Evans Report

R. James Evans was a member of the Communications Division of the Michigan State Police for 34 years, 1938-1972. He served in all operating and technical capacities, and was appointed to the position of Chief Radio Engineer under Commissioner Donald S. Leonard in 1951.

Mr. Evans was active in APCO, having served as President of the Michigan Chapter in 1950 and National President in 1961. He was a Life Member of APCO and Fellow of the Radio Club of America and a Life, Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

Mr. Evans wrote this report when he was a Communications Consultant in the area of Public Safety in 1978.

“While police radio is no longer in the experimental stage, the eyes of the police world will be on the
Michigan State Police station in that it is the first state station for police purposes and the first use of
radio in linking an entire state for quick police action.”

This brief excerpt from the national police publication “The State Trooper” in July, 1930, perhaps best summarizes the over 8 years of struggles, arguments, threats, and accomplishments leading to the successful establishment of the first state wide police broadcasting system.

The Michigan State Police evolved from the “State Troops” which were established during World War I and performed their duties on horseback. On March 21, 1919 that State Legislature inaugurated a change of the “Troops” into the Michigan State Police.

With their new charge and responsibilities the State Police immediately embraced the use of the automobile. Once the complaint was known to the trooper his arrival at the scene was greatly improved with the motor car. However, the problem of getting the information to the trooper on patrol never became more apparent.

A number of methods were tried to overcome this basic communications problem. Two of the more successful were to have the trooper periodically telephone his post. This method was not only expensive considering most calls were long distance but the rural telephone circuits of the day did not always provide the most reliable service. The other method, perhaps the most successful, was for the post to call designated, cooperating, business places in the troopers patrol area. The business would then display a signal, perhaps a red flag or lantern, the trooper then stopping and receiving his orders.

Bulletins requiring wide dissemination were laboriously telephoned to each post, requiring hours to complete the alert of escaped convicts or fleeing suspects.

Obviously the efficiency of the trooper in reaching a crime scene had been improved with the automobile. It now became mandatory that a great improvement in keeping in contact with the patrolling trooper must be accomplished to increase the effectiveness of the Department.

Department officials had closely observed the success of the Detroit Police radio system and were familiar with the patrol efficiencies being realized through the use of radio. Donald S. Leonard, a trooper assigned to the State Police Post near Detroit was participating in the Detroit system with a receiver installed in his patrol car tuned to the Detroit broadcasts. In addition Trooper Leonard spent long hours in the Detroit dispatch room observing the flow of messages and dispatch procedures. Trooper Leonard, referred to as Ladder 15 when being dispatched over the Detroit system, later rose to command the Michigan State Police, was insistent in his desire to see his Department radio equipped.

The Department reasoned with good logic that if Detroit was showing impressive crime fighting improvement with radio then radio was the obvious answer to their communications problem. Detroit covers 144 square miles they observed, with transmitter power in the order of 5000 watts and an improved antenna system we should be able to cover the 58,000 miles of our state.

Not only were the early State plans intended to communicate with their 19 outlying posts and their patrol cars but also the 83 sheriff’s offices and the local departments around the state. In modern terms then these early pioneers envisioned an extended range communications and coordination network through the use of radio.

Convinced that radio was the answer State Police Commissioner Oscar G. Olander in turn convinced the State Legislature and in 1929 25,000 hard to come by depression dollars were appropriated for the system.

Well, felt Department officials, we first started looking at the communications problem and experimenting with wireless telephony in 1922, it’s taken 7 years to get this far but with this money surely the end of the tunnel is in sight. First we will start construction of the station and at the same time obtain our radio license so that we will be ready to go in the shortest possible time.

Mapes Hall, on South Harrison Road in East Lansing, adjacent to the grounds of the Michigan Agriculture College, (now Michigan State University) and dedicated to the memory of Trooper Same Mapes, killed in 1928, would be the home of the station. A building was to be constructed at the rear of the Hall for the radio equipment and operating office.

Forthwith, State officials set off to the Federal Radio Commission offices in Washington to obtain the necessary station authorization. To say the least their efforts were not particularly successful.

Absolutely not, said the Commission, with the power you are proposing you will cause interference to commercial broadcasting stations.

It was the feeling of the Commission the desired radio service could be realized by having the State patrol cars equipped with receivers tuned to the frequency of a local police agency in their area. These stations would be licensed at much lower power than the 5000 watts proposed by the State and would not pose the interference problem so feared by the Commission.

As an alternative the Commission suggested they would consider issuing licenses to the Department for a number of low power stations spread throughout the state, but, a central state wide station broadcasting at 5000 watts – never, said the Commission.

