Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-20
SERCT. TINS, ORATOR
New York Police From Year
One, His Theme.
AND HE KNOWS, HE DOES
Had Evaded Limelight Since Re.
porter Split Infinitive.
HE'S IN THE OPEN AGAIN
Returns to Public Speaking for a
Few Hours at Time at Times,
He Does.
AND HE KNOWS, HE DOES
HE'S IN THE OPEN AGAIN


the course of college events one thor
oughly masters that second book of rhet-
ORIG put forth by Adams Sherman Hill
of Harvard and then goes forth for a
metropolitan newspaper to criti-critical-
ly to-analyze the literary oratorical ex-
cellence of Police Sergeant Oliver Tins,
| retired, one is forced to compare him
most from the viewpoint of the oratori-
cal rhetorician to Bourke Cochran, and
an infinitive came darn near being split
in this here sentence.
Sergt. Tins entered the police force
of New York forty-two years ago. as any
child remembers. Then Commissioner
Meade happened along and negatively
was responsible for having the police
scholar retired for age and physical dis
abilities. In time Sergt. Tins, by his
learning and oratorical powers, earned
the sobriquet of shakespeare Tins" be-
cause he had acquired the reputation of
being the best Informed policeman in all
the city hall station.
And that was a generation ago, for
away back in the time of Inspector Steers
and there were bookworms in the police
department in those days Inspectors
Sergts. Charley Alberson. Sheldon and
Bird-in the time of Inspector Steers
Sergt. Tins delivered an all-day address
on New Year day. 1892. on the chosen
subject "A Brief Discourseon Some Well
known Principles of Political Economy
and Abstract Sociological Data" which.
after Inspector Steers has spent fort
night diSesting all of Shakespeare Tins
thoughts on things, forced the inspector
to walk up to Sergt. Tins and say heart
lily: Il have to hand 1t to you. kiddo."
Again Monday Night.
Serst. Tins spoke Monday night in a
hall in 9th avenue on the history of the
police of New York from the days when
John Cabot bought the Island of Man.
haitian from Chief LiInplng Bluefsh for
broken vacuum cleaner and a tire pump
suffering from bronchitis. The lecture
was under the auspices of the Mems
Neighborhood Club and the little hall was
practically filed.
The lecture was scheduled for clock
but Sergt. Tins got there early, for he
has not spoken in public since he came
out for municipal ownership in the cam
paign of 1905. He said many things at
that time that had settled on his mind
between the municipal ownership speeches
and the time-March 49, 1900. to be exact
that he spoke in Metropolitan Temple in
defense of Christianity and the Bible, as
against the attacks of Robert Ingersoll
In the report of that speech a reporter
Of an evening paper who had hurried to
his Office toward midnight to catch the
o'clock pm. edition of his publication
for the next day thoughtlessly split an
intinitive and since that time Sergt. Tins
has nursed secret sorrow and has ap-
peared but slightly in the limelight of
publicity.
Last night Sergt. Tins arrived before
8 o'clock, as has been Said and in short
time managed to be introduced by Presi-
dent Roy Mcintyre of the club. From
this time on the orator spoke pleasantly
for some time-two, hours and four min
utes, again to be exact.
From Alpha to Omega.
His subject was the police of New York
and he began at the beginning and re-
viewed the force steadily to the end.
Let us pass over lightly the early history
of New York before there were any cops
at all on the island. Furthermore, the
boyhood of Christopher Columbus and the
girlhood of Queen Isabella, as the orator
remembered their youth, need not be
elaborated upon here, for these things no
longer are news. From historical
standpoint the orator presented them
only so that perfect completeness might
be attained.
The fact that a generation ago Sergt
Tins had memorized seven tragedies of
Shakespeare, all the poems of Keats,
Byron. Cowper, Wordsworth, Shelley,
Burns and the rest was evident as the
OTdlOT SpOhc VII dHu oii iool I'6Hl " al
audience that was careful to breathe but
Stealthily.
ITO some," the orator went on during
the last part of the second hour of his
speech. the police, the guardians of the
peace when the sable mantle of night has
fallen upon great city, are but need
less gravity that from the eclectic and
inconsiderate viewpoint of those tnat
believe that, first of all, society owes
them living-from these the police are
called to interpose in their legally given
rights
try to take down Bourke Cochran or any
other great orator in longhand and you
regret that at an early age you did not
take up a correspondence course in Ste
biography. You are sweating at the press
ia ble under the speakers stand, wondering
whether the verb in the sentence before
are, old top! And by the time you have
gone back over two or three pages of
notes to see whether the subject of the
compound sentence was singular or plural
the whole entertainment has slid into
couple of paragraphs beyond. And that's
real Oratory.
Just as Twas Said.
"The sable pail Of night falls upon d
great city and the powers of darkness
(exact quotation that later was verified
from manuscript hold sway and the
hours wane. and the thoughts of all
peaceful citizens of a great city become
'rapt in sweet oblivion of the daily care.
as Goldsmith has 1t; and it is then that
the utility of the police force becomes ap-
parent even to the casual observer. There
are barren places and stony places and
neither the strong nor the weak nor the
proud nor the meek of spirit shall stand
upright in the CLEAN of that white light
which in the nature of things should
who's covering Bellevue Hospital for
you now" asked SOckie Smith across
his notes as he paused to wipe his brow
and sharpen pencil. and again the spell
was broken.
The police orator paused to sip from
the pitcher of ice water.
ITO go back 1000 years" resumed the
gifted orator about 10 O'clock I'VE find
that in those days our ancestors were
savagcs with painted faces. Savages.
you say, but have you memories that go
back TO the days of the draft riots in the
streets of our fair city in the year 1868 >
mo anSwer)
II have here some of the correspondence,
of tn war governor Of those days. and 7
am going to tell you the history OF those
days when riot and bloodshed were the