Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-27
maryland LAW OPPOSED
WASHINGTON MOTORISTS OBJ.
jet TO BEING BOTTLED UP.
Want Reciprocal Privileges That Are
Accorded Residents of States.
Discrimination Charged.

BALTIMORE, July 27.-Lambert Reed
of Washington. southern secretary of the
National Automobile Association, came
to Baltimore yesterday.
He did not come in his automobile be-
cause as a Washingtonian he is barred
from the state unless he has a Maryland
license.
That is just the reason he made his
visit.
Will Fight Discrimination.
From now on, he said. the Washington
organization is going 10 fight with all its
might to have that exemption removed.
AS secretary of the National Automobile
Association. to which a number of Mary
landers belong, and which has great
strength all over the country, he made
the announcement that the fight on the
Maryland law would be backed by the
national body in effort not only TO
wipe out features of the law which are
regarded as a direct discrimination
against the Washingtonians. but against
others, which will have a nationwide
significance.
THE National Automobile Association"
he said. has legal representatives in
every big city i'm the country regularly
retained. We are I'm existence to fight
wherever a member does not get his
rights or wherever automobile owners
are disseminated against as a class.
When a member is in the wrong. has vio-
lated a law and knows II. he Is supposed
to submit, but when as an individual. or
as class. or. as in this case. a rest
dent of a section of the country. he is
Disseminated against then the organiza-
ton is going to fight. and fight hard.
To Fight the Law.
&C. L. Bouve. c. S. Duvall and the
legal firm Of Ralston. Siddons e. Rich
ardson will make this fight against the
Maryland law. The general counsel
for the association at the headquarters
In Boston will not be asked to aid in
the fight unless there is particular need
of it.
II am not familiar with all of the
grounds upon which the law will be
attacked, but I do know that clearly
on it's face paragraph 140A is class
legislation. This paragraph is that re-
ferring to the ten-day reciprocal priv
ilege allowed by Maryland to automo-
bilistS of other states. The part of the
law which defines the meaning of the
word state says that it means. except
when otherwise expressly provided, and
except in section 140A, shall also in
clude the territories and federal dis
tricts of the United States.
Glass Legislation charged.
eff depriving a federal district and
territory of the privileges exchanged
with states is not class legislation,
then ! cannot imagine what class legis-
lation could be. i can hardly conceive
the motive of this direct discrimina-
ton against Washington and the Dis
trict of Columbia. Virginia, in less
bold and formal way. does discriminate
against District Of Columbia autoists.
but even Virginia has not ventured to
set forth the idea in law in this way.
An owner Of an automobile from Nir-
ginia or Maryland can enjoy the priv
ileges of visiting the District, but a
resident of the District is bottled up.
He cannot go in any direction for a
few miles without having to be Ii
censed in Maryland or Virginia, or
both.
For a long time the American Auto
mobile Association has been working
for federal law that would do away
with all restrictions of the kind. We
believe now that a complete legal vic
tory in this case, which is to be fought
on a number of grounds, will make q
federal law unnecessary. and that a
man in an automobile will be able to
go anywhere, the same as a man on
foot