Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-07
DEMAND FOR ARMS
FOR BRITISH POLICE
Special Correspondence Of The Star.
LONDON, December "a,

LONDON, December "a, 1910.
ONDON has at last been aroused
by the murder of three police
men to the defenseless state Of
= its official guardians, and an al
most unanimous demand is go
ing up from the newspapers and the
public for the arming Of the police.
A few days ago information reached
the city police that a band of foreign
thieves had hired a house in the back
Of a jewelers. shop In the East End
and were boring through the wall
against which the jewelers. safe stood.
Half dozen policemen were hurried
round to the place and when they de-
manded admittance the door of the
house was opened and the burglars
rushed out, firing right and left with
revolvers. Three policemen were killed,
one receiving no fewer than eight bull
let's in his body, and three others were
wounded. The thieves all got away,
house in the neighborhood dying from
bullet wound inflicted by one of his
friends by mistake. Not one of the
policemen who were sent to arrest this
gang Of desperate criminals carried any
weapon more deadly than the short
baton, which the British policeman is
compelled by regulations to keep in
specially constructed pocket of his
trousers and which he must not use
unless he believes that his life is in
danger.
About two years ago there was SIM
liar tragedy in another district of Lon
don. On this occasion an alien thief
shot and killed a policeman and a lit
tie boy who happened to be standing
in the street through which he ran.
::
Until a few days ago. however, it was
almost impossible to find an English
man who could see anything wrong or
absurd in the existence of an unarmed
police force. 1t didn't seem to matter
that the native hooligans took a delight
in beating up policemen. OF course.
nothing more serious than broken
rib or two happened often and that was
considered a sporting risk of the po-
liceman's life. AS a matter of fact,
most of the London policemen are
fairly handy with their fists and can
give good account of themselves in a
rough and tumble fight with the Lon
don hooligan. Then the ordinary Eng
lish criminal is rather a futile person.
professional burglar here, unless he
is a foreigner. The Englishman hasn't
enterprise enough for life of pro-
1esslonal crime. and when some poor
WIZ Is Starving goes out 10
do a bit Of burglary or sneak thieving
he is easily dealt with by the burly
policeman.
But recently London has been MAX
ing acquaintance with new kind of
criminal who is said to be a product
OF the revolutionary movement in Rus |
STA. Certain it Is that most of theI
specimens which we have come in con-
tact with are smart young Russians, |
many of them well educated and some |
even with respectable scientific attain |
ments, who have adopted a criminal
career deliberately.
These men are always armed with the |
latest weapons and do not hesitate to |
use them when interfered with by the |
police. They began to appear in Rus |
STA in considerable numbers a few years |
that they were robbing banks and
private persons for the benefit Of the
they dropped that pretense. The hatred
borne by the Russian people toward the |
police and official classes has always |
stood them in good stead. and they |
could rely on the assistance of every |
ing capture. Recently, however, Russia |
has become too hot for them and an |
increasing number are transferring |
their activities to England. where they |
found that they were favored by the |
OF the police.
!. =
They are also favored by the fact |
that although London has a large alien |
population it's police are aggressively |
English. There are not half a dozen |
men on the metropolitan force who