Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-23

He Says the Force Must Have the
Cooperation Of the
Courts.
~"The recent serioifs accident in Rock
Creek Park, in whicif.a xelI-known citizen
was thrown from his buggy and badly in
tured by reason of E iiiE horse becoming
frightened by meeting swiftly moving
automobile, the several other automobile
accidents in town and the arrest or the
drivers OF these machines for fast driving"
said high police official this morning to a
Star man, "cali up suggestion regarding
the rights Of the road, OF pedestrians and
Others and remedy which will meet these
exigercles al they arise and tend to reduce
them to a minimum III Washington -
II wish to say that the editorial sugges-
ton, first mode In Fhe Star that heavy
fines be imposed In all cases where the of=
tense Is proved, and where the same Of
fender Is twice or thrice arrested, that the
fines be made cumulative and proportion
ately Increased, Is the best remedy l have
yet seen advanced, and II our magistrates
before whom these cases are brought will
act along these lines, automobiles in this
city, instead of having an apparent con-
tempt for the law and a disregard for fines
and forfeiture of collateral will have the
realization brought home to them In
ma nr1er which Will be perfectly understood
that fast and reckless driving of motor
machines will not be tolerated IN the capt.
tai
s'While It is true. as The Star suggested
that with 100 mounted men in this city
there should be little difffcuTty In effecting
. arrests, 1t must not be lost sight of that
our men cover very large territory, and
that the mere arrest of an offender Of this
class against our ordinances is but the first
step In q proceeding that does not end with
the arrest. 1t is the intention of the police
department to enforce the law without re-
gard to- the Identity of the person who
breaks 1t, nor his position, official or other
Wise else we would not be fulfilling our
sworn duty. The bicycle and mounted men
Of our force are under strict orders to see
that the fast running of motor or other
vehicles, or of the electric cars, Is not to
exceed the speed limit, and this they en-
deavor to do.
Cooperation of the Courts.
but In order to make the efforts of the
police effective fines must be Imposed by
the committing magistrates Of sufficient
magnitude to make them a penalty rather
than mere Inconvenience and loss OF time
will undertake to say without fear of
contradiction that If the maximum fine Of
$40 were to be imposed upon conviction in
the next three cases brought before the
courts Tor violating. the Sp6eu ordnance,
whether of motor vehicles or Of street cars,
that it would be long time before there
would be another arrest in Washington for
the offense In question.
The fines must be made heavier to bring
about cessation of the fast mCbiling
in this city. which. as The Star has urged,
is developing into a nuisance which must
sooner or later be stopped by rigorous meas
ures. I make the prediction that If these
machines are not placed under some sort
of hat Will
happen in this city an ACCIDENT which will
shock our residents. as thoroughly as did
the distressing and fatal accident in France
a few weeks ago which resulted in the ter.
rible death Of two prominent Americans
THE police must mot be held entirely
chargeable in this matter, We are anxious
to bring these offenders to justice, as We
recognize the danger to the public should
police must have the cooperation Of the
courts in order to make their primary work
effective. and without that cooperation our
arrests act as but a Temporary deterrent
only Of the fast time they can make over
our smooth streets. and who, when arrest
ed. either treat the affair, as a joke or give
no heed to the small; fine imposed.
Impose the Maximum Fine. s
"Once these persons understood. however,
that not only would they be promptly ar
rested. but would be fined the maximum
penalty, and certainly in no case upon con-
viction less than $25 the soothing effect
upon their exuberance would be instanta
neous and complete. A fine of 81 or s. Is
entirely inadequate and has no restraining
effect upon their future actions.
while it would seem no hardship to i'm
pose heavy fine upon automobilists, who
are usually Well-to-do men, 1t might at first
thought seem an injustice to impose such
a fine upon motorman who is arrested for
exceeding the speed limit The imposition of
small fines upon these men, however, has
shown that they do not stop the running of
cars over the limit. 1t is urged that they
are poor men, who cannot afford to pay
law should first be considered, together with
the safety of the public. One or two fines
of $40 In these cases would cause all Of the
motormen in Washington to serve notice
upon the companies that they could not pay
these fines, and run the cars upon the time
schedule demanded, and 1t would be shown
that the time schedules, without interfering
with the privilege of rapid transit, would
be modified. The law allows high rate of
speed through the city streets at present,
and when this speed Is increased life and
limb are endangered
AT any rate, the police share the publics
qualification that The Star has urged that
the day of the speeding automobilist should
be brought to an end In the capital, and to
the best of their ability and resources the
ponce VIII cooperate with the public and
tHe press IN making our streets SAFE Nigh
ways for all concerned. If the courts will
join In this cooperation and show no
leniency upon convictions reckless auto
drivers Will be brought to book in a speedy
and lawful manner, which will have a
wholesome effect all around. -
Fines Heavy in Northern Cities.
I'm this connection it should not be lost
sight of that the reckless automobilist in
the northern cities, and even in the smaller
towns. is being summarily dealt with, and
fines of $50 are recorded In many recent ar
rests. Where some auto drivers have dash
ed through town, footing their horns and
Laughing as the people flee in terror. the
laugh Is turned upon them by means Of the
long-distance telephone to the next town on
their route, where they are held up, some
times by barrtcades across the road, and
with shotguns escorted back to the place
where wanted and fined as stated.
surely this eff1cacious remedy might be
tried here to good effect. / trust, that some
terrible accident will not be deemed neces-
sary before 1t be applied, though 1t is his
tory that usually needed municipal reform
Is not accomplished along these lines until
some unfortunate person. or persons In the
proper exercise of their rights upon the pub
lie thOrOuRhfaras arSt k,i,6 e~lod nj r1,Shad