It consists only of 589 men all told, and they are fine, manly looking guardians of the law, always ready to do their duty, always courteous to strangers, answering all questions intelligently.

It is claimed, moreover, that the criminal element of the country drifts to San Francisco in the winter on account of the climate and also through the attractions of the racetrack.

The police also find that the places where poker-games are played are a rendezvous for criminals.

In 1887 and 1888 there was an outbreak of highway robbery, but the grand jury acted promptly in the matter and the courts soon suppressed it.
Property and life therefore are jealously guarded in the City of the Golden Gate, and bad characters who go thither to prey on the public soon get their deserts.

In this respect then San Francisco is a desirable place in which to live.
One evening in company with a party of friends, Rev.Dr.Ashton of Clean, N.Y., Rev.Dr.Reynold Marvin Kirby of Potsdam, N.Y., Rev.
Clarence Ernest Ball of Alexandria, Va., Rev.Henry Sidney Foster of Green Bay, Wis., the Rev.William Barnaby Thorne of Marinette, Wis., and Doctor Robert J.Gibson, surgeon in the United States Army, stationed at San Francisco, I visited the police headquarters, situated on the east side of Portsmouth Square.