The Washington times., 1915-12-21
WORK OF POLICE
IS DEFENDED BY
MAJOR PULLMAN
Chief Tells Monday Evening Club
BIueCoats Paying More At
tention to Quality Of Arrests.

not in accordance with the number. but
with the nature Of the arrest.
Immediate efforts are to be made to
remove from the streets of Washington
the crippled begRars who are seen on
busy corners. A police survey shows
there are thirteen such mcndlcants here.
These announcements of pIans of the
Police Department were made bv Major
Raymond w. Pullman. Superintendent
OF Police. last evening before the Mon
daV Evening Club. Commissioner
Brownlow and Major Pullman were in
Vited to sneak on the toric Police AS
Social Agents"
Commissioner Brownlow explained the
decision of the Board of Commissioners
not to sign permits for children less
than fourteen years old to appear in
theatrical performances after January ].
Major Pullman defended the Police
Department. against the charge that ar
rests were made to swell the police
pension fund. He pointed to the fact
that $4,000 arrests could have been made
of persons who had not numbered their
back and side gates, but that this had
not been done. and policemen are Civ
ing repeated warnings to persons on
their beats to do so.
General Discussion.
Walter S. Ufford opened the meet
ing and then presented William
knowles Cooper, who introduced the
speakers. The assembly hall of the Y.
M G. A. was crowded, and after the
speeches DIR. George Kober, Royal e..
Meeker, chief of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics; Charles Nesbit. Insurance
superintendent, and Evan H. Tucker,
president of the Northeast Citizens AS
ISOLATION, took part in the discussion.
membership, Miss +. /. Mcintosh Miss
Bertha Orr, Miss Roberta Nichols, and
Mary II. Wise.
Within two months, Major Pullman
said the department hopes to nave lts
catalogue of arrests IN working order,
so that no more clerical work Will be
required than at present
Administrative heads of police de-
partments now are more interested IN
the kinds of arrests than in the num-
ber,' said Major Pullman.
He pointed to an Improvement IN
Washington in this direction IN the
past fiscal year. There was a decrease
in the aggregate number of arrests, ne
said from 1924 for the fiscal year OF
1915, to 81, ,219 for the fiscal year of 1914.
But in that time there had been an IN
crease of 40 per cent in the arrests
made for felonies and other serious Of
lenses.
Another frequent comment is that
many arrests are made without cause,
said Major Pullman. "Of last year g
Even in the other 10 per cent there
often was assurance of guilt, but not
the evidence to make out an adequate
case"
Scope BrOadened.
The scope of police work has been
broadened, Major Pullman stated, with
in the past decade. One of the princi-
pal problems of police department at
present, TO which little attention was
paid as recently as 1909, is that of traffic
regulation.
IF a police department accepted all
the suggested activities made for 1t,
Major Pullman said, "the Associated
Charities and the Health Office, and
other departments would have nothing
to do. But it is the aim of the Police
Department to cooperate with al
other departments. Heretofore the ten.
dency has been tnat the police refused
to do only that for which they WoulC
get credit"
A few years ego, Major Pullman con-
tinued, police departments gave toe
little time to the prevention of crime
That policy now is regarded as a fac
tor as important as the detection o.
crime.
"It is necessary for both the police
man and the citizen to strike the righ
attitude toward each other the super
intendent said.
A recent survey of the crippled beg
gars on the street showed that ther'
are only thirteen here now, the polio,
chief stated He said he and Mr.. Uf
ford, OF, the Associated Charities. ar,
going to work out together plan TO
removing these beggars from tn
streets. The blind are not allowed t
beg on the streets because there is al
institution to care for them. 1t is hopet
to, get some similar provision TO
cripples.
Police AS Social Agency.
TnTnY,,iSair-nar cot ha
to see the day when the Police Depart
ment would BECOME the greatest socia
agency in the city. " He paid q hgl
tribute to the Washington police force
81 firmly believe the Washington fore
to be the finest of any American city,
he declared. "There are fewer graftcrs
fewer loafers. lever drunkards. anC
fewer undesirable persons here than IL
any other city"
Commissioner 3rownlow then eulo
gized Major Pullman. saving that "th
best thing with which l have had any
thing to do since ] became Commission
eB was my share in selecting the pres
ent Superintendent of Police,
The Commissioner said he and hi
colleagues had cast about for a maj
who not only was a good disciTlinariar
greeted his statement that he believes
that in Major Pullman had been foun
not only the man with such "socia
vision, but a good boss cop
Lang EudBe OF lHc lOIGe dDOuINlGNl' al
third degree" "sccond-storv meE,
"inside men" and ''stalling," wer
some of the terms used by the speaker
In describing the work of the force.
1--WE must not forget," said Commis
sioner Brownlow, that to a great man
people the cop on the corner is the in
Carnation Of government They see /
the policeman all that they know abou
government, and they have bee
brought up TO look upon the COP a
representative of authority, repression
and possible punishment.
Want To Broaden Respect.
'1t is our desire not to break dow
the respect that such people have fC
the policeman as the symbol Of gov
ernment, but rather so to order til
daily doings of the policeman this
these people may come to recogn'7
in him other and different functions {
the government Where they now 81
i'm the cop on the corner a blue coate
incarnation OF authority, we woul
like them to see also Z symbol of pre-
lection. Where they now see in hi
only the threat of repression and po.
sible punishment we hope by broad
ening the field OF his activities