The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-08-03
s.seorchanss on The cycle Pash.

Yesterday. the Brooklyn police made
another raid along the cchey Island BIZ
cycle PATH. and a~fty-nins arrests Of BIZ
cycle riders was the result. This. accord
ing 70 to 3 New York morning paper, is
the way it came about
Captain Mcnamara. OF. the park police.
gave special Instructions 10 his men When
they started ont on duty IN the morning to
sion OF reckless bicycle riders. especially
in the park. Double the usual number
OF policemen on watch were placed or al
all the entrances and exits.
Acting Captain Collins. of the ParkYiue
precfnct, reminded his men VINO devote all
their time to the cycle path. that the park
the PaFkvilie men as to the number Of
arrests for searching. and that ii was his
desire that Park Commissioned Woodruff's
request that thecity police cooperate with
the park police IN cleaning the cycle path
o. the dangerous seePchera,
The suggestion had the effect of Great
ing rivalry between the gray and the blue
uniformed policemen
This aapears to indicate a state of
things utterly disgraeeful to the Brooklyn
police, and indeed to Brooklyn itself.
The motion that two rival bodies of po-
lice saouid start out on a Sunday morn
- ~ @(~@fAo SdA 4uHAE LIE 4dfReSl NUM-
Der OF captures is reyeltIng to all sense
of Justice or propriety, With such a
eompetition on foot, it is obvious that the
Fights of the public are of small account.
When arrests must be made. the officers
are not likely to be over-scrupulous as
to the Justification for making them, and
very small ground or no ground at all.
at q pinch may ineite an ambitious pa
trolman to yank a citizen off his wheel
and subject him TO the indignity and an
ncyance Of arrest.
The whole practice should be stopped
stopped promptly and eTectuaily. The
newspapers and the wheelmens of Brook
lyn should unite IN stopping it. What is
the Bicycle Path for. if it Is not for live
~ riding? II it is only t5&be used at a
funeral gait. lit had better be closed at
onee. for it is no better than a man trap
for the amusement Of competing police
seorchers. Any talk about danger Is
mere empty eabble. Fhe traffic is all
one way on each division of the path.
ard with all the thousands of riders who
use II. We never hear of an accident. IN
deed. as a matter Of fact. there is little
OF no riding on ii fast enough to create
peril and If there was it is very Doubt
full whether the policemen could ride fast
enough to arrest the guilty scorchers
Common sense ford ample proof that the
victims Of these arrests do not ride very
fast and are not able to do 50.
The remedy for this abuse is very easily
reached First Of all. the limit Of speed
fm the Cycle Path should be raised 10
some reasonable rate-say twelve or
nfteen miles an hour. Second, the police
should be emphatfealiy FORBIDDEN to ar
rest anyone until, after careful warn
ing. he refused to slacken his speed to
the legal limit, or deliberately refrained
from doing 50.
OF course. If any of the arrested men
resisted the imposition of fines, none
could be legally collected. There is no
legal esidence worth a straw gains any
Of the alleged scorchers. IT is only the
weak submission customary in our peiiee
ridden cities that makes such occurrences
as those which the papers report IN
Brook;yp possible. The snconspFehens;bis
thing Is the supineness of the League Of
Amesfean whoelmsn. What Is It good
Tor. when it fails to take up such out.