In
the Police Department to a patTolmaa who
Is dyin, as the outcome Of the deed by
which he won the medal.
When the parade had marched and
oountermarohed and the honor men had
lined up opposite Madison Square to witness
the presentation It was noted that, although
there were three medals to present, only two
men stepped forward. those on the in
side alone understood. The Mayor. with
Commissi cner McAdoo by his side, read the
dry official account Of their bravery to
srzzled old Patrolman Daniel j. Sullivan
who took the Bell medal, and to boyish De-
tectiye Sergeant Michael J. Calvin, who
won the Meyer trophy. Then he read from
the roll Of honor the feat Of PstrolmRn
Frederick J. Wilday, who plunged into the
East River last August to rescus one Francis
Player. a naked man who could not swim.
PLACER was crazy with fear, and Wilday
lad first to choke him and then to him by
the hair to a coal barge against a strong
tide
And ] regret to say concluded the
Mavor. that the medal must be given to
Wlday on a sick bed; almost, fear, on
death he'd
For Wilday took his plunge in one Of the
FASTEST places in the East River. In his
fight with PLACER he went down again and
sgain, swallowing the filthy river water.
He was fainting from exposure and the
struggle when he was pulled on to the barge.
In that condition the poisoned water which
he rad swallowed took hold Of his vitals.
He is dying in a hospital In Sullivan county
from a intestinal disease.
The seventeen medal holders Of the honor
SQUAD knew all this. When the Mayor
had finished they raised their hands to their
helmets in salute.
Barring this, 'McAdoo's Dragons the
soldierly, splendidly mounted men Of the
traffic squad. were the stars Of the day.
Theirs was the place Of honor, next to the
medal men, and theirs the lions share Of
the cheering In their front rank they bore
the two pennants which the Merchants
Association had presented to them before
the parade.
The paraders. 5000 Of them, assembled
At the Battery at / O'Clock. Broadway,
ali the way to Twenty-third street, was
filing up by that hour. The unlucky
reserves, barred from parading. because
some one had to keep order, were toiling
all along the line keeping people back to
the curb. Every window along Broadway
was packed, and clerks and stenographers
hung perilously to the oopings Of the whole
sale houses, dangling their feet over sixty
feet OF air and sudden death.
D The parade got on sharp at O'Clock.
The police band. proud with their shining
new instruments, struck up THE Star
Spangled Banner the ten other bands
blared In the distance, and the deploy Of
mounted men. leading OF, began TO force
back the crowds, which had got away
from control Of the reserves. They rode
CLOSE 10 the curbs, shearing q passage
clean TO the. sidewalk. After them came
the STAFF Of Chief InspectorMoses W. Cort-
right, and then the honor squad. Thes
brought the first cheer Of the day. 1t had
hardly died out when the pennon Of Troop
A, trafio squad, swung into Broadway.
They got q great shout Of Welcome. 1t Is
public opinion that they deserved it. The
twelve bay horses Of the first rank-and
no cavalry troop In the world has finer
mounts-pranced along In perfect align
msnt. The twelve patrolmen in brand
new equipments and uniforms, sat them
like veterans. Inspector Hogan rode at
their head on a spirited horse which danced
~ the music of the police band. lot Of
dance was taken out Of that horse before
be got through parading.
The cneers ran before the mounte d squad
al down Broadway. The inevitable
ticker tapes began to 'dutter down in long
splrals. II was perfectly stu day and
as they neared the sidewalk. these tapes,
caught in a slight, upward current, tioated
on the air, forming curious network over
bead. Now and then, one would drop
low enough TO catch In a name or a saddle,
from which II would float on into the upper
air like a silver thread.
After the trafic squad passed, there
was little cheering. Now and then, little
group on the sidewalk would applaud some
favorite officer. OF all the individuals,
Borough Inspector Nicholas Brooks, with
his martial carriage and military goatee,
got the most applause. Brooks is an old
cavalTyman, and booked the part.
Il was far from applause that they got at
BTt adway and Houston street. There, Tor
some reason, had gathered those who
know the police personally, and the side
walk wits made merry, II was:
Don't Peter look military and
That's a fine strut you got, Johnniel'
and
Somebody bring a drink for Murphy
And such gay jests. A keen observer
could pick Peter and Johnnie and Murphy
by the way they squared their shoulders
and trieo to look soloierly.
By the time the procession reached Grace
Church, after a three min ute he TO wipe
under wilted collsrs, there was 10 more
cheering The specta tors from there or
10 the star Dis were mostly women ard
ohildre- little girls who dar ced up ard
down 70 the music Of the bar ds and little
boys who tried TO get mder the arms Of
the reserves a. d pa rade themselves. About
fifty Of these mar aged 70 fir q hole ard
IL up before the FIRST platoon Of footmen,
w ere they did a FIRE imitation Of the police
ttrlt, 70 the great II jury Of Tire Dig ity Of
First Compa y, eleventh preciI Ct. First
Company marched with their eyes straight
ahead and their faces gashed in broad
smile
From Broadway the parade marched 10
Twe- ty-third street, then up Madison
averue 70 Fortieth street, to Fifth aver ne,
and dow downward TO the reviewt' 3 star d.
This sta-d With a scarlet pavilion for
The dig itaries IN its Ger ter, held about