Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-18
DEMAND UNIFORM
MOTORING LAWS
Increase in Automobile Travel
Makes Interstate Recip-
roCity Imperative
LIGHTEN TOURISTS BURDENS
Practically All the New England
States Grant Non-residentS
Ten Days Touring

Two important features stand out
clearly in the automobile world at this
period which is marking the close Of
the great summer touring season. They
are, first, the enormous increase in the
popularity of motor travel and, sec
ond, the great need of interstate reci-
procity in respect to automobile laws.
Two cases within the last few days
have revealed these benefits and needs
in a clear-cut manner. In the first
place the statistics just compiled at
Mount Washington show that during
the months of July and August so per
cent of the total arrivals at that great
White mountain resort, on the line of
the Ideal tour, originated by A. L.
Westgard of the Touring club of Amer
lea a few years ago, came by motor
car. This is a marked advance over
the figures last year The total ar
rivals at Mount Washington during
those two months were 1853 and OF
those 1894 came by automobile. While
these figures show with startling Vid-
idness the ever growing popularity of
motor touring it is not believed that
this rate of increase is shared alone
by the Mount Washington resort. Re-
ports all through New England in
dicate that the volume of motor traf-
fic this season has far exceeded all
former years and these statistics are
borne out by the great demand from
members of the Touring club of Amer
lea and others for pleasant touring
routes through that section.
TOURISTS ARE FAVORED
These statistics naturally lead to the
second important question, that of reci-
procity between the states. 1t stands
to reason that touring on so large
scale as the present year has witnessed
would hardly have been attained had
the various states through which the
motorists were required to pass enact
ed laws imposing additional burdens
upon motorists. Practically all of the
New England states grant ten days
touring to non-residents provided those
visitors have complied with the law
of their home states. New York
state, under the new Callan automobile
law which has just gone into effect.
has brought this question or state
reciprocity more prominently to the
front than perhaps ever before. The
Callan law grants the same privileges
to non-residents that their states
grant to New York motorists.
Attorney General O'Malley has just
set at rest point that was troubling
the hotelkeepers, garage proprietors
and MANY motorists who feared that
under the new law visiting tourists
would be prohibited from enjoying
even a temporary freedom from the
New York law. The attorney general
has informed Secretary of State Koe-
mig that the Callan law clearly gives
tourists from other states the same
privileges in New York as are accord
ed in their states to New York motor
lists, which virtually means that all of
the eastern states with the exception
of New Jersey have reciprocal rela-
tions with New York for periods aver
aging ten days.
LAW Is QUESTIONED
But now arises an interesting point:
Who determines when this ten-day
period of touring expires? In other
words, does it ever expire? The ten
day reciprocity clause owing to its
non-enforcement virtually gives COM
plete freedom to tourists, and Attorney
General OMalley's decision means that
New York will practically grant un-
limited, freedom to states that admit
New Workers for limited periods, ac-
cording to the law.
In speaking of this situation Secre-
tary Frederick H. Elliott of the Tour
ing club of America Broadway at
Seventy-sixth street, New York, said
yesterday:
THE widespread discussion which
has been aroused il automobile circles
over the nonresident provision of the
Callan automobile law has opened
splendid opportunity for the motorists
throughout the nation to secure the
enactment at the next session of their
state legislatures of a nonresident pro-
vision similar to the New York law
which will practically give freedom to
motorists who have complied with the
law of their home states, permitting
them to tour in any state without the
necessity of registering or in other
ways being identified
1T would appear" adds Mr., Elliott,
that now is the time to begin work
in every state whose law does not give
absolute freedom to the motorists OF
New York and other states to present
amendments at the forthcoming ses-
sion of their legislatures looking to-
ward the adoption of the non resident
clause of the New York state law.
1.-THE Touring club of America
through it's delegates in all of the prin-
cipal cities and towns throughout the
United States and it's membership,
comprising several thousand represen-
tatiye automobiists of the country
will take up actively the work of in
terestng the legislators in this sub
ject with view to securing so far as
possible uniformity in the non resident
privileges throughout the states