The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-26
CURB ON RETIRING
OF'pOLICE URGED
Wallstein Attacks Practice Of
Carrying Men on Sick List
for Long Periods.
REPORT SENT TO MAYOR

COMMISSIONS of Accounts Leonard M.
Walistein has forwarded to Mayor
Mitchell a report Of an investigation.
made at the request d Commissioner
Woods, into the work Of the police sur
Osons and the retirement Of policemen
for disability. He fnds two conditions
that involve. in his opinion. needless ex-
pare legislative measures to remedy
them. One Of these II the retirement Of
policemen still able to earn substantial
incomes and the other Ia the carrying of
mon ineligible for retirement on the sick
list for months or years until they DO
become eligible.
Under ihe city charter the Police
Commissioner must retire a man who
has served twenty years and who II 20
disabled as to be UNIT for any police
duty whatever. II a III has served
ten years he may be retired II 20 dis
abied a. to be At for only light work.
Unless a man has served ten yearB he
cannot be retired for disability unless
that disability resulted from tho per-
Torrance of his duty.
II mas been found thai many men re-
tired because Of disability for police
duty get jobs either in or out Of the
public service which pay them from
5000 to $500 q year. Commissioner
wallstein thinks that such men should
MOI be retired. but should be employed
in the city service, notably as court at
tendants. while their right to get q
pension eventually should be preserved.
This would enable the city TO got and TO
pay for his services '1n another depart
ment TO which he could be assigned, the
place and tho compensation therefor
being transferred from the budget of
the Police Department to that Of the
department to which the pensioner =
assigned"
'The complete discarding Of partially
incapacitated individuals" says Com
missioner Wallstein, "is in itself q
wasteful system. But the addition OF
which can be dom by nan slightly dis
abled men makes the economy OF the
present method even worse"
Coming to the men who have served
less than ten years and are therefore
not eligible for retirement, although un'
able to dc police duty, the COMMISSIONS
Of Accounts says that there are seven
pafrOlmen who are permanently ana 10.
tally disabled and who must be carried
on the sick list at half pay until eligible
because their disability cannot be
directly traced to the performance OF
their duty and because a policeman car
be dismissed only for insanity or mis-
conduct. For these he recommends leg
~isiation that will permit retirement. al
any time, on a small pension graded
according to the length OF service.
TO keep the patrolmen In good con-
dition physicians have recommended in.
structton IN health matters, regular ex'
ercise in addition to patrol work and a
periodic physical examination OF eacf
member of the force.
As for the police SURGEONS. 1t IL recon-
mended that a rule he adopted prohib'
ittng them from treating the families o.
policemen for profit and also that Their,
should be a reorganization OF the medi'
cal service In the Police Department 81
Il may be combined with the forces oi
the Health Department. COMMISSIONS
wallste!n says In conclusion that a re
examination of police pensioners ma!
substantially confirmed the original lnd
ings OF the police surgeons and that
there is no evidence that patrolmen have
been retired for financial considerations