The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-04-09
Des Moines Police Court Judge An
nounces His Plan to Break UP
Reckless Driving and
- Speeding.
HENNEMANN's PROGRAM
keokuk Chief OF Police Says Motor
cycle or Light, Car Would be Of
Assistance in Nabbing
vioiators.

A judge in the police court at Des
Moines has announced that reckless
driving and automobile accidents in
that city are going to cease, SO far
as it is in his power to end them TO
back up his statement, he plastered
$25 fine on a man who was speed
ing on one of the principal thorough
fares of the city.
The Judge further declares that
every vio1ator, regardless Of his
status or his influence, will be given
the limit in fines and jail sentences
for speeding and reckless driving,
That Des MONIES is suffering from
much the same trouble that keokuk
is having in infractions of it's traffic
laws is evidenced from the following
from the Capital:
Traffic violations must cease!'
s'Violators of the traffic laws
will be dealt with severely in
police court. Automobile acct
dents must be reduced and prop
!, er course is to bxfn now"
Municipal Judge Tom l.. Sell
L, ers made the foregoing state
ment when he placed a fine OF
SIS on Perry Ridensur, local
stock broker, for speeding sixty
|. miles an hour on East Grand
avenue. The fine was the mini
mum.
"In appealing for more strin-
gent enforcement of the auto
mobile laws Judge Sellers stated
that all violators brought before
him on charges Of traffic viola.
lions would be fined or sentenced
to the limit.
During the past month more
than one hundred persons have
been injured in automobile acct
dents in this city. The ma
jority of the accidents were due
to violations Of the traffic ordi-
nance, according to Judge Sell
ers.
Opinion Here Differs.
! That difference Of opinion exist
| between members of the Keoku
police force and Judge w. l.. M
jNamara of the superior court in tn
matter of fines is an open secret
In fact, conference was held las
/! fall over the question of fines ant
prosecutions for speeding. Member
of the police department say What
the use of our arresting man? III
! gets off with fine of a dollar Th'
I court holds that the amount or tn
fine has nothing to do with tn
!. crime, that action resting entirel.
with the court, who must judge afte
| the arrest is made.
Henneman's Plan.
| Chief of Police Henneman has
good idea, but whether he can ge
the city council to act on. it or no
remains to be seen. The chief wants
| a motorcycle added to the equipmen
| of the station, or light car. Witt
the latter. especially, he believe
much could be accomplished. Be
| sides using the car in trapping speed
ers, the night police could make sew
eral complete patrols of the resi-
/ dence districts that are now practl
i cally without protection.
| When one recalls the fact that tw'
automobiles raced out Blondea'
street one night early last fall ant
around the boulevard, and that tn
police were utterly at loss to pic
I'D the culprits because the car
were new and the license number
were either missing or not legible a
night, one can see the merit in tn
| chiefs suggestion. Two men III
light car could have overtaken tn
| speeders and an example could hay
been made of the drivers and thei
passengers. Police officials say tina
a car would pay for itself in a shor
| time in the fines that could be pickle
up for traffic violations.
The police have reports on severa
violations of the traffic laws whic
they are going to look up. One
these is of a motorcycle passing al
! automobile at an intersection. TIL
state law provides that there shal
be no passing at intersections.