Evening star., 1961-01-29
Home Front, January, 1861

-6kWTASHINGTON'S finest" were
w apparently something less
than that in January Of 1851, judging
by some of the accounts in The Star
the week of Louisiana's leave-taking
TINE CITY POLICE. Editor of The Star:
Everybody concurs with Vigilance" that
the day and night police Of Washington city
are worthless They protect no ones prop
ery-prevent no fires or burglaries, and
detect none Of the offenders Instead Of
diligently watching the property Of the citi-
zens, they are generally engaged to pre-
serve order at negro dances, getting &25O
q night each. In addition to their city pay.
and being sOhite 0eMsnssn, have the first
choice of the liquors and eonfectioneries,
ETC., ETC. When not lOafIng at these gather
ines, they are found at less reputable
places....
The day police are equally derelict
They have not the luxuries Of the negro
dance, but they have the rum Of the restau-
rants and oyster eellers. free gratis for
nothing" and It is much pleasanter to drink
whisky, smoke cigars, and eat oysters than
to attend to the affairs Of the city at $500
per year, without the whisky, cigar. and
oyster perQuisites. This whole system 10
wrong. and propose to his honor the Mayor
the following reforms to correct the abuses
alleged: Compel the night i0dteh to esT the
hour Of the night, at eUsSV corner Of his beat,
from o'clock IN the eUenin0 to o'clock IN
the morning. What q relief IL would be
to every householder TO hear at the corner
Of the street, at the dead hour Of the night,
that Well-knoWn stentorian voice proclaim.
1T Is past II o'clock, and bright starlight
morning.
A word about the day police. They are
Of very little service As at present organi-
red, and, considering the cost Of keeping
them up, are rather Q nuisance But, allow
me to suggest . plan to make them useful
while We have them on hand. II Is well
known that system has been inaugurated,
at great expense to the city. called trim
ming and Gravelling the streets" This con-
SiSts Of elevating them 9, Q, or 10 inches
with red or yellow clay. choking the citizen
with dust In dry weather. and rendering the
crossings impossible In wet weather. At
present, the crossings in many places are
ankle deep In mud-even Pennsylvania
avenue aAd other paved streets are inun-
dated from this system Of trimming and
gravelling" Now I propose that the day
police, rs part Of their duty emitting them
to the $500 per year, shall be required to
roll up their pants and wade In" with SHOW
els. buckets and brooms, and keep the eros
sings open and free. This will not be as
pleasant rs wading into liquors and oysters.
but 1t will be Of infinite service to the
public. -
Editor, StGy: Where Is the night watch?
Is the main spring broken? Does II want
thorough cleansing. or does II simply re-
Quire careful winding up? It certainly Is
run down" enough. Last night, about
O'Clock, thief made successful reappear-
ance on the old scene Of his operations, be-
tween Eleventh and Twelfth streets, on
Massachusetts, avenue, carrying of valu-
able white counterpane from the residence
Of citizen Interrupted in his operations,
he beat q helter-skelter retreat, tumbling
headlong over the fence Of q neighbor, up
4 u IL -