Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1905-06-30
THE MEDDLER.
anMe oeal ms yen PIT 4 on,

Ar the rate automobiles have been
b,crsn sing I'm Brattleboro this season
the town will soon be able 10 ',e,'''
the distinction OF having more n
chimes In proportion 10 It's popui"''S''
than any other community in
country. Nearly 40 autos OF Nail"us
sizes and makes can now eiiihi
residence here aud more ar. og
Awaiting their completion 10 take W
their abode In Brattleboro. win l'i's
increase In the number OF inach'i,ee
there should be corresponding ~
crease IN care and judgment on Wy
mart of the owners. IL shouiu no. W
forgotten that horses still nave SUN n,,
right 10 the highways and thnt M
cannot be blamed II occasionally thes
act unreasonably Drivers OF machines
should also bear In mind that thef"
are laws relating To speed limitatioi'r'
which give pedestrians and reinsihe',
grounds for legal action In case VI
accidents resulting from failure F"
heed these statutes.
There Is. however, certain tass,ia
tion about fast riding which ofteh-
times warns the Judgment OF the au-
toist and makes him take chances Una.
! he would not think of taking uhuer
ordinary conditions. The Meddier does
not offer this In the way OF an excuse
but rather as an explanation OF the
numerous cases of speed Violation
which are continually coming INTO
public notice. The desire TO ride fast
| is illustrated by the story of the ageu
woman who possessed great dread
of automobiles of all kinds. she was
at length induced to ride in inachihe
on the owners faithful promise Una,
he would go very slow. rms ne aIi
until his passenger became usea W .i's
motion and then gradually increased
the speed until the car was running TO
its limit whereupon the erstwhile TIM
id woman inquired hesitatingiy III
they couldn't ride a little faster
Yet there are times when this lust
for speed should be mastered COM
pletely unless the driver wishes 10
have the insurance companies place
him In the list of saw-mill risks. the
highways i'm the vicinity of Brattleboro
abound in sharp curves which pre-
vent view of the road for any dis-
lance ahead and cut off the sound OF
any approaching vehicle. To take these
curves at speed exceeding five or
six miles an hour and without gem
erous amount of horn-tootlng is
nothing short of foolhardiness. The
auto driver may be clever enough with
his wheel and throttle TO dodge team
at such point even If he frightens
the horse and the occupants or the
carriage nearly out of their wits. but
If he should happen TO meet another
automobile il would take something
besides clever manipulation to prevent
a serious accident
The Meddler does not mean to in
sinuate from this discourse that the
local chauffeurs are any less carefui
than the average machine driver; ON
the contrary he believes them TO be
much more inclined to heed the dc
tates of sound Judgment than the ma
jority of tourists who pass through
the town II can do no harm, never
theless. to emphasize the safety OF
being temperate in all things, and
temperance in automobile driving
consists of keeping the machine al
ways under perfect control. running
slowly around curves and on narrow
roads, always having the lights burn
ing brightly at night, turning to the
right on all occasions, and attending
strictly TO business.
In excayating for any purpose on
street which has as much traffic as
Elliot street every precaution ought
to be taken TO prevent blocking the
highway or making it difficult to trav-
erse in case of emergency. There have
been times during the past week when
the local fire department would have
had extreme difficulty in getting its
apparatus from the steamer house to
any point necessitating trip west
ward. The highway has been almost
wholly blocked for considerable dis
lance by the excavations of the gas
light company, and the results of the
delay which might have been caused
in case of an alarm of fire are hard to
estimate
The Meddler.