One of the subjects that I have been know to rant about is the “Good Old Days.” I say that in most cases, comparatively speaking, they weren’t that great.
Not that I want to spread gloom and doom. I’m an optimist and I believe that most people are good and decent. That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t some really bad eggs out there.
Crime, however, certainly isn’t a new phenomenon in York County. Spend some time reading old newspapers and you will see what I mean. The York Gazette article of March 17, 1908 below illustrates my point. It reads:
“NEW ADMINISTRATION WILL RECEIVE PRISONER’S WEAPONS
The new city administration will receive as a legacy from the present police force the collection of weapons taken from prisoners during the past three years. This collection, consisting of revolvers, knives, stilettos, blackjacks, slingshots, knuckles, razors, burglar tools, etc., was sometime ago mounted by City Electrician Fastnacht and it has been on display in police headquarters.
A number of the most important weapons, however, are not in the collection, as they were borrowed by officers of the law for use as evidence in the trial of cases and have not been returned. Among these is an immense revolver with which [an African American] tired to kill Policeman James Stayman; the big gun with which an Italian tried to shoot Roundsman Gotwalt, and the big Colt’s revolver recently taken from John Heckert by Officer Sweitzer. [I’ll write more about John Heckert later.]
In the centre of the collection is a list of names of the policemen of the present force. It is noticeable that among the weapons are a butcher knife, a stiletto and revolver taken from prisoners by Officer Alexander Scott, not a member of the force now.”
The article concludes with the list of 1908 policemen under Chief Jacob Hose. These included a Day Sergeant, a Night Sergeant, a Roundsman, and 27 patrolman. Not a bad sized force for the York of 100 years ago.
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