New-York tribune., 1917-07-15
Between Motorist
and olic EN- an,
Whose WordWins?

Staten Island, charged with driving her
car thirty miles an hour, declined 10
nav q fine impoged on her by the mag
istrate. saying: at is not the money
II is the principle. He says | was going
81 thirty miles an hour. / say that
was going at fifteen. There is no rea-
son why my word is not as good as any
policeman's.'
The lady was entirely wrong lhere
is the long established practice OF po-
lice magistrates' courts, and especially
of our own traffic court. which hoios
that the unsupported word of any po-
liceman is better than the word OF any
motorist. II the policeman says 30 ~
must be so. .huo
ooses annarently proceed on the lines
of the tabled person who. when asKeu
IL be understood the duties of juror
said: 81 look around the courtroom
and when | see the prisoner at the par
| saw to myself, If he is not gullty
what is he doing here?' so | bring them
all in guilty"
II has often appealed to us that there
&c a certain amount of injustice in the
handling of motor vehicle cases; lhere Is
epparently no sympathy in police court
With an automobilist. He is the owner
of an automobile, and because OF that
fact a dangerous character IN tne com
nunitv. He must be terrlhcalIy rlch
nerson TO be able to afford car, even
though there are several Ford cars
owned in New York. -, r,
Fuel to feed the fire of public feel
ing against automobilists is never lack
ing. Only the other day the Pollce
| Commissioner of New York City re-
ferred to the automobile as the Hun
of the streets" Perhaps envy at the
Greater efficiency Of the automobile IN
running down things is behind the 70
/ lice Commissioners remarks.
! With the best intentions IN the world
and without the least desire to convert
/ the automobile, into car OF Jugger-
naut. many an automoblllst flndS MS
hands full when he attempts to drive
in the street.
among motorists. There is disregard
very often of the rights of others.
There is an apparent indifference to the
safety of other users of the streets.
/ All these charges are true as relate TO
motorists here and there. But 1t is the
tendency to characterize motorists as
class as murderers and the like which
is having a very bad effect upon the
manners of the pedestrian public. AS
well say all policemen are gratters be-
cause a few are as condemn all motor
lists because of the acts of few.
We would be greatly gratihed to take
on a drive through the city up and
down town through the crowded traitc
| for several days any automobllephobe
and give him an idea of what the auto
mobilist must contend with because of
the utter unftness of the streets OF
this CITY to accommodate the increas-
ing motor car traffic. We frequently
wonder, not that so many persons are
hurt. but that, compared with the thou-
sands Of motor cars that there are IN
New York, so few are hurt. 1t is only
by the exercise of extraordinary skill
on the part of automobile drivers that
many accidents are averted
| Until such time as police control Of
\ traffic conditions applies as rigidly and
/ forcibly to the movements of pedes-
/ trians as it now does to that of vehlcu-
| lar traffic the streets will not be safe.
/ No amount of legislation against auto
mobilsts and no issuance of traffic
cards for revenue only is going to ac-
complish this end.
In a gasolene mileage test which was
part of a national stunt of the Franklin
Automobile Company a car OF this
marke on Friday in New York ran
forty-three miles on a gallon of fuel.
The real significance of the test was
that the distance was accomplished IN
two hours and twenty-eight minutes.
This was at an average speed OF about
eighteen miles an hour. The value OF
gasolene tests his hitherton been de-
stroyed by having the cars crawl along
a rate of speed at which no motorlst
would ever think of travelling. Any
one with any kind Of motor can &C
complish economy in this way, but only
when anything like touring speed Is at
tempted does a test amount 10 much
Instructions given by the Franklin
company were to maintain a speed OF
about twentv-three miles an hour. That
makes this test mean something. The
run was made to Stamford and return
on the Post Road, starting at the be-
ginning of the road in The Bronx.
/ Thus Il can be seen that everything
was in favor Of high mileage. Every
]
cal, anyway.
A fair complaint as TO the operation
Of the drivers license law is that the
fee charged for the same is 81 for each
I person for a card good only until Janu-
srv 81, 1918. As matter OF fact, a
/ license taken out at any time IN the
automobile year previous 10 January 81
rcxt Is good only until that time, so
, that an sutomobilist must pay 81 for
month quite the same as for six
months driving privilege.
After February l next year me
! licenses are annual, and fit in exactly
with the automobile licensing year. 1t
looks as if there wouldn't be any the
I less confusion at the Secretary OF
| States bureau in January because OF
| licenses that will have TO be taken out
! in addition TO the car licenses.
/ One who already has a chaufeur's
| license need not take out one of the op-
! orators licenses required Of car owners
land drivers IN greater New York. The
question which brings forth this state
ment has been put by the chauffeur for
private family who also owns car
/ which he drives when not on duty at
his lob. The idea OF the operators
license being 10 register all who drive
cars, this already has been accom-
plished, so far as professional drivers
are concerned, by the issuance 10 them
/ Of their licenses as chsufeurs.
Living by card" is the rule Of the
day, 20 tina. licenses for motorists