The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1913-11-21
POLICE OF SPAIN
In AndaIusia They Are Seen In
All Their Shabby Glory.
ARsENALS ON MOVING LEGS,

With the Greatest P~otitsness and
Lock You In q Cell With Infinite
courtesy-Mines Of Misinformation.
He is polite. is the Spanish police
man. There is a live and let live air
about him. He possesses neither the
easy and kindly dignity Of the police
man Of London nor the turbulence of
the policeman Of New York. but he Is
very. very human. And he has the
blessed gift that no other brand Of
policeman seems to possess Of appear
ing to be nor than an ordinary person.
True. he Is armed. He Is al arsenal
moving on legs. But something tells
you that he wouldn't really hurt Il fly.
I like him.
And here l must say that he il not
to be COMPOUNDED with the guardia
civil. The guardia civil is quite an.
other person altogether. He is stern
and austere. and he patrols country
districts and lonesome mountainous
places. He was used to put down the
bandeleros. those adopts In the art Of
swift. fOrceful borrowing. whose pres
ence did so much to heighten the ro-
nance Of old sunny Spain. The guardia
civil killed off these gay financial art
lists. but now. ever after his job has
been finished. be still a a cold.
austere air. He Is indeed not to be
confounded with my friend the police.
The first time l met the Spanish po-
liceman was one night in a certain
town in Andalusia. Truth compels me
to state that I met him in a profess
sional way. I was indulging with
others In a row when he appeared-in
force. l was gathered in by five Of
him. But how polite he was! he put
his pistol to my head. or. rather. the
Eve Of them put their pistols to my
head. and made me feel that I would
be doing him the greatest Of favors by
coming with him to the police station.
The whole affair was courtliness 1t.
self. To be arrested In such a manner
was to have a privilege conferred upon
n At the police station I was again
treated with p%oliteness and in the end
with a locked door.
The Spanish policeman is not too
we'll paid. He sports not an ambas-
sadorial salary. All he gets Is 2 pc
setas a day. He is therefore anne
nable to the friendly and eonsiderate
tip. This. l must hasten to say. how
ever. makes him none the less a
worthy and effective guardian Of law
and order.
He is shabby of uniform. But that
Is not his fault. 1t is the fault Of a
frugal government. In appearance he
looks something like an English post
man and an impoverished Spanish
officer. But there is artistry about his
shabbiness. He fits into the picture.
Very often. especially in Andalusia.
he is old and rather infirm. One is
often sorry for him as he humps along
with his sword trundling behind him.
But he has the wisdom that goes with
age. II he sees a row he looks at 1t
with his blind eye and allows it to
simmer down-a very good thing with
rows.
II you ask a Spanish policeman q
question he is %politeness itself. But
his answer will be wrong. He Is q
mine Of misleading Information. He
doesn't know. Indeed. what he doesn't
know about the names Of streets and
the way to get to them and things
generally would oil an encyclopedia.
II you want to know anything you
must not ask a Spanish policeman
don't ask him questions.
In the nighttime he sometimes car.
ries a lance. He is then called a
serene, presumably because he brings
serenity upon troubled waters. He
looks very picturesque on a clear. star
lit night and makes one think Of the
times of old-the times one reads about
In historical romances. But he IL al
ways harmless. always peaceful and
ready for a friendly gossip. He Is
really a serenO-a serene person. His
lance Is merely there to round OF his
artistic and romantic appearance. And
It is not a sharp lance. know. for
! udvC OASCu lSIS Luc COkS VI IL WuCu
the serene courte0usly handed It to me
for inspection. But It looks artistic
when seer in the distance on a star
lit night.
The policeman Of Catalonia Is some
what different from the policeman Of
Andalusia. He is alert. pushful and
interfering. He is apt to want to know
who you are and what you are and
what your business may be. But Gaia
lonia Is not Spain. It Is a place where
the people rush about doing all man
ner Of things. They like work. and.
what is worse. they like other people
to work. And their policemen take
after them.
No. the Californian policeman cannot
truly be called a Spanish policeman.
II sou want to see the true Spanish
policeman you must 20 down to Anda.
lusta.
And you will like him. You will feel
for him the friendliest regard. You
will zee him amblinR casually along
With stopped shoulders and trundling
sword. And ahOuld vnal have fO make