The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1916-10-05
TO ENFORCE AUTO LAW.
State Wide Campaign Started by the
Attorney General.

L
The state department of Justice
has launched a state wide campaign
to- enforce the automobile laws to the
limit. County attorneys, police of4lc-
ials and state agents are being urged
| 10 begin at once an aggressive move
ment against all yiolators of auto
mobile laws.
So frightful have the number Of
deaths and accidents become in the
past several weeks due to negligence
and violations of the law. that ex-
IRENE measures may have to be
adopted in some instances to secure
an enforcement of the law, the attor-
ney general thinks.
He calls attention to the fact the
persons guilty of an accident who
drives away and fails to give their
names may be sent to the peniteh-
tiary.
Upon the request of the attorney
general, bunch of Des Moines auto
dealers were called to the'police sta
ton recently and given until the end
| of that week to comply with the law
CossOn Letter.
I 81 wish to further direct your at
tention to section 157 1m23, supple
ment to the code, 1913, which pro-
vides that whoever operates motor
vehicle while in an intoxicated cond1-
ton shall be guilty Of misdemean-
or and that whoever operates a
motor vehicle resulting in injury to
another as result of carelessness or
accident, and knowing Of such injury,
leaves the place of said injury with
out disclosing his identity, giving his
name and address and the registra-
ton lumber of his motor vehicle to
the injured party or to police Of
ficer, is guilty OF felony, which may
be punished by Imprisonment in the
penitentiary,' and to paragraph 10 of
section 1571-m-1S, which provides
that it shall be unlawful for any
person to cause or permit any motor
vehicle to be driven upon any pub
lie street or highway by any person
under the age of fifteen years.
1.-The statute expressly makes it the
duty of the county attorney to see
that this law is enforced. I am GER
tain that if each county attorney in
the s.ate will cooperate with this de-
partment there will be added to the
revenues of the state for the use of
the roads and highways at least
$4,000, and undoubtedly number
of accidents and injuries may be pre-
vented. A vigorous, united effort
on the part of county attorneys and
police officers in enforcing the law
relating to the operation OF motor
vehicles will not only prevent num-
Der of accidents and injuries but it
will mean the saving of q number OF
lives in the state of Iowa every yer.
''The number of deaths and acct
dents due to negligence and the vio-
lation of the law ra,:ting to motor
vehicles is SO greai, as to shock both
our sensibility and our credu'sty.
eve have more murders in the
United States than in any civilized
country in the world. Our tota
death losses for three years by reason
of homicide equalling the total mum
Der of deaths in the British Srmy in
the Boer war, but the number Of
deaths due to automobile accident:
is so much greater than the number
of deaths due TO murder that there
is no comparison.
'The average loss of life per year
in the entire city of London by reason
of homicide is but twelve. For the
month of August alone here in Iowa
we have over thirty deaths, more
than five hundred accidents witt
more than four hundred injured per.
sons.
''For the month of July there were
thirty-six deaths, 478 accidents ant
41S persons badly injured. This
means that for the months of Jul!
and August, 1916, there were sixty
six deaths, 97S accidents and Sls
persons injured.