Evening star., 1932-10-22
BROWN TAKES OATH
AS CHIEF OF POLICE.
Sane and UnspectacuIar Ad-
ministration Promised
in Brief Speech.
Continued From First Page.)

VI tllC olotilCt VI SoAuAhbAo, tAAS va eAoA
congratulations OF the Washington
Chamber of Commerce, wishing for him
all possible success in his admlnistra-
ton, and to the realization of that end
offer him our full cooperation"
DR.. Luther H. Reichelderfer, president
of the Board of Commissioners, was the
first to congratulate Maj. Brown after
he had taken the oath Of Office. Then
followed q brief reception during whlcn
the new superintendent received the
congratulations Of those who attended
the inaugural ceremonies.
One of Maj. Browns nrst omclal
duties was to designate Capt. B. A:
Lamb, as acting inspector in command
of the Traffic Bureau to fill the vacancy
due to his promotion. Capt. Lamb mad
been Browns assistant for number OF
years in the Traffic Bureau, and IN all
probability will be promoted to inspector
and placed in command OF the bureau.
Mai. Brown plans to give his atten-
tion now to filling several other Vacan-
cies resulting from his promotion, puC
he is not contemplating any shaKe-up
in the force at this time. He also
will give consideration to the request
of Capt. Edward J. Kelly. in temporary
command of the Crime Prevention Bu-
reau, for a transfer to precinct.
TIE vacancy in the rank of assistant
superintendent, which Maj. Brown held,
is expected to be given either TO Inspec-
tors Albert j. Headley or T. r. Bean.
Seniority of service is to be factor de-
terming this promotion, which carries
additional compensation OF $oO0 year
for the inspector who gets the rank.
Capt. Kelly Is an unfortunate VIC
tim of the sudden developments III
the department which deprived him o.
q promotion to chief Of detectives.
Gen. Glassford relieved Kelly of his
command of the third precinct tenn
porarily to head the Cri-.e Prevention
Bureau pending the removal OF In
spector Frank S. w. Burke. At that
time Gen. Glassford proposed to have
Kelly elevated to the rank OF inspector.
When Gen. Glassford resigned, Kelly
realized the plan would not be carried
out, and requested a transfer back to a
precinct command.
Congratulated by Glassford.
Brown was enabled to take over the
superintendency so soon after his ap-
pointment, as result of special ar
rangements made by the Commissioners
for presidential approval, required
under the Federal economy act for
filling vacancies in the Government
service. President Hoover gave the re-
Quest his special attention and approved
It early yesterday afternoon before the
Commissioners met to promote Brown.
Ordinarily the President would not be
required to act on any police personal
matters.
Brown was in his former ofice at
the Traffic Bureau when the Commits
sioners notified him of his appoint
ment. One of the first to congratulate
him was Gen. Glassford. who. at the
time. was in the Office Of the superin-
tendent, cleaning up his personal
effects.
Elevation Of Brown did not come as q
surprise after the Commissioners made
known their intention to flll the vacancy
from the ranks of the department. The
only other candidate understood to have
had q chance was Inspector o. T. Davis
who three weeks ago. was relieved OF
command of the Crime Prevention Bu-
reau and transferred by Gen. Glassford
to the second inspection district.
Up to the time Of the promotion,
Brown had commanded the Trafic Bu-
reau, and by virtue Of his rank OF SEN
ior assistant superintendent. he was
acting superintendent after Gen. Glass
ford's resignation.
Brown is SO years old and has five
years of service ahead before he Is
forced to retire Existing regulations
make retirement compulsory at 81.
As rookie" in the seventh pre-
cinct he was under the direct COM
mand of Lieut.. John A. Swindells.
Transferred from the seventh to the
old first precinct, Brown was detailed
for three years at the White House.
On this beat, he came to know Presl-
dent Mckinley and he still remembers
several interesting anecdotes 1llustra-
tive Of the thoughtfulneSs of the Presi-
dent, whom Brown describes as "one
of the finest types Of American gentle
men that ever walked the earth.
Promoted to Sergeant.
In 1905 Brown was promoted to the
rank of sergeant in which capacity he
served In the second and third pre-
cincts Advanced to the grade Of heu-
tenant in 1917. he was assigned to the
sixth and later to the tenth precinct
and for time was director OF the
police training school.
Brown received his captaincy Sep
tember /, 1920, and took command Of
the third precinct. whose territory In
cluded the White House and many i'm
portant Government buildings. Later
he commanded the first precinct. ad-
mittedly one Of the most difficult as
signments in the department.
came an inspector and succeeded Al
bert J. Headley in command of the
Traffic Bureau, then only years old
and still more or less IN its formative
stage.
The bureau as 1t exists today is largely
his creation. He brought the traffic ar
rangements Of the entire District under
a centralized control and reorganized
the motor cycle service. to which SO
officers are now assigned.
1.-The automobile" says Brown. has
complicated the police problem enor-
mously. It has to be controlled. But
the mere making Of regulations Is not
enough. We need a system OF decent
manners Of polite give-and-take. among
motorists and between motorists and
pedestrians"
Dramatic Changes.
During his SO years service In the
department. Brown has seen police
technique undergo dramatic changes
Telephone, radio and teletype have in
creased measurably the efficiency OF
police work and, though a policeman
Of TIE "old school," Brown is staunch
belie"er in modern methods OF crime
prevention and detection. In his opln-
ion 1t is more difficult to be police
man today than ever before.
People are increasingly given 10
taking chances. and even honorable
men will violate a law if they feel they
will not be punished for doing So he
declares. "If only they would realize
that while no police officer may be on
hand to apprehend them. they are
hurting society, injuring the public good
and lowering social standards.
Laws are made to help people, not
to hurt them," Is his philosophy. "A
citizen who breaks the law nights
against himself"
With an unblemished record, Brown
holds is commentators for bravery
and efficiency, including citations for
arrests for murder, robbery and other
felonies.
Gen. Glassford called him lone OF
the finest men in the department"