Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-07
should Be Numbered.

Il believe that vehicles should be desig-
mated by name or number for the reasons
| set forth in the last two annual reports OF
| the superintendent Of police.
Every now and then horrible accidents
result and ofttimes death ensues from
| reckless or fast driving, and in several in
| stances the police have been unable to APP
! prehend the guilty parties to such affairs.
a primary reason for this inability is that
| the vehicles driven are of such a nature
! that full and distnguishable feature by
| which they may be recognized after such
! accidents does not exist. Would it not be
well, then, to require all persons doing
! business within the District of Columbia
| to carry some sign or other indication on
such vehicle as they may employ whereby
| they might be readily distinguished? A
sign number on a wagon would FUR
nish means to a witness which oftentimes
| would enable the police to apprehend a
| party through whose recklessneSs death or
| accident ensued to the innocent.
THE subject of vehicles has long been
| one for discussion in this community, and
as an aid to the police in the suppression
| of reckless and fast driving, it is respect
| fully urged that all persons owning busi-
ness vehicles in the District of Columbia
| should have conspicuously displayed on the
! side thereof their names and location of
places of business. This to better enable
police officers in the discharge of their du-
ties to discover and apprehend drivers when
| they escape after having been party to an
accident or violation of law
Last year there were lis arrests for fast
driving This year there will be more,
through the ability and agility of the BIZ
cycle squad Patrolmen with beats ranging
from five to ten lineal miles cannot accom-
plish as much as double the number of men
could with beats half that size.
Forty bicycle representatives instead of
half that number would accomplish better
results.
Registering Bicycles.
81 think bicycles should be registered, Civ
ing the name of owner description and
number of machine. l do not recommend
such action as a matter of revenue, but as
an aid TO the police in our business and as
the best insurance against loss by theft,
which the owner, who takes chances with
his wheel, can have. AS long as an owner
has his machine he feels secure; when it is
stolen he feels sore and wants the police to
recover 1t. 1t is proper that he should at
ford the police every facility to do so.
1.-The wheel should not be reckoned with
the buggy or carriage, from a police stand
point. All are property, to be sure. but
while the time of the detective force is en-
ployed in looking up the whereabouts of
2SS bicycles year (such was the case in
1899 they will not be required to search
for half a dozen animal-propelled vehicles
A fee sufficient to pay for stamping official
ly in plain figures, large enough to be OBJ
served by an officer at least four feet dis
tant, the registration number on wheels
should be charged The police would have
such numbers, would note the absence of
numbers and security would be afforded the
owner The bicycle people who have
wheels out on partial payments, would be
officer who must hunt among dismantled
parts and disguised combinations of differ
ent wheels, can appreciate the difficulties
now encountered and the advantages to be
had from registration.
1.-THE individual who never suffered loss,
of course, is not interested, but he may be-"