The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1902-09-02
FOR CONGRESS
JOHN j. GARDNER
OF ATLANTIC
Notes and Opinions.

The importance and benefit of fire drills
In crowded schools were forcibly illustrst-
ed yesterday at the Catholic Protectory
In Manhattan. When flames broke out in
the building the signal for the drill was
sounded and 800 boys forming into line
marched calmly and deliberately through
binding smoke to the sidewalk 1t is
gratifying to know that our public schools
have an excellent system of fire drills and
no exercise is more popular with teachers
and pupils. Hoboksn Observer
Prosperity is the main issue in the COM
ing Congressional elections and the issue
which will give the Republican party the
victory. One thing the wage Garner
knows; that it is not so much the price of
an article as the ability to pay the price
that concerns him. If he can buy suit
OF clothes for 81 and does not have the 81
In his pocket the price is of very little
consequence to him, but if the suit of
Z clothes costs 30 and he now has So in his
pocket, he can look upon the situation
with perfect complacency. Elizabeth Jour
nGl
A year of confinement in state prison
has given Thomas G. Barker ample op-
portunity to think calmly about his at
tempt to take the life of Rev. John Kel-
Ter, and he now says he is sorry he shot
and blinded the clergyman. But his sor-
row will not atone for the deed and should
not be of any effect in shortening his
term. Meanwhile Mrs. Barker, whose ac-
cusation caused all the trouble, has gone
off to England. The later developments
in this celebrated case strengthen the gen
eral opinion current at the time of the
shooting, that Barker made CHASTITY mis-
take, for which his wife is responsible. =
Camden Courier
church fair at Coney Island was
raided by the Brooklyn police last week,
who failing after diligent search to find
any other kind of ''vice and crime to
suppress, carried off wheel of fortune
which was in operation at the fair.
The pastor and officers of the church
were very indignant and declared that
gambling for good cause should not be
interfered with" Queer morality. thisl
If gambling in the abstract is crime
which it is under the laws of nearly
every state-and sin, which few people
have ever denied, it is hard to see how it's
employment for ever so good purpose
can be defended.
Think what the logical result of such
reasoning as these good church people
used would be if it were established that
vice and sin become not only excusable,
but commendable, when exercised in the
interest of charity or religion Patterson
Press
The Elizabeth Journal says: 1.-THE first
move to take advantage of the law passed
last winter for the election of five com
missiOners, instead of the Board of Chosen
Freeholders, has been made in Bergen
county, where petitions are being circu-
lated. The signatures of one-fifth of the
total vote cast at the last general election
for Assembly is necessary to secure AN
election to determine whether the major
ity of voters desire to make such change
in their system of county government
The Hackensack Republican says there is
no general public interest on the subject
in the county, but number of gentle
men who feel that change would be
oil fob
They contend that five commissioners are
calculated to give a better and more
economical administration of county af-
fairs than the larger body. The salary of
each commissioner will be 81 500, making
total in excess of what the present
Board of Freeholders draw per diem"
Two or three more lives were sacrificed
to speed madness on Tuesday near Elber-
on. Reports differ concerning the ira
gedy. Some say the automobile was run
ming at high rate of speed. 1t may be
impossible to determine positively which
story is correct. The weight of testi-
mony and of probability is, however, de-
cidedly upon the side of the latter The
surviving motorman is quoted as saying
the machine was running swiftly 1t is
indisputable that it was machine espec-
tally designed and built for high speed,
and that fact makes it fair assumption
that its owner was in the habit of running
it at such speed. A man does not pay a
double or quadruple price for a machine
for the sake of its speed if he does not in
tend to speed it. Moreover, the circum-
stances of the disaster indicate that it was
running very rapidly. We are told that
the wheels caught in the trolley tracks
and caused the machine to swerve. That
could not well have happened if it had
been running slowly.
But. after al, it does not SO greatly mat
ter whether the Rlgag fShiPpsi vas running fast
or slow. IfntbbeI fo5meb gethave merely
to repeat the comments made upon the
Fair tragedy of few days ago in France.
The victims were victims to speed mad
ness. On the other hand, if it was run
ming slowly, the lie direct is given to the
vehement protestations about the ease of
guiding and stopping such engines We
have been assured that they are far more
easily steered than a horse, and that they
can be brought to a dead halt in very
short space, even when running at full
speed. The statement has often been
made that an automobile running at sew
enteen miles an hour can be stopped with
in twice its own length, while one conf
dent enthusiast has written to The 7ri5
uze that he has often stopped his engine
within thirty feet when running at thirty
miles an hour. Yet this machine, running
uphill, could not be stopped in time to
prevent an awful accident.
Speed madness is at fault. Either ma
chimes are run at too high rates of speed,
and so have collisions or other accidents.
OF else, if they are run at moderate speed,
their steering and other qualities have
been so sacrificed to the demands of speed
that they are manageable. The mis-
take is in constructing machines with a
view solely or chiefly to making rate of
speed which is unlawful and unsafe on
any public highway. The aim should be
to make such as will run at lawful and
safe rate of speed and will be at all times
under perfect control for steering or stop
ping. Until that is done we may expect
daily frightening of the list of such