Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-29

are the characteristic features
found in the third precinct Of the metro
politan police department. And this shows
the kind of work required of the policemen
who do duty in this precinct. 1t Is the pre-
cinct of all others where the officeri are re-
quired to be diplomatic, where thir work
is most exacting and of whom muLh is ex-
pected by the people they serve. Here are
found all classes, from the colored popu-
lation in Foggy Bottom to the residents Of
Massachusetts and Connecticut avenues.
To serve the $4,000 persons included in
the bounds of the third precinct seventy
policemen, two desk sergeants and two
drivers are required. The territory COW
cred is that lying between 18th street and
Rock creek northwest, and from Q street
to the Potomac river, thus making 1t one
of the largest of the city precincts and one
of the most thickly populated. The police
men of the precinct station are divided
into four sections of eleven men each,
serving eight hours each. The swing sec
tion," which doubles the force on during
the night, goes on duty at D o'clock and
goes off at 2 am. There are eleven beats
during the day. but while the swing section
is on duty there are seventeen beats, thus
shortening all beats for the most danger
Gus hours and putting two men on some Of
the worst beats. In the personnel of the
third precinct are one lieutenant, in charge
of the station three sergeants, one for
each of the three eight-hour tricks of duty,
a precinct detective and a large number of
detailed men.
When one considers the territory bounded
by Q and 18th streets, Rock creek and the
Potomac river, he will see at once that it
contains many places Of note in the Dis
trict. There is the White House. In an
other section resides Charles w. Fairbanks,
the Vice President. There are a large num-
Der OF members of Congress and other
Y1rn nT1f rlllh1 In 81 liy1D Sen
Lodge, Tillnlan. Elkins, Wetmore, Alger.
Hale, Knox, Foraker, Judge w. ]. Board
man, Herbert Nadsworth, Admiral Dewey,
Gen. Miles, Commander Cowles, Chief JUS
tice Fuller, Commissioner H. B. f. Mac
farland, Commissioner John Bidde, Secre-
tary to the President William Loeb and
many members of the diplomatic corps. On
account of the public positions they occupy
special attention must be paid by the po
lice to their residences and special care
must be given that their property is guarded
well.
Besides these residences of prominent
men, there are many in fact, the majority
of the handsome and expensive homes of
the city In this third precinct. The long
rows of beautiful houses along Massachu-
sets avenue, Connecticut avenue, 10th
street, Rhode Island avenue. New Hamp-
shire avenue, as well others scattered
through the precinct territory, represent
much wealth and must be carefully guard
ed. Among the notably handsome resi-
sachusetts avenue, Thomas T. Walsh on
the same street, Joseph Letter, George
Westinghouse, Judge Boardman and Her
bert Wadsworth.
Also in this residential section of the city
are found many of the finest and most lux
urious apartment houses, occupied by many
prominent people and filled with property
of great value. Among the larger apart
ments and hotels In the precinct are the
Arlington Hotel, Shoreham Hotel, Stone
leigh Court, Grafton Hotel, Richmond Ho-
tel, the Luzon, Marlborough, Rochambeau,
Farragut, Plaza, Prince Carl, the Metropol-
Itan Club and the Army and Navy Club.
Foreign Embassies.
But more important and requiring more
strict police duty in the precinct than these
residences and hotels are the many public
buildings and embassies of foreign coun-
tries. The Executive Mansion and grounds
are within the limits of this precinct but
they are guarded by a group of specially
detailed policemen from all the precincts,
Of which the most are from this one. The
State, War and Navy building, the Court
of Claims. the Corcoran Gallery of Art,
the weather bureau, near Rock creek, the
Museum of Hygiene, 23d and streets; the
bureau of American republics 2 Jackson
place, are all to be found there. Most OF
the large embassies and legations have
their quarters In this precinct. The list
includes the English, at Connecticut ave-
nue. and n street; Russian, on Scott Circle;
the Austrian, 1904 18th street. the French,
at 18th and Rhode Island avenue; the Ital-
ian, at goth and O streets; the Cuban at
1906 10th street; Chilean. at 1115 Massa-
chusetts avenue, the Venezuelan, at 2007
street. While men are not detailed to these
foreign embassies regularly, still the Off
GERS have instructions to watch out for
them carefully. At times, when there are
disorders In any country or any countries
are at war with each other, officers are de-
tailed at the embassies.
Down in Foggy Bottom.
"Foggy Bottom is not what it was ten
years ago. as the police have been so active
and so unrelenting in Furnishing violators
of the law and breaking up the rendezvous
of criminals and bad characters found in
that section that much of the bad element
has been routed out, anu it is no more the
dangerous place that it used to be. Still, Ii
requires active policing in order to prevent
a repetition of the conditions of old The
Bottom now includes that section of the
city bounded by 23d and K streets north
west, Rock creek and the river In these
blocks are found many homes where pow
erty and squalor are the prevailing fea-
lures, About 5000 persons live in the few
squares included here and all live in the
smallest quarters, in shacks, in houses, in
apartments" and in castles (to use some
terms applied in the Bottom), and there is
congenial spirit of poverty running
through the place. Front doors open into
kitchens, whole families live in one or two
rooms. Naturally, in these places where
many are huddled together in small build
ings and where much of the population is
floating, criminals seek harbor. The police
are so familiar with the regular inhabitants
of the place and are so close to certain
ones that live in the large buildings that
they know all that goes on in the section.
Many CT the Alleys.
Other interesting places. illustrating chow
the other half lives are the many alleys
which cross the precinct from 18th street
to Rock creek, between X and L, l. and NJ
NJ and n streets. Practically every block
in those squares contains an inhabited al
ley even though the houses on the main
streets in the block are these of a senator
or a millionaire. Among the most notable
of these alleys, whose representatives are
frequent occupants of the dock al the Po-
lice Court, are Hughes alley, Shows alley,
Queens alley. government alley, Alexan-
dcr's court, Phillips court. Stevens court.
policeman does not become greatly star
tied TO see. as he steps into the entrance of
an alley, group of boys eagerly engaged
in a game of craps. These Inhabitants will
also fight against the "growler," fer TIN
pals filed with beer are frequently seen
entering the alleys in the fist of a woman
The precinct includes eighty saloons In its