Polk County news. [volume] (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983, 1920-08-26
Button HaSkiaS Tells How
To Reduce Accidents
Former Polk County Man Reads In
strudive Paper

"The party applying for such IL
cense or permit should be thoroughly
examined as to competency, and after
license or permit is issued, if the
jarmit is issued, if the holder thereof
is found to be reckless, unsafe or in
competent, the license or permit
,hould be revoked, and the party
tholding same prohibited from operat-
ing or running an automobile.
ON the best regulated steam roads
of the country a man must serve
from two to four years as an ap-
prentice fireman before he is thought
to be competent to run a locomotive,
even en- slow freight run. But you
will see high-powered automobiles ca
pable Of making sixty miles an hour
run by boys and girls IA to Is years
old over our streets and roads that
are crowded with pedestrians and We
hicles. Is it any wonder that we
have accidents?
This is a stag affair and ! am
going to talk about the ladies, and
if any of you tell what | say will
absolutely deny that / said it that
way-safety first. How many of
you are country-raised boys? Well
everyone of you that was raised in
the country, whether you are willing
to admit it or not, have often met
some good woman in the road driv-
ing a contrary horse and as she was
about to pass you she lost control OF
I'D Dobbin and there was collision
Nhat did she do? Nine times out OF
ten, just as soon as she discovered she
! vas losing control she turned the
/ lines loose, threw up her hands, gave
one unearthly yell, and when she
came to she blamed the whole thing
on you. So il is with a great many
women who try to run an automobile
just as soon as they get in tight
/ )lace they turn loose of the wheel,
brow up their hands and you are to
blame for the whole darned thing.
That very thing happened right
here at the Patten hotel. A woman
was trying to run an automobile over
our streets. DIR. Johnson's car was
fixing to turn into Eleventh street
He saw her coming and stopped
she lost control, threw up her hands
and when she came to, she wanted to
know why he didn't get out of the
way. Just so long as incompetent
people are allowed to run autone-
biIes, there will be accidents and the
public will suffer by reason thereof.
Our supreme court mas said, ''the au
! itomobiie in and of itself is not a
dangerous instrumentality." Then the
competency of the person running
the automobile should be the first
consideration.
j And Law Enforcement
I "Public sentiment and the election
only solution of the last named sug
gestion. Every citizen has the rignt
of electoral franchise and the right
to be heard You can do much To-
ward moulding public sentiment and
you should at least do something to-
wards seeing that good and honest
men are chosen to administer to our
laws. Now and then, the people d.
wake up in spite of the grooming lul-
iabies of the crafty politicians. Don
sit idly by and then have the nerve to
complain. 1t doesn't fall to the lot
of many claim agents to have one &.
their trains hit two fords at one
lick. but that is exactly what happen
ed to men when was with the NJ, c..
& st. l.. railway, that was before Gas
Frank Shumate says) was promoted
to he-man's job, the one l now hav :.
"In Tennessee, we have law which
requires automobiles approaching
railroad crossings to come to stop
not less than ten nor more than fif'
feet from the railroad track. This
accident occurred in the town OF ia :
per and the crossing is in sevcnty-i!ve
feet of the depot where the trt.:n
stopped for passengers. The neare t
building was sixty-seven feet from
track as train approached. There
were two people coming 20 tha;ta-
lnooga in different machines; botn
starting at the same time; each one
wanted to be first at the river ferry;
neither stopped or even slowed up at
the railroad crossing. The engine
hit the rear wheel of one machine az :
the front wheel of the other one. One
man had a bottle about half full OF
whiskey IN his machine ana this wa
visible to every one after the ac.i
lent.
"One of the high officials of tht
county was witness to ali OF TINS
no arrests were made for violating
the law requiring them to stop an
made no arrest for transportiLg
whisky-one of the men sueo the
railroad and the suit was still pen"-
ing when left the N. g. c. Even :
rigid enforcement of this law would
reduce the number Of crossing acci-
lents.
: "Horsc flesh seems to be a b.t
scarce in this region. Until perpetu'
al motion is discovered all vehicles