214 The New York Police Force 



has had experience with them it is difficult to realize 

 the reckless indifference to truth or decency dis- 

 played by papers such as the two that have the 

 largest circulation in New York City. Scandal 

 forms the breath of the nostrils of such papers, and 

 they are quite as ready to create as to describe it. 

 To sustain law and order is humdrum, and does not 

 readily lend itself to flaunting woodcuts ; but if the 

 editor will stoop, and make his subordinates stoop, 

 to raking the gutters of human depravity, to uphold- 

 ing the wrong-doer, and furiously assailing what is 

 upright and honest, he can make money, just as 

 other types of pander make it. The man who is to 

 do honorable work in any form of civic politics must 

 make up his mind (and if he is a man of properly 

 robust character he will make it up without difficulty) 

 to treat the assaults of papers like these with abso- 

 lute indifference, and to go his way unheeding. In- 

 deed he will have to make up his mind to be criti- 

 cised, sometimes justly, and more often unjustly, 

 even by decent people; and he must not be so thin- 

 skinned as to mind such criticism overmuch. 



In administering the police force we found, as 

 might be expected, that there was no need of genius, 

 nor indeed of any very unusual qualities. What was 

 needed was exercise of the plain, ordinary virtues, 

 of a rather commonplace type, which all good citi- 

 zens should be expected to possess. Common-sense, 

 common honesty, courage, energy, resolution, readi- 

 ness to learn and a desire to be as pleasant with 

 everybody as was compatible with a strict perform- 



