Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-09-03
Police Issue Orders
On Duty Near Schools
As Infegration Starts
By james G. Deone

The Metropolitan Police De-
partment today announced
plans to assign extra policemen
to patrol duty near schools |
when the District school system |
starts. race desegregation Sep
tember Is.
Shortly after the announce
ment, however. both School
Supt. Hobart M. Corning and
Deputy Police Chief George R.
wallrodt said in a news confer
ence that they expect no serious
trouble.
Deputy Chief Wallrodt said:
1--WE feel the presence of uni
formed officers viii keep hood
lums away"
He added that the Police De-
partment's action was mainly
precautionary.
The police official. who will
have charge of the departments
Indignation measures, said the
department hopes to have at
least one uniformed policeman
stationed at each of the city's
1875 public schools on opening
day and until we can see how
this thing levels of"
Control Center Planned.
A control center stated by a
corporal in Mr.. Wallrodt's Office
at police headquarters will be
set up to receive reports of any
incidents, and a school liaison
officer will be detailed in each
police precinct.
The department has already
surveyed street crossings, street.
car and bus stops, business es-
Establishment and other points
where pupils can be expected to
congregate, and the policemen
will be stationed at such points,
Mr.. Walrodt explained.
First disclosure of the police
Indignation plan came with the
issuance of special directive to
the department this morning.
When the plan was called to
the attention of DR.. Corning, he
expressed some concern about
the effect publicity about it
might have on the public. The
school superintendent said such
publicity would be almost an in
vitation to trouble"
DR.. Corning told reporters he
had not known of the plan in
advance.
WalIr0dt, Corning Confer.
Deputy Chief Wallrodt had
scheduled a conference with DR..
Corning later this morning, how
ever, and after they met the two
conferred with reporters to-
gether.
The order itself emphasized
that school authorities them
selves will be responsible for
handling any problems on school
property. Police will intervene
there, Mr.. Wallrodt said. only if
school officials request them to
do so.
"While no major difficulty is
anticipated during the initial
stage of school indignation, it is
reasonable to expect that there
may be some friction between
students, particularly among the
Junior and senior high school
groups" the order stated.
at is felt that the various
school authorities can cope with
any situation in the school
buildings and grounds with a
minimum of police assistance
and that the problem of this
department will be to prevent
and promptly quell any dis
turbance on streets in the area
adjacent to any school, with
particular attention to streetcar
and bus stops and all business
establishments frequented by
school children in large num-
bers."
Might Ignore Boundaries.
The order declared that some
parents might disregard new
boundary lines and send children
to schools they are not assigned
to attend.
The department said it had
been advised that no police &C
ton could be taken in such cases
If the parties concerned are well
behaved, but it added:
IF their actions were such as
to indicate an intent to provoke
q breach of peace, or to annoy,
disturb, interfere with, obstruct
or be offensive to others, they
could be charged with disorderly
conduct :"
cit is felt" the order added,
''that such cases should be ham
died by arbitration and per-
suasion, and summary arrest
made only in extreme cases
where it cannot be reasonably
avoided"
On another Indignation mat
ter, DR.. Corning disclosed that
about rs requests for special
school transfers this fall are
pending before a new eight
member biracial committee set
up to decide such matters. The
majority of the requests are
from colored persons. DR.. Corn
ing said.
More such requests are ex-
pected before the new term gets
under way, he added. But he
Jailed the number to date sur
prisingly small"