The Washington times., 1913-03-09

accept the aid of the United States cav
airy at Fort Myer. But this ought not
to have weight. Why should he have
accepted such aid and thereby admitted
This department had never failed him
and it had handled just as large crowds
successfully before.
We all know it is a great thing to be
on the band wagon and shout with the
multitude, but 1 for one, knowing this
Woodworking, conscientious police Of
fi-cial, Major Sylvester. as I do, and ap-
preciating his years of efficient service,
am not going to condemn him for not
possessing the foresight of a seer and
doing something none of us, even the
gentlemen making such a howl in Con-
gress. would have done.
The talk of censuring him and even
our good Commissioner. General john
ston. under the circumstances, is abb
surd, for / know no two persons in
Washington more sincerely regret the
occurrence or would go further to pre-
vent its recurrence than these very two
men. l say. let the matter drop, it's dis
agreeable to all, don't stir It up, but let
us benefit by past experience and be
ready in the future should these dear
women again favor US with their pres
ence and forgive Is for what We have
done. w. 8. DUvALL.
To the Editor of THE TIMES: r.s
The indignities inflicted upon the
women marchers In the suffragette pa
rade of the Sd of March should not
be tolerated by any man who calls him
self a gentleman.
1t is very evident that the police
force detailed to preserve order" laid
down on their jobs The crowd that
came to witness the parade was nat
urally curious, but on the whole, good
natured. Had the police tried to confine
the crowd to the pavemerts they could
have done so. They did not try. The
result was a congested mass in the
middle of the street through which the
marchers could hardly pass; in fact. the
parade was forced to halt several times
until an opening could be cut through
the crowd. Not only was this condi-
men marchers, but II was an injustice
to those who paid for seats in grand
stands. and who, because Of the dis
order, were unable to see the parade.
1t was only to be expected that re-
marks of a more or less complimentary
nature would be made. There is in
every crowd, a number Of hoodlums.
But II is an outrage to womanhood
that any one of the women or girls
marching In the parade should have
Ueeu OtNeTW1S0 1uOleSte0-
Major Sylvester deserves to be Sc
verely reprimanded. He deserves to be
dismissed from the service. Any man
SO utterly devoid Of courtesy deserves
not to be retained in public office. Had
he issued an order to clear the streets
1t would have been done. On the other
hand. had the members Of his force dis
obeyed his instructions and maintained
order, they would, In all probability.
have been dismissed. while he would
have received the credit he did not de-
serve.
1 heard a policeman near me exclaim
to the crowd when they were some
what disorderly, II bet you won't do
this tomorrow" 1 saw two cavalrymen
do more to preserve order than all the
also deserve a great deal of credit for
their efforts.
am surprised that a Washington
paper should seek to defend Major Syl-
vester. but i am much gratifed at the
spirited censure made by The Washing
ton Times and other papers.
Major Sylvester. by his studied neg
lect, has done more for the cause Of
woman suffrage than a thousand sue
cessful psrades could have done This
is about the only redeenling feature in
his conduct. ALLEN P. COWLES.
To the Editor of THE TINES:
On this side Penny's boulevard. in the
Nations seat of power. suffrage band
Of women grand began a march to
thrill the land. But no one saw that
pageant as the women bravely trod,
for the cops Of the town let the crowd
surge aroun' and beauty was lost in
the mob. Oh dreams of force un-
spotted and clean. the pride OF nation,
the best ever seen. till yesterday the
greatest, the cock of the walk. today
jeered and hooted as bad as New York.
oh, major, the force on the 4th was
ideal; We praise You for this, but we
sob when We think of the 3r, and the
insults we heard-your men were not
on the job. Oh. Congress. take heed
and hear this appeal. and strangle the
truth of the wrong from the man fast
asleep while fair. aching feet were
bravely trudsing along. A sight was
that to thrill man and bring brave
hearts to grieve. and all this while one
mans smile was hidden I'D his sleeve
Oh. justice, in thy purple robes, look
down upon this wrong. Shall the march,
ers in that suffrage clan remain the
butt of a single man: shall wrong be
right and pass from sight? Come heed
our suffrage song.
WALT ALEXANDER.
To the Editor Of THE TINES:
1t is not fair that on the privates of
the police force should be thrown the
blame for the disgraceful events OF last
Monday. These men received no orders
whatsoever. All they could do was to
hold back the crowd to the best of their
ability. From one precinct there were
sent only the midnight men and the
regular day men, and they were power
less to do any real work. With the
mob on their shoulders they fought
from l p. m. till after the parade.
j do not doubt that there were some
of these men who were unfriendlv and
insulting, but there were some who
were gentlemen. and who are ardent
advocates OF woman's suffrage
Let the blame rest where II belongs
on the captains and men higher up who
gave no orders whatsoever, and who
sent out an Inadequate number Of men
to cope with the situation. L. l.. J.
To the Editor Of THE TIMES:
I was present between Ninth and
Twelfth streets from 2:3o to 5:15 O'Clock.
March 3, and witnessed the unkind, the
uncalled for, un-American treatment
given the suffragists, during their pa
rade.
7 saw the smiling policeman good
ma turedly pushing al the crowd, and
realized with shame they were not in
They knew very well how to
speak and act when they mean to be
Obeyed. 7 heard men. both young and |
hurting ribald. offensive !
erithets at the women in a continuous |