Evening star., 1947-07-23

MAJ. HARVEY G. CALLAHAN.
Star Staff Photo.
cost public respect, and religious and
fraternal cliques were dividing the
he said.
Promotion System Hit.
members of Congress, influential
businessmen, cabinet officers, even
the President of the United States,
are importuned, harassed, bothered
and waylaid by police candidates
seeking to advance their own inter-
ests," he added.
A man who had availed himself of
all educational opportunities after
joining the force, Maj. Callahan
scored members of the force who
had won promotion by long years OF
service rather than merit.
"They have held tenaciously to the
habits OF speech that were in vogue
among policemen at the time they
were appointed" he continued.
Strangers contracting officials of the
for the first time gain a
very poor impression of it's efficiency
or intelligence when they are greeted
with a flow of ungrammatical Ian
guage."
Maj. Callahan was torn by con-
fiicting emotions for a week before
unIeashing the blast, one of his
friends recalled. II he considered
his job resting in the balance, he
did not mention 1t.
Appointed Inspector.
A month later he was appointed
and executive officer and
moved from the first precinct to
headquarters.
Maj. Callahan's technical knowl-
edge of ordnance materials began
paying of early In 1880, when he was
co-leader of the police pistol team
helped establish a uniform machine
gun law and introduced gas squad
technique to the force.
The former artillery officer devel-
oped his war-gained knowledge OF
poison gases while attending Ma
tional Police School at Camp Perry
Ohio, in August, 1881.
Within the next 1S months, he had
three occasions to apply his learn
ing, twice as threats in noted Incl
dents and once to quell a riot.
Organizing a gas squad of dozen
men, Maj. Callahan Che then was
1t. Callahan, attached to admins
trative headquarters), had them
primed for the Bonus Army's inva-
sion in the summer of 1882. Regular
Army forces called in to rout the
bonus applicants used gas extensive
ly, but the police were never required
to test their new guns.
Rioters Subdued.
About the same time, however. a
series Of food riots in Lorton Re-
formatory engaged District police
and gave the gas squad a chance to
perform. Sergt. Sheldon r. Mckee
now the police ordnance technician
and member of the gas squad then,
recalled the squad was successful in
subduing the prisoners only after
drenching them with a mixture of
tear and nauseating gas.
Earlier they had failed to drive
about 80 of the men out of tier
they had seized. The prisoners were
too tough to yield to tear gas alone.
Later. when 81 of the more hard
ened criminals were removed to
Atlanta (Ga0 Federal Prison, Maj.
Callahan was in charge of the
transfer.
Again In December, when the
famed Hunger Marchers paraded to
the Capitol, the gas squad, now
numbering nearly 100 men, went
along. But the procession broke up
without incident.
A year before he was made a
lieutenant on July !, 1881, Maj.
Callahan had served as an instruc-
tor in the police training school
here. His own training period at
Camp Perry subsequently increased
his proficiency in small arms, hand
to-hand combat. jiu jitsu. and the
submachine gun.
Crack Pistol Shot.
This knowledge he passed on
during the next five years to his
police students, and many of the
rockies he taught rose in the ranks
to positions of command or in the
detective bureau.
Maj. Callahan was crack pistol
shot and often accompanied the
District police team on its travels
to compete with other teams.
1t was during the 1891 visit to
Camp Perry that he proved not
only a good competitor but a shrewd
analyst as we'll. The District had
two teams competing and the major
led the team that, according to ad-
vance notices, was destined to wind
up second best.
But by carefully computing each
of his teammates possibilities, Maj.
Callahan saw how his squad could
capture first honors. He proved
to the exact score.
Just two years ago when the Po-
lice Department began its advanced
training course, the major once
again demonstrated his skill with
firearms.
In the test of 30 rounds were in
cluded firing at a moving target,
firing with the right and left hands
from a barricade and firing with