And they did march! Just as finely as the men. About two hundred and seventy-five in all. And they were the "hit" of the parade. As neat as a pin -- or 275 pins -- and right on their business. Nothing neater, nothing more efficient looking had been seen in many a long day.

They were proud of themselves, proud of their uniforms, proud of the duties they were to be called on to perform Father Knickerbocker and Mother K. wiped their glasses, and took a second look. Yes, those women were the real things. Then they cheered. And, the newest additions to New York's magnificent police force passed the "Avenue" to further acclamations.

Whose Idea?

When the parade was over several hundred thousand New Yorkers -- if not more -- returned to their homes in deep thought. Most of them had never seen a woman in policeman's uniform. And, after seeing nearly three hundred "lady cops," they wondered where the "lady cops" had sprung from. They turned the matter over in their minds and asked themselves all manner of questions. Who were they? Whose idea was it? What were the duties? Could they arrest people like men police? And would they be any good, anyway? Couldn't men be relied on to guard the public? And so on. Some of the spectators of the procession, while they were delighted with the trim appearance of the policewomen, and greeted them with enthusiasm, were, on second thoughts, a tride skeptical of the value of women police. A few went far enough to say that it was a "pipe-dream" -- this idea of turning -- women into policemen -- and as one man remarked in my hearing, "Why, they can't even make a long march. Didn't they join the procession up town, instead of starting with the men at the Battery? That shows they haven't the physical strength to take on a policeman's job."

Now, that fellow was right -- in one place. The women didn't make the whole march. Somebody thought they wouldn't hold out so the order went forth to join at Broadway and Ninth Street. But the women themselves were very indignant. What they men could do, they could do, they said. And it is possible they were right. In all other respects, the gentleman who said they didn't have the physical strength to take on a man's job was talking nonsense. No one ever said they had. Besides, it's a question of present-day discussion whether or not physical force is the prime requisite of a "cop." Some say there a moral requisite of equal value with physique -- brains and conscience as well as the power to swing a "billy" or subdue a burglar.

So much, then, for the only adverse comment on the women police which I heard on the day of the parade. It simply cried out for an answer at the very start. And now that the way has been cleared to the other questions, let me give you the why and the wherefore, and the how, of the women police of New York City.

What They Are For

To find out what I now know I went to headquarters. There, in the fine building on Centre Street, that houses the leaders of the "finest," and in the room of Inspector John F. Dwyer, I found the man under whose supervision the women of the Police Reserve had been trained. It was Dwyer himself -- one of those progressive and earnest men who believes in himself and his responsibilities, and who tries to live up to both -- without wasting talk. In five minutes, he put into my head and hands the substance of most that follows.

"The idea of women police in New York," said Inspector Dwyer, "is the idea of Mr. Rodman Wanamaker, special deputy police commissioner. I am merely the one in whose hands, as representing Mr. Wanamaker, rests the responsibility of carrying out that idea. As you may know, we used to have in this city a Home Defense League, and out of this, a very short time ago, developed the so-called "Police Reserve," which is already a very important adjunct to the force, and out of the Police Reserve -- which, you understand, contains men only -- has developed the Women Police Reserve and the Women Police Training Corps.

"Mr. Wanamaker's idea," continued the inspector, "was the result of a foresight of New York's needs in the future and the knowledge of what women police had already done in England. He realized, as we all realize, that conditions of life in this city were rapidly assuming the aspect of conditions which have been existing since the war began. He also saw that it was time we made plans for meeting the new conditions here. That was about six or seven weeks ago. In three weeks two companies of a Woman's Police Reserve were formed and five companies of a Training Corps. We didn't talk much about it. We just went ahead and did it. We got uniforms for them, drilled them, and then sent them out on public view. This is just as far as we've got at present."

"But you're going farther, are you not?"

"Yes, the Reserve and Training Corps are both past the stage of experiment, so far as our faith in their values is concerned. Just how far the duties of the Reserve will be defined -- what they may be permitted to do, and in what directions and districts -- is a matter for the future to decide. No doubt some special legislation will be required. At the moment, the are women who have volunteered to perform patriotic and civic duty. They are auxiliaries, as it were, to the male force. Eventually they will relive the men of many smaller duties which they have to perform. The work of the police force, since the war began, has increased so much that it has become imperative to find relief and these women will be able to do a great deal, so that the men may have some time for larger and more urgent calls."

"We here see the gripping necessity of the women in this work. The public has not woke up to it. Therefore, it may take some time to educate the public up to the idea of having women on the force. That was the reason why acted so quickly when Mr. Wanamaker had formed his plan. We sent the women on parade in order to introduce the public to the new idea. In other words, the education has already begun. And if we could tell the effect already created it would be very interesting. The people have seen the women and now they're asking why."

"That's what I'm asking."

"Yes, and here's the answer. Because we need them. Because the women can do things that the men can't do. Because, well, it's war time, and it's the duty of everyone, man or woman, to help in the time of war. If there was no war we should not have new conditions stare us in the face. The women police is entirely attributable to the war."

"What are they going to do? What will their functions be?"

