Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-07-23
NOW MY IDEA IS THIS
Daily Talks With Thinking Phiadephians Subjects They
KnO,U Best
KnO,u Best

hard without rest for more than twenty four
hours. / exonerated him Immediately from
the charge Of drunkenness, but refused to
allow him to continue to run his car until
he was rested Here was case Of man
who was clearly unfit TO drive car, but not
from alcoholism, but from the utter weari-
ness of over work.
Thus. you see. that our plan works out
we'll for the autoist as well as for the>safety
of the public.
On the Increase
Before the Inauguration Of the present
plan Of keeping detailed record of each
case which comes before us there were no
regular permanent records kept, and there.
SOre it Is hard to say whether the cases OF
drunkenness among automobile drivers Is on
the increase or not. l am inclined TO believe
that it is, but the fact of the summer
weather and that there Is now more driving
than in the days when our plan was begun
may have something to do with this. There
are certainly more cases brought to
our attention than there were some months
ago.
Even when drivers are held for court
they are very often acquitted. I remember
one case where the officer, after making the
arrest, allowed the man to drive the car for
eight blocks. As he did it without any
accident, he was promptly acquitted by the
jury, who could not be convinced If the
man could drive safely for this distance after
arrest that he was not In condition to
operate his car before arrest.
When an autoist is arrested on charge
of driving while in a state Of intoxication
the ofhcer under no circumstances should
allow him to drive the car The officer may
himself drive the car to the station house if
he is capable, but in this case the officer
assumes all the responsibility for whatever
may happen while he is in charge of it.
The usual way is for the officer to ring for
patrol to tow the car TO the station to
send for some one capable Of running it.
but not to allow the accused to touch 1t
after the arrest.
Some of the happenings in court which
grow out OF the automobile cases are very
funny. / remember one case. not long ago
when the Court asked the jury for their
verdict, and an Irish foreman arose and
said, Not guilty A poll of the members
of the jury, however, showed that of the
twelve members four considered the de-
planation the foreman replied:
- Sure the man is not guilty. We took
a vote on it and It was eight to four that
he was innocent
There is still another reason why our
written and permanent reports are of value.
IN New lear Eye woman was knocked
down and injured by a young man driving q
big Limousine on North Broad street The
man was chauffeur in the employ of a
we'll known and wealthy citizen of Phila-
delphia, and the chauffeur was on his way
to one of the big downtown hotels TO get the
family. who had been watching the New
Year in.
'The man did not stop to see what iniurv
had been done, but went on his woy An.
other motorist saw the accident and followed
the first one, getting his number md then
notifying an officer, who made the arrest
on Broad street near the City Hall. On
being brought up the Young man showed
many traces of having had a number of
drinks being taken violently sick wbiIo IN
Captain Souder's office.
The employer was rather inclined to de-
fend his chauffeur and to doubt the ac.