Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-11
RADIO TO Be USED
BY PARK POLICE
Plans Not to Conflict With
District Police Request
for Frequency.

Although the United States Park
Police made inquiries first at the Fed
eral Radio Commission for a wave
length for police purposes, 1t will not
interfere with the pending applica-
ton of the Metropolitan Police for q
frequency, Lieut.. Col. u. S. Grant, Sd,
director of public buildings and pub
Lie parks, said yesterday. Col. Grant,
who has supervision over the park
police, proposes to ask for funds to
initiate the program of utilizing radio
for police work in the parks, and his
office Is now testing out the possibility
of ascertaining If one of the frequencies
utilized by one of the Federal depart
ments might not be shared by the park
police.
Col. Grant pointed out that radio
would be particularly useful If re-
gional park system is developed in the
environs of Washington, as seems likely.
If there is only one wave length avail
able, Col. Grant said, the United States
Park Police Is willing to 60 into part
nership with the Metropolitan Police
on this.
Seen as Economy.
Due to the wide expansion of park
activities, the use of radio will obviate
the need for installing telephones, so
that the officers may be kept in touch
with the central Office. Col. Grant sees
in the use of radio an economic meas
ure, saving the cost of telephone in
stallation. Proposals are pending in
Congress to give the United States Park
Police jurisdiction over the now I'M
policed road running east of Airing
ton National Cemetery where Mary
Bakers body was found and over the
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, now
under construction. The Capper-
Cramton park purchase bill, pending
in the Senate, contemplates construc-
ton of the George Washington
Memorial Parkway, running from Great
Falls down both sides of the river to
Fort Washington, Md, and in the re-
gion of Mount Vernon, Va.
It Is contemplated that good share
of this parkway will be Federal property
and this will mean that the United
States Park Police patroling these areas
will be quite distance from the home
office. Here, in the opinion of officials
of the once of Public Buildings and
Public Parks. radio will play useful
part.
Easy to Place Equipment.
The park police now have so few auto
mobiles that equipment can easily be
placed in these, so that the police may
receive radio flashes sent out with re-
gard to the activities of criminals While
Col Grant can see the time when park
police will use more automobiles, par
ticularly in night work and cold
weather, he does not believe that motor
CYCLES will be abandoned entirely, as
these are very useful in traffic work.
Capt. Ray c. Montgomery, superin-
tendent of the United States Park Po-
lice, is a Field Artillery Officer in the
Army and has had close contact with
radio in his service work, having had
a special course in it. He is quite in
terested In radio and thinks that it may
be possible to obtain a frequency,
shared with some remote lighthouse in
Alaska, and in Government channel
so that there would be no interference
between that point and the park police
activities over the air.
Col Grant and Capt. Montgomery
are now going forward with the pro-
gram of laying plans for equipping the
force with radio in the near future and
It is expected that next years appropria-
ton bill will contain provision for this.