The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1911-06-24
CLOSING DAYS
AT DELAWARE
Continued from Page -

(Continued from Page /.
reat difficulty of getting here in time to
onduct the exercises.
The orator of the occasion was PERTH
Vainer, of Delaware City.
c. T. McChesney, of Elkton, carried his
udience in imagination to 1918 from | I
hich viewpoint they reviewed the class
lates of 1911 and wonderful indeed were
ome Of the careers.
A nota/e fact revealed by the class
istory of John Van Gaskin Postles is
lat this is the largest class in the
istory of the college. Il
The rest of the afternoon was in the |,
ands of the merciless Junior, who pro-
,eded to administer knocks" to every
or otherwise altogether untrustwortny.
But few months ago chauffeur in this
| city left his employer at the opera, un-
| der orders to return to the garage, and.
| instead of doing SO, picked up ID male
adm two female companions and went on
10y ride wrecking the machine and
killing one of the unfortunate young
! women. Some time previously the owner
of an automobile travelled in 1t from
Washington City to some point in New
Jersey and directed his chauffeur to
| bring it back. When the chauffeur
| reached Belair on his return, 1t was
night mad he was in the condition of
Rev. Mr.. Stiggins at the Temperance
Meeting in Pickwick; he started off like
mad on dark, rough and hilly road,
carried the tollgate off its hinges, was
| saved by some Special Providence from
killing either himself or anybody he met
during reckless run of some five or six
| miles, and finally wrecked his machine
| at the bridge over the Little Gunpowder.
| If these incidents were exceptional it
| might be unnecessary to dwell upon
| them, but they happen every day; it is
| exceptional to find a newspaper which
| doesn't report one or more of them, and
it is no trifiing matter that the persons
and property of reputable citizens ablig-
ed, as many are, to use the roads of
neighboring counties after nightfall
| should be endangered by powerful ma
| chimes filled with drunken men and dis
solute women and tearing about from
one disreputable resort to another.
In dealing with damage to persons
and property thus caused, it might be
well to adopt one of the principles of
| Admiralty and make the automobile It
self responsible for any injury il does,
without regard to it's ownership. But
| the liability of automobile owners
| CHI no 20
| man takes lion or a tiger or any ami
NAL ferae naturae through the streets,
he must look out that other people sui
| fer no injury; if the beast gets away
| from its keeper and does damage, il is
! no excuse to the owner that he thought
| it was well secured. Is there any rea-
| son why one who sends dangerous ma
chine on the highways or suffers il to be
| sent there should be treated more len
! iently If he thinks he has fit chauf-
| feur when he hasn't, ought not he to
| suffer for the mistake rather than per-
| fectly innocent people who are killed
or manned or have their goods destroy
ed b treason of it? When damage is
shown to have been done by an automo-
pie, the law should apply the maxim
res lpSa loqultur, the happening OF the
accident should suffice to establish the
owners responsibility unless he can
satisfy jury that it happened from
causes truly and entirely beyond his
! control.
The establishment by statute of this
strict civil responsibility would be the
more effective because, for the most
part, automobile owners are rich men
or, at all events, men of some substance;
, it should be supplemented, however, by
criminal responsibility no less strict
| for any chauffeur who fails in his duty to
protect the public, whether such failure
i has caused actual injury or not; punish
! ment for such offenses must not be pour
! rire; fear of it should suffice to drive
out of the calling every man who knows
he has no business to be a chauffeur
; Finally, public opinion must not treat
lightly these really serious questions:
but Show itself alive to the gravity of
evils which have been so lately and so
painfully forced upon our thoughts