The Detroit Free Press in the spring of 1930 quotes former Detroit Police Commissioner William P. Rutledge, credited as the father of police radio, whom on hearing the decision of the Commission wondered which was more important, the apprehension of criminals or the selling of soap and toothpaste. And we can assume that among police officials around the state this would be considered one of the more mild statements regarding the Commissions decision, but at least it could be quoted-and printed.

Well, said Michigan’s Governor Fred W. Green, rolling up his sleeves, the task is clear – the battle is on, this State will have the radio station it needs. An article from the Jackson Citizen Patriot of March 30, 1930 indicates the opinion and position of Governor Green.

“Impatient at the delay of the Federal Radio Commission in granting the State of Michigan permission to establish a radio broadcasting station for the use of the State Police, Governor Green declares the State will go ahead anyway, without permission.”

“The Governor says the State retains control of its police power under the constitution, and as the proposed broadcasting station is strictly for police purposes the federal government will not be able to interfere. It’s a good issue for constitutional lawyers to wrangle over, but the delayed decision of the Federal Radio
Commission will be available long before a final opinion from the Supreme Court is to be had.”

In a formal statement Governor Green is quoted:

“The State of Michigan is not engaging in a controversy with the Federal Radio Commission. It is simply asserting a fundamental principle of American government and if the Radio Commission gets in the way, that is the Commission’s fault, not ours.”

“The police power which has been reserved to the several states is not subject to any limitation, but is a sovereign power. In exercising its duty of protecting its citizens from bandits and gunmen, the State of Michigan has found through the experience of the City of Detroit that there is no more effective way of apprehending criminals than by the use of radio.”

As never before, and perhaps never since, leading newspapers around the state lined up behind the Departments fight for the proposed station. It is interesting to note that some of the newspapers supporting the station also operated commercial broadcast stations, the very same stations the Federal Radio Commission was so concerned about.

Governor Green instructed Department officials to continue on with the job of obtaining and installing the necessary radio equipment, he would see the station went on the air with or without Federal Radio Commission approval.

Over the next few weeks Governor Green continued to confront the Radio Commission with his intentions that the station would go into operation as planned.

Firmly, but now perhaps a little nervously, the Radio Commission stated they would obtain an injunction against the State to prevent the construction of the station. Someone will go to jail, said the Commission. Nevertheless, said Governor Green, we are going ahead as planned.

Meanwhile the other shoe dropped. The $25,000 appropriated for the station and receiver equipment was far short of what would be needed. Transmitting tubes could only be purchased through the Radio Corporation of America and they would only supply tubes to users of their equipment. Bids received ran as high as $60,000 for the transmitter alone. Bids on station receivers ranged from $75.00 to $155.05, and for automobile receivers from $84.65 to $225.00. Initially 30 auto receivers and 50 station receivers had been proposed. Clearly a staggering financial problem, encumbered by the depression had to be faced.

And finally in the spring of 1930 a third shoe, if that is possible, dropped. The Radio Commission issued and order limiting municipal police radio stations to broadcasting not more than 2 minutes in each half hour, 56 minutes of each hour then would supposedly be available to the gleeful criminal element. While the order applied immediately only to municipal departments would it not also apply to this new state wide system if and when, if ever, it was allowed to commence operation? The real reason of course behind the rule was the ever increasing concern with interference to commercial broadcasting. Amos and Andy and the Happiness Boys must be heard – everywhere – always – police radio stand by.

Meanwhile Governor Green continued to apply pressure to the Radio Commission to re-consider its position on the Michigan station.

The Kalamazoo Gazette noted in a timely article on the Michigan endeavors that another fear of the Commission was that once Michigan accomplished its radio broadcasting concept other states would probably want to do the same thing. Where would all these frequencies come from, radio congestion was already a problem, the Michigan idea could only make matter worse.

An exasperated Governor Green then made what may have been his shortest and certainly his most emphatic statement regarding the matter stating:

“We have secured bids and are about to contract for our radio station. When it is built we will use it.”

April 22, 1930, an important date for the station. The Federal Radio Commission has invited the Department to Washington for a re-hearing.

Seizing their opportunity the State selected an impressive contingent to represent their case. State Police Commissioner Oscar G. Olander, Wilbur Brucker, Michigan’s Attorney General, and his assistant Kit Clardy, former Detroit Police Commissioner William P. Rutledge, Captain I. H. Cross of the Michigan Police Chief’s Association, Edwin C. Denstaedt, Supervisor of Police Radio in Detroit, a Lieutenant Brown in charge of Detroit’s Second Precinct radio equipped cruiser, considered the busiest and most efficient radio car in the country, and Lieutenant Donald S. Leonard of the Michigan State Police. Clearly this prestigious group would represent the Michigan station in the most exacting and concise manner.

