The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-03-02

Have you any lesitim.t.
cuse!" inquired the Judge. us,. u
ed BY this remarkable franz.
NO." said the young man -,
was a pleasant morning. :. Il
was in sight, and l wanted !. W.
how much the old boat could ~
down the drive" M
twenty-five dollars. or IA
in the city prison." murmursa =. ].
judge imperturbably. as
The next case, a trim -.
blond matron, also pleaded MSI
to the charge Of IS miles an I S.I
but raised a pair of large. n1s s'''
ing brown eyes to the Jude. ''
II was hurrying home N
baby" she explained gently ~. ~
has, er-whooping cough" ~
"Speeding-late afternoop-n..-
people-Serious offense-sss ssay
again came the indistinct bonn ls ',
the voice of the Judge. VI
Inc man on the reporters lan
was obviously perturbed Nv ~. ssl
decision. The young woman -. ..s
so attractive, so gentle, and she s a..
a sick baby. aad
Gee. the old crab might h,,.
let her or" he declared TO hi, -. ="
panion on the right. "Shs IN
good excuse. What's a motor !.
for if you can't use it in an en-.
gency? The law says sometI,s.
about extenuating circumstans.s
but this judge never heard OF i
"Oh. they all have good :,
cuses,' said the other. "The ma.
can't listen to all of them. PM
ably, if you knew the truth. M,
woman hasn't any baby at ali nv,
a Pekingese with a bad temper. !,
amt no, use to argue about MI,
speed question, anyway. When thsv
got you, they got you-and you've
got to pay up
The next case, a tall, gaunt ma,
with a square chin had been halsS
into court for the second Tina
which he regarded as an inexcus.
able inconvenience. He was IN.
clined to argue; to fight II po,.
sible.
This arresting business is vhcl.
ly personal" he grumbled. "Tbis
officer took dislike to me before
because l did not offer to buy NV
way out, and laid in watch for me
l had an appointment at my once
and was in a hurry, but even u
the speedometer showed only q
My God, everybody speeds oces.
sionally-what do you suppose "
buy high-powered cars for?"
Speeding is a serious otfense,
the judge repeated. I'VE are no,
here to argue the question. Second
viOlation-$100."
All Classes Fined for Speeding.
And SO it continued all afternoon
one case right after another, until
over so had been disposed Of No
one was excused from paying a
fine, while the reporter was pres.
ent. Taxicab drivers. business q.
ecutives, actors, sportsmen, q bur.
lesQue actress, a popular soprano,
business women and wives Of oil
classes and descriptions-all pau
the penalty. seriously, bitterly, OF
cheerfully.
One of the multitude Of guilty
waiting in the courtroom told III
reporter that, in his opinion. few
people are ever accused unjustly
1t was often possible to persuad'
the cop to forget it, but once Il
!, court escape from fine was w
heard Of. 4
"Once I was arrested unjuitly
| and argued the cop out of it." D.
said. 1.-The old boy had just stop
ped the car ahead Of me, and
explained that he couldn't possibl
trail two cars at once-that II D
knew what the other car, "hE
had passed me, was making. !
| couldn't know what l was maa
ing. He finally agreed that pei
haps he couldn't and accepted
friendly cigar"
While all of this fning must pr
vide a certain deterrant to spee'
ing, and while it furnishes an e.
cellent source of revenue to U
city. an afternoon in the tran
court is apt to convince one th'
! other measures are urgently nee
ed to reduce the ever-rising mo'o
mortality rate. Judge House su'
gests. for one thing, that better al
further traffic supervision is II
ouired in New York, and ne "a!
that certainly more inspectors al
needed. .
The state of New York has ju
six inspectors giving road tests
persons seeking licenses to ope,s
automobiles" said the Judge, WI
New Jersey has 81 and Connecl
cut 40. If New York is to feou'
| its number of motor accidents
must see that licenses are MOI
sued to drug addicts and the feeop
minded, but to persons VINO o.
physically and mentally capaoie
| driving cars