The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-08-03
APPARENTLY TRIES
TO CONCEAL CAUSE
That Is e. G. Mead's View of Claude
Upton's Letter Concerning Re
cent Automobile Accident.

Editor of The Reformer:
In a recent issue of The Reformer
there was a letter written by Mr.
Claude Upton, who apparently tries to
conceal the cause of the automobile ac-
cident Gully 2l, 1919 at Marlboro and
trying in every sentence to throw the
blame upon the Michigan party in
REQ ear Mr.. Upton says he was on the
right hand side of the road. True he
was, but he was so far over on the left
hand side of the road that big ma
chine could not pass him. His own
tracks on the road Immediately after
the accident occurred showed by inves-
tigation that he had the greater half
Our party was on the danger side of
the road and Mr.. Upton was on the safe
side and he could have given us four
feet more with out a possible danger
to himself. Passing automobiles inves-
tigated the road and saw the tracks of
Mr.. Upton's machine and every one
said he hogged the road.
Mr.. Upton claims that came around
the corner driving recklessly. True.
There was bend in the road, but if
don t take me 600 feet to make such a
turn and as to my reckless driving
| would ask Mr.. Upton to investigate
my driving speed in Michigan; also,
my record of accidents in this state or
any other state / have driven the
mountains over for the last three years
and have never had any cause of fear
or alarm until | was to meet Mr.. Up
ton at Marlboro. And | repeat again
this accident would never have han
pened if Mr.. Upton had not required
over half of the road in which to steer
his small car
positively deny ever saying to Mr..
Upton that he gave me plenty of the
road and that / had pulled out on my
side further than | had intended. This
Is absolutely a false statement as
such an idea never entered my mind
nor such an expression passed my lips.
When the accident occurred, / was
driving between and 10 miles per
hour Mr. Upton certainly cannot call
this reckless driving and Furthermore.
If had been driving at the speed he
claims | was there would not have
anything left of our party nor of our
machine. The positive proof, to any
outsider that witnessed the accident.
that we were moving slowly remains in
the fact that none of our party were
killed, or seriously injured, and also
that the damage to the machine was
light compared to what it would have
been had | been driving recklessly.
Furthermore, we were informed bv
one of your good citizens (many others
! as welD that exLieut. Governor Howe
passed the scene of the accident shortly
after 1t occurred on his way to Brat
tleboro and that he said there was no
excuse for the accident and that the
Vermont driven car could have given
US four feet more space with perfect
! safety to his own car.
Now, as to picking us up and taking
us back to Brattleboro,> the women in
Mr.. Upton's car said, "Let them ride
IN that ear" (pointing to another car
headed the other way).
We figured them to be foreigners bv
their broken accents for they did not
handle the English language as native
born Americans do.
Very truly yours,
Z. c. MEAD,
1915 Hamilton Building.
Detroit, Mich
| july 30. 1918