Laurel, Md.—a Wartime Study

Town Solves Soldier-Girl Problems

---

This article is reprinted from the Washington Daily News, October 13, 1944

---

Its own young men gone to war and its streets crowded with Ft. Meade soldiers, this is how the little town of Laurel, Md., has so far successfully handled the same kind of servicemen-and-girls wartime problem that has shocked Washington with the brutal slaying of 18-year-old Dorothy Berrum.

Easy on Soldiers

Laurel, 19 miles out of Washington, is a wartime study from many angles.

Soldiers and their wives occupy literally every vacant room in the town and for miles in every direction; women help man its volunteer fire department; Laurel has four policemen for a normal population of 3000, now swollen to an unknown figure; its very nice USO center competes with taverns and one moving picture theater for soldier entertainment; soldiers stand in line to get on buses for Washington, Baltimore, Ft Meade; two military police are on duty each night; a replacement center, big Meade houses a constantly changing stream of young men in uniform from all over the country.

Laurel’s police chief, Lieut. Edward S. Brown, admits that this little town nearest Ft. Meade is easy on soldiers. It tries to keep them out of trouble, arrests them only as a last resort, and then detains them only until they can be taken over by military police. Laurel police have arrested nearly 100 race-track followers since the 51-day racing season opened in September, and in the same time have had practically no soldiers in custody.

Hostesses Need References

But Laurel and Ft. Meade learned lessons early in the war, and together have taken precautions that may have saved plenty of grief.

Taverns within town limits used to stay open till 2 am; some eating places were open all night. Police had trouble with early-morning brawls in eating places, with out-of-town soldier dates on the streets after late closings. Ft. Meade informed tavern keepers they would have to shut up shop by 11 pm if they wanted to keep on having unrestricted military business. They obeyed. Eating places followed suit, troubles diminished.

But the servicemen-and-girls problem remained. Laurel’s USO has young girl hostesses to dance with soldiers and help them have a good time in its attractive ballroom, movie theater, music room, lounge, reading room, soft-drink-and-sandwich bar. These girls must have references, etc., as at all such centers and at Army camp dances.

But buses run constantly from Washington and Baltimore, and girls ride them to meet soldier dates at Laurel—or just looking for soldier dates. Soldiers who can’t get a pass to go to Washington or Baltimore usually can make it on the bus to Laurel to meet or pick up dates there. And after taverns and eating places close, there’s no place for couples to linger except in doorways or on not-too-well-lighted streets.

That’s when Laurel’s small police force goes into action. Unobtrusive officers stand on the corner of Main St. and Baltimore Boulevard, watching little groups leave the closing taverns, picking out possible trouble-makers with experienced eyes.

“Now there goes one of them,” says Patrolman Elwood L. Steldt, middle-aged, with four years’ service as a Laurel policeman... “And there goes a bunch up the Boulevard…they’ll go to another tavern beyond the town line, it closes later… then they’ll come back here.”

Officers keep their eyes open, unobtrusively follow couples drifting off the principal streets, talk like: Dutch uncles, still trying to avoid arrests and trouble. Does the girl live in Laurel? If not, does she have any place to stay there? Where does she live? The next bus to Washington or Baltimore is due at such-and-such time. Get on it and go home.

She goes. Her soldier date puts her on the bus and himself shoves off for Ft. Meade.

So far, the Laurel system has worked.

© 1944 Washington Daily News