POLICEMAN AS LIEUT-COLONE

Taihape Daily Times, 16 July 1919, Page 6

POLICEMAN AS LIEUT-COLONE

A 1 ___:{-3"-'j“j—' A touching ceremony took pla.C6 3 few days ago at Cardiff when Lleut.Colonel Arthur Richings resumefl the duty which he had performed before the war, of a common policeman. The last four years have been eventful' for him. He was Dl'omoted 2nd lieutenant on the field in November, 1917. By February, 1918, Tl 3 Was 3 captain, and a year later he was acting lieutenant—c-olonel. All the honours of war ha_ve been showered upon him_ He is a. Chevalier of the Legion of Honour; he Wears the 101.4 .<l+a~,-, the area}; an Guerre. (with palms), and the ‘Military Cl'o‘3S;o“ he ‘Was mentioned three ‘times in despatches and wounr‘:'-4 six times. And all is well witli"him.‘

He might be tramping up and down in search of the job whicl. could not be found. And there he is, ‘a’n “ordinary constable,” taking chargc*o‘f “drunks

and disorderlies” at Cardiff. “ No WOIIdCI‘ he was ;;I‘eetcCi cere'l'lfoll~. iously at his return_ The chairman of the Bench was kind enough to congratulate him on his achievements. With a fine air of patronage, no doubt, the chairman :-‘.«'—lid that he was glad to see him back. Thus Bumbledom paid :1 well dos-3i".'c-<1 “f:’.l;»ut':, to heroism, and Lieuf.-ColoneT Riehings, let us hope, was highly gratified when he was permitted \\':‘.t‘.. :1 eompiimc-nt, to get back to his Lisef-3.1, if undistingl:i.<h(‘Ci. Woz'k_ But one thing sconzs 4.0 have escaped the amiable ch:lil'ma!l. VVC are not

tolcl that he said a sifiglo word in repronch of what is in truth a national disgrace. The gallant soldier, who has now been reduced to the ranks and publicly congratulated, has served his country well. He could not have been honoured, as he was honoufierd on the field had he not possessed great gifts of courage and organisation He has

proved himself a true loader of men, and is lifted high above the class to which he belonged before the war_ And if the country cannot do something better for him than invite him to patrol a boat in Cardiff, then the country is both wasteful of‘ her good men and wholly bankrupt in imagina.. tion, '

We have not too many men in England of tried and proved ability. ‘Among the few is surely he who in fifteen months rose from the ranks to be acting lieutenant-colonel. Only a prodigal nation would be content to see him wasting his skill and his energy upon a postwbich any.stout, untrained fellow of five-and-twenty .~.ould fill efiiciontly. If Lieut_-Colonel Richifgs remains in tic police force,

is there no country which lacks

chief constable‘? is no office Vacant which may not be properly filled by an officer who has three times been

mentioned in despaftcllcs? For the sake of the nation, always prodigal of its resources, an opport‘llility should be given to this highly honoured man of staying hortourably at the high level of life to which he Hefs attained.