South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-03-10
SPECIAL POLICE
FOR WAR CRANKS
{ mbaSSies at Washington
Constantly Guarded by
Special Officers.
BY Victor Elliott.

BY Victor Elliott
WASHINGTON, March 9.--"The
wars effect on the Washington po-
lice" is the subject of report m lde
| to congress by the District of Co
lum5ia. This report was submitted
! with a statement urging authoT1za-
ton for an increase of the police
| force.
/ few months after the war start
ed there was a general movement
I of cranks toward the nations cap
/ itol. Some of these cranks thought
/ the Teutonic nations were response
/ bic for the war; others thought that
| Great Britain was 10 blame. They
made dire threats against the rep
/ resentatives in the United States Of
/ the belligerent nations.
To guard against these cranks it
was necessary for the chief of police
/ TO detail enough men to keep one
I constantly on duty at each embassy
| and legation of the belligerent ma
! tiOns. and 10 increase the number
Of men on duty at the white house
There is a federal statute which
/ prohibits government employees
working longer than eight hours a
day. The result was that when it
| became necessary to detail police
! for duty at the embassies and lega-
| tons of the warning nations three
/ men were assigned for duty at each
! place. A policeman may even be
| seen at any hour of the day in front
of the Greek legation on Massachu-
sets av., and the Persian legation
/ on Connecticut av
The homes of the ambassadors
| and ministers are so constructed
/ that one policeman can practically
| guard the buildings without assist
ance. The constant apprehension
| on the part of the superintendent
of police is that some crank will
try to get in the buildings near
| enough to drop a good-sized bomb.
The policemen on duty at these en-
bassies have instructions TO allow
no one to approach them who in
any way looks Suspicious.
The representatives of the bellig-
/ erent nations do not fear for them
selves. Sir Cecil Spring Rice, the
British ambassador. accompanied
| often by Lady Spring Rice. goes
! motoring about the city without
guard. Ambassador and Madam
| Jusserand of France, drive about
| the city every afternoon with only
a footman. The German ambassa-
/ dor, Count Won Bernstorff, drives
| high-powered motor car himself
without any attendants.
There are now on duty at the
white house 81 privates and two
sergeants. There are four outside
posts, where before the war there
were only three and sometimes only
two. Every hour during the day
there is a policeman stationed near
the south entrance and one con-
stantly on duty in front of the ex-
ecutive offices. Inside the mansion
are a number of men. There are
six men stationed in the white house
offices. These men are constantly
on duty.
1t has fallen to the lot of the
outside men and the two men sta
toned in the entrance corridor TO
the offices to arrest a dozen cranks
since the war began. These men
were found TO be either demented
or suffering from some hallucination
and were sent 10 the Washington
asylum, from which place they eth
er were sent to the government in
sane asylum or friends were notified
to come and get them.
In addition 10 the police there al
ways are a number of secret serv-
ice men on duty at the white house
when the president is at home.
These men accompany the president
whenever he leaves the white house
for a walk or ride
1t is almost impossible for any
one to get into the white house
offices without running against a
policeman. 1t is impossible for any
one TO get past the guards in the
mansion.
Whenever there is a social func-
ton at the white house so men
from several precincts. under COM
mand of Captain Sullivan. go on
duty at the white house. These men
are stationed at all the entrances to
the grounds in pairs. The gates are
locked and only those bearing cards
issued from the white house are ad-
mitted
During the administration IF
Priests Lincoln and Grant troops
from nearby army posts did the
guard duty.
Major Pullman insists thnt r,.i.l,