tions only. Under the State Civil Service Law, however, this change cannot take effect until approved by the State Civil Service Commission, which has deferred action upon it for the present. The change is strongly opposed by many members of the Buffalo Civil Service Reform Association. It seems quite safe to say that at present the force is entirely" out of politics." The writer was assured at headquarters that every member of the force votes exactly as he pleases, and that anyone who engaged in politics would promptly "lose his head." At one of the stations he learned also that men on duty on election day were especially cautioned not even to engage in conversation on political subjects.

The force consists at present of 784 persons, of whom 566 are patrolmen, 39 sergeants, 21 patrol-wagon drivers, 13 janitresses, 4 matrons, and the rest officials and clerks of various designations and duties. Forty-one of the patrolmen are mounted, for service in the large precincts where much of the territory is unoccupied or thinly settled. There is also a "bicycle squad" of eighteen, detailed from different precincts, who serve in this way from April to November and are then returned to regular patrol duty. The harbor is patroled by a small yacht, which traveled over 13,000 miles on this service last year, and besides other services towed over 2000 logs and stumps from the harbor to the lake, where they either went to the bottom or were carried down the Niagara River, in either case ceasing to be dangerous to navigation.

The patrol box system of Buffalo is said to be the best in the world. Every patrolman has to report from each box situated on his beat at regular intervals; and this makes it possible to communicate from headquarters with every man on post if necessary, in a very short time. When an officer makes an arrest he takes his prisoner to the nearest patrol box, and signals both to his station and to headquarters; whereupon the nearest patrol wagon, of which there are seven located at different stations, is sent to convey the prisoner to the station, so that the officer need not leave his post for this purpose. An ambulance may be summoned in the same way if necessary. Each box is also provided with a telephone.

The areas of the precincts range from 0.72 to 10.07 square miles; the total length of streets in each precinct varies from 16 to 90 miles. As nearly as can be calculated, the average amount of territory supervised by one patrolman on foot is about 0.175 square mile at night, and 0.29 square mile by day; a mounted officer probably covers from six to ten times as much.

The total appropriation for the police force for the fiscal year ending June 30 1904, is $797,590, which makes the cost per capita about $1.92. The force is thought to be, on the whole, very efficient. It certainly rises to a great emergency in a most creditable manner.

By way of improvement the Superintendent asked last year for fifty more patrolmen and also for a new yacht, as the old one is no longer fit for service: but neither request was granted by the Common Council

Cincinnati. Police Administration. In the city of Cincinnati the Mayor of the city is the executive head of the police department; the whole department is under the control of a Bi-Partisan Board, composed of four members, known

Communication of Max B. May, Esq., Cincinnati, Ohio.

as a Board of Public Safety. This Board is vested with all powers and duties connected with and incident to the appointment and government of the police and fire department of the city. The Chief of Police is the executive head of the department, under the direction of the Mayor; the Chief has the exclusive control over the stationing and transfer of policemen, and other officers and employees in the department, subject, of course, to the general rules and regulations of the Board of Public Safety. In the city of Cincinnati the Civil Service provisons in reference to the selection of the police force are in the main strictly enforced. The police force of the city is not in any way a political factor. The police, of course, are in charge on election days, and are the official messengers of the Board of Elections, but within recent years there has been no complaint made on account of political activity of the force.

The number of the police force of the city of Cincinnati is 532, composed of one Chief of Police, 3 inspectors, 20 lieutenants, 32 sergeants, 10 corporals, 385 patrolmen, 25 station-house keepers, 20 drivers. The total area police is 41 square miles. The total cost of the force is $571,268.36, of which $535,218.23 is salary account, and $36,050.13 is maintenance account. The cost per square mile is about $16,322, and cost per capita $1.75.

The service has given satisfaction, the outlying districts being cared for by mounted police and bicycle squads. The patrol wagon system has been in use for very many years and has given much satisfaction.

Pittsburgh, Pa.-Police Administration. The police and fire systems of Pittsburgh have been for many years a source of considerable pride to the people of that city. In the midst of a desert of official incompetency and dishonesty, they stood out like oases of green joy to the citizen who was eagerly looking for something to commend in the municipal administration. Now and then, it is true, scandals have arisen as to the purchase of land for police stations, the favoring of special designs of fire engines or of particular materials for building purposes, and such other affairs of these bureaus as have furnished opportunity for the application of modern political business methods. Considering the political conditions which have prevailed here for many years, it may be said that the police and fire systems of Pittsburgh are surprisingly good and efficient.

