Evening Star Newspaper, August 17, 1930, Page 78

6 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, AUGUST 7, ™Xi. Safeguarding rhe Lives of "Thousands on the W hat the Coast Guard Means to Surf-Beaten Shores the Harbor Force Means to W ash- ington Waters in Rendering a Service No Less Important in Protection of Life and Property—All Manner of Thrills and Hazards Face Them in the Line of Duty and They Are Ready, Twenty-Four Hours a Day for Any Emergency. - By Hudson Grunewald. SIREN screams out over the water. The harbor police speedboat Sul- livan slips from the dock; throws her nose into the air and cuts out over the blue ur"!;loe of the Po! on wings of spray. speed ahead, ;loihfl‘fw motor drives her into the wind -horsepower shove. Y mrvt. Hr;nphrles. veteran pilot and engineer of the police fleet, twists his craft in and out among yachts and cumngnwhltepat.honhismtofl! channel. Beside him sit a couple of coats,” alert, trained to the ways of the river, for action. .e':l‘he Sullivan might be racing to a collision on the water, to an overturned launch, o a speedboat on fire, or dashing to the rescue of & drowning person. She, might be answering & call to the scene of any one of a score of pos- sible accidents or violations of the law tpat can and do happen on the 25 miles of Washington’s waterways under the jurisdiction of the river front precinct. ficiency and readiness for duty, are their watch- words, and the-safeguarding of thousands of Capital and the preservation of law and order on this vast and extended beat is their task. What the Coast Guard means to the surf- i 27 IR0 A - the thieves who prey upon craft at anchor in the harbor and steal from the wharves and landings. At night they must see to it that boats dis- play the proper running lights at bow and stern and enforce all safety measures. They must race to the scene of a reported accident, and when drownings occur they must drag the river for the bodies of victims. Like all members of the Police Department, they must co-operate with the prohibition agents and they stretch the long arm of the law out over the water to catch the violator. %, .- e oo i “Full speed aheed, her roaring horsepower motor drives her into the wind with a 200- shove. . . . It is doubtful if there is a faster boat than the Sullivan, speed craft of the harbor police, or a more skillful pilot than Policeman Hum- phries on the Potomac.” 3§ Put. C. M. Birkight, veteran member of the harbor police force, assigned to the upper river, who on September 1 will pass the twoscore mark of service. road, they are out ot catch the speeder, the and the skipper, who having im- y, can be hauled up for “piloting under the influence” and en- the lives and property of others. greatly increasing number of speedboats “outboards” on the river has made the new ~ ok The 55-foot all-steel harbor tug and auxiliary fire-fighter Charles A. Evans, flagship of the police fleet, with Lieut. Edward T. Harney, harbormaster and commander of the precinct, at the helm. of holding their speed “while in traffic.” ENTY-ONE men comprise the force upon whom these duties fall. They are split into three eight-hour watches and assigned to various beats. Many of them have had sea duty, either in the Navy or with shipping com- panies; some are licensed pilots, all have had river training and all who man the boats are skilled in first-aid methods. Their headquare ters is on the river front near the foot of Seventh street, next door to the harbor fire de- partment and the morgue, and here their fleet is moored, ready at all times for instant duty. Commanding them is Lieut. Edward T. Hare Lieut. Harney keeps everything ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. Men and machinery are groomed, prepared, and delay is an unknown word at the harbor headquarters. Harney knows his men, and he ,» and he knows ‘the ways and habits of the numerous and varied types of craft that breast the currents. But Harney, withal, is a modest man. He refuses to take credit for the splendid service the harbor police have performed since he has been in command. He points to the men on his force, he speaks of their record, of the work they have accomplished. As a matter of fact, you don’'t hear a great deal about these men unless you talk to Harney. They seem to have caught the spirit 'of slipping into the back- him. They go about their duties seeking glory or praise, performing tasks in silence, reluctant to talk about achievements. Yet there are heroes FIVE boats, each equipped with first-aid and lifesaving apparatus, comprise the fleet of the harbor police. These are the steel tug and auxiliary firefighter Charles A. Evans, the mo- tor boats Hesse and Sylvester, the speedboat Sullivan and a small outboard motor boat. In charge of this fleet, as chief engineer, is Pvt. C. C. Humphries, who is also pilot of the Sul- livan answering all emergency calls. Humphries might well be called the right- hand man of the force. His talents are many and his work is indispensable. He keeps the . motors groomed and tuned up to their highest degree of efficiency. From the 5-ton Diesel which powers the Evans to the little “portable” clamped astern of the fleet's smallest boat, he fixes his constant attention on all the ma- chinery and keeps it in perfect order. In a completely equipped machine shop adjacent to the precinct, which he designed himself, he makes his own repairs, But Humphries is no simple mechanic. He is a skilled marine engineer and boat designer. He drew the plans for the 55-foot, all-steel harbor tug Evans himself; designed every part