New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-05-21
PENALTIES FOR "sC0ROHING."

The announcement of certain judges IN thlS
city that hereafter they will impose much more
serious penalties for automobile scorcnlAS 10
TO be received with profound satisfaction py
the Iaw-abiding part of the community 1t Is
high time that such an announcement was
made Year after year the public has pauehuy
waited in hope that the automobile abuse "ouiu
find its own remedy. that "scorcherS "ouu
grow tired of '.scorching" and would seek some
more novel form of amusement or that the
better sense Of the orderly majority Of automo-
bile users would prevail as a restraint upon
them Such waiting and such hoping have beelt
in vain The evil has been increasing ana, IN
stead of there being an effective exercise or the
restraint that was looked for, some OF the very
men who should use their influence for good
have been conspicuous in breaking the law, re
peatedy and defantly. In such circumstances
it is high time to take decisive action, such as
these Judges have promised and such as IN
deed they last week actually began to prac-
tise
The seriousness of the offences, potentially If
not actually is ample justification for the i'm
position of heavy penalties 1t is not simply
that a law is technically violated. Any viola
ton of law is reprehensible, but it IS quite con-
ceivable that some laws might be technically
violated without actual or potential injury to
ANYBODY In the case of the "scOrching' auto
mobile however, there is the GraveSt menace
of the gravest peril to the public. Limb and
life are put in jeopardy. Daily the menace
is fulfilled in the manning or killing of some
body-some innocent, law-abiding person, who
was lawfully exercising his right to use the
public highway and who was run down by
some deliberate and intentional law breaker If
an equal number of casualties should result
from rifle practice in The streets or from the
domiciling of Bengal tigers in the Ramble In
Central Park, the city would rise IN protest.
The offence is none the less serious and none
the less wantOn for being committed through
the unlawful running of locomotives upon the
public highways.
The brazen and defiant spirit manifested by
many of the law breakers is an additional justi-
ficatiOn Of severity. An unintentOnal offender,
who ceases from offending the moment he is
warned and who thereafter seeks to obey the
law, may well be treated with all possible
lenience. But there should be no lenience for
the fellow who knowingly breaks the law and
who on being warned and demonstrated with,
insOenty refuses to cease but actually goes on
to break the law more fagrantly. There is no
ground for lenency toward the man who, after
being convicted of two three offences, con-
tinues to offend in the same way, and who
hippantly says he doesn't mind the fine for
the fun he gets is worth it. AS for the one
who goes about the city streets with an engine
which, according to his own testimony, cannot
be at less than twice the legal rate of speed
the indicated prescription would seem to be
snug cell for him and sledge hammer and the
city junk yard for his engine
1t will be a pleasure to record the inexora BILE
fulflment by these judges of the auspicious
promise they have made