Connecticut western news., 1911-04-06
AUTOMOBILE LAWS
MOSTLY MISUNDERSTOOD
 BY LAWYERS AND LAYMEN
Fisher Sunday Law May Not Pass Carleton Sees No Hope for Com pensation Act or Public Utilities Bill.

Bill.
 Hastford, April 4-Proba lv no set of men know less about the laws they are to enforce than police o6cers. especially in the cities, and of no law is this truer than of the automobile laws. Nor do the prosecuting attorneys know much more about them. Such being the case, how can the ordinary public and the newspaper editors bs expected to know much about them? Taken together, these facts form the reason why the now automobile law, which consists merely of amendment to she present law and was reported only last Friday by the committees on roads. rivers and bridges, is being badly misunderstood already.
 The speed limit\which it aims to set at thirty-fve miles an hour is not an arbi- trary speed limit within which it is legal to drive, not at all all of the present law, which makes reckless driving the criterion of breach of the law and % miles an hour for an eighth of mile prima facie evidence of reckless driving, remains intact all that the new pro- vision does IS to make'it unlawful to ex, ceed 30 miles an hour anywhere. at any time, in Connecticut, whether the driver thinks it reckless driving or not. It is splendid provision and will tend to save our roads, for the excessive speed of heavy cars is what tears them up.
 Another provision which is receiving attention is that requiring public garages to provide a suitable book and every driver of machine which is pus up at garage to register the make and license namber of his machine, the owners and operators names, number of operator 's license, hour of arrival and of departure This gives complete tab on cars which are going through the state if they stop over night. Massachusetts requires this and more, their destination aud which route they take to reach it. It isn't the Connecticut man who lives right here among us that takes no heed of our auto law it's the stranger. E'
 It looks now as if the Judiciary com. mittee would report the Fisher Sunday law pretty nearly as he drew it, but there IS no chance of it getting through the House, nor of any other liberal Sunday law getting through. The fact is that, while most of us realize that the people today demand a more liberal Sunday than the law permits, it is also clear that we need on the statute books good stiff law for use in time of need. Connecti- out is being filled up with foreigners from countries where the common peo- pie have been downtrodden for centur ies and when they get here they think they eau do exactly as they please with out regard to anyone, and they do that. Unless we take this situation in hand and force these people to realize that when they come here they must obey our laws and customs and not disregard ours or seek to mold us to theirs, there is trouble coming soon.
 x&h0 J ~ ID AOb oO A14Sh HUI bhAb reason that liberal Sunday law won't pass. The Judiciary committee may draw it as carefully as it pleases, and Judiciary committees have drawn some mighty good laws in recent sessions, and when it gets into the House the fact that there are so many members from small towns who were brought up at mothers knee will sound it's doon-aud it ought to. A manager of so-calIed amateur baseball in New Haven told the committee the truth when he. said there was no amateur baseball in Con- necticut; why should the Sabbath be given over to enriching the pockets of few men who are in professional base ball?
 Since the New York decision as to the unconstitutionality of the workmen's compensation act of that state the Judi ciary committee has given up all hope of a bill which would get by Governor Baldwin. Indeed, it had before. Nor does it feel able to draft an employer liability law, The situation on the pub lie utilities commission bill is very bad indeed since the State Business Mems Association representatives said nothing doing, also. But even if thls New Ha- ven city court judgeship fight is all they say it is politically, it is by no means as momentous as the losing side would like one to feel. Col. JJllman IS only a local boss. Get it?
 There. are likely to be no more Friday sessions. Judge Banks agreed to this If Judge Peck, of Stratford wouldn't ad, journ the House for lack of a quorum last Friday. They haven't accomplished anything much and never do, and therr finish is unaccompanied by tears.
 CARLETON.