The Washington herald., 1908-08-31
Automobile Nuisances.

some OF your FlLNEEAaA NaAh dNDAA eAlt-
mobiles is without foundation" and
then stops short without showing where
IN. leaves the elephant for the mouse
and springs upon Mr.. Andrew Jordan
I Green. but with such automobile exalted
condescension that it is pleasure 70
/ hold him UP awhile and bear with him
/ in his perversion Of the subject and mis-
/ conception Of law shining in
/ think II Mr. Green. or any one else. who seems
% be against automobiles viii kindly read the 20
lce regulations. rhey VIII ind that al vehicles are
required % keep 70 the rsht and have the night o.
way u0rth and south. and must use T-ecaut1on 70
l avoid accidents
/ Assuming that Mr Trippe has accu-
rately quoted police regulations, We seek
| their subject and Application We md
/ that they apply 10 vehicles only. and
not to pedestrians. and, applying 10
1 vehicles only. point out that vehicles go
I ing north and south have right Of way
| over vehicles going east and west Thus.
/ the Trippe quoted police regulations sim
ply deal with vehicles going a certain
route with right Of way over vehicles
I going a cerJ5 tn other route. They do not
apply TO pedestrians. and do not affect
I pedestrians right OF way. which right
only has Mr. Green defended-a priority
/ right enshrined in legal Jurisprudence as
I a principle Of law-but which Mr. Trippe,
Z in dictum, perverts. by quoting police
l regulations relating TO vehicles only. and.
with show Of truth, fitting and applying
3 them TO pedestrians right of way TO its
deroEatiou and destruction. and therein
2 Elisleads the public 10 its hurt L is alb
Z sUrd. and only because many people.
I thinking little or never at all reading.
believing. and being misled, do ! notice
II and comment thereon. hoping that sUcn
may see and fan not into error. hurt.
and loss II Mr. Trippe is an aUtomo-
biIist. and really thinks the police regu
Iations- as by him quoted. give aUtomo-
bilis-s right Of way over pedestrians. he
might do well 20 read again and re-re7d,
or he may get into trouble Assuming
that all bad autOm0bilists, and The good.
have read the police regulations with the
same erroneous deductions and ideas Of
automobile rights Of way. waich Mr..
Trippe'S quotation and reasoning show
he has, IL may be that therein is the
secret Of the utter disregard BY many
motorists. OF pedestrians right Of way
and their ofteEtimes running down and
over pedestrians as so many worms Of
the dust I say IL may be-but. mark
yCu. I rather think il Is a want Of COM
mon sense, ordinary decency. good breed
ing and due regard for the rights %
others-an ignorance Of. Of the ignoring.
the Golden Rule
In some Of my Washington Herald let
ters I have charged fast-approaching au-
tomobiles with nosing through sJreet-car
transfeT-corner passenger crowds, pushing
people right and left. causing many 10
lose their cars. and Nr- Trippe takiuz
Z issue, Answering. says
u should not make any diH--e1oe 70 the people
sh1s- sIeed. as i only requires about seventy inches
FROM the clrb Tor a15 e-e To sand who would Be
rc-fsr-ly safe from injuries p passing automobile
This statement shows a pitiabIe want Of
knowledge of human nature. The idea
that many pers0us-oId and young OF
both sexes-crowded together. facing dan
ger. remembering their own narrow es-
caPes and those Of others. exercising Ut
most care daily from speeding autolnO-
biles at hands Of reckless drivers. aug
menJed by everyday pTess-heralded au-
t0uObiIe accidents. killing and mutIIating
people. should stand still feeling safe.
Ignoring the speed Of passing. within
arms reach twenty 10 forty horsepower
engines. is unreasonable extremely un-
reasonable Such assertion IS hardly less
! an imposition on credulity than Mr.
Trippe's other contention that the po-
lice regulations require aUtomobilists 70
use precaution,T and, therefore. all auto
mobilists are paragons IN the practice Of
precaution-
Answering further Mr. Trippe says:
T. only requi-s a51zt seventy 5nches from
/ curb f1r any one % stand who wuuId - perfectly
safe tron injuries By passirg automobile, and i
sou Ell kindly consider the SPACE between the s-0er
car and seventy inches frn The curb you
VIII hud ample room for the rasseusers % set on
and Of the car wIIh1ut injuries
Let Us see. South and east bound street
cars are intersecting at Fourteenth and
[ streets al SD a. n Twenty people
start from curb 10 car and a like number
= from car TO curb The narrow space be-
tween car and curb Is quickly filing with
hurryiug, skurrying. passage-interfering
people. bent on street-car connections. 4
south-bound. fast-following. honking au-
J0uObile has deferred timid ones from
leaving the car and curb. The autono-
bile pushes through. parting passengers
, right and left. crowding part into the
seventy-inCh Trippe-prOvlded space from
curb toward car. and the other part into
the seventy-inch rippe-unprovided space
= from car toward curb. and hemmed in be-
r tween car and automobile. suffer torture
- IN fear OF being pushed forward on the
passing automobile by the starting car
! il turn TO be forced back by the autOmo.
! bile On the starting street car. which
o. moved on with some who wished 10 ge
l or as the east-bOUnd car starts OF. botf
Z leaving passengers they should hav,
taken on It is an exaggerated illustra
4 I tiOn covering an aggregate Of happen
: ings one or more witnessed by me al diff
ference times Thus doubling the seven
= ty-inch Trippe-alloted space. makinl
( about twelve feet for passengers Of tbs
I about CWency-fOur from car to curb. doe.
!. not leave much for automobile fast plaI
: { with passengers toes
Mr.. Trippe further says
Z if any one vho does not knor the right O
p way should get in the way q operator doing hi
: duty and demanding uEat Of way and sst hut. tn
\ chauffeur OF car owner should not suffer for II
Operators duty is doing right Doinl
4 right is exercising common sense. Ex
q ercising common sense viii not inter
: fere with pedestrians right Of way
? Operators have not the right 70 demant
Z right OF way over pedestrians. A tim
Y arises when il is dangerous for the pedes
= trian TO exercise his right Of way. De
Hberately putting himself in danger take
= him out Of the pale OF remedial law. Tn
s criterion Of the exercise Of pedestrians
T. right Of way IS the question. Pedes
!. trians' right Of way always exists, bu
= at times it IS unsafe to exercise it. As
l. suredly. sutomobolists must never de
e mand right Of way. and never denan
. precedence Of way when their engine
g are within that control which would per
d NIT pedestrians the exercise Of their righ
e OF way in safety, nor exercise precedenc
Of way over pedestrians except whe
o unavoidable. as in emergency
Z Mr.. Trippe further says he thinks Nj
e Green IS against automobiles" Not
Y the least: but am against crack -braine
q autOmObilists, and would asylum ever
= one with the criminally insane Ho7
could Mr. Trippe get such an idea
& August i. in The Washington Herald