The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-10-25
Sc GRE ETARY Of
STATE THINKS
SPEED WAS F Asst
Mr.. Black Has Written Letter
TO r. w. Williams
AS TO MOUNTAIN CROSSING
,eennnetno eratteboro Trip is Test
Of skill and Motor Car Strength
Rather Than Speed
Secretary of State Harry A Black


is unfortunate in living so far from
Bennington that he is not familiar
with road conditions down here.
Otherwise he would know that 80
miles per hour is not desperate and
dangerous speed and also that the
test of driving between Bennington
and Brattleboro is not speed but skill
and motor car strength.
A few days ago the Banner chroni-
cled a trip made by a Hudson Super
six from Brattlebofo to Bennington,
40 miles in 80 minutes, and the offer
of 800 by + w. Williams, proprietor
of the Bennington Garage, for better
record, made by any motor car other
than a Hudson or Essex
Apparently some one sent n copy
Of the Banner 10 the secretary of
state and this morning Mr. Williams
received the following letter from Mr.
Black.
Montpelier, VT, October "a 1919.
r. w Williams.
bennington. VT
Dear Sir:-Enclosed is copy of a
newspaper clipping which has been
forwarded to me.
| am much interested in this clip
ping and above all, ! am anxious to
earn if you are guilty of making any
such proposition q is outlined there
.n With your long experience in the
automobile business you certainly
ought to know better, and in all fair
ness, ! wish TO warn you that if / OBJ
.ain proof of the pulling off OF any
such stunt, ! shall revoke the license
Of the operator, as consider that
such things are absolutely dangerous
from any point Of view and that no
element of value whatsoever, except
to satisfy somebody's insane curiosi-
W
do not know the name OF the par
" who made this trip in one hour and
twenty minutes, but | expect to find
out, If you have any denial or eX-
planation 10 make concerning this
newspaper clipping, | should like
very much to have you write me-
Yours very truly.
II. A. Black,
Secretary,of State.
The probability is that some one
without the experience 10 appreciate
what may be safely done by skillful
drivers and very powerful cars able
10 maintain a high average speed
without an excessive maximum speed
has called this matter 10 Mr. Black
attention and impressed him with the
idea that something outrageous has
been done
1t is probably true that the driver
skilled enough to have driven the
Hudson ear in question is one of the
safest drivers ON the road and most
likely one with a long and unbem
ished record for driving without acct
lent Such driver always give three
quarters Of the road to others and
not only do not hit any one else but
have the skill to keep from getting
hit by those who are always on the
left side of the road
There isn't a driver. even the anna
teurs of little experience. who does not
drive faster than this trip required.
Coming from Brattleboro to Benning
ton in so minutes merely means hay
ing a car that will keep up to a stand
ard rate of speed on steep hills and
hard roads, and driver who isn't
scared at being jounced bit on
mountain roads
The highways of Vermont are full
of careless, reckless and stupid auto
mobile drivers but the skill and good
Judgment shown by this feat proves
that the driver of this car does not
belong to this class, nor do most OF
the we'll known amateur and profess
ional drivers of long experience. The
accidents are due to the incompetent
amateurs who are forever where they
ought not to be- persistently on the
wrong side of the road, circling
curves at high speed where they can
not see the road ahead hustling over
grade crossings without pause. failing
to observe even the most rudimentary
rules of the road, speeding where
speed is dangerous, coming out sud
denly from behind vehicles without
warning, and driving cars in such bad
condition mechanically that they EN-.
danger the lives of those who ride in
them.
There is ample room for active eff
fort on the part of Secretary Black
to suppress reckless driving but the
difficult thing is to get hold of the
right parties. There is no advantage
in interfering with legitimate per
formance especially when there is so
much illigitimate driving that de-
mands attention.