The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1929-12-20
REASON FOB EVERYTHING

A REASON FOR EVERYTHING
Like everything else in and 0
the force, there was a reason 70.
even the scarlet coats that indi
vidualized the Mounted.
Sir John Macdonald is general
ly regarded as being the father o.
the North West Mounted Police
AS premier of Canada, he detail
ed Colonel Robertson-Ross on a
reconnaissance of the country to
determine what steps should be
taken to control ~lawlessness and
to establish an agency that could
guide the country through the ira
vail of pioneerdom, From the
survey submitted by that officer
the premier outlined the basic
principles upon which the force
was founded and which were kept
intact until the amalgamation of
1920. The Ross report was explicit
on the point. of the color of the
coats the officers and men should
wear.
During my Inspection it said,
81 ascertained that some preju-
dice existed among the Indians
against the color of the uniform
worn by the men of the Provin-
ciaI Battalion. Many of them said:
Who are those soldiers at Red
River wearing dark clothes? Our
old brothers who formerly lived
here (meaning H. NJ. 9Th Regi-
ment) wore red coats adding,
we know that the soldiers of our
Great Mother wear red coats and
are u friends
Therefore, Sir John Macdonald
insisted that the dominant note
in the uniform should be scarlet,
that color, according to Mr.. Hay
don, conveying the strongest i'm
preston to the mind of the Indian
through his respect for the
Queens Soldiers"
This provision by the premier
gained entrance for policemen to
he councils of troublesome In
lians in subsequent years, for the
Hearer of scarlet was immediate
and ever afterward accepted
IS a friend and protector of the
natives.
The statutory warning prisoners
lpon their arrest had a most vi
al reason for being. The authors
fiction in which the Mounted
Invariably fingered over the hack
leyed phrase, whatever you say
will be used against you,' much
is they would over a particularly
lainty morsel of food. The utter
nee of that warning was about
he most spectacular thing some
# the novelist's policemen per
ormed.
However, the cautioning of a
prisoner upon his arrest against
terminating himself was an es-
part of the formally. Sec
ion 457 of the Royal North West
Mounted Police "Constable's man
lal' reads:
Before a prisoner in custody is
Lsked any question, however nee
,ssary, even for the preservation
# the life of an injured person,
II the f%urtherance OF the ends of
ustice in relation to any crime,
nd especially murder, with which
lie is charged, or about to be
.harged, he should be distinctly
autioned that his answer may be
.iven in evidence against him.
'he law is very strict on this
-ead, and does not permit persons
harged with offenses to be inter-
ogated by the police as to their
uilt.
But on the other hand, it is the
uty of the constable to listen to
Il a prisoner says, and faithful
Y to give evidence of the same.
o this end a note should be TAX
n in writing Of any observations
prisoner may make, so that the
may be refreshed before +
living evidence" ]
In e~ffecting arrest, the first act S
as the placing of the hand on {
le accused PERSONS shoulder, a
ldicating restraint of liberty, and
t the same time the officer de-
Jared that he was taking the in
lvidual into custody for murder,
left, or whatever else the charge