Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-02-05
PROSECUTIONS Of
V|OLATORS SOLELY
Statement Issued by State Highway
Department, Says All Care
fully Considered
THE FACTS In THE CASE
People Neglected to Take Out Ii
censes For This Year and
Got Arrested
THE FACTS in THE CASE

! To correct published misstatements
based on Incorrect information re-
garding the arrests of automobile
owners and operators for using 1913
license tags upon their machines, the
State Highway Department to-day
issued a statement in which it is made
clear that there hass been no inten-
ton on the part of the department to
persecute automobilists, but rather a
desire not to take advantage of a rigid
Interpretation of the law.
The most important fact brought
out is that in the arrests so far made
every accused owner or operator has
admitted that he had not applied for
| a license until after January 8, or, in
other words, that he had violated the
law on that point
1t is pointed out by e. A. Jones'
1 second deputy commissioner in charge
/ OF the automobile division, that no
move, looking to the arrest of viola
tors OF the law, was made until four
teen days after the time at which the
department would have been justi-
he'd in enforcing the letter of the law
Mr. Jones said in discussing this phase
| or the question:
; There has been a decided misun-
derstanding regarding the action taken
last week against automobilists who
| nave been violating the law. The law
| ispeclnes that automobiles operated on
or after the first must bear license
| tags for that year. Now. inasmuch, as
| there are in round numbers 10000 au-
| tomobiles to be licensed, it stands to
fhat l.
must be made during the early part
| of December, otherwise there will be
congestion at the end of the year in
getting out the licenses. If 10000
persons applied for licenses by De-
cember 81 of any year and if $4,000
of those $4,000 did not send in their
applications until December 26 and
the days following until December 81,
1t would not be humanity possible for
the department. even working day and
night, Sundays and holidays, to get
| all the licenses out and delivered by
January /. For this reason an abso-
lutely rigid Interpretation of the law
mas never been demanded, that is to
| say, the police have never been re-
quested to make arrests on January l.
This year, by working at all hours
| OF the day and night, the automobile
division of the State Highway Depart
catching up to the applications then
on file in the department. From Jan
uary 15 to the present time all licenses
| have been sent out on the day on
which the application was received
the sole exception being In cases where
an error has been made by the appli-
cant, in which case it was returned to
! him promptly for correction.
| 1T is significant that, in every case
hoc do
violation of the law, the accused own
ler or operator has admitted without
| hesitation that application for 1914
license had not been made to the de
partment prior to January 8. In cases
where new cars are purchased by per
sons not heretofore owning or operat.
ing an automobile and in case wher
an owner or operator is absent from
the city on business or pleasure and
does not return until after the first OF
the year, it is easy to understand why
such applications for license should be
delayed. 1t would seem that there
is no valid excuse for failure to max
application to the State Highway De.
partment prior to January / of any
given year.
THE State Highway Department
mas no desire to infiict injustice upon
owners or operators of automobiles
and does not feel in the present in
stance that an injustice has been done
NO move was made by the department
looking toward the enforcement of
the law until fourteen days had
elapsed after the rush of applications
received during the closing DAYS of
1913 had been met. If the police of
Philadelphia or of any other city took
1t upon themselves to extend immunity
to those operating under a 1918 license
acted OF L i,,,,
sion that the State Highway Depart
ment had not been able to get the
licenses out"
Thomas c.. Boyd, registrar of the
automobile division of the State High
way Department, will go to Philadel-
phia next week and appear at the con-
tinued hearing to be held before Mag
strate Harris in that city at which
those automobilists arrested last week
for violating the law will be arraign-
ed.