The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-08
AUTOISTS OBJECT
To STRINGENT Law
Tell Committee Present Act is
Best Ever
Secretary M. H. Rogers Thinks
He Can Make the Scorch-
erS Suffer

Hartford, March 8-The feature bill
before the committee on roads, rivers
and bridges yesterday. afternoon was
maximum speed limit of twenty-five
miles for automobiles in the State of
Connecticut. Intense interest ini the
bill was manifest through the hear
ing. At times. it resolved itself into
a legal debate between Charles NJ.
Robinson of New Haven, a represen-
tative of the Connecticut Automobile
Association and o. w. Plat, Mil
ford lawyer, who was defending the
proposed bill. At other times, auto
mobile owners was pittied against
farmer. in sharp verbal play that no
way suffered from comparison with
the professional eloquence Of the
lawyers.
L. II. Healy, of woodstock, master
of the State Grange, o. W. Plat of
Milford. w. H. Gibney, selectman of
Berlin; F. E. Duffy Of West Hartford,
and D. w. Clark of West Haven ap-
peared in favor Of the bill.
Their principal arguments were,
that a more stringent and definite
age to highways by speeding cars and
reckless drivers; that per cent of
all autoists in Connecticut were of
the lawbreaking sort, and should be
summarily dealt with by means of
an adequate law, SO as to protect the
reputation and interests of the ,95
per cent of law abiding automobile
owners and drivers in the State; and
incidentally those of pedestrians and
property owners as well. A further
argument was that the present law
was misleading, that it set no definite
speed limit. and could not be properly
enforced in the courts; that other
states have such definite speed laws;
that, by having no speed limit, Con-
necticut is putting premium on
speed accidents; that the present law
is especially inadequate for country
automobiling; that when there is no
limit, the temptation for drivers tie
speed up is greatly strengthened, and
finally, that the question of speed
owners, themselves because of the
wear and tear of high speeding.
Joseph Sachs of Hartford, w. J.
Barber of Harwinton, Matthew H
Rogers, secretary Of the State. Lieu
tenant Governor Dennis A. Blakes1ee
c. M. Robinson of New Haven, F. G
Brown, prosecuting attorney OF
Southington, C. Howard Gillette, vice.
president Of the Connecticut Automo-
bile Association, Thomas G. Bennett
president of the Winchester Arms
Company Of New Haven. Representa-
tive w. T. Fem of WetherSfield and
J. P. Goodhart Of New Haven, one of
the directors of the Automobile Asso-
citation opposed the bill. Their lump
arguments were that automobile own
ers were the most active prosecutors
Of the reckless 5 per cent of their
class. that the law, as it stands, is
the best law of it's kind in the United
States: that no law could be devised
that would prevent the 5 per cent
from exceeding prudent driving, so
long as they were so inclined, while
the present law does keep all law
abiding automobolists In check; that
speed is not necessarily sole indi-
cation Of cause Of serious accidents
the Secretary OF the State reading
statistics, which indicated that fatal
accidents were due to collisions with
trolley cars, or due to losing Of head
or carelessness on the part Of drivers
even though going at moderate
speed; that, Of the 5000 900 annually
expended for maintenance and repair
of State highways, automobilists pay
s170,O0 through taxes and fines.
1t was further brought out that the
main trouble with the law was thai
it was not properly enforced, and that
local prosecuting officers of various
towns are only now beginning to real
ly. know the law, and to understand
how to put it into effect. AS for con-
victions, Secretary Rogers said that
If. as Mr.. Plat of Milford said, IL
was impossible under the present law
to convict automobile law breakers, to
bring them to him, and he would con-
Wet them. Senator Alsop, chairman
of the committee. suggested that Il