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Law or Order?Although the Texas International Pop Festival ended four days ago, the controversy it has caused still rages. The major development of the festival’s aftermath is the resignation of the Lewisville Police Chief Charles Adams.Adams has been under constant criticism this week for his handling of drug violations, during the festival. No uniformed policemen were posted inside the festival grounds and therefore no arrests were made on the grounds during the three-day event.The criticism has come not only from the citizens of Lewisville, but largely from the mass media.What the majority of these people don’t understand is that Adams’ action was the only sensible alternative in that situation. The police stayed out and peace prevailed—there were no fights, no injuries, and only rarely was even a harsh word spoken.First of all, those who criticize the police chief should realize the size of police force he had with which to work. Even with the large number of Dallas police working in the area, the size of the force in comparison with the number of people attending the festival was small. Large numbers of police were needed to guard the gates and fences of the grounds from trespassers and to man the highways to direct traffic and deter traffic violations. The size of the force which could have covered the festival grounds would not have been sufficient to arrest even a large minority of drug users.Secondly, it is a well-publicized fact, through reports of troubles on college campuses and the Democratic Convention, that the mere presence of uniformed police in a large crowd of youths is a major cause of hostile feelings. While a few drug arrests could have been made by the presence of policemen on the grounds, the likelihood of a»major disturbance would have been practically inevitable. The decision had to be made between protecting the peace and well being of both police and those who attended the festival or risking that peace in order to at least nominally enforce the law. Adams apparently felt that peace was the most important factor.We do not disagree with those who are complaining about the hypocrisy of the law. Certainly it is absurd to arrest one person for drugs in a car while the same person could freely use drugs in the festival. Flowever, we do not feel that complaints should be directed to Adams, who succeeded in keeping peace and providing everyone involved—even, according to news reports, Lewisville merchants and onlookers—with a beautiful weekend. Perhaps those who complain should look, instead, into the hypocrisies of the laws themselves. —The EditorsPoint of View
Newspaper Details
Dallas Daily Campus
Dallas, Texas, US
Fri, Sep 05, 1969
Page 2
Full Page
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USA 02 Sep 2023
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