Evening star., 1928-10-14
BY RUTH MILLARD.


Only one man in 5000 is tempera-
mentally and physically fitted to direct
metropolitan traffic in this motor age.
He must be Unconditional, unimag4-
native and 100 per cent stable. He
must be immune to monotony and in
sensitive to the ever-present danger of
the post He requires the patience of
Job to answer courteouSly the questions
that are constantly hurled at him.
To meet the mechanical requirements
Of the Job for 10 hours day ne needs
perfect physique. He must be at least
feet II inches; his hearing and vision
must be superior. He needs agile feet
to dodge the ceaSeless stream OF cars
and strong lungs to bear the diet Of
carbon monoxide.
These attributes of the successful
traffic policeman were agreed upon by
neurologists Police Department execu-
tives and veteran traffic men who were
questioned following the suicide OF
Patrolman George obey, 48, whose
nerves were shattered last week by the
endless procession of autos that
streamed by his Brooklyn traffic tower.
Dangerous, But Popular.
Although the man in the streets idea
of a police hero includes halr-ralslng
chases and smoking pistols, the patrol
man who directs the lines OF traftic Is
in more danger of injury than the
officer on beat, according to DR.. Daniel
]. Donovan, chief surgeon OF the New
York Police Department. Each year
more men in the traffic department are
killed or seriously wounded than In any
other branch of the service.
In spite of these hazards and hard
ships, the traffic posts are popular
among members of the police force be-
cause of the regular hours and eXemp-
ton from night work. Although no
official figures were available, members
of the traffic squad estimated that
nearly half Of the policemen assigned
to duty are unable to stand the strain
and are transferred to other branches
| of the service.
"All of these men are nearly physical
| ly perfect. as required by police rules,
| but they lack complete stability; they
are not sufficiently emotionless; they
| have too much imagination" said DR..
r. Sylvester Leahy eminent neurologist,
who, as consulting member of the medi-
cal staff of the Police Department for
| the past seven years. has made de-
tailed study of members of the force
who suffer from neurosis.
| Traffic duty entails a tremendous
strain that would shatter the nerves OF
the ordinary man. The man who takes
the Job must stand in one place for 10
hours and repeat ceaselessly certain
arbitrary motions. The monotony of
this quite aside from the physical
fatigue, would be sufficient to send most
of us into nervous hysteria.
Young Men Preferred.
"But in addition to the mechanical
requirements. the patrolman must be
constantly alert for emergency. He
faces death constantly; one careless
moment a second of relaxation, and he
may be manned for life, perhaps killed
To an imaginative man the constant
presence of such danger would be i'm
possible to bear.
! ITO stand up under the nervous ten
sion of traffic post day after day and
year after year. man needs an iron
nervous system insensitive to shock and
must be completely stable. He cannot
afford emotional expression; he must be
cold, collected. detached"
DR.. Leahy said that he had not ex-
amined Patrolman obey. who COM
mitted suicide. In many cases of nerv-
Gus trouble the subject does not display
symptoms apparent to the casual eye,
he pointed out. Although the police au-
tlorities keep a careful eye on the traf-
f1c men, no one had suspected the strain
that the veteran patrolman suffered
from.
Young men are better able to adapt
themselves to traffic jobs" he added.
IF obey did not take up traffic work
until nearly 40, as 1 have heard unof-
ficially, that might account for his later
maladjustmert. Many other things
such as home difficulty or financial
troubles, might have contributed"
ITS dogs life being traffic cop, "
, declared James A. O'Keefe, who retired
last week after Is years of service in the
police department-mosto of them spent
in traffic. watching those cars keep
going by and going by day after day is
, enough to drive man nuts. I was in
It for nearly Is years and ought to
know.
Haunted by Night Cars.
: "A man who stands on his feet al
day and waves his arms and answer.
foolish questions politely is too ex.
hausted at night to do anything bu
: soak his feet and turn into bed. Their
there's always jolly good chance ol
7 getting bumped off by one of these
! reckless drivers and being brought hom,
to dinner a corpse. I began to get sc
: I'd see the autos rushing at me wher
was asleep Although you'd think
! after Is years a man would get used tc
anything. Anyhew, I'm. glad Z I'm
khrouoh. itS tough about O,T,av. 3