The hearing before the Commission lasted 2 days. During the hearing the Commission made the point that only 29 so called mobile frequencies were available. Of these only 8 were available to police broadcasting, and of the 8 only one was open for assignment to state police broadcasting.

However, in the end the hearings did resolve the technical issues and unfriendly feelings that had become so prevalent. As a result of the hearings the Commission’s rule limiting police broadcast stations to 500 watts was abandoned. Members of the Commission whom had previously appeared so adamant to the Michigan idea now began offering suggestions along the technical and operational lines on how to make the station efficient and successful.

Governor Green had won his point. State police radio broadcasting would now be recognized. Massachusetts would shortly follow the path opened by Michigan. Others would eventually use the Michigan success in developing their own systems.

May 16, 1930, a red-letter day in Michigan. Station WRDS is authorized for operation on 1662 kc, 186.6 meters, (later changed to 1642 kc) 5000 watts days, 1000 watts nights. Commissioner Olander had rather hoped for the call letters WMSP (Michigan State Police) but after a year of struggling it seemed unimportant, any call looked good. The authorization required the station to be in operation by September 11, 1930.

During this period of accomplishment another step forward had quietly taken place. The DeForest Radio Company of Passiac, New Jersey could not only supply the transmitting equipment required at a greatly reduced price, they could also insure the supply of all necessary transmitting tubes. Estimated cost of the equipment, which would be constructed by DeForest engineers, Mr. Allen Dumont, and Mr. Fred Link, was $25,000.

Even this reduced cost of course represented the total original allocation for the entire system. But, Michigan had come too far and struggled to hard to be stopped now. An additional $35,000 was allocated and Michigan would have, and would be the first statewide police broadcasting system.

And so, two of the shoes have been picked up. The license is issued, sufficient money is appropriated, and now that impossible third shoe is picked up with the offer of the Consumers Power Company of Jackson, to provide without cost, a steel power line transmission towers to support the station’s long wire antenna system. The saving on this generous offer approached $15,000. After a year of effort and struggle the problems seemed to be dropping by the wayside.

The towers would be installed, spaced 300 feet apart, using four at each end, 3 forming the supporting legs and the other projecting from the leg structure to a height of approximately 200 feet.

Mr. Edward N. Fridgen, with impressive credentials as a Navy and commercial radio operator, was employed as the first operator of the station. Later Mr. Golden G. Greene and Mr. Harold Simons would be employed and Trooper Alex B. Scribner assigned to the station to fill out the staffing requirements.

Now, in the summer of 1930, feverish activity commences at the station. A 25 x 28 foot brick building to house the station is under construction at the Mapes Hall location. The antenna towers are being erected. Mr. John Knight, and Mr. Oscar Brandt, of the DeForest Radio Company are scheduled to arrive shortly to install the transmitting equipment. Orders have been placed with the Delco Radio Company for 79 AC station receivers and 35 automobile receivers. The station receivers would originally be allocated, 23 for State Police Posts, and 56 for sheriff’s offices. Local departments that wished to participate in the system were expected to purchase their own receivers. The Delco receivers would later prove unsatisfactory for mobile use and a switch would be made to the new Sparton Radio of the Sparks-Withington Company of Jackson.

In early fall of 1930 WRDS began testing. The author recalls listening to these early tests on a crystal set. The first few weeks of testing consisted of playing recorded music, breaking for call letter announcements, an occasional police message, and often the phrase “testing for Sturgis” would be heard. This latter broadcast was necessary to meet the Radio Commission’s requirement that mobile units were on the system.

The radio station building was divided into 3 rooms, the transmitter room, the high voltage transformer room, and the operating room. The operating room had been constructed of perforated brick treated with Celotex panels to reduce room noise. Having the building supplied from 2 power sources, the power plant at the Michigan Agriculture College, and the lines of the City of Lansing, Board of Water and Light plant, minimized failure of the station due to power outages.

The DeForest transmitting equipment was housed in 4 cabinets. One cabinet housing the frequency standard equipment, crystals and heaters, the second housed the buffer and exciter stages. Cabinet 3 contained the four, 5000 watt, water cooled final amplifier tubes, and cabinet 4 the audio transformers and six number 572 mercury vapor rectifiers. The power supply room housed the transformers, chokes, and equipment to step the 220 volts primary power up to 10,000 volts for the final stages.

