Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-07-16
DUTIES OF MILITARY POLICE
They Are OF Use In Both Peace And
Var.
PRESERVE ORDER ABOUT The CAMPS.
In Case of Battle this Organization
Has Much to Do With Preserving
Order and Keeping Down confu.

importance ana the unpleasantncss OF
his task.
They have seen his work and learn
cd something Of what 1t means to the
efficiency OF an army. The officers
Of a company are responsible for the
soldierly bearing Of thc men while on
duty. While OF duty. however. It Is
up to the NJ. P's.
The civilian population often fails
to realize its debt to this branch OF
the service. The soldiers themselves.
particularly the new ones, at times re-
gard II as an organization the pur-
pose OF which is to take the joy out
OF life.
| Working always In close co-opcra-
ton with the civil authorities. II IL the
VI. Ps. duty to protect the soldier
against himself and the community
against those few who would forget
that they are soldiers.
SO much for his duties at home. At
the front his duties are multiplied BY
as much as those OF his other COM
radrs in arms.
Speaking of this. the Christian
Science Monitor Of London has tn"
following to saw:
| You picture him as n sort OF glori-
| fled university proctor. wearing red
lcttered blue band round his sleeve.
and parading the streets in search OF
officers who wear purple socks. or
leave their pockets unbuttoned. writes
| 'BiIzzcr' on the subject OF the 4. l.. NJ.
But the \. T. M.-assistant provost
marshal. to give him his full designa-
tion-is very much more heavily
burdencd individual when you meet
him nj the front. II Is true he IL still
responsible. among many other things.
for the srrmly behavior of the troops.
but his duties as q censor Of man.
ncrs. morals and etiquette occupy
| far smaller fraction OF his time.
AZ chief OF the military police OF
his division he unitcs the functions OF
military governor. commissioner OF
police. prison governor. detective and
traffic superintendent. II is laid
down In the book that:
"'Thc duties OF the NJ. p. military
police), under the orders OF the A. NJ.
r., are to see that the usual police
regulations OF the forces are observed
and they are responsible for arrang-
ing the arrest OF persons found with
out passes within the lines or plum
deff-..rr.sg rs mareuding. making unlawful
acquisitions or Esawmitting Qf1sases 81
any Kind.
"'Thcy also assist In collecting
stragglers and conducting them to the
nearest units and in guarding against
spies. ETC.
Mark that etc The word COM
prises n multitude of unforeseen and
unreasonable problems which con-
front the officer who administers that
anomalous district The Back -of-thc
Front His powers extend over for
rign region Icoplcd for the most part
hy noted military tribes. He has
dealings with the natives OF the conn
| try as well as with his own country
men in khaki. II follows that he
must bc man of commanding per-
sonality and infinite tact. He is the
| strong, silent man Of fiction In real
life. He carries with him n certain
air of aloofness: he feels himself
man apart from his fellows. For II is
his lot to consort with brother otii-
GERS whom hc might at any time he
called upon 10 report for some trifiing
offcnsc against military discipline. He
is man II Is AZ well to keep on the
| right side Of.
"Thc ideal 4. =. NJ. has the gift OF
unobstructivn ubiquity. A certain gov
crnmcnt official, attached to q. II. O.,
once met an a. +. NJ. at lunch. It's
strange thing he remarked. that
though have been here three weeks
I have never once been stopped by
your police No. replied the 4. u. n.
quietly. They reported you two min
utcs after your arrival. we telephoned
G. II. @. and found out all about you
and they received instructions ac-
cordingly.'
1T is field Of operations like the
Balkans that the quality Of the A. +.
VI. Is most severely tested. In
friendly country he knows how he
stands in regard to the native, IN an
enemy country his position Is equally
clear but in n treacherous country.
which Is a mixture Of both. his legal
status Is very delicate and his Difficult
ties tmmeasurable.
"On the Macedonian front in for
mer days some OF the natives were
pro Entente. some were pro- Bulgar.
some were anti ti-Venizelist and some
were merely brigands. II was the A.
p. NJ. who had to distinguish friend
from spy, TO nose out intrigue and
treachery, and to urearth secret stores
which were being boarded for the
purpose OF smuggling into the enemy
lines. 1t needed the wisdom OF Solo
mon. the subtlety Of a Ulysses and
the personality OF Napoleon to car
ry out the duties of an A. p. M. with
justice and efficiency. The genius who
held that position in the Struma dis
trict in those days marvelously COM
bined all those qualities and was
rattling good fellow into the bargain.
Most artiuous of the A. p. N. duties
Is the regulation Of traffic, even in
quiet times the traffic problem LIS
poser One road must be reserved
for in-going. another for out going
traffic-one road II fit for heavy guns,
another impracticable for anything
but infantry; another leads no
where; another has been suddenly
made impossible by stray shell. The
conditions are variable enough when
all Is quiet on the 'front.' In an at
tack or a retreat only q marvel Of
cool-headed organization can prevent
chaos. The A. p. n. must spend
long days and endless nights sathe
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