Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-08-20
NEW SPEED REGULATIONS
RIGHT OF COMMISSIONERS TO MAKE
EXCEPTIONS.
Opinion by Attorney Duvan Approx
Street Car Emefgencies.

In response to the recent request of the
District Commissioners for legal opinion
on the proposed new speed regulations for
municipal vehicles, Attorney A. B. Duvall
has responded with an approval of the
regulations with two slight amendments.
The new regulations provide that:
vehicles OF the police, fire, health and
water departments and hospital ambulances
shall have the right Of way in the streets
over all others, and the sounding Of the
Dell or gong thereon shall constitute a
warning and direction to other vehicles and
pedestrians to clear the road. In cases
wherein the emergency Is so great that
more tnan ordinary speed is required to
save human life or to prevent great incon-
Venlence to the public, the regulations
uniting the speed Of vehicles shall not be
deemed to apply to the vehicles above
named, nor to those of the street railway
companies called to make urgent repairs"
Attorney DuvalIs Views.
The attorneys comments on the matter
are as follows:
You direct my attention to the pro-
visions of section - of the act of Congress
approved July %. 1892 commonly known
as the peace and order act suggesting
that therein Congress appears to have leg
1slated upon the general subject"
The section referred to is the general pro-
vision against excessive speed.
am OF the opinion that these (munici-
paD vehicles are not and were not intended
to be within the purvieW of said act OF
Congress. BY act of Congress approved
June 26 1887, the Commissioners were au-
thor1zed~to make police regulations tamong
other things) to regulate the movement OF
vehicles on the public streets and avenues
for the preservation Of order and the pro-
lection of life and limb
it,, LN1t~r
airy rs, 1892. Congress authorized the Com
mlssioners to make and enforce police regu-
lations necessary for the protection OF
lives, limb, health, comfort and quiet of
all persons. and the protection Of all prop
erty within the District of Columbia
Our Court of Appeals, in Railroad Com
pany agt District of Columbia, sustained
the police regulation requiring steam rail-
road trains to be stopped before crossing
other railroads operated by steam cable or
electricity, and held that while railroad To-
comotives and cars were not vehicles with
III lie meaning of the act of June 70, 1887.
that the Commissioners nevertheless were
authorized to make the regulation under
the grant Of powers contained in the joint
resolution, saying, among other things.
that it was clear that Congress intended
thereby to increase the powers of the Com
missioners to the full extent of those fire.
quently, If not generally, Entrusted to mu-
nicipal corporations.
Supposed Difficulty.
1.-The difficulty suggested in your COM
munication, 1 take it. arises from the fact
that the peace and order act was enacted
after the joint resolution, and that there
fore Congress has apparently chosen to ex-
ercise it's undoubted right to legislate itself
upon the subject. This supposed difficulty.
however, in my judgment, is more apparent
than real Did Congress leGis!ate upon the
same subject matter? 1t is true the Ian
guage IN said section is general: That 1t
shall not be lawful for any person or per-
sons to ride or drive any animal of the
horse kind at a greater speed than eight
miles per hour But was Congress legis-
lating upon the subject of the speed Of mu-
nicipal vehicles and vehicles of the kind
described in your proposed regulations?
at is a we'll settled and elementary rule
of statutory construction that thing
which is within the letter of the statute IS
not within the statute unless 1T be also
within the meaning of the Legislature.
"It seems to me that this section OF the