The Wichita daily eagle., 1901-02-24
POLICE 0F LONDON
Great Fame of Metropolitan
Bobby Well Deserved,
METHOD Of ORGANIZATION
System by Which They Han
die Immense Street Crowds.

London. Feb. 24-The london police are
held up as model for the world. ard in
way quite Justly. Yet as you kn7o.
London has had her porce troubles Ike
New York. The way in whiea a disoy-
derly crowd were allowed to rule London
on C. L V. day. that is. Of the return to
the CITY Imperial volunteers-provoksd
a storm of criticism, and so did the
tolerance Of unmannerliness in the pub
lie streets on .sdafeking night" and 9TH
er occasions Of the kind. Hence, it
came about that the pageants OF the past
few aays-in the day of Queen Victoria
obsequies. on The days Of the Kings
visits to London. and On the day OF the
Kaiser's farewell-were accepted as
test for the efficiency Of police manage
ment in London. The test has justified
the old-time conhdnce in the Cockney
Bobby and the moment is timely 10
say something Of the system under
which this great city is governed
The London police set about their dif-
icult task Of the past few days at-so TO
speak, the lash end of the whip. They
were warned in advance by rumors. self
appointed critics, and mentors that on no
account must there be q repetition Of
"0lafeking day" otherwise some one in
high position would be demanded as a
sacrifice. Sir Edward Bradford, the com
missioner Of police, was conspicuous all
day on a charge; but there has been no
need to clamor for his head. As com
mander-in-chief Of a civilized army OF
well-nigh sixteen thousand he was pri-
marily responsible, and from no quarter
has there come anything but praise for
his arrangements and for the police
their patience, their good temper, their
individual tact, and their admirably elias
tic discipline The art of exercising per
sonaI initiative and Of dealing single
handed with an emergency which has
been noted-especially among the colon
ials-in the South African war. is one
which has been unretmittingly pressed
by successive chiefs upon the metropOh-
tan police ever since it was brought into
being in 1929. This is why. above
all other reasons. this force has 50 pro
foundly moved the admiration Of intelli-
gent foreign observers. The art has been
learned and learned. generation after
generation until it mas become an in
grained gift, a sort Of second nature,
which comes to the young constable even
in the months Of his nov1tiate.
The intelligent foreign observer sees in
the London policeman a civilian pure and
simple. IT is this freedom from militar-
isn-so persistendy and so rightly de-
ma Z led by Sir Robert Peel. the founder
of the force-that gives 10 the metropoli-
tan police their remarkable authority
over the people. wther singly or il bulk
Mr.. Bayard. as United States ambassa-
dor, eloquently pictured as one az the
finest sights civilization can supply that
Of a London policeman regulating the
traffic Of d great thOroughfare by a. single
movement Of his hand. But this, though
naturally one of the things TO attract
hrs . the admiring notice Of a stranger. +
merely scrapes the surface. 1t does not
take stock of the countless duties that
fall in the course Of every four and twen- +
ty hours to the metropolitan police. I
When Sir Robert Mayns and Col Row .
an, the first joint commissioners were f
called 10 their task, it has been written
of them that they had to raise" and or
ganize and Grain a small army. TO direct (
them in duties hitherto unknown in Eng (
land and to teach them TO discharge their I
Office with patience and consideration. I
and consideraton-eonside t
and patienee-this has been the keynote (
Of police work In London ever since the +
two commissioners met in Scotland yard I
'In a room" it is said. with a table ard
two chairs" charged to raise "a suf- f
fcient number Of able men" for the due