Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-27
INCREASED POLICE
/ PATROL STRESSED
More Adequate Protection
| On Maryland Roads De-
CIared Needed.
BY GEORGE PORTER,


LAUREL, Md, May 27.-The re-
6uest of the mayor and town council
of Capitol Heights, transmitted last
week to the Maryland State Commits
sioner of Motor Vehicles for more ade-
ouate protection against speeding and
reckless driving along Central, avenue,
calls attention to the real need. not In
Capitol Heights alone, but throughout
Southern Maryland, for additional
State traffic officers.
y At present there are only IL men
reporting to the subStation here, pa
trolling all the State highways, county
roads and city streets from the suburbs
Of Baltimore to the southernmost tip OF
the State.
Effective Record Held.
That these men have a record not
only of Furnishing criminals, but OF
actually reducing the number OF accl-
dents along the highways, does not alter
the fact that they are spread out too
thin"
< One man, for instance, is assigned
to the territory from Beltsville, on the
Baltimore pike, to the Marlboro pike.
His territory includes the heaviest trav-
eied section of the Baltimore boule-
yard, one of the busiest traffic arter-
ies of the world; the Defense Highway,
as far as Priest Bridge. Central ave-
nue., and the lateral State roads as
far south as the Marlboro pike.
Another man operating out OF Leon
ardtown has all the Southern Mary
land roads below Marlboro in Charles
and st. Marys Counties.
"A study of the square-mile area and
appI oximate population of the counties
fIa ND of h.
station shows that an average OF 243
square miles Of territory and approx
Inately 1927 people are covered by
each State policeman.
Covers 371 Square Miles.
Patrolman c. B. Dillinger, who works
out of LeonardtoWn. is the only State
policeman in the 371 square miles OF
St Marys County and in addition must
care for the lower portions of Calvert
and Charles Counties.
The upper end of those two counties
is patrolled by Policeman L. E. Dutrow,
who is stationed at Marlboro and also
works" large part of Prince Georges
County.
Policeman ]. M. Bradley, assigned to
HyattSville, has as his beat" all of the
immense suburban area of Prince
Georges County and cares for special
assignment work in Montgomery County.
The roads of Anne Arundel County
are patrolled by State Policemen G. A.
Wollenburn of Annapolis and w. A.
Plummer of Glenburnie. Howard
County where the substation is To-
Gated, has Policemen L. Bloom at Eli
colt City, W. r. May at Elkridge and
the station personnel, comprising Sergt.
c. E. Duckworth, Corp. j. B. Deutsch
and First Glass Pvts. G. E. Beasman and
Harry Haines.
No Reflection on Officers.
It is no reflection on the work of
those men to say that the roads are
not properly patrolled. Twice within
the last week there have been fatal
automobile accidents which the State
police never have heard of until called
several hours afterward by the news
papers.
In one, on Southern Maryland road,
q woman was pronounced dead upon
arrival at the Prince Frederick, Md,
Hospital as result of an automobile
colliding with telegraph pole, yet the
state police I'D until Tuesday morning,
had received no report on 1t, and TINS
despite a standing order to all men,
bers of the force to report Immediately
a fatal accident.
The other accident was on the Balti-
more Boulevard and when the police
Substation was called two hours after
the man was killed no member of the
force was available to investigate.
y These, of course, are the exceptions
rather than the rule and do not mean
that the State force was not on the
lob. In the majority of instances,
whenever a bad accident occurs,
State man is on the scene before the
fYtiIred are removed
Cannot Cover Ground.
It is a physical impossibility for
man whose job is to handle the heavy
Sunday traffic over the Southern Mary
land roads to be everywhere at once,
and the commander of a substation
cannot dispatch men to the scene of
q fatal accident if the men themselves
are not available Often he finds him
self with half his force on a special
assignment, or on leave, or in dis
tant city attending court, leaving such
important territory as the Baltimore
boulevard from Branchville to Wash
fngton wide open," sometimes on Sat-
urday afternoon or Sunday when traf-
dc is heaviest.
! In Prince Georges and most other
counties the county force cannot ar
rest for speeding. The county ofncers
make arrests whenever an accident &C.
ours or in cases of reckless driving, but
for the most part they are not equipped
or trained to manage traffic.
Esteemed by Residents.
4 The State men in Southern Mary
land, the few that there are of them,
know their job well and are every
where held in high esteem by the resi-
dents. In some localities the authori-
ties have even made the State police
deputy sheriffs so that they can assist
In general law enforcement and not be
confined solely to traffic handling, al
though most of the time that problem
alone is more than enough to keep
them occupied.
7 With the increasing number OF
cars on the highways and the addl-
tional hazards from the now prevalent
smoke screens and rumrunnerS, Sentl-
ment Is awakening both in the civil
populace and among county police au-
thorities in favor of more State police
men for Southern Maryland.