Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-09-18
The HdSki11 Letter
BIZ FREDERICK
J. HASKfN
DON'T SPEED UP.

York city the same driver has been
convicted of careless driving six times
in a single year, and is still driving.
He is at least as much menace to the
public safety as the average gunman.
Education is here needed. When
the people have been made to realize
that careless driving is crime, and to
demand proper punishment for 1T, then
the courts will begin melting out that
punishment. A campaign to educate
the pedestrian will have to 80 along
with the other Beyond doubt, pedes-
TRANS who dart across the street IN
the middle Of the block, and children
who chase balls across the street, pre-
sent the autoist with problem which
he can successfully solve only by luck.
Abuse Of Power.
E. B. House, presiding magistrate OF
the New York city traffic court, be-
lieves that the problem Of auto acct
dents is largely problem in prevent
ing the abuse Of power by applying ade-
quate punishment for such abuse. 1t is
an axiom of social observers that any
man who has power will tend to abuse
it. Every monarch, every father, every
owner of dog, is more or less bully:
He has power over something else, and
he has an irrepressible tendency to
abuse it, the while making excuses to
himself for what he does. The man
who has so horsepower under his
throttle is no exception. He cannot re-
sist the temptation sometimes to. step
on her and make her fly. He cannot
help feeling that the pedestrians ought
to have sense enough to keep out OF
the way.
The effort to restrain this man in his
exuberant moments by complicated
regulations is failure. For example,
Washington has several speed limits,
according to the part Of the city one is
in, and the number of houses to the
block. But a man does not go along
alternately studying his speedometer
and counting the houses in the block,
especially at night.
Here the fallacy of so much Ameri-
can legislation is again illustrated. Here
is the theory, seen in a hundred prohib-
tory laws of one kind and another,
that if you just enact enough regula-
tons about a mans conduct. you can
save both his life and his soul.
What you actually accomplish is to
make his life burden with your end
less restrictions, and to cramp the de-
velopment Of whatever he may have in
the way of q soul. The only legal
method that has ever worked is to give
him all the freedom possible, make laws
as few and simple as possible, and
when the man actually does harm, pun
ish him severely, or il he is irresponsi-
Bile, confine him in an institution. After
oil, civilization is only possible on the
theory that most Of us are responsible
beings who can be trusted. II most
of US are not that, then the nation
should be converted into one great asy-
lum with high fence around it.
To come back to motoring, the speed
limits have worked little except injus-
tice anywhere. One man breaks the
limit every day and is never caught.
Another man goes a mile an hour too
fast once, and happens to be arrested.
Once, month or 80 tho cops turn out
and make q few arrests. That 10 all
they can do. A speed limit cannot be
enforced more than Z few per cent,
nor can any other statute regulating
conduct. Furthermore, what IL q safe
speed depends entirely on circum-
stances. Let man drive - he will.
II he Injuries someone. and the cause IT
his own carelessness, put him in jail.
Punish him adequately. II he does It
again, revoke his license.
This, In the opinion of most experts,
ID the solution. Multiplicity Of absurd
lAwy, With lenient and Incompetent
courts. cost heavily evsry rear h Life
and nrOnertE