The Owosso times., 1920-12-10
farm BUREAU
APPROVES
STATE POLICE
sTATEMENT REGARDING WORK
OF STATE TROOPERS Is
GIVEN OUT.
Farm Organization Analyses Sources
of Antagonism to This
Force.

The following statement has just
been given out by ]. p. Powers, pub
licity director of the Michigan State
Farm Bureau. whose headquarters are
at East Lansing. The statement re-
views the activities of the troopers
and states clearly the attitude Of the
Farm Bureau In regard to the con-
stabulary. 1t Is as follows:
Ignorance of the great majority Of
the people of the state concerning the
state police, its operations and accom-
plishments provides fertile field for
opponents according to the State Farm
Bureau, which has investigated the
workings of the force with the idea
of determining whether the state was
warranted in continuing the expense
Of maintaining it,
1.-THE Farm Bureau has found that
many of those who have attacked the
police are unable to give much data
concerning them.
"The point that the revenue they
have brought into the state and coun-
ty treasures exceeded the expense
they involved, aside from the bulwark
for law and order they presented,
seems to have been obscured, the Farm
Bureau asserts. This revenue has
come from fines, recovered stolen
goods, and confiscated liquor. etc. In
sixteen months they have made 2,O42
arrests, resulting in 1866 convictions.
Since the state has provided for but
1853 men to be scattered over the hun
dreds of square miles Of Michigan, 1t
Is obvious that they cannot be In evi-
dence everywhere. Besides arrests
and convictions, reports show con-
siderable list of activities in killing
sheep-running dogs, forest fires ex-
tfnguished, and guards furnished for
town, banks, orchards, and crops.
Friends Of the State Police accord
Ing to the Farm Bureau are those who
have used them, notably timber men,
fruit and vegetable growers, mine and
factory operators, and city authorities
who have been helped in apprehension
of auto thieves, gamblers and speed
ers.
Enemies of the police, the Farm
Bureau asserts, arise from two main
causes: friction due to overlapping
Jurisdiction with county law-enforce-
ment authorities who frequently have
been resentful of the fact that opera
tions OF the state police have not re-
flected credit to their law-enforce-
ment ability and have taken fees in
fines away from the county officers.
Further, influence Of law-breakers, in
cluding auto thieves, speeders, fruit
stealers, rum-runners, particularly
gamblers and the undesirable element
"The State Police were organized
April 6, 1917 with two year appro-
priation Of 1870, 400 per year, of which
100000 was saved in the first year.
The organization is asking for $448,-
100000 next year. One division of the
police is in the Upper Peninsula with
headquarters at Negaunee with seven
posts where troopers guard fruit, en-
force game laws: do strike duty and
patrol forests. One at Traverse City
with seven posts patrols cut-over lands
and guards orchards. One at Grand
bank robbers, raided gambling houses
and protected fruit growers. One at
Flint protects vegetable growers and
caught rum runners, gamblers and
auto thieves. They all do patrolling.
"The police distribute cards to
farmers giving the telephone number
OF the nearest post so the farmer can
call up when he needs help Each
trooper keeps in touch with his post
and upon call one or more can be
rushed to any part of the state upon
comparatively short notice. The
hours of city employees have left leis-
ure time for irresponsible auto parties
to steal fruit. Thousand of dollars
have been saved through orchard pro-
lection as is attested by numerous
statements and letters from the fruit
growers themselves"