Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1907-06-07

possible to show into what states an au-
tomobile had gone, or what was the pro-
portionate amount of automobile travel
in the respective states, and thus TO what
share of these fees any individual state
was entitled Or is the federal govern
meet to issue as many licenses as there
are states; passing over the fee to the state
on behalf of which license had been
given out =? But this would make the
general government mere clerk of the
several states, and all for the benfit of
automobilists. Where and when has
the government undertaken to perform a
service of that character?
Or, again, is it proposed that the
license fee shall be merely nominal; only
large enough to pay for the license blank
and the clerical work of issuing it; leav-
ing nothing to be distributed and no
compensation for the privilege of passing
over and wearing down the highway
where the traveller can not be reached by
taxation? If this is the intention it will
be sufficient to remark that our national
confiscating the property of law-abiding
citizens, even for its own use. and it is
not apt to do like thing for the advan-
tage or convenience of a class, and GER
tainly comparatively small class, how
ever influential.
Then what about police regulations
If the license is to be issued by the
national government, of course, breaches
!, of its provisions will be violations of a
federal law and must be dealt with by
federal court. Well, in Vermont, for
instance, we have one such court. The
judge resides in Brattleboro. Fancy the
convenience of dealing with an offense
committed up in Grand Isle or Franklin
county. This would be nothing less
than absolute immunity from punish
ment. There would be just as much
propriety in turning cases of intoxica-
ton, and breaches of the peace, and all
petty crimes and misdemeanors for juris-
diction of which we have more than
thousand justices of the peace in the
state over to the national government.
An offense of this nature must be dealt
with on the moment, or not at all.
Should this scheme be given effect, an
automobilist might break the law and
then be hundred or a thousand miles
away before the appropriate legal ma
chinery could be set in motion to secure
his punishment. This consideration,
alone, is sufficient to show the senseless-
ness of demanding federal licenses for
!, automobiles.
But there is another objection which is
even more decisive. 1t is that such a
: method would be the handing over of
: highways to the national government for
: its regulations in the matter of private
! use. Whatever the control the federal
) government may exercise over our roads
in the carrying of the mails, or what
ever may finally under the lead of our
splendid President, be determined as to
its supervision of railroads engaged in
interstate commerce, these are matters
entirely apart from the regulation of
= automobile travel. However important,
in the eyes of their owners and users,
r automobiles have not yet risen to the
: dignity of being public utilities nor ira
vel by them to a level with domestic
2 commerce and the postal facilities of the
nation and, possibly, the general public
2 may be pardoned for declining to place
} these three things in the same category
when it comes to their control by law.
At all events, we shall venture to do so
. and. Furthermore, to suggest that any
8 congressional delegation which lent itself
3 to scheme for requiring, or allowing,
g the national government to determine
e the rate of speed, the qualifications of a
D driver, the license fees, ETC., etc., of We
= hicles used by private individuals, and as
8 such, upon our highways, would not
have long to wait before clearing some
e thing to its interest" from its constitu'
D ency. This federal license idea is sheer
e nonsense.
: There is one other matter to be noticed
? In the early days of the automobile il
e was urged, as a point in its favor, that
e it not only did not harm the roads
e but that it actually benefited them. II
e was claimed that the rubber tires pro
= duced no wear but merely pressed dowr
e and smoothed the roadbed. so far as