An unproductive government employee whose sole mission is to execute governmental edicts upon successful & productive folk and their business. Thus punishing success and reminding all who is in charge. Their most insidious task is that of “Though Police” and their presence in that assignment is a definite sign of tyranny; however every government agency is staffed with those whose purpose is enforcement of edict. According to the long out of print book Old Massa’s People, by Orlando Kay Armstrong, first published in 1931, there were no state laws governing the whereabouts of slaves prior to the mass murders performed by Nat Turner in February of 1831. His butchery of babies, women, children, non-slave owners as well as other blacks filled the nation with horror. His slaughtering resulted in Southern States enacting laws restricting the travel of slaves. To quote from Old Massa’s People, “The plantation was made the unit of control, with each master responsible for the whereabouts of his servants…counties were authorized to appoint “patrollers” to see to it that any servant leaving his master’s domain did so with written consent. These “patrollers” promptly became “pattyrollers” to the slaves the whole South over.” By and large, pattyrollers were hardscrabble subsistence farmers with few acres whose quality of life was much inferior to the slaves who dwelled upon the large estate just across the fence-ling. So, when the opportunity presented itself for them to make themselves appear superior to the slave as well as ingratiate themselves to the large land holder, they jumped at the opportunity. Thus, the pattyroller remains with us to this day.