Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1919-07-11
FRIDAY, JULY IL, 1919.
OUR CONCEPTION OF A CITY MARSHAL

DOSSIBLY there is no more important office in
any small city than that of city marshal not
excepting mayor, councilman, or justice of the
peace. The requisite qualifications of the man who
becomes good city marshal are numerous and
most exacting. He must not only be brave, phys
ically and morally (the latter being quite as es-
sentia as the former,) but he must combine kind
ness with firmness he must rise completely above
personal prejudces, likes and dslikes for ndivid-
uals. He must be able to accord the same treat
ment to foe to friend or from his viewpoint, he
must divest himself of both. He must be ener-
getic and seepess, far as the frailities of the
flesh will permit. He must be good mixer, "a hail
fellow well met" and still not compromise to the
slightest degree the dignity and moral obligation
of his office. He must be prepared to sacrifice the
friendship of any supposed friend who may be
overtaken in wrongdoing, and to be slandered and
untruthfully assailed by those who chafe beneath
the obligation of good citizenship.
He must also be wise, discreet and alive to ev-
everything that is passing. He must be patient,
impartial, even-tempered and uncompromising.
He should be a man above suspicion, of high
moral character, integrity and incorruptibility.
These are a few of the qualifications which go
to make up the characteristics of successful
marshal There are yet others, but those men,
toned will enable community possessing man
having all or the great majority of them to make
a good choice.
The most important and exacting part of a
peace officers duties is the handling of the juvenile
population. An officer who understands and can
get well with the kids will have little diff
Guilty in handling the adults, for they are merely
grown children and as their characters are pref
ty well established it is not easy to injure them.
But the children--the coming citizenship of the
community, with plastic minds and characters
these the ones who require careful handling
H.,
patience of job to deal with them.
1t is the very worst kind of practice to hold up
every petty offender in the light of a base and
sorded criminal, who is dangerous to be at large.
1t is often better for the offending boy and for the
community at large to call the lad to one side and
have rt-to-heart talk with him, rather than
to arrest him on the first possible opportunity and
haul him up before a Judge or juvenile officer. 1t
is absolutely foolish and cheapens the dignity of
the law to arrest gang Of little boys for bathing
in an irrigation ditch or other place of vantage
this hot weather without having first warned
them that it was not permissible Who of us would
not feel like doing the thing if we could find
a sheltered spot with enough water to make it
worth while?
That first time that the boy is under arrest or
surveillance should be avoided as long as practc-
able or altogether, if possible. Many men who
have grown to maturity without ever having APP
peared before court of Justice or other tribunal
would not now have their record robbed of this
immunity for untold riches. Then we should be
careful how we rob the present day boys of it foi
paltry or insufficient reasons.
A perfect peace officer is one of the most diff
cult individuals extant to lay hand on and the
community which locates one has find more prec
ious than gold, The value of his services in the
community cannot be expressed in dollars anC
cents.