Passing over a period in Mr. McWatters' busy life, checkered with
incidents and exploits of a marvellous kind in his career as a private
detective, as well as much that is interesting of his active
participation in many measures of a politico-reformatory and
socialistic nature, we find that Mr. McWatters entered the Metropolitan
Police force in 1858, wherein he distinguished himself, for the period
of twelve years, up to October 17, 1870, when he resigned his
post,--not only as a most effective and reliable officer in routine
duties, but also by many suggestions and plans of enlarging the utility
of the force to the community in general. For instance, we find in the
New York World, of date November 22, 1860, an article under the head
"Information to Railroad and Steamboat Passengers," which dilates, to
some considerable extent, and most complimentarily, upon the beneficent
results to the public of the operations of a detachment of the police
force, "called the Railroad and Steamboat Squad," by which travellers
visiting New York, and passing through, were saved from the impositions
and robberies of ticket swindlers, hotel runners, unprincipled
boarding-house keepers, etc., by encountering the travellers before
they leave the cars and steamboats, and giving them all requisite
information in regard both to the swindlers, and how best, most safely
and economically to conduct their sojourn in the city. The World's
article concludes with stating, that "this plan originated with Officer
McWatters, who, we know, was for a long time an efficient, and one of
the most popular officers attached to this section of the force."
How well Officer McWatters performed his individual duties in
connection with this squad, might be illustrated by the quotation of an
article entitled "Personal," in the Daily Tribune of July 7, 1860,
which is most highly complimentary of Officer McWatters, but is too
long to be incorporated here.
Mr. McWatters' onerous vocation as a policeman did not forbid his
finding time for earnest participation in many matters not pertaining
to his special duties as an officer. Indeed, it would seem that, with
all his labors, he found more time to devote to good causes outside of
his police duties than many men of leisure and benevolent spirit think
themselves able to bestow. It is said that none find so little leisure
time to do anything as the wholly indolent and unoccupied, and the more
a man has to do of daily labor, the more time can he find to attend to
extra calls upon his services. Officer McWatters seems to have
practicalized this "doctrine," for, judging from the several hundred
extracts before us, taken from the New York journals for the last ten
years, one would be led to think that Officer McWatters possessed the
attribute or faculty of ubiquity, for we find him "here, and there, and
everywhere" in the city, and without it, in attendance upon reform
meetings; or advocating humanitary measures from the rostrum, for
Officer McWatters is a forcible public speaker. The suffering and
starving people of Kansas (1861) we find elicited his warm sympathies
and active exertions in their behalf, expressed by the practical mode
of raising contributions for their aid. In the Evening Post of October
2, 1861, we find allusion to Officer McWatters as the Secretary of the
Patriotic Association of Metropolitan Police (of which, in conjunction
with the late Inspector Carpenter, if the writer is not mistaken,
Officer McWatters was the originator), which was organized to afford
support to the families of policemen who joined the Metropolitan
Brigade in the war for the Union.