Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1918-05-24
STATE TROOPS
WARMLY PRAISED
GOV. OF UTAH RIoIDLY iNsPEcTs
MICHIGAN coNsTABuLARY AT
EAST LANSING.
HOME TROOPS HELD AS MODEL
Organization Of state Constabularies
Serves to Keep Our Industrial
Troubles to a Minimum.

Lansing, Mlcn.-M ot"eS
Constabulary, or as II is officially known
Michigan Permanent Troops, at their
East Lansing post, were rigidly In
spectsd and warmly praised recently
by Simon Bamberger, governor OF the
state Of Utah.
Not only did the governor or the
Mormon state compare the Michigan
men to the Pennsylvania constabulary
the pioneers in the field, but he also
commented at considerable length up
on the wisdom of the Michigan 9th.
Gals in the establishment of the con-
stabulary some months ago.
eff you hadn't organized such q
body Of men" he put 1t, you un'
doubtedly would have had lot OF IN
dustrial trouble in your Industrial
cities and in the copper and iron
mining districts. And am told you
have had practically none at ALL"
After inspecting the barracks and
those of the troops who were In East
Lansing, accompanied by Col. Roy C.
Vandercook, Governor Bamberger dis
cussed in detail his ideas as to state
constabularies.
1--WE have some peculiar situations
in Utah" said he, land We are aware
that before very long We must-have a
state constabulary. And l propose tc
model 1t in many ways after your
Michigan organization, a portion oil
which l have seen here today. Pos
sibly 1t will not be necessary for us
to have as large an organization as
you have right at the start, but we
can use your system and have our
barracks arranged much as you do.
"At present we have two companies
of regular army men at Camp Doug
lass. They have been used to keer
down any disorder we may have. We
have larger smelters In our state, with
a population around them much as
you Michiganders have In your cop
per and iron countries. You know
what that means-you are sitting on a
possible volcano all the time. So far
the government has been very kind to
leave the two companies with us, but
recently In Washington | was inform
ed that 1t would not he long until the
government would have to send the
soldiers for intensified service over
seas. Then we will have to have a
constabulary, for our National Guard
is gone.
Little thought has ever been given
the idea OF state constabulary In
Utah until very recently Nevada has
a small force Of % men, while Cali
fornia has one of larger proportions
now In process of organization. The gov
ernor Of Nevada told me not long age
that he did not know what might have
happened In his state this winter had
1t not been for the constabulary.
Not long ago. too, in converse
ton with Governor Brumbaugh, OF
Pennsylvania, he told me that the
10 mounted men the state now had
scattered over it, we're worth infinitely
more than the 5000 temporary mill
tia which have been organized and
constantly drilling / cite both OF
these governors merely to show that
the constabulary idea is now consid
cred the best plan state can have
for home protection. We intend to
have one In Utah. and will not have
to wait for the legislature to meet
next spring to organize 1t, either
Under our laws, l can organize Ii my
self.
while there have been complaints
and l suppose always will be, about
the cost to the state and the taxpayer
where a permanent force of constab
ulary Is maintained, it strikes me that
counting the cost in dollars and cents
Is the least OF the question. If you
count the cost OF what lawless mobs
might do, in dollars and cents, you
will also find that your total runs
away up. II the state constabulary
even at a huge cost for maintenance
can prevent loss of property running
into the thousands, to say nothing OF
the loss of lives, would consider that
almost any sum of initial expenditure
were wisely spent"
Governor Bamberger, during his
stay in Lansing. where he was making
Liberty Loan speeches, went into de
tails as to the method of working out
war activities on the part Of Michigan
In many respects, he said, the prob
lens which his state had to face we're
akin to those arising in Michigan. He
was much interested in the move.
ments In Michigan for the purchase
OF seed corn, tractors and other plans
by which 1t Is expected to accentuate
and increase the crops this year. ALI
OF these plans, he said, had been start.
ed in Utah, but he was doubly inter.
ested to grasp the details of the work
in Michigan, and also to see how the
plans were working out.