Evening star., 1945-03-08
|ckes AssaiIed
AT Hearing on
Police Merger
Herbert HurIs Charge
Of Interference and
Mason Warns of Cost
BY DON S. WARREN.

A warning that merger, of the
Park Police with the Metropolitan
Police Department would place add
ed cost on the District, and blast
at Secretary of the Interior Ickes
for interfering" with city affairs
highlighted hearings today before
a House subcommitteed on a move
to centralize police operations.
The warning came from Commits
sioner Guy Mason, who declared
that while he favored centranzing
authority over District operations
as far as possible under the city
government, there are "complicat-
ing factors" that should be con-
sidered.
He contended that if the Park
Police were transferred to the Met
ropolitan Force, the District would
have to set up an additional body
of men to act as guards and GUS
todians for the park properties.
I'VE are not going to have our
police doing custodial work." he
said.
Delay Attempt Charged.
The hearing, before the police and
fire subcommittee of the House Dis
trict Committee, vas opened by an
attack on Secretary Icke5 by Repre-
sentative Hebert, Democrat, of LOU
isiana, author of the police merger
bill under consideration. Mr.. Ickes,
according to reports at the Capitol,
had appealed to the White House to
cause delay in the hearings on the
Hebert bill.
II don't like the manner In which
opponents of this bill have sought
to kill it, said Mr.. Hebert. And
I refer especially to the Secretary
of Interior. I don't like his inter-
ference with District affairs, his at
tempts to dictate to the District
Committee of the House, and his
to hold up consideration of
this bill.
Il am not welded to the provi-
sions of this bill, but as far as I
am concerned, this committee is not
going to be dictated to by any de-
partment head, no matter how high
ly placed"
"Incongruous" Situation.
Mr.. Hebert declared it was "in-
congruous' that city of the size
of the District should have a half
dozen different police forces, which
he said caused questions of juris-
diction and overlapping. The i'm
mediate background for his intro
duction of his bill to abolish the
park police so far as that force per-
tanned to the District, he said, was
the assault-murder of a young Gov
ernment worker at Hains Point.
His belief that the park police
should be merged with the Metro
politan body was indorsed by John
Russell Young, president of the
Board of commissioners, who
thanked Mr.. Hebert for the interest
aiken in Distrid affairs.
General discussion in which sew
eral members of the subcommittee
joined, brought out that 78 out of
,he 108 members of the park police
are paid, equipped and have their
retirement rights at the expense of
the city government, though the
Commissioners have no authority
over them.
C0mplicating Factors.
Mr.. Young said he thought the
proposed merger would result in
greater efficiency. but, like Mr..
he suggested there were
some other complicating factors. He
mentioned the fact that the Park
Police patrol territories outside the
District, such as the Mount Vernon
highway and the Chesapeake &
Ohio Canal to Cumberland.
Maj. Edward j. Kelly, superin-
tendent of police, told the subcom-
mittee he doubted if this was an
ZINE for action on the
police merger plan because of
vacancies in the ranks of the Metro
politan Police.
Hearings on the bill are to be re-
sumed Monday.