The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-12-25
LETTERS TO EDITOR
Safer Streets for Birmingham


Have you ever stopped to think of
the number of lives that are lost in
Birmingham yearly at the hands of a
few auto speeders? Haven't the streets
of this beautiful city, wide as they
seem to be, been proven the past three
weeks to be one of the most danger
Gus places man or a woman can go,
much less a little child? If a child is
run down occasionally there is some
times some excuse for that, but when
person has lived in the city prac-
tically all of his life and he gets
run over by an automobile, then 1 say
that there is no excuse for it. Maybe
those that are afoot are not particu-
lar enough, but if a few of those
"speedesters' We're taught the lesson
of carefulness there would not be near
| so many accidents.
When you leave home in the morning
| for work you never know but what you
are likely to be run down and killed
on your way there. Who must we
blame for this carelessness? Is it for
lack of laws? No. There are suffi-
cient laws to prevent all such acct
dents, but they have been crimina1ly
neglected By the word "criminally'
I mean that somebody is responsible
for the lives that are being lost in this
city at the hands of the auto drivers.
| I am a stranger in your beautiful
city and I am glad of the pleasure of
saying that / am admirably pleased
with 1t. You have beautiful streets,
you have nice comfortable street cars,
nice hotels and office buildingsi, all of
which represent the expenditure of an
| immense amount of money; but there
is one thing that I do not like, and
| that Is the dangerousness of the
| StrAatS | have NOT hppn in 70 fxy
| of Birmingham more than three weeks
| and to my certain knowledge there has
| been more than three deaths that can
| be laid at the door of some automo-
| bile driver. Is that not enough to
start the people to thinking?
| Just few days ago UP on Eleventh
avenue there was very old lady lost
| her life when an auto ran her down.
| She was, of course, to blame, or that
was the way 1t turned out, anyway.
| Was it entirely her fault? / did not
see the accident but l have reliable
information that the person made an
| effort to excuse himself by explaining
it in the following manner: "A person
| so years old should not be allowed on
| the streets alone" My, but what a
| poor explanation. When we come to
think just minute we will all agree
that there are numbers and numbers
| of men and women working daily for
!
women on the streets daily who are
| over 60 years of age?
| The driver of the iitney that killed
| the poor little neWsboy made a very
plausible statement. and ! do no doubt
| the truth of it at all. but could not
he have been just little more careful
! before the accident? Won't he be more
careful in the future? Sure he will
Who wouldn't? That young man was
out bright and early making his rounds
possibly before other duties were
ready for his attention. He probably
| had to work hard for a living, and
maybe he was the only support that
his poor mother had, or at least the
greatest. How hard it must be to lose
one that Is near and dear to us when
| it seems there are ways to prevent
| such accidents.
| The city of Birmingham has laws
sufficiently strong to, at least, reduce
the percentage that they are making
they have men paid to enforce these
can reach out and extend protecting
hand to those upon the streets of this
great and beautiful city? Let the city
commissioners think these things over.
This is not the largest city In the
world, yet it seems that there are more
accidents here than in any of our
neighboring cities
j have talked this matter over with
quite bunch of intelligent men, all
Of whom are in sympathy with move
to put a stop to all this reckless driv-
ing over the main thoroughfares of the
city. One man said: We'll, how are
they going to do 1t when they have
no traffic police?" l reply: Hire some
traffic police" He said what are
they going to hire them with? The city
Is in bad shape financially" I do not
know the conditions of your city. but
do say that it would be better to stop
paving for awhile and pay some men
to see that the laws with regard to
traffic are stringently enforced 1t is
| going to take that to put an end to
| the many accidents and to insure
safety upon the streets of Birming-
! ham. AS the slogan goes, Bigger and
| better Birmingham" 7 think it should
| read, Bigger and safer Birmingham"
III. A. PERKERSON.
| Birmingham. December IS. 1915.