The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-07-31
PHILLIPS SAYS HE'S POWERLESS Places Blame for Canaan Auto Accident on Town
 Officials Tn Signed Statement Secre- tary of State Defines Duty of His Office

Hartford, Conn, July 31.-Secretary of State Phillips today issued the fol- lowing statement:
 My attention has been called to the accident which occurred in East Ca naan on July 21 in which an automo- bile crashed into a carriage, four per sons being injured and one horse hav- ing had to be shot a result of se- rtous injury. In the automobile were one Howard Clinton Carkinton, chauf- York, and Thomas Tague, another chauffeur, and a young lady, an en- ploye of the Norfolk Inn.
 ftH seems that they were out joy ride, it being reported through the newspapers that the Tingue car was taken from the garage of the Tingue summer home at Norfolk without the have come to this department that the chaufreurs were intoxicated.
 This is a case where this depart ment is poweriees. Both c1aauffeurs are not duly licensed operators of this state.
 when an automobile accident oc- CUTS, as general rule, the secretary s office iS usually criticised because most peop4e fail to realize that there are other antiquities whose duty it is to gee that the automobile law is not vio- lated. So far as thrs accident is con- GlGdnCds 1IEA5 S1IlPdy 0TlOLnSE CdES0 OI IL0 local authorities fa11ing to enforce the law. The automobile law of this state provides, where a person has regular place of abode in this state for period Of more than thirty days in the ca1en- dar year. that uncer the terms of the automobile law of 1911, he a resident of this state and must register his car in the automobile department of the secretary's office. Any one operating such a car must become a duly licensed operator Of this state.
 ''It seems to me that MT. Tingue, having a summer home at Norfolk, becomes a resident of this state. Un- der the provisions of the act, the au- thorities of Norfolk should have seen to it that his car was registered in this state and that his chauffeur ob- tained license from this departm ent.
 eff the authorities in the various cities, borougns and towns of this state will enforce the law. the secre- tary's office will do it's work, but if the local authorities are to continue to allow the law to be violated and permit men to operate cars without a license therefor, how is the secre- tary's office going to be in a position to call these men before the secretary when they are not duly licensed oper- ators in this state and, therefore, be- yond the jurisdiction of the secretary s office?
 "Thfs department cannot do any thing even though they are licensed under the laws of the state of New York because the secretary of that state has not the power of susp nsion or revocation. Until such time as the secretary has the cooperation of the prosecuting authorities of the various cities, boroughs and towns through out the state he will be in a helpless position to cope with the automobile problem of today,
 'It is about time that the local au- thorities, especially in those cities, boroughs and towns having summer residents, see to it that those who have a residence there for more than a period of thirty days in the calendar year be compelled to take out regis tration on their motor vehicles and that the operators be compelled to apply for an operators license, and, when they become duly licensed oper- ators, then the secretary will have Jurisdiction to suspend or revoke the licenses. The secretary cannot sus- pend or revoke a license unless there he a license in existence.