Under its charter as a city of the second class, the control of the police system is entirely executive. The Director of Public Safety, whose department includes the Bureau of Police, is appointed by and is directly responsible to the Mayor. The entire police force, including the Superintendent of Police, is appointed by the Director of Public Safety, who may make his selection from the list of candidates approved by the Police Examining Board. This Board is an important part of the system of Civil Service created by the Acts of Assembly of March 7, 1901, and of June 20, 1901, for the appointment and regulation of the uniformed employees of the Bureaus of Police and Fire of the Department of Public Safety. The Board consists of the Mayor, the Presidents of Select and Common Councils, and the Superintendents of the Bureaus of Police and Fire. Quarterly examinations are held by examiners appointed by the Board, a quorum of which must also be present. These examinations are open to any citizen be5Communication of Edwin Z. Smith, Esq., Pittsburg, Pa.

tween the age of twenty-one and thirty-five, who has resided in the State for one year, has never been convicted of crime, and can speak and read understandingly the English language. The examinations are both mental and physical, the former being directed more to the amount of intelligence than of education, and the latter being the same as that required of applicants for enlistment in the United States Army. From the list of successful applicants vacancies on the force are filled by the Director, he having a choice of one of three candidates in their order upon the certified list.

Under these acts no member of the police force may be dismissed for political reasons, but specific charges of disability, incompetency or misconduct must be preferred against him, upon which, after due notice, he is tried by a court composed of his equals or superiors in rank. If found guilty, the court assesses the penalty; either fine, suspension or dismissal, and the Director, with the approval of the Mayor, carries out the sentence. This court is held weekly, passes on an average of eight to ten cases at each sitting, and is very effective in the maintenance of discipline. The provisions of the Civil Service acts are enforced with some strictness, and only exceptionally strong political influence is allowed to affect their application in any particular case. The police force of Pittsburgh numbers approximately 500, an average of one for each 700 of the population of 350,000; and its cost to the city for the year of 1904 will be $634,500, a per capita charge of $1.81 upon each inhabitant. Owing to the peculiar topography of Pittsburgh and the irregular distribution of its inhabitants, it is hardly possible to estimate the average area of supervision by the patrolmen. In the congested and lawless districts the number required is naturally much larger than in the more sparsely populated suburbs. In the principal suburb of the city, that of the East End, a small force of mounted patrolmen is used with economy and good result. The pay of a patrolman is $3 a day, of a sergeant, $3.25 a day, of a lieutenant, $110 per month, and of a captain $125 per month. This fair remuneration, added to the assurance of reward for long and faithful service afforded by the Police Pension Fund, has of late years attracted a fairly good class of applicants for appointment to the force, and younger and more intelligent men are now being recruited.

Under the administration of this fund, which is provided for by ordinances of Councils under authority of a special Act of Assembly, employees of the police force are retired on half pay at the expiration of twenty-five years of active service. The fund now amounts to $100,000, and is supported by the city by an annual appropriation by Council of $30 per man. Unquestionably the provisions of this fund have been of great influence in improving and maintaining the standard of character and morale of the force. In case of death, from any cause, the legal representatives of the decedent receive $1000, from the Pension Fund. There is also a so-called Defense Fund made up by voluntary assessment by the police themselves, for the protection of its beneficiaries against suits for damages for alleged injuries in the performance of official duty. The city pays policemen their wages during disability incurred in service, but not for time lost on account of illness.

As to the manner in which practical politics affects the police system, it must be confessed that, notwithstanding the fairly conscientious enforcement of the

Civil Service rules, a political pull is of considerable assistance towards obtaining a position on the force, but once the appointment secured political influence would scarcely secure the discharge of a competent man without other cause. Here, as in other large cities, improper use has been, without doubt, frequently made of the police force at primaries, political conventions and elections. It is quite possible, on such occasions, for the police to carry out instructions as to the suppression of disorder in such a way as to exclude a hostile disorderly element to the advantage of an equally disorderly and sometimes unlawful favored element. In such cases as these, however, it is a matter of difficulty to prove the actual offense; and, at any rate, the American political conscience is singularly and deplorably callous in the consideration of most offenses against the election laws and the freedom of the ballot, especially when perpetrated at primaries or political conventions.

