The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-09-15

inaugurated the exciting incidents that
 immediately preceded the breaking out
 of the civil war took place. Among
 them in this state was meeting com
 memorative of the death of John
 Brown, who had been executed in Vir-
 ginia a year earlier. There were riot
 out proceedings here, which resulted in
 the breaking up of the meeting which
 was held in Fremont Temple. Joseph
 M. Wightman, a democrat, who was
 then mayor of Boston, did not interfere
 with the police to protect the meeting to the extent that those engaged in it
 thought to be necessary. It was broken
 up in the aftrenoon, and it was not re-
 garded as safe to have it continued in
 Fremont Temple in the evening. In
 this emergecy, the governor was ap-
 piled to to grant the use of Repre-
 sentaives' Hall of the State House for
 the evening meeting. Governor Andrew.
 found himself met by clear and obvi-
 ous difficulty in complying with the re- quest. A meeting in Representatives Hall in the State HHouse was as much liable to be disturbed as one in Fremont Temple. and the governor had no police force with which to pro- tect it. He would be compelled to
 depend entirely upon the mayor of Bos-
 ton for aid of this character. He did
 not like to do this, especially in view of
 the generally believed sympathy of the
 mayor adverse to the objects of the meeting. Governor Andrew therefore declined to allow the use of the State Househall, but he said later. that the occurrence called to his mind the help
 lessness of the governor to protect by any police force at his disposal the
 State House property again rioting
 or to assert the states supremacy in other respects. sI
 This was really the immediate cause of the creation of the state police of Massachusetts. The governor had realized the need of something like itj in an instance of emergency, and. this,
 coinciding with the claim of the Pro- hibitiopists that they sholud have metropolitan police, induced the draw
 ing up of a bill which might answer the governors purpose on the one hand
 and appease the Prohibitionists on the other. This was the extent that was anticipated in it's operation. It was not intended to supersede the local police to any extent or to supplement it in more than limited degree. The occa- sion for its exercise to assert the au- thority of the state such as that of which Governor Andrew felt the need has fortunately not since arisen. For considerable time itsduties were sup posed to be confined to the enforcement been brilliantly successful. After the repeal of that law their duties ended, For nearly century in the history of the state, there appears to have been no suggestion that such a police force was needed. The immediate emergency that stimulated the governor to call for it has never since arisen, and the law, the desire for the enforcement of which created for 1t support in the legisla- ture, no longer exists. -. ..'-E
 Under these circumstances, while we are not prepared to say that the state police law should be repaied. for it Is we'll that the governor shal have re- source in possible requirements of state authority, we still think it would be a mistake to magnify it's office or i'm portance. Especially should 1t not con fiict with or snpsrsede the local police of the commonwealth. If the tendency is to lessen the importance of one or I the other police branch, it should be brought to bear in the case of the state. l The. main dependence is upon the local I sx, "A, fl, the spirit of the government and of the | state institutions, The state police is | the most of the time superfiuous, and is l never vitally essential except iIl limited l numbers The local force grows out i of the natural condition of affairs. It | is the logical developmentNof our sys- tenn of self-government, and any addi- | tion to 1t should be regarded as sup
 plement and not as supersedure. .-Bos-
 ton Herald