Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 239, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 October 1913 — POLICING OF PARIS [ARTICLE]

POLICING OF PARIS

Waldo Tells of Shakeup in the French Capital. Germans Are Very Law-Abiding— No One In Berlin Disobeys the Injunction on Placards Reading “Verboten.” New York.—“ London,” said Rhinelander Waldo, commissioner of New York’s police, “respects its police; Berlin obeys; Paris hates." Mr. Waldo didn’t discuss New York’s turn of mind toward the force. What’s the use of awaking sad echoes? He has just returned from a studious trip to Europe. "I found three great policemen in Henry, Hennion and Jagow," said he, “in Scotland Yard, Paris and Berlin. London’s police and police methods Correspond most nearly to ..those in vogue in the United States. The Paris detective system is being torn to pieces and rebuilt Berlin’s police department is a highly efficient humanized card index. Its main function is to keep tab.” Mr. Waldo explained the law-abid-ing ways and love of system of the German people.' “Wherever you go,” said he, “you find placards, ‘Verboten.’ That means ’forbidden.’ No one ever thinks of disobeying. They do not even question. If a mad wag were to slip into Germany over night and change all those ‘Verboten’ placards he would automatically alter the habits of an entire people.”

No German or Londoner ever thinks of assaulting a copper. In this town one of the favored sports at the weekly athletic meets of the Gas House gang or the Gophers is to whang a brick off a copper’s cap. “I asked a Scotland Yard official," said Mr. Waldo, “if the Londoners often assaulted his bobbies. “ ‘My dear fellow, no,’ said he. ‘lt simply isn’t done.’” Paris policemen are heavily armed and walk about* in pairs. Mr. Waldo did not care to go more deeply into this matter. He said that over in Europe they take the press seriously. One gathers, however, that the advantage of the arrangement is that there is usually a survivor after the Apache attack. A sort of 50-50 split, so to speak. He would not make a direct comparison of the personnel of the New York police force with that of the three /Other great cities. “The police force of a great city is always fairly representative of the citizens of that city," said he. “New York’s force has the defects and the merits that characterize New York’s people. As to honesty—whenever 11,000 absolutely honest men can be gathered by a civil service examina-