The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-07-03
RURAL KEEPERS
 OF THE LA 04

Frederick F. Van de Water, In Leslies We Y
 When the gray uniformed men of tew Yorks rural police rode out on their frs na- trol, Pennsylvania was the only other ea1l- monweath boosting similar organizatio
 Since the troopers were born, five as1 ago, and set about establishing record for ef- fective law enforcement that no police or ganization has ever equaled, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Michigan and West Virginia have placed rural police forces in the field, Delaware, Georgia, Ohio, Illinois and a half dozen other states have movements on foot for the establishment of similar services, and the tide is still just turning.
 In 1920, some 200 men patroling 40 900 square miles of territory where the houses are far apart and crimes of late years have been close together, made Il ,0O0 arrests This was an average of some 50 arrests per year per man. In the same year the New York city police, who fond of hailing themselves as "the finest made, on an average, 24 arrests per man per year.
 From these arrests, "the finest' obtained 80 per cent convictions. The troopers got 94.6 per cent. Twenty of every 100 arrested in New York city were discharged. Of each 100 captives taken by the troopers five or six went unpunshed
 Two great state police forces preceded the New York state troopers and the kindred or ganizations that have followed it-the Royal Northwest Mounted, now the Canadian Mount ed, and the Pennsylvania constabulary. To these might be added less important thfrd the Texas Rangers.
 The present day state policeman differs in one great particular from these earlier horse men of whom much romance and some truth has been written.
 He is a rural policeman, pure and simple. That is why he was called into being. His beat is the countryside. His intervention in industrial disputes is rare. He can only be called in to restore order on command of the governor. He is "strikebreaker'' only in so far his brother of the national guard is
 You find him the dirt road between half forgotten hamlets. His wards are the farmer folk and dwellers in little towns unprotected by professional police forces. His enemies are the lawbreakers, local or transient.
 A century ago, the village constable was up-to-date officer of the law, capable of dealing with the simple crimes of primitive community. So was the watchman 5f the liz tie cities of that period. With the growth of civilization, with the influx of foreigners the cities were faced with growing crime prob lem that soon overwhelmed the watchmen. Therefore the city police departments were organized, composed of professional crime preventers, who by continual study and unre- hitting effort have managed to hold the criminal class more or less in check.
 In the last 100 years the rural policeman had remained merely the "constable" of "by heck" dramas, nice old gentleman who was a mild terror to small boys and no deterrent at all to determined criminal. Yet during this period the change that had taken place in the cities was reflected in the country districts. The city crook began to penetrate to villages that had heretofore had only their simple local crime problems. They came by train. Then. more rapidly and frequently, they came by automobile. Immigration complicated the situ- ation still further. Foreigners poured into the rural districts, bringing hostile ideals and achieving little understanding O. respect for American law. The nice old constable was whipped at the start.
 The country folk paid taxes. They were en- titled to protection of life and property quite as well as their city brethren. Hence, at length, men and women who were concerned with the problem, evolved the remedy.
 The state must furnish rural police force. It must be trained thoroughly and equipped both with horses and motor vehicles, for it's territory would be broad and the men it pur- sued swift.
 They must not be affected in the least by local or statewide political conditions. There fore, the command of the organization must be given to man of absolute honesty, strong high intelligence and thorough nil itary experience.
 What New York has done, other states are doing. Take down the old picture of the state policeman. Turn the mob-chargng su- perman on the rearing horse to the wall In it's place hang the truer interpretation-the pie ture of sober uniformed cavalrymen, riding two by two through the byways of the Ncoun- tryside, tracking down criminals, lifting up the unsmirched by politics, knowing no master but the law of their state.
 STRONG. IN HENRY