Published on: Thursday, September 08, 2011

Each week, The Sentinel revisits a memorable story from our archives.  

    Failure of the County Commissioners and the present county administration to provide adequate police protection for the Town of Rockville is rapidly becoming a serious problem. Business men and residents alike, are complaining of this negligence on the part of the duly constituted authorities. Conditions on the main street, particularly on Saturday nights, are anything but conductive to the attraction to the better class of the better class of trade. The presence of a noisy, rowdy element on the streets cannot help but detract from the potential advantages of the county seat as a trading area for both local and upper county shoppers.

    The County Commissioners, as the governing body of the county, should be more alert. Montgomery County derives between $1,500 and $2,000 from the town for police protection. These taxes, paid out by residents and business men, should show some tangible result. Regardless of politics Rockville is entitled to this protection. The public should never countenance any negligence or lack of interest on the part of those in power when it comes to protecting life and property.

    The County Commissioners have laid the blame on the failure of the Superintendant of State Police to provide better policing of the highways. It is claimed that the construction of a substation in Montgomery County and the consequent addition to State policemen in this territory would release county officers for much needed tasks in the towns and more thickly settled areas.

    The Maryland authorities have been deaf to the proposals. The County Commissioners have chosen to pass the buck. The business men and taxpayers of such communities as Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Kensington suffer.