The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-02-27
oliceman' S Life
lsNot a HappyOne
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1916. by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.

street and swinging his club you think
to yourself how easy he earns his mon-
ey. 1t is not so easy when you come
to understand everything. 1 may not
make an arrest once In two weeks of
an offender against the law, but 1 am
busy all the time, and you shall hear
about It
'1n the first place 1t seems to me that
four out of five families have a row
three or four times week. In winter
do not hear so much, but in summer,
when the windows are open, / hear
much more than / want to- The dwell
ing houses on my beat are mostly three
stories and Of brick. The first story Is
occupied, as a rule. by bookkeepers,
statesmen and the like, who can afford
to pay about 500 a month. There are
two families above them which belong
to the laboring class.
Il am sauntering along my beat and
the first floor family are at supper
when l hear the husband call out:
Maggie. what in the devil do you
| get such meat forT
at was all / could get with the
money you left me-
"'Then why didn't you run in debt
littleY
because we owe now more than we
can ever pay
Don't you concern yourself about
! what l can pay or cannot. This meat
isn't fit for dog to eat 1t Is all bone
and fat and gristle.'
"'Well. you must eat it the best way
| you can. l am always pinched for
money and always have to buy the
cheapest things. We have got to keep
you well dressed, you know, and the
rest Of us must wear our old clothes
"Darned II don't wish 1 had never
married.
"'And so do l. for that matter
"And then hear the husband shove
back from the table, and in a minute
more he h on the street and walking
away. Half block below hear an
other row.
"You may say, my son, that these
family skeletons do not concern the pa
trolman on the beat. but they do Just
the same. About three out Of five of
them end in a row In which furniture
Is smashed and blows are given and
taken. Then 1t is his duty to make his
appearance and take hand in. We
try to be peacemakers, but 1t often hap
pens that we have to take the whole
family to the station. Wives drink as
well as husbands, and when it happens
that both have been drinking they are
: very hard to handle. When they ap-
pear in court next morning one or the
other has black eye to be ashamed of,
and they are so repentant that his hon
or generally lets them go on suspended
sentence. There is another thing. my
son, that may surprise you. Take them
as they run on any patrolman's beat Ia
this city and not one out of five chill
dren up to six years old has learned
the number and street OF his home
As sure as they get three or four blocks
away they are lost. They can tell the
first name of the father or mother, but
| tilut lS tilt btSl tlltH Ntn hp. II NoulN
take father or mother about fifteer
minutes to teach child the street and
number, but they don't do 1t. 1t would
take about ten minutes to write the
address down on n card and sew this
i card to their clothing. but they never
u take this precaution. When n child II
/ lost the first step of the mother Is (,
H find me. She seems to think / ough
Il to know every child on my beat.
II 81 can't leave my beat to go hunting
II up lost children. and so | send her t'
II the station Nine times out of ten
III have got to go looking around aftc'
" my regular hours of duty. Sometime
h find the child not more than tw,
u blocks away. and sometimes | have t
hunt for two hours. with my feet ach
ing as II somebody had dubbed them
II tell you as fact that not one moth
er in ten can so describe lost chill,
as to make easy work OF finding him o
her. We will suppose that a woman
comes running up to me to say that hc
little girl, five years old. is lost mus
first calm her. for she is greatly eYcit
ed. and then the conversation run
about as follows:
"'When did you miss your gfrlT
"'About two hours ago.
"'What was the color OF her hairT
Brown. sir
"And were her eyes blue or black 2
- can't be sure which. but thin
they were black
"'What sort of dress did she hav
onr
"A brown calico
"'Did she have shoes onT
81 think not. sir
"'Did she wear any sort OF hatr
"'No. sir
"'Is she a good sized girl for ht
ageT
MANY naanla haVa faEan har II