Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-15

ave nue. and N street. in front of the en-
yer the street.
tries. should be effectually secured against
embarrassment. Such is not the situa-
ton now. and 1t cannot be otherwise un-
less liberal provision is made for an in
crease of the force. No grave emergency
has confronted the citizens of the District
within late years. but the unexpected gen.
erallN happens. and 1t is we'll that all
weaknesses should be eliminated from the
police organization before some calamity
Occurs."
Doing Extra Duty.
I'VE lack men," Maj. Sylvester stated.
"but since the pocketbook snatching and
assaults have become SO numerous 1
have utilized practically every available
man for duty at night in the zone in
which most of the hold-ups have occur
red. Men on reserve have been on active
duty, members of the bicycle squad have
been used and the detectives have been
doing extra duty. Many extra men were
on duty last night in the northwest sec
ton of the city, but it seems that the
number was not great enough to prove
effective.
1T is my intention to draw stiIl fur
Their from. the foSce for the extra duty.
but l can hardly see my way clear to
cripple the department much further"
The superintendent was asked what he
thought Of the suggestion that a vigilance
committee or committee of one hundred
or more be formed to assist in the work
of trying to put a stop to the nefariOuS
work that is being done. 1t was pointed
out that such work proved successful In
people there were annoyed by hoid-up
men. The police chief said he thought
such assistance might prove Of value.
but that he was not in position to
authorize such movement without the
consent Of the Commissioners. He real
lied, however. that citizens would have
the right to perform such duty without
any authorization, and nothing but good
could come from such efforts II the volun-
teers were substantial men.
More Than One Desperate.
This work. said. Maj. Sylvester. has
not been confined to one man, although
I believe one man Is responsible for
number of the robberies. It may be that
the one who has been doing most of
the work Is d white man who blackened
his face. such work having beer Gone
here several years ago. and several held
up men have been recently released from
the penitentiary.'
Mai. Sylvester says the cases In which
assaults have been committed in CON-
nection with the robberies should be ois-
tinguished from the ordinary cases Of
pocketbOok snatching. In conclusion he
said he would make every effort to
further increase the detail In the zone in
which the hold-ups are being commit
ted, and he is willing to adopt any sug-
gestions which will assist In the work
of effecting the capture of the culprit.
Inspector Boardman, chief of detectives.
says he has had the members of his force
doing extra duty for several weeks, and
it is his intention to keep them at 1t un-
til something is accomplished. 1t is likely
Al E.
doing detail duty at police headquarters
and other places will be sent out for duty
on the streets during the night.
Conference Regarding Conditions.
Because of the news of the brutal as
sault and robbery last night and the APP
parent increase and daring in the hold
ups in the city, Commissioner Mcfarland
had a long conference with Maj. Sylves-
ter, superintendent of police this morn
ing. They discussed the situation, and
after the conference Mr.. Mcfarland said
he is satisfied that Maj. Sylvester is doing
everything within his limited means.
Mr.. mcfarland said all the available
forces of the police department have been
concentrated, including the detective
corps, and confirmed the superintendent
statement that a number of the men are
working overtime. He said the root OF
the difficulty is the lack Of policemen.
In explaining the availability of the
force MIR. Macfarland said:
1t does not seem to be understood that
the full strength Of the police department
cannot be on duty all the twenty-four
hours. The patrOlmen must work in shifts.
and the maximum number on duty at any
one time, and that is on night duty after
u o'clock, cannot exceed 300 This was
the number on duty last evening
THE whole number of police is $50. But
from this must be deducted men on
special details, the sick, the suspended
and those on leave. There are no men
on leave now and every man available for
the day duty the average number of
patroimen for the whole District of CO.
lumbia, sixtV-nine square miles of terri
tory, Is less than 100, and the average
number of men on night duty is less than
100.
1T must be obvious to everybody that
we need more policemen
A suggestion was made to Mr. Macfar-
land today, as had been suggested to Mai.
Sylvester, to organize citizens vigilance
committee to cooperate with the police in
running down these highwaymen, but he
expressed himself as being opposed to
such a step.
Two nights ago. when Miss Schaeffer
only about so cents said Maj. Sylvester
today, Il feared the criminal would be
at his work again and sent out a message
that the officers take SPECIAL
prec autiOnS."
Maj. Sylvester said the bulletins from
Baltimore show that the police there are
trouble similar to that in
this city They also have a vitriol throw
ers on their hands. he added.