New Britain herald., 1916-08-05
zou1n Topics

ern traffic on the main street Ot the city. The making of traffic rules is most important item and should be done carefully. Investigations else where should be made and the best taken from every place noted. One plan is to prohibit the parking of au- tomobiles on Main street longer than thirty or forty minutes at time. This might sound all right and might work out all right during the daytime, but unless some provision was made it would apply to night as well and then it would be unfair and unneces- sary Night traffic is much less than al day and even in other large cities where the leaving of cars on the street in the daytime is prohibited, it is permissible during the evening. This is but one point that should be studied pro and con. Tn Hartford and other large places automobilists are permit ted to park their machines on side streets. Due to New Britain's geogra- phy, this is not particularly feasible here for there are few side streets in tersecting Main street. Commercial street. a bustling thoroughfare with the police and fire stations on it is hardly a place to park machines. Myrtle street is much too narrow with the trolley cars on it. Washington street would accommodate only a comparative few and Court street is like a blind alley with but one exit. Chestnut street, with a garage and car barns, is hardly suitable, leaving only Walnut street that would be at all available and that is very much out of the way for people doing business in the real business center. This traf- fic question is one that needs careful study, and no snap judgment should be used
 AS yet the plan to stop Hartford and Chestnut street cars only at the Main street switch and in front of Me- Donough's cigar store on Church street is not working out well. People must be weaned away from the old plan of taking the cars at the corner of Church and Main streets. It was at first thought that stop would be made near the Center church chapel, but this is impra ctical for the trolley company as it makes too many stops on Church street. Therefore, the public must get educated to taking the cars at the switch, just before they swing around the corner into Church street. or further down the street. The matter of having too many car stations is one that bOthers the trolley company in making time and the traV- cling public that uses the streets as well. To this end, the stop on North street just before rounding the corner into Hartford avenue is to be abolished and the only station there will be in front of J. P, Connors' drug store.
 Tn reference to traffic, there is a law on the statute books that in New ic nIo a all. No attempt is even made to en- force it. That is the law providing that all vehicles on the road at night carry lights Automobilists are com- pe1led to carry lights and when they do not the drivers are prosecuted. The law also applies to carriages and wa gons as well as ordinary bicycles but no attempt is made to observe it. It Is not a spirit of anything other than "safety first which prompts this agi- tation to enforce this law. Driving on a dark road at night, it is next to inn possible for any one to see a wagon, team or bicycle ahead until almost upon them. And it is safe to say that a large percentage of all horse drawn vehicles on the streets and roads in and around New Britain are without lights. It is time the authorities got busy and prosecuted few of these. It is for their own safety as well as that of others that they should be com- pelled to carry lights.
 A rule that automobile drivers should insist on is that occupants of their car keep their hands and arms within the machine and if there is any traffic sig mailing to be done, let the man at the wheel do it. The man at the wheel knows just when he is to make a turn or to stop and knows better than any one else the proper moment to give a, signal. He is the man to do it and not some passenger who sits in the back seat and gives a certain traffic signal just because he thinks the driver is about to do a certain thing At the last moment the driver may decide to take a different course than is appar- ent and if the person in the rear seat
 has given a wrong signal it may result 1 in an accident. This is a question on which all automobile drivers will agree
 and in which the common sense is | evident.
 Action of the Vulcan Iron Works in 1 providing shower baths for employees 1 shows the trend of the times is CO., 1 operation between employer and em-
 nloye and that the former is trying to l better conditions for the latter. This l is a good thing and is nOticeab ble in
 other local factories where bonus svs- l tems and other plans are in vogue to 1 make the lot of the laborer better and | to insure more efficiency for the enl- | ployer.
 The proprietor of one of the local 1 dry goods stores has made the un- pleasant discovery that all of hJs ! clerks cannot be trusted and as a re- suit during the past week or two fe- , male detectives have been engaged to 1 ferret out the dishonest employees. 1 Their plans have worked we'll and it is said two clerks have been detected