New Britain herald., 1916-12-16

l
 mess men claim that with an automo- 1 piles their business possibilities are
 greatly increased owing to the in-
 creased service they can give custom l ers where such was impossible with
 the steady, but slow moving horses. The disastrous reaction of the local 1 stock market during the past week l has proved a costly one for local spec
 ulators. Some men have almost feared l to open their mail, thinking that @ 1 ':caI" for more margin might be re- 1 ceived. Others who had previously l enjoyed large paper profits, then be- i gan to pyramid" have not only lost 1 their profits but also have been ] called upon for more margin. A number have been unable to pay and 1 have been sold out. All in all it has l been a terrible week for those hold l ing stocks. Many declare they have learned their lesson, but it is doubt 1 ful. Should a strong bull market ! again occur it is safe~to predict that 1 almost all of these who had a dollar 1 would again try to double 1t as in the | past.
 Even the telephone operators say it: l IL. 1 nous song 1T hear you calling has
 ceased to be popular with those as- 1 sociated with the local stock market For the past few years since auto m ohiles became so numerous, and
 more especially during the past year when electric headlights became 1 standard equipment, the motoring Yo1Ih f7o of o1y 1yfn nd the pedestrian has been bothered by the bull-headed automobilist who
 never aims the headlights. Everyone 1 knows the utter blindness that mom- entarlly results when a powerful searchlights is turned into ones eyes. and this has been the cause Of more accidents than record show, although reports at police headquarters lndl- cate that there were a number in this l city last summer in which search l light glare was given as the cause. In Massachusetts there Is very strict law against this and, if reports are true it has worked well. In Connect icut there is no such law, but 1t Is l understood that Senator G. w. Klett
 will endeavor to bring before the next session of the legislature a bill that would make it a statuatory offense to
 drive with the headlights of any car sufficiently dazzling to bother anyone coming in an opposite direction. If such a law is passed it will have the sanction of every fair-minded citl- zen, whether owner of an automobile or not.
 If, in this same connection, a law should be made compelling all ve- hicles using the highway at night to
 carry lights another great road evil would be overcome.
 Preparations to handle the great in f1ux of Christmas mail at the post office are being made by Postmaster w. r. Delaney. Last year the post
 master handled the situation in eN-
 cellent style, and with his added ex-
 perience, should be able to do even better this year. With added clerks
 and equipment there is no doubt but
 what the city will be given the best
 of service from Uncle Sam. But to
 obtain such 1t Is necessary for the in
 dividual to cooperate. All bundles should be wrapped securely and pla in lN addressed. It is also well for the post card sender to remember that there is d government restriction for bidding the sending of tinsel cards in the open mail
 Almost every day brings complaints about traffic and pedestrians being subject to seemingly unnecessary in cOnveniences by being held up at some 1 realroad crossing in the city, and there are more complaints made to authori- ties and lawyers about this matter than the average person would imag inc. According to legal opinion there is very little satisfa actory legal re- dress at present and unless the law is changed there will not be. Some years ago there was a statute that
 gave any individual, who was sub jected to a delay of five minutes or
 over at any railroad crossing, the
 right to sue the railroad company
 and recover $25 damages. One not
 able instance of where this law was
 brought into force occurred when the
 late pr. E. F. SWa sey brought suit.
 There were also several other cases,
 some in Plainville, In which the
 money awarded by judgment was
 turned over to charitable purposes.
 This law has been changed now, ac-
 cording to one local attorney, so that
 any dlsgruntled person has only the
 right to bring criminal action, instead
 of civil action. This would necessi-
 tate the plaintiff bringing the action
 in the town where the alleged of-
 fense occurred, so 1t can be readily
 seen to what a great inconvenience
 this would put the aggrieved person.
 As a result the railroad benefits. Also,
 to bring criminal action 1t would
 probably be necessary to bring the ac-
 tion against the engineer of the train,
 and the plaintiff would have no em-
 nifty toward him. Were civil suit
 still possible the plaintiff would be
 enabled to sue in the place of his res
 idence and make the railroad come
 there to defend the suit. It has been