Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-19
Opponents of Light" Regu-
Iation to Hold Meeting.
CALLED FOR WEDNESDAY
Several Big Concerns, However, De-
eide to Obey Mandate.
OPINION OF JOHN L. NEwB0LD
Asserts That Requirements Cannot
Be Complied With-Mr. Rudolph
Corrects Misapprehension.

Declaring the recent police regulation
requiring lights all vehicles to be
unjust, impracticable and absolutely
impossible" representatives of large bust
ness interests i'm Washington emit this
morning and agreed to send out call
for mass meetin, to which al opposed
to the regulation are invited, to be held
in the Chamber of Commerce rooms, 18th
and + streets northwest, at A O'Clock
Wednesday afternoon.
Gaging the probable attendance by the
present. opposition to the measure, those
who arranged for the meeting. expect
more than 100 to be present.
Coal. lumber, feed and ice dealers,
brewery, express and drayase, and many
small retail concerns were represented,
either by personal attendance or by
proxy. at today's meeting in the offices
of John L. Newbold, president of the
Merchants Transfer and Storage Com
psny. The concerns directly represented
include Thomas W. Smith, lumber: the
Maury Dove, coal: Johnson Brothers,
coal; Littlefield, Alvord & Co.. express
and drayage: the George w. Knox En-.
press Company and the Merchants
Transfer and Storage Company.
Views of ]. L. Newbo1d.
1.-THE Commissioners have gone off half
cooked on this question" said John L.
Newbold. prime mover in the opposition
The regulation is so ilnpracticable and
absolutely impossible as to be absurd. 1t
is absolutely unnecessary.
Wash ngton str cts are we'll lighted
OF course. there is room for Improvement
along these lines, but the street lighting
is fairly good. 1t Is good enough to pro-
tect horse-drawn vehicl IL the automo-
biles keep anywhere near the speed regu-
lations.
THE trouble is this regulation is maxi
ing the victims of fast automobile driv-
ing pay all the damage. And in many
cases ii will be impossible to meet the
requirements of the regulation.
I'm the cases of carriages and lighter
delivery wagons lamps may b attached
with comparatively little expense. With
springless wagons and drays and heavily
loaded large vehicles almost no trouble
or exp nse can contrive lamp that will
stay lighted OF resist the humping over
street car tracks and ruts.
IF the police would enforce the speed
regulations this new law would be un-
necessary. The speed limit in the down.
town districts is twelve miles an hour for
automobiles.
You will watch long time before you
see machine complying with th,t reg
ulation even in the daytime. AT night
there Is no pretense of keeping under the
twenty-mlle mark.
There is an ordinance in Baltimore
similar to the regulation the Commits
sioners have passed. 1t has been found
to enforce. and is now obso-
lete- know of no city where such
regulations are enforced.'
Concerns Which Will Comply.
Several large dry goods and department
firms or Washington have announced that
they will not oppose the regulation.
Woodward & Lothrop announced this
morning that the firm considered the
regulation reasonable. and would comply
with it without question. S. Kann. Sons
d Co. said the firm already is ne
gotiating tor lamps for the wagons.
A. Lsnef of Palais Royal sad he had
not made up his mind one way or another.
and would have representative at the
Wednesday meeting. Joseph Saks of Saks
i Co. yesterday came out in favor
OF the regulation and congratulated Com
missioner Rudolph on its passage.
Two Lights Not Required.
IF there is an impression that wagons
and carriages will have to carry two
lights, one in front and one in the rear.
1t is most erroneous impression said
Commissioner Rudolph this morning. dis
cussing the protests of merchants who
believe the lights-on-vehicles regulation
is hardship and unnecessary.
There is nothing in the police regula-
lions as published which requires two
lights. One light is all that is neces-
sary. Just so that light is seen from
the front and back. the regulation will be
complied with. Delivery wagons now
carry. in many instances. a light swung
on a bracket The light swings inside
the body of the wagon. and the delivery
boys read the names on packares by this
aid. The owners OF the wagons thus
equipped can swing the bracket outward
so that the light is outside the wagon
The boy can pick up the next package.
hold 1t out by the light and read the
name. There will be no necessity for
adding any lights in the case of wagons
equfpped with these bracket lights.
with wagons which now are unequip-
ped with ghtS only one lamp will be
necessary. 1t can shine in front and to
the sides, and l. it has red lens or any
other kind Of lens in the rear the reguIa-
ton will be complied with"
Oil Wagons Not Exempt.
That the Standard Oil Company wagons
will havc-to carry lights is the decision of
the Commissioners today in the matter
of a request from the company that it's
wagons be exempt. The request was in
writing. and is as follows.
Referring to the regulation which YOU
recently adopted compelling vehicles to
carry lights. we believe this to be a good
protective traffic measure in a general
sSnse. but we consider in our case that
the attachment OF lamps to our wagons.
considering their contents wouid he n