"Well, they are going to be the American guardians of the American community. It's no use telling you that there are spies in New York City. It will be one of the duties of the policewoman to keep an eye on people who are believed to be spies, and to inform us of what is going on. This will take some heavy work off the shoulders of the present force. They are going to keep a tab on people who incite to sedition. The will observe, and report upon the de-Americanization which is now going on among the foreign peoples in the population. They will also act as agents of the public welfare. They will report on cases of destitution, whether the result of the war or not, and give help where help is needed. It will also be their duty to check the usual offenses against public law and order. They will exercise a cautionary control. It is our hope that, in a very short time, there will be a policewoman stationed on every block in this city. She will be continually at her post. She will know every individual, every store, every apartment in that block, and will be largely responsible for all that goes on in her particular beat. If she needs help at any time, she will know just where to get it.

"Besides this, continued Inspector Dwyer, "the women police will exert a great moral influence. This is a time when we must look things straight in the face. This is the day of the soldier. He must be protected from temptation. There are many ways here in which the policewoman can be of invaluable aid. Again, she will keep her eye on the young people of her neighborhood. She will try to help the wayward girl who is keeping bad company. She will prove herself a girl-saver. This is one direction in which, being a woman, she can do work that no policeman can do. Almost in the same manner, she will exert a moral effect upon the boys. My own experience with criminals has proved that criminals are mostly made out of boys, once as good as the best, who have fallen into bad company. My experience has also been that if you can make a boy see the error of his ways, with a friendly word or two of good advice, then he is put right for his whole life. Men can't always give this advice at the right time and in the right way, whereas women nearly always can -- at least in the right way. That's why I believe the women police will be the greatest aid, in this respect, to the community.

"I hope," added the inspector, "that you will be quite clear about the difference between the Women Police Reserve and the Women Police Training Corps. The first, as I said, are volunteer women. They are not doing active police duty. At the same time, they are now aiding the police greatly in reporting the violations of the law, and in general keeping an eye on the community. Next week, they are going to be actively engaged in the Red Cross drive. The Women Police Training Corps is made up of younger women, ages eighteen to twenty-four, who now bear the same relation to the regular police force that the Men's Training Corps bears to the regular force. This Men's Training Corps is also an idea of Mr. Winemaker's, and out of it has grown the idea of the Women's Corps. The duties of the younger women are practically the same as those now being performed by the older women in the reserve, the main difference being that the girls in the training corps will be trained and paid police women of the future. They train just as the men reserves do, in their spare time, for their future duties, without breaking in upon the regular daily occupations.

Right on the Job

"It may interest you to know that our new policewomen, whether in the Reserve or the Training Corps, are very quick at learning. I dislike admitting it, but they are quicker than the men. Moreover, they are extremely enthusiastic about their work. This, I suppose, makes them anxious to learn. And they are very serious about it all. The cartoonists and other humorous artists who are poking fun at the policewomen don't know this. They try to picture her clubbing a burglar, or doing other exaggerated stunts of her male prototype. But at present she can't club anybody. She can't even make an arrest. All she's trying to do is make the community a safe and decent place to live in. And she's doing it very well."

The uniform of the women police reserve is a very natty one -- police cap, blue jacket, blue skirt and white spats over black shoes. The white binding on the jacket, as well as the stripes on the sleeves, and the flaring black bow, are distinctly effective. The girls of the training corps wear deep white collars, four-in-hand ties, short curved jackets, blue skirts, and wide belts. It has nothing to do with the subject, but it ought to be added that the designers of these uniforms had some sense of appropriateness -- a thousand times more than the designers of the atrociously ugly costume worn by the women conductors on the subway and street cars of New York. That uniform is so hideous, and the girls hate it so much, that they would be justified in "stampeding" instantly from the cars to the department of police.

The Evils That Call for Settlement

In so quickly realizing that present conditions abroad might be duplicated in New York and that women police were a necessity to be prepared for, Deputy Commissioner Wanamaker has performed a service to the metropolis. The almost daily reports of raids on cabarets, eating houses, hotels and other places of resort -- especially after midnight -- are rousing people in the great city to an understanding of the perils to which our youth -- young men and women, particularly our soldiers -- are being exposed. It's no use winking at the facts which one meets nightly. In England the women police have already proved their capacity and desirability as auxiliaries. Beginning in July, 1915, when there were 00; In July, 1917, there were 612, and the report up to July of this year will doubtless show a great increase in the numbers. The recent increases are largely accounted for by the fact that many appointments have been made under the auspices of the Ministry of Munitions. In munitions factories the demand for trained, uniformed policewomen has been considerable, and the success so far attained by the organizers of the women police movement -- at first supported by voluntary contributions, but now partly supported by grants from the Munitions Department -- has been testified to by magistrates, local authorities and many others. It has been pointed out that the growth of the movement has been slow when compared with the seeming pressing demand for such auxiliary aid, but this comment has always been optimistically answered with the remark, "It has taken nine hundred years to build up a male police force in England. Why should we get discouraged in three?"

The same reply might be given to anyone disposed to cavil at the policewomen of New York. As matters stand, she has yet to be tried out. Her success or failure will depend on her use or abuse of power when she receives the power. On her showing in the parade last week, and on the knowledge which the people at present possess of her intended work, New York feels inclined to say, "Go to it, and good speed!" Certainly they are pleased that the experiment is being tried out first in "the biggest city."