Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-04-24
sh.,1 Inrrr he a slale Police

graphic columns.
Shall There be 4 STATE Police:
The expediency Of providing state
Constabulary force. similar to that oil Mas
saebusetts. has been considerably discussed
in the State and in the Legislature at each
Of the last three sessions. Four years ago
an earnest effort was made to secure the
massage of constabulary bill. 1t was
House bill. and failed in the popular branch
If the Legislature. The people were not
ouite ready for tie measure then, or at the
last session. Many good temperance men
were not satisfied that it was best to make
snch a distinction between the prohibltory
law and other criminal laws, or to adopt
the policy Of providing special officers to
enforce ypeeid laws The experiment had
not. they thought, been fully tried in Mas
sachusett,, Investigations in progress In
that STATE tending to throw some doubt on
the fidelity and incorruptihility Of number
Of the State police.
Time, experience aud observation have
removed some of these doubts. While on
general principles. no doubt, Il woali he
best to rely for the execution Of all laws on
the regular machinery ofjustice. if 1t could
be depended on to work perfectly, expert
ence everywhere shows that it often works
far from perfectly, and most imperieetly Of
all in the execution of the laws for the re-
preston Of intemperance and lewdncss. In
the larger towns Of our State the cases null
tiply. in which, as at present in this city,
the village or city governments are in plain
sympathy or alliance with the illesa al liquor
traffic. Prosecuting officers are often timid
OF too corrupt to do their fall duty. And
instances Of this kind are 50 frequent a TO
convince many men of the need Of
a set of officers, who shall be Independent Of
local control and removed from the in
tmidating and corrupting influences which
50 beset town and county officers.
Where such a state of things exists, undue
care for the maintenance OF law and order
Is thrown on private individuals. There
are. for instance, business men in this city,
who have for many months past given a
large share of their time and thought and
labor. to the execution of the prohibitory
law. They have earned the hearty thanks
Of all who consider the closing Of sixty rum
shops a desirable result; bat they can
hardly be asked or expected to continue
such expensive effort Indefinitely. The
prohibitory law Is the settled policy Of our
State hut the execution of the laws Is
task which should not be laid on private
citizens.
The State police is no longer an experi.
ment in Massachusetts Investigation ha~
only strengthened the confidence Of the poo
pie of that State in the institution. Even
strong opponents of the prohibitory law o:
that State, believe in the State police. Tie
Springfield Republican plan for the solu-
ton of the liquor question, Is stringent
license law, with an enlarged State police
force for its enforcement. The Republican
is an out and out opponent Of "prohibi-
ton - but it has seen the good working OF
State police force notably at the time Of
the great regatta in that city last summer,
when, Just before the regatta, the State
constaLles quietly visited the city, closed
scores Of grog shops, houses of ill-fame and
gambling hels which the local police had
not been able to discover, and prevented an
immense amount Of drunkenness, disorder
and debauchery.
The call for the enforcement Of the liquor
law is louder to-day than ever within our
recollection. Temperance men, Of almost
all shades of opinion, unite in it. The re-
yiyal of moral suaSi0n j. a most cheering
feature of the great Temperance movement
that Is sweeping over the land: bat 1t l.
accompanied, a. none can fail to see.
with IN earnest demand for the protcc-
tiun and aId which repressive law l.
calculated to afford. Intelligent oppo-
nents Of the prohibitory law, looking at
the problem from another point Of view,
believe it can he settled only by thorough
trial of the law That such a trial can be
ouly secured by State police. if We read
public sentiment Alright, is the conviction
of many who have heretofore doubted the
expediency of such a measure.
Shall, then, there be a State police? 1t
is for the people to give the answer to this.
We would not have it made party que>-
tion. 1t i, in fact, question of internal
policy in our own State, not necessarily
connected with national politics. and one 10
which Intelligent men Of all parties should
be willing TO give candid consideration.
There i large portion of the people of
our State who believe our liquor law to te
wise aud wholesome, and needing only BET
ter enforcement 10 commend it O. more
general approval. There is another con-
siderable portion, who believe that thor
ough enforcement of the law would result /
in its speedy repeal. The Two classes,
doubtless, together, make a great majority |
Of the people Why should they moi unite |
in an honest effort to secure for once tie I
impartial and thorough enforcement of the |
law throughout the State. for time ~piii- |
cient to give it fair trial, and to that end, !
why should not all unite in going in FOR a
State police?