Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-21

titled Traffic Afislaps Here XIII
Forty One IN Six Months, You speak
of my Having been III frequent confer
ence with Commissioner Brownlow
and Maj Pullman to devise better
| means for the handling of the traffic
| situation, etc This is e. mistakes hut
| evidently it is'Athe general under
| standing, as almost every one l meet
| including visitors from out of town.
ask me If / cannot do something to
improve traffic conditions.
Corrects Mistaken Impression.
| 7 have not been in conference of
late on traffic conditions either with
Commissioner Browrlow or Maj
Pullman, ! have .refrained from any
embarrassing publicity in regard to
tho traffic situation in Washington.
! hoping against hope that something
effective would be done. but now feel
| justified in asking you to be so kind
| az TO correct tho quite natural i'm
| preston that any part of the blame
| for the fearful loss of life and gen
! orally bad traffic conditions is in any
! way due to me.
| I want to make this perfectly clear,
/ because il the failure to regulate traf
! fic in my own home city is in any
way attributable to me. 1t Will impair
| my chance of usefulness in other
| cities, both in America and abroad,
especially as the many foreign Off
GERS going back will carry. the i'm
preston that man who has not
enough influence to help his home city
regulate traffic has no business'to try
to 'all*foreign countries how to sue
coed.
Washington is better laid out than
any city In the world for the regula-
nj in Qn6 fr-E,f fif. M
work smoothly or if an undue meas
ure of human life is sacrificed there
| must be 2 reason or a combination of
reasons. This question has now be-
come so vital that individual consid-
| Grafton must yield to public interest.
The working out of traffic problems
| is technical and difficult PROPOSE
| ton, but once properly worked out
| they are easy Of application and will
if put in use. be effective.
Owe Protection to Citizens.
The officials of Washington having
this matter in charge not only owe
1t to the citizens of the District TO
protect, their lives. and to facilitate
the economical movement of traffic,
but they have what is, perhaps a
greater duty and far more impor-
| tant-because Washington is well
| regulated it. viii work for better
1 eA0IhS ia GAL tlc CttleS OF Jne country
and it can easily be made so effective as
to become an, example, for good instead
| OF an example OF gross inef1iciency.
This letter must necessarily be too
short to go into minor details, but
there is one fundamental principle
without. which all else will be coin
paratixslyt useless 1t is impossible
to regulate people effectively with
out informing them what you want
, them to do. II u.s. therefore, essential
snal q set Of printed general. traffic
regulations be. adopted and used in
teiiigently. ThevSshould be distribut-
ed largely in folder form and be post
ed IN public garages, stables and
otner available places. The folders
snould also be carried in. the pocket
oI every policeman and when an in
fraction is discovered folder Should:
be handed to the offender and the
ohcer should mark in pencil on it the
section which has been violated. This
method was, the one. adopted in New
In Paris and OTHER cities. 1T is TIE
| only thing that will do the work.
ieacning these regulations in Schools
also Is most desirable.
New York Rules as Basis.
The New York regulations have
been the basis of oil others and have
oeen revised from time TO time and
committee Of the Council Of Nat ipa1
De1ense, which, with the assistance
OF .other organizations Interested, il.
Ae4canpting to : standardize them
tnrogghout the Country to minimize
|. aGsiIeptse and promote efficiency.
gees lyfthout saying that repn-
iatioas to be- eHectige must be short
OF JheS:Svisl not be rAad clear or thew
wiihtnotsbe Understood, and. reason.
anie or they cannot be enforced. :
Il n ~
,,it ~ = su ,9sIt!1utaslrspt long pamphlets
them, such as Washington had hut ha q
peen outaof for long time, will moi
accomplish the object, but I am In
formed another such pamphlet is now
IN the hands Of the printer.
me people. should wake UP now to
the Tact that effective .traffIc repuia-
ton in this city is not only desirable
The Regulations Of, the highways
transport committee OF the Council Of
National Defense should. be adonted
Dy means OF brief ordinance en-
poWerinS and directing the pcIice
department to put it's regulations into
| immediate effect without change.
Fatalities Much Too Great.
The death rate. here due to traffic
accidents is more than twice az great
I 40 II 10 III I'VE" OK IN DrODOrttOD to
the population. whereas it should not
be more than one-third as great as in
New York, taking into consideration
the, lesser difHeulties.:
Much also can be done by the use of
! improved and properly worded signs.
and particularly by the usa of paint
lines on the pavement. marking cross
walks, safety, danger and neutral
zones, etc.
| There are hardly any really difficult
traffic- problems in washington, bu;
| there are many places where scientific
but extremely simple, methods will
greatly Increase safety and conven-
| fence.
I The use of more bicycle men to
see that parking and ranking on
| narrow streatsis properly restricted
| would be of great advantage, and, ON
the other hand, many Of our cross
ing policemen could be advantageous
| ~ replaced by dummy. cops" or
traffic bumpers" None of these
things are experiments. but have
| been tried and found effective else
| where. ~, ~
Would Increase Po1icemen's Power