The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-29
CLOE APPEALS ID
 CITY NOT ID. GIVE
 WAY DOWNSTREAM
Police Commissioner Asks Co., operation of Public in Effort to Uphold
 the Law
Declaring that several hundred per-

sons had asked for permits to carry murders, Commissioner W. B. Cloe of public safety is appealing to the people of Birmingham not to give way to hysteria. but. to cooperate and assist the police authorities in their efforts to uphold the law.
 He stated that three negroes had been indicted by the grand jury charged with the Mantione murder and that substantial progress is be- Ing made In the pursuit of the negro who attacked the second Southside groceryman.
 Police departments are frequently most effective and most active when they say the least about their work, he declared, and because it does not make a great spread of it's work in the papers that is no sign 1t Is not working on these cases.
 The statement of Mir. Cloe is as fol- lows:
 " dht lO dPPoaA hO th~ pEOPAo OA Birmingham not to give way to hys- teria over recent ax murders. This is no time for hysteria, but an occs sion when every cooperation should be extended to the regularly constituted police authorities in their endeavor to upholda the law.
 T especially want to protest against any general arming of the people. There Is no occasion for this. There Is no general menace to the public from a crime wave.
 'It Is true there have been several deplorable murders of grocerymen in recent weeks. The people should re- member, however, that the police de- partment is amply able to cope with the situation and Is so doixE.
 Three negroes whom we are pared to prove responsible for the Mantlone murder are in jail and have been indicted b ythe grand jury. We are making substantial progress in the pursuit of the negro who attacked the second Southside groceryman. l am confident when we find him we will also have the slayer of Mir. and Mrs. C. S. CraW1oro-
 Because the police department does not make great spread of It's activities In the newspapers 1t should not be assumed that 1t Is inactive. Police departments frequently are most effective and most active when they say the least.
 This office this morning has been deluged with requests from citizens that they be given permits to carry pistols. These permits cannot and will not be issued, In the first place to carry a revolver is against the law In the second place there IS no ne- cessity for doing so. The life of the people Is not generally menaced.
 Attacks by the ax murderer have been made on people singularly situ- ated and ignoring the most elemen- tai precautions in dealing with toners late at night while they are alone.
 Any general armins of the people. any yielding to a wave of hysterical fear would bring about a very grave situation, infinitely graver than at present exists.
 "Another thing I would like to point out is that there Is no neces- sity for looking outside the police de- partment for enforcement of the law. Any private organization for this pur- nose merely hampers the properly constituted authorities and brings about a condition of chaos and fre- ouentiy clashes while the citizens sui" fer.
 'As few in numbers as the police and detective department are, they are yet as efficient as any depart ments in the country. We point 10 our record to substantiate that fact.
 These crimes are sporadic in their nature and without the cooperation of the special class Of people at whom they are aimed, prevention Is prac- tically impossible beyond ordinary precautions.
 'I made a suggestion several days ago which, if followed, will bring i'm mediate results. suggested that these small grocers close their places of business at 6 o'clock at night. There is little necessity for their remaining open longer than that and if you will notice most of these crimes have oc- cured late at night.
 Now word as to the police de- pertinent. When I took charge of the department of public safety ! put at the head of the police depart ment Fred McDuff as chief. MT. McDuff has a national reputation as a police officer and I have implicit confidence in him. I know that he can handle the situation and l know that he is handling it as well as any human being without supernatural gifts could do.
 The record of this department for the last three months shows what he has done and can do.
 We have . wise, experienced, brave, resourcefui and courageous of ficer directing this situation. I want to appeal to the people to allow him to handle matters as~he thinks best.
 If the police department were idle, we would be subject to public criti- cism. We are not idle. We will not be idle.
 Do not organize outside forces that would only make our task more diff cult
 Now. a final word to the newspa- pers. You can do much toward calm ing the public mind or arousing it.. The safety department needs your CO., operation and asks for it.
 The police department is hard at work. Give McDuff and his able as- sistant, Tom Christian. and their men a fair show. w. B. CLOE." out on the same day before Judge