Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-07-23
DR.. JOHN n. EGAN
On Intoxicated Motorists

IN THE opinion of DIR. John ii. Egan
l. police surgeon at City Hall, drunken
man behind the wheel of an automobile has
the same possibilities for harm as a baby
playing with a loaded revolver. He also
strongly recommends that the automobile
clubs of the city eXpel or at least suspend
every member found guilty of driving his
automobile while under the influence Of
liquor.
1--WE receive all manner Of alcoholic cases
here in the course of a week said Dr.
Egan, but the most dangerous to the lives
and safety of the citizens of Philadelphia
are undoubtedly those men who drive auto
mobiles while under the influence Of liquor,
or whatever they drink in place of liquor.
The Three Stages
The drunken automobile driver is n
peculiar composition. Like every one else
who is arrested on the charge Of intoxica
ton. they come in in one of the four stages
of drunkenness-ab absolutely drunk and un-
able to tell his name or where he lives.
quiet, bOisterOus or stupOrous. They come
from all stages of society, from the driver
of a luxurious limousine to the driver of
truck. The clubman and the workingman
are both represented on the police surgeon
records.
philadelphia now has n very definite sys-
tenn of examination of drivers of autos who
are arrested on this charge, and this record
is made in writing and the report kept by
tnc SuUPrlntenNenC OF 1OllCP. we nave II
careful identification first, taking the name,
address and all other information covering
this point. and then the results of the cX-
animation by the police surgeon are written
out in detail on the same report. This
examination is of course. purely physical,
and includes such things as the presence of
alcoholic odor on the breath of the accused.
the amount and kind of liquor found in his
possession. if any; his condition as to noisy.
quiet or stupOrOus. the condition of his sense
Il,
station in life. and finally MS to whether he
is in n fit condition to operate motor
vehicle.
"This system has now been in operation
sine" about the first Of the year and it has
proved to be very cthCariOus. Prior to that
time il was almost impossible to secure a
conviction for driving motor vehicle while
under the influence of liquor because the
police officers were generally unable to define
state of intOXiCatiOn with sufficient clarity
10 satisfy the court. They were able to say
that the accused was staggering or that there
was an odor of liquor on his breath or that
his actions had led the officers to conclude
that he was drunk, but they were not able
to define the case scientifically, and as
result their testimony was usually shot full
of holes by the defendant $ counsel.
But under the new plan it is not 50 easy
for the lawyers, because physician can
clearly define n case of drunkenness in such
a manner as to leave no doubt in the minds
Of the jury as to the mans real condition.
"In most automobile cases. unless the
testimony of the police officer is backed up
by the testimony Of physician, there is
small chance Of conviction.
Our examinations reveal one of two
things: Either the man is drunk or he
isn't either he IL fit to drive car or he is
not fit to do so. ] remember one such case
whore an officer would not definitely commit
himself by saying that the man was drunk
but said that he was in the twilight zone
But under our present system there IL no
such thing as n twilight zone a man under
this plan Is fit to drive or he is unfit.
All Are Not Guilty
But by no means all the men who are
brought up on this charg" Of driving n car
while intoxicated are guilty, and there are
many cases in which the officer feels justified
in making an arrest in which the charge is
not borne out by the examination of the
police surgeon.
In this connection ] remember the case
" a man, II truck driver, who had been Gu
gagged to move the goods of a family from
Brooklyn, \. y, to Brooklnc, Pa. To do
the job in the required time the man had to
work twcnty-four hours without rest.
after he had delivered the goods in
Brooklne the owner of the goods asked the
truck driver to have drink, and upon his
accepting, poured out a large glass of liuuOr
of som" kind and gave II to the driver who
took only small portion of 1t, but Il quite
enough to leave perceptible odor Of liquor
Ou his breath.
"On his return trip 10 New York the
driver was arrested at the Broad street en-
trance to the Roosevelt boulevard and the
officer making the arrest charged intoxica-
tiou, misled by the odor, which, as | say,
was pcrceptiblc. He was brought before me
and made the examination.
"Thr man was not intoxicated in any
| sense Of the word and his faculties were
| perfectly clear, outside Of the fact that Le
was utterly exhausted from having worked