The Washington herald., 1916-11-09
Seen and Heard by George Miner.

y
New York. Nov. Sit seems mentally and
| physically impossible that any one man could
answer 5000 questions in one day and keep on
doing it day after day.
And yet that is exactly what Officer Harry
Smith, of the New York police force, does in ad-
dtion to attending to the duties of his regular job
of being policeman. You see Harry Smith is
big, good-natured, suave, patient and has a head
like dictionary-hed with facts and information.
For that reason. he is stationed at the New York
entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, where more
people pass than at any other place in the city.
| 1t is estimated that at least 100000 people rush
by there every twenty-four hours.
Quite large percentage of these people are
born FOOLS and take pains to conceal It. Con-
sequently they ask all kinds of useless and silly
questions, and naturally they ask them of po-
lieeman, for most people consider a policeman's
principal duty to be the answering of questions
and they are grievously offended il he shows the
slightest ignorance any subject Then, again.
there lots of folk who have the question habit
They will ask questions just for the sake of ask
ing them when they know the answer perfectly
well for themselves. Others ask questions for no
other reason than that they want to talk to some
body.
1t was to Harry Smith few years ago that an
inebriated individual propounded the query which
has since become famous. With voice in which
solemnity and hiceoughs were equally blended, he
manded:
"ls this Christopher street or Tuesday,?
So great did the number of questions asked be-
come that the police commissioners decided to
install a punch clock to keep a record of them.
That's how Harry Smith knows that he answers
5000 every twelve hours.
Since he has been on duty at the Brooklyn
Bridge period of about fifteen years-it Is esti-
mated that he has answered 100000 questions.
Most of the questions asked are for directions
to some locality. He is supposed to know the To-
| cation of every number in every street in New
York and Brooklyn and how best to 60 to it. Most
of them are very simple-such as, "Is this the way
to Brooklyn" Others seemingly simple are lit
tie confusng-as, for instance, in the of a
young woman headed across the bridge who
stopped in front of Smith and asked him which
road she should take to 60 to Lexington avenue.
To make sure she got on the right train, Smith
asked another policeman to lead her to it.
An hour later she returned very flushed and
angry. She announced her intention of having
Smith fred at once and likewise put in jail She
also expressed her personal opinion of him in
terms that left no room for doubt. Smiths good
nature was unruffled He let her rave to her
hearts content and when she got it all out of her
system he said:
How did know you wanted to go to Lexing-
ton avenue, Manhattan, where there is no L. in
stead of Lexington avenue, Brooklyn, where there
is an L road!"
Less than half of the question askers are
even polite, while only a very small percentage
consider it worth while to say please. One of
these hurry-up, snappy, brisk men rushed up to
Smith and said
81 want to go to Brighton Beach"
do you?" replied Smith. $50 do l."
That little bit of back talk cost Smith repri-
mand and hauling the Goals at headquarters.
for the questoner complained to the commissioner
that Smith was mpertnent and not attending to
business.
When J. 1. c. Clarke, the well-known author
and editor and until recently the publicity director
of the Standard Oil, landed in New York good
many years ago he was entirely unfamiliar with
the city. Strolling along Broadway he asked a
big. fat copper:
as this the right direction to get to the City
Hall1"
"You know dunn we'll it is" replied the police
man. The question obvious and silly that
the fat cop couldn't believe it to have been asked
| seriously. Harry Smiths methods are just the
reverse He will give polite answer to anything
that is asked him whether it is How old is Anne?'
! or who hit Billy Paterson?'
But think of answering $4,000 900 of them!