Evening star., 1906-02-14
SCORES CAPT. T.CAVERLY.
Representative Sims De-
nounces a Criticism.
SPEED OF AUTOMOBILES
Offending Article Read in the House
of Representatives.
THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION
It is Declared That the Recklessness
Of a Few Makes Imperative the
Need Of Severe Punishment.
THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION

| Representative Sims OF Tennessee.
| member Of the House District of Columbia
| committee, this morning and today on the
| floor of the House severely scored Robert
| B. Caverly, captain of the local automobile
| club, for a published interview In which Mr.
| Caverly criticised Representative Sims au-
| tomobile bill and made some rather uncom-
| plimentary remarks about the author OF
| the measure.
! Mr.. Sims arose to a question of personal
| privilege and had the offending article read
| from the clerks desk. Mr. Payne Of New
| York objected. but finally Mr. Sims obtain
| ed fifteen minutes by unanimous consent.
| In the course of his remarks Mr.. Sims COM
| mented at some length on the present lack
| of adequate automobile regulations in the
| District of Columbia and urged that 1egis-
| laton be enacted making the fast or reck-
less driving Of an automobile punishable oy
Imprisonment.
Fines No Deterrent.
1.-The object of this article said Mr.. Sims
| empha ticalIy, discussing the Caveriy inter-,
view, is intended to ridicule the bill and
| try to kill it in this way. 1 think the bill
| is of Importance. During the last Congress
| l was told by police officers that certain in
diyiduals had been arrested and fined as
many three times day. AS matter
/ of course they were not arrested and nneo
| for each offenSe that they committed. Rich.
reckless. daredevil young men driving au-
tonobiles simply for pleasure violated the
regula tions of the District of Columbia with
impunity and paid their fines as matter
of levity and went wild in their reckless
| career. Upon investigation, l found that
| there was no law in the District of Column
| bia authorizing Imprisonment for violations
| of this law, and l had a consultation with
| the chief of police, who showed me what
| the regulations were. He said there was no
law the subject. The bill 1 introduced
was drawn by officer of the District of
| Columbia and is with few exceptions the
| present police regulation. And yet, this
Capt Caverly, whoever he isl never saw
| president of the automobile club and there
| fore is a representative Of tt-chooSes to
| ridicule me. Judging from the article only,
/ judge he has been a 'chawfer who has
| recently been promoted from a pushcart
| or driver of dray, as he seems to have
| about that conception. daughter and ap-
plause.) Being thus promoted he has got
| what we call the swell head
Now. he denounces this bill as being
| ten years behind the times, when. as
| matter of fact, it is the present police regu-
| lations of the District of Columbia. Yet
! he and his kind care SO little for regula-
| tions that they do not even know
what they We're Such bullies as he is
| will not ike their personal appearance.
| But that Is what they are for. There Is
| no doubt that a great majority of the
people who own automobiles in the Dis
| trict OF Columbia do not violate the law or
| the regulations, but are careful to observe
| them. Bat there are just enough of these
| reckless characters at large upon the
| streets O make 1t dangerous to travel the
] streets. Why. this chawfer' says that
| only has been killed In all the
/ history of the District of Columbia by an
| automoDi and that the 'chawfer' was ac-
| quilted l have not looked UP to how
many men have been killed.
Recent Shocking Accident Recalled.
'T suppose this captain, this president"
| continued Mr., Sims, perhaps cares nothing
| for the life of a child Of lady. How
| long has fl been since all Washington was
| shocked by an accident which happened
1 to a little child in the eastern part of Wash
h'gton near East Capitol street, that was
| run over and ruthlessly killed In the pres
| efce of those in charge Of 1t by the reckless
driving OF an automobile? 1t Is a matter
| of common occurrence and common obser-
| Walton that men driving even freight auto
| mobiles in the District Of Columbia do not
| slow down at crossings but blow their
| horns which are a perfect nuisance, and
| persons dfoot, whether children, women or
| men. must take care of themselves 1t is
| high time that we have a law In the Dis
lrics Oh So.umnia. The good people do not
! need It, but the bad ones do, ard they need
| 1t badly, and l am heartily in favor of
King Imprisonment imperative after the
/ first or second offense within limited time
1
| tieTaen who ride in automobiles simply as q
! matter of pleasure.
1T seems somehow or other that the
driver of an automobile comes to the con-
| cluslon that he Is kind of superior being
| The street cars must slow down In cross
| ing streets. and we knew where they cross
| beforehand. We know where their tracks
are, but the automobiles run all streets,
and l have seen them dash across the street
| at a speed of not less tran twenty miles
| an hour. / am very serious about this
| matter. and | hope the members of the
| House will look into 1T. I do not know
! what the Commissioners are going to re-
| port. but hope they will report favorably
on this or some similar law If they should
| report il unfavoraby l must admit that
| should be surprised. but do not think they
| will.
You see what we have to meet In the
1 way of ridicule. The person quoted in this
/ article says this city has more population
/ than my whole district has. That is true,
/ and hope it always VIII have more popu-
| 1ation than my district IL the population of
| this city is going to be increased by the
addition to 1t of such men as this article
shows this man to be. We do not want
| such characters in the ten counties COM
urising the district in which 1 live. This
! man ridicuies the streets Of Linden. He was
| never in Them and for the stake OF Linden
1 hope he never will be- Qaughter.)
Necessity Of the Legislation.
@But care more to call the attention of
4 this House to the necessity Of this leg,sla-
tion than to anything said personally about
| myself. Considering the source from which
| that comes dismiss 1t. simply saying that
4 the spirit manifested by this captain, this
president OF this automobile club Is the
/ best argument earth why such a law
| should be passed. He concludes that be-
/ cause there Is a maximum speei limit, the
| automobile man has got 10 run up to the
| maximum and then stop when he comes TO
| a street, and that he says. would be incon-
yenient He admits that in the effort to do
| II he might kin half dozen people The
| bill does not require the drivers IF autemo-
/ biles to dash through the streets at the
/ maximum speed. and am perfecrly- willing
1 TO move to amend the bill 10 reduce the
| maximum, when the bill IS considered be-
| fore the committee.
| AS / said before. want to call the at
teation of the House to this measure, and
4 4 want the members of the House to In
1 vestigate 1t. 1t is absolutely needed and
| needed badly Suppose they do not kill peo-
Pile, and suppose they do not wound them.
The reason OF 1t Is largely because pedes-
4 TRANS. men, women and children, run from
these machines and take care of their lives
/ by their own efforts.
The Horn Nuisance
! -;t,here is another thing--tflis nuisance OF
having a fog horn blown in your ears