Milwaukee.-Police Administration. In 1885 the fire and police departments of Milwaukee were placed on a Civil Service Reform basis, and the change from old methods has been more than satisfactory. The appointments and promotions in the police force are made under the rules of the Fire and Police Commission, and the Chief of Police is appointed directly by that commission. The members of the Fire and Police Commission are appointed by the Mayor. Civil Service provisions prevail in the most approved sense of the term, and are enforced absolutely with marked results in the character and quality of the service. The divorce of the department from politics is complete.

The State exercises no control over the police force in any sense. The force consists of one Chief, one inspector, one captain, six lieutenants, sixteen sergeants, sixteen detectives and three hundred and six patrolmen. The area under police supervision is 22.53 square miles, or 14,419 acres, so that each officer has an average beat of 41 acres. The greatest number of men on duty during the night is 177 patrolmen, with an average beat of 81 acres. The greatest number during the day time is 68 patrolmen with an average beat of 212 acres. The total cost of maintaining the department during the year 1903 was $360,483. An extremely conservative estimate of the population is 220,000, making the per capita expense $1.64.

There has been no movement at any time for a change or an improvement of the service. Those, however, who are familiar with police conditions throughout the country are convinced that Milwaukee has a much smaller force numerically, than any city with the same population and area. In this connection it is an interesting fact that the percentage of crime in proportion to the population, including petty offenses, is far less than in any city of the same class. This is partly due to the character of the population, but very largely to the efficiency of the Chief of Police, and the advantages which the merit system affords him in the management of the force.

Washington, D. C.—Police Administration.' The police department is under the immediate control of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, who are appointed by the President of the United States. Under the present form of

"Communication of John A. Butler, Esq., Milwaukee, Wis. 7Communication of George S. Wilson, Secretary Board of Charities, Washington, D. C.

government by commission in the District of Columbia, there are no elective offices, the entire local government being under the control of the Commissioners.

The selection of members of the police force is in strict accordance with Civil Service provisions. A strict physical and mental examination is passed, and personal or political influence has no weight in the selection of candidates. The police force is not involved in politics in any manner. Owing to the peculiar form of government in the District of Columbia, the question as to the control of the State authorities does not apply, as there is no distinction between State and city, the government of the District of Columbia being a unity, and the District itself being little more than the city of Washington and suburbs. The police force of the city, according to the official report, for the year 1903, consisted of 641 men, and the total area of the District of Columbia is 44,320 acres, allowing, approximately, one man for each 69 acres of territory. In considering these figures, it should be borne in mind that the figures are for the District of Columbia as a whole, and not for the city of Washington only. The suburban area in the District is much larger than would ordinarily be included within the city limits of a city of the size of Washington.

The total cost to the city for the year 1903 was approximately $800,000. The population of the city for the same year was about 280,000, which would make a cost, per capita, of approximately $2.86.

The police department of Washington is, without doubt, one of the most efficient in the United States. The head of the department, designated as "Major and Superintendent," is a most capable and conscientious official. His position was obtained by merit, and undoubtedly he will be retained as long as he is willing to remain in his present position. The charges of corruption and graft, so commonly heard in other cities, in connection with the police department, are unknown in Washington. It has never been seriously intimated, in any responsible quarter, that the police department would tolerate any form of law-breaking because of corrupt influence. A consistent policy of administration is pursued, and is not affected, in the least, by change of administration. The unique conditions existing as to governmental control in the District of Columbia, make it possible to eliminate political influence in local affairs; and in no direction is the advantage of these conditions more noticeable than in the administration of the police department.

sons.

Kansas City.-Police Administration. The police department of Kansas City is regulated by the provisions of a State statute applying to the police in all cities having a population of not less than 100,000 and not more than 300,000. This statute establishes a Board of Police Commissioners consisting of three perThe Mayor of the city is ex officio a member of the Commission and is President of the Police Board. The other two members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, and hold their offices for a term of three years, and until their successors have been elected and qualified. The Board of Police Commissioners have charge of the police department. The law provides that no person shall be appointed a member of the force who is not proven to be of good moral character. He must be able to read and write the English language and be pos8Communication of Henry L. McCune, Esq., Kansas City, Mo.