The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-02-16
POLICE!
By Chas. A. Starks.


One can hear the above cry quite
frequent, disturbing and startling even
the busy haunts of Metropolitan life
1t may be that some Man or Woman
has been cut or shot or some burglar
has been apprehended while plying his
plastic trade of stealing. Whatever it
is you may rest assured that in the
abstract someone has violated the
Law" hence the cry for the Police. :"
Policeman, then, are evidently held in
the esteem as protectors of those who
are being or have been victimized by
the unlawful. This fixes clearly the
status of the man who walks the Beat.
He acts as first aid in the maneuvers
of the Law which proposes to bring
the offending ones to final responsi.
bility for their crimes.
l sometimes believe most Of our
people do not realize what a police
man is really for, and that is why
am writing the present article.
"WHITE AND BLACK"
We have noticed that anything the
White Policeman does to US as a rule
is accepted in the natural order of
things. He is policeman-thats all
With the Colored Policeman it is
different. He is expected to go up
and down the streets turning neither
to the right nor to the left. But he
must grin at everybody, thugs in
cluded. He must suffer every Jim,
Bill and John to approach him ia
miliarly and disrespectfully They
expect him to see everything, and do
everything, but his duty. The latter
is unpopular with the unlawabiding
gentry. If the Colored Policeman
makes an arrest, He's Meddling." If
he tells old and young scamps not to
romp or scuffle or obstruct the side
walks, He's Biggety." If he raps some
bad person, under arrest, on the head
after assimilating from them abuse.
resistance and even attack. He's a
"Tusk Hog" He must not arrest a
Thief and help to put him behind the
Bars" where he belongs; if he does
he is sure to bring the condemnation
OF the lawless, which is natural and
two-thirds of us who believe in doing
Right but foolishly sympathize with
wrongdoers. In all, he is not encour-
aged by us to do his duty bravely and
But, from whence comes the posi-
tive horror and antipathy of our peo-
pie toward the police, even the law
abiding? Answer: The exercise of an
tyranny on the part of
White Policeman whose ignorance
overlap their duty and discretion and
who imagine that Cruelty instead of
Intelligence is the watchword in hand
ling and adjusting cases coming un-
der their care. Add to this the hate
full overtures that Race prejudice
compels on our fair Brothers part and
you have the complement of offensive
police rule.
1t is well known that the harsh
Celtic well nigh monopolizes the ad-
juncts of this branch of municipal gov
ernment. Therefore, we can readily
understand why Negroes come in for
Coed Drubbing" when they fall
into the hands of the white Law"
Some say: "If I should steal, I'd
certainly steal something worth
while" You are wrong, sir, if you
would steal you would simply steal.
A thief is no respector of persons Or
sums. 1t is matter of opportunity,
not principle with them, neither guam
tity nor quality. AS for sympathizing
with such criminals it is utter foolish
ness. Sympathy should only be ex-
tended in correctional punishment af-
ter the guilty has been apprehended
and placed securely beyond the pale
of society.
Still, we are bound to confess a GER