Show Police Problem For Nation Far From Easy Task By BRUCE DRUCE CATTON CATION The last lait few months have s seen n federal fedral fed fed- eral ral authorities moving swiftly and and effectively to strike at organized kid kid- naping gangs It has been pretty clearly learly proved that Uncle Sams Sam's mencha men dm cha can do a better job of rounding up such uch crooks than local police can con The result has hns been widespread agitation agitation agi- agi tation in favor of extending the power of federal law enforcement agencies over oil all fields of crime prevention and detection Joseph B. B Keenan the assistant attorney at- at torney lorney general under under whose direct lion ion some of the most spectacular drives have taken place lace recognized this not long ago in n a speech in Ohio There Is increasing demand for forthe forthe the he federal government to ignore the law aw and make a cleanup he said President Roosevelt even has been asked to declare martial law and rout out the crooks This is unsound Purely local crimes can be suppressed locally but some once once local local have have become national na na- ional because of ot improved tation and in these the government can act But it is not going to violate yb- yb late ate law and order to get at criminals for violating the law The clamor for martial law Jaw and a Mussolini like drive on all fronts has hu died down somewhat in inthe the last week or so But there remains the underlying under under- lying ying issue Would it be profitable forus fOlus for fOl forus us to reorganize our entire system ol oj police work and nd put a much larger largel share of it in the hands of the federal fed fed- federal eral government The Tho facts of the situation make th this look very attractive in many ways Every citizen of a sized good-sized city city- is familiar with the way police talk about known gunmen prominent racketeers the so so and and so gang and so on without accompanying their heir words with action The contrast between this frequent admission of police helplessness and the efficiency with which federal operatives operatives op op- strike at is too striking to overlook Yet the problem is far from simple Federalizing our police would call Into nto question our whole system of local ocal government The home rule principle principle- we are so fond of certainly would suffer The movement might carry us a good deal farther than we would wish to be carried Backof it all there lies the simple tact fact that a local police force can be benade made nade just as efficient for combating local ocal crimes as tS any police force needs to o be The Tho one thing that prevents it t from reaching this efficiency in in inthe the vast majority of cases cases is is poli poli- tics In In the long run we shall get the kind md of police work we want when w we get honest decent and efficient local government If It we do that we wc wont won't need to call on Uncle s Sam m for lor help |