Evening star., 1925-02-08
ITV WHEREFORE it is the
c\ n judgment of the court
wv in compliance with the
Y law that you be con-

law that you De con-
fined in the States prison
at Greenbow for period Of five
years"
\ woman screamed. The courtroom
buzzed. Police officer O'Malley had
scored again,
No more would the historic con-
fines of Tar Flat resound to the tur-
bulent clamor of battle, the tinkle of
broken glass and the Saturday night
slogan of Danny the Dude: Follow
me- boys, and you'll see action"
Gone was the glory Of the Tar Flat
gang, smashed by the brilliant sin
gle-handed campaign of cop from
Killarney! Danny was going up to
join his defeated pals. Tar Flat had
Ss.E:,s q Tartar in James Patrick
SManey. Deliberately they had set
out to get him; and instead, their
scalps now adorned his belt, and their
bruised ears still rang to the roar of
Erin go Bragh.
Danny the Dude had boasted that
he would beat the case. Him go up!
Not chance, But this was one time
when public opinion offset the dis
trict's political pressure. Nor did the
presence of Dannys wife and baby
avail him anything
Danny the Dude, slim and sar
torially elegant bade a nonchalant
from the courtroom in the custody of
a deputy jailer. On the way out he
brushed shoulders with the arrest
ing officer, and for the space OF
second looked deep into the latter's
eyes.
'Tll-see--you-lat said Danny,
and there was no mistaking what
lay behind the promise.
Officer O'Malley answered quietly:
ha ri oh
beat waiting for YOU"
Thus was born the seed of future
reck oning. Young Danny marched
off, determined by good behavior to
cut down considerably the time in
which Police Officer OMalley had yet
to live. AS for the latter, he hitched
at his belt, patted his gun and cuffs,
and strolled back to the station. eager
now to maintain his reputation as an
arresting officer.
O'Malley was a harness bull il
there ever was one. Heavy of hand
and foot. slow of thought, and very
red Of face, he considered that day
lost whose low descending sun saw
no man imprisoned and no battle
won!
CAPT. COLLINS kindly, gray-hair-
~ ed veteran of the central station,
was not SO sure that the community
had been blessed by the acquisition
Of Patrolman O'Malley.
The breaking up of the Tar Flat
gang was a feather in Jim's bonnet"
admitted Capt. Collins, but now the
lad wants an Indian headdress.
Sergeant, how many men did he
bring in yesterday?'
TWAS bargain day" said Sergeant
Patterson. He found a Chink lot
fnys h iS h..a nd hIAd A yA
was displeased because three got
away"
Tomorrow it will be something
else" sighed the captain. since we
gave him a day beat, he goes to bed
with a copy of the city ordinances.
and he knows 'em all from the time
they ruled the first COW off the street.
Give him time and he'll have half the
city behind bars. You see what pub
licity does to a young cop"
Captain Collins was right. 1t is
bad thing for a patrolman to see
his name in the papers too frequently,
or to be held long in a district where
he is called upon to use his stick
and cuffs to any great extent.
Even a discreet officer, and the de-
partments are full of them, has a
hard enough time making friends.
The poor patrolman is always be-
tween the slippery curb and the
chasm. If he enforces the ordinances
as they are written, he is a pest; If
he doesn't, he is CRATER. To retain
both prestige and popularity. he must
combine the qualities Of Solomon,
Chesterfield and Sherlock Holmes
O'Malley was far from being dis
Greet. He did his duty as he saw
1t. but he saw it too frequently for
his own good. Honest. sober. con-
scientious, he was none the less an
irritating influence in the community,
the type of man who can do more
harm than good to the department.
ITO call that man a peace officer,
sighed his superior, 'fs to make sad
misuse of the English language"
Nine times he was hauled upon
the carpet for being overzealous in
the performance of his duty.
Listen to me. you big man" said
Capt. Collins. "If justice is supposed
to be blind, a cop can afford to be
nearsighted when the occasion re-
quires. You've got too much blood
in your head, and your fists are too
big. Will you turn in your star
now. or must / break your
O'Malley's heavy shoulders dropped.
and dumb helplessness was written
in his blue eyes. He shifted from one
big foot TO the other, unable to say
a word in his own defense
capt collins eyes wandered TO a
printed motto on the wall. the Christ
mas sermon of Robert Louis Steven
son.
He unpinned the card and held it
out to O'Malley. I'll give you one
more chance, Jim. Read that, and
see If you can get it through your
thick head. 'Tis my conception of an
officers code. The next time you open
your police manual, consider that
card page one.
O'Malley departed for his beat. He
made the journey by street car,
hunched in corner, hands gripping
Capt Collins present, and his lips
n1unbling the message, ''To be honest,
to be kind; to earn a little, to spend
a little less TO make on the
whole family happier for my pres
ence.''
ATEN are not usually cured by the
A'A mere reading of sermons. BY all
the rules of logic, the Central Station
would have lost a good man and this
story would never have been written,
had 1t not been for Miss Sadie Smith,
who had just as much courage as
Officer O'Maliey and a great deal
more sense.
Sadie was a product Of Tar Flat,
which only goes to show that the
law of compensation is wonderful
thing. Bright and blonde as
canary, and not much larger, Sadie
was principal of the Hillside Park
grammar school and the kindergarten
that adjoined it, having qualified for
the job by successfully rearing five
little brothers and sisters without the
aid of the police.
But Sadie wanted police protection
now, and what she wanted she
uSually got Fifteen Minutes after