Broadcasts were originated by the operator at the Departments main switchboard in Mapes Hall. Upon receiving a telephone call, or information by any means, that required a broadcast, the switchboard operator signaled the radio room, who then turned the transmitter on. When ready for the broadcast a red light flashed back at the switchboard and the operator there began his broadcast direct to cars, posts, sheriff’s offices, and local departments. With the switchboard operator making the broadcasts it was possible to hold a caller on the line and broadcast the information as it was received, without delay.

As the broadcast was being made the radio operator copied the information on his monitor speaker and then referred to a quick reference file for details about the town or location in which the incident had occurred. The radio operator then switched station control to himself and repeated the broadcast supplementing it with information from his reference file.

Initially 10 State Police patrol cars and 80 sheriff’s offices and local police departments were expected to be radio equipped.

For record purposes the first police broadcast from the station was the hold up of an express messenger in Grand Rapids. At this time the station was still in its testing period.

October 1, 1930 the first official broadcast, a stolen car report from a Mr. George Ellsworth of Lansing, came just a few minutes after the station had been officially placed in 24-hour continuous service. Shortly after, the second official broadcast was the alert for escaped inmates from the Kalamazoo State Hospital for the insane.

Sadly, the value, the never to be questioned necessity, of the station was displayed just 2 weeks after its official opening with the fatal shooting of Trooper John S. Burke by two bank robbers near Sturgis on October 13, 1930. With radio directing and coordinating the manhunt a force of troopers, dispatched and kept up to date on the rapidly changing events by radio, quickly apprehended the two subjects. Within 24 hours after the act these criminals had been apprehended, tried, sentenced, and were behind bars in Jackson State Prison.

Ironically, the first broadcast heard by Trooper Dan Wurzburg on his just installed radio receiver was the broadcast of the murder of Trooper Burke. Wurzburg and Burke had been close friends since their State Police Academy days.

Commissioner Olander perhaps best summed up the important part played by the station in this most difficult situation with the simple statement:

“_____ the station met our expectations.”

Happily, the wedding of Trooper Ed Freeman and Miss Genevieve Mae Pickell at Battle Creek was broadcast to all posts and cars to keep all troopers apprised of the current events in the Department.

Realism crept into the operation when a broadcast of a large chicken theft near Ionia was immediately followed by a loud crash and the distinctive sounds of clucking chickens and crowing roosters.

A serious faced operator quickly explained that a gust of wind had slammed open the operating room door allowing the noises from the adjacent Michigan Agricultural College poultry yard to properly modulate the station for a statewide broadcast. Proving, we would think, that even in 1930 radio operators were already developing the gift of explaining away any unusual occurrence during their tour of duty.

Included in the early tests of WRDS to ascertain the area of coverage were broadcasts requesting any listener to notify the station of reception of its signals. Over 1000 persons responded to these broadcasts. Responses were received from 40 states, including California, and five Canadian Provinces.

We wonder, mused Department officials looking at the test results, why key central stations in each state, copying each other’s broadcasts, could not extend a rapid crime fighting information network into every area of the nation. Certainly a thought far ahead of its time.

Quickly, law enforcement officials around the state began to look to radio for their departments. Detroit, WCK, Grosse Pointe, WRDR, Highland Park, WMO, and Flint, KFH, were already operating stations. Lansing and Grand Rapids would shortly add stations. Other departments were either considering stations or had made arrangements with the State station and were telephoning in with information they wished broadcast. By cross monitoring, these stations were extending information coverage by re-broadcasting each other’s transmissions. Later the Michigan and Detroit stations would be linked by a direct line teletype to enhance their exchanges of information.

Slowly but surely Michigan was creating a rapid statewide radio network. In late 1931 the Michigan State Police station began a daily summary broadcast of all crime information for the past 24 hours. This broadcast at 9:30 each morning served to net the departments around the state into a unified and efficient crime fighting army. Now even the smallest and most remote department had current crime information. The first year of operation resulted in 2799 police broadcasts being made by the station.

As the era drew to a close the Michigan radio crime fighting net continued to grow and tighten down on the activities of the criminal. Many advancements would come, later in the 30’s stations would be added at Paw Paw and Houghton Lake to provide better coverage. The unsung trooper would perhaps, not always have a headache from trying to copy messages through the typical AM noise levels. Oh! What those noise levels must have been on a stormy night to a trooper patrolling 400 or more miles from the station in Michigan’s upper peninsula. FM and two-way would come in the 1940’s, would it ever end? Probably not, or more accurately, certainly not. However no other period in police radio history would ever be more dramatic or exciting then these first years. Michigan had done it! Detroit with the first police broadcasting system and the Michigan State Police with the first statewide police broadcasting system, -- just 50 years ago.