Editorial cartoon, Pennsylvania State Constabulary, circa 1905.


Illustration of a policeman astride a horse and rioters holding sticks and an American flag.
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Established to provide law enforcement in regions of the state experiencing labor unrest, the Pennsylvania State Constabulary was first staffed with Spanish American War veterans mounted on horses. Why? According to John Groome, the Constabulary's first superintendent, "One State policeman ought to be able to handle a hundred foreigners."