The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-08-23
The Meddler
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a surprisingly large volume of auto
mobile traffic seems to be going through |
Brattleboro this summer, and those ia |
miliar with such matters say that it is |
the result of a tendency upon the part |
of tourists to avoid travelling through |
New Hampshire because of the many
holdups that have taken place in an |
effort to enforce the law preventing the |
carrying of liquor into that state. How
ever that may be, hotels up and down
this side of the Connecticut river have
been doing an unusually good business
during the summer season, and natural
ly the proprietors thereof are doing
what they can to impress upon their
guests that the Vermont side of the
river is the side to stick to. As mat
ter of fact the highways on this side
of the river are equal and in some sec
tions superior to those along the west
ern border of New Hampshire, and if
the main road between this town and
the Massachusetts line were only wild
ened and Strengthened as it ought to be
a still further diversion of tourist traffic
would be an easy matter.
Speaking of New Hampshire atti
tude toward Automobiles, it may not
be out of place to warn local car drivers
that they should be careful to observe
speed regulations when travelling in the
vicinity of Spofford lake. Several Brat
tleboro motorists, it is understood, have
been held up for exceeding the speed
limit of Is miles an hour near. the en-
trance to the Pine Grove Springs hotel
| property, while others have been called
to account for neglect of other pro-
visions of the Granite states auto
mobile law. In this connection it may
be well to point out that while in Yer
mont child under 16 may drive car
provided a person with an operator s
license is on the seat with him, it is il
| legal in New Hampshire for a child I'M
der 16 to drive car under any circum
stances.
| Considerable complaint is heard local
| ly about the failure of automobiles to
keep their tail-hghts lighted and to
equip their cars with lenses that con-
form to the law. This is a state of af-
| fairs that ought to be remedied, but it
would seem as if it could be handled by
the local police officers in way to
cause no i'll feeling on the part of any
reasonable person. The officers might
well be instructed to keep sharp look
!, out for infraetions of the law and to
| call the attention of offenders to their
particular delinquencies, but along with
these instructions should go the further
advice that automobile drivers, like
other human beings, appreciate courte-
Gus and tactful treatment even when
they are at fault and feel much more
like cooperating with those whose duty
it is to enforce the law when these at
| tributes are in evidence.
| If Mars in his present war making
job observed normal hours, or took into
account Sundays or holidays or the
weather or any one of the innumerable
things that affect ordinary peaee-time
occupations it would be possible for
Red Cross workers to work when it was
| cool and rest when it was hot and still
keep abreast of the demands of the
great relief organization they are serv-
ing. Unfortunately, however, such is.
not the case. The war goes on day and
! night without regard for Sundays or
holidays or rain or heat, and the need
i of surgical dressings is just as great,
even greater, in fact, this summer,
when automobiling is more comforta-
BILE than tampon making, as it was last
winter, when indoor work had its at
fractions. These are facts which will
bear statement at this time, obvious
though they appear to be upon even
| raHaotinp