Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-03-22

break seven Of its windows and crush in its side un-
less 1t is being driven at an unreasonable and rcck-
less rate. There are son1e eases in which collisions
occur and accidents Of various kinds happen in
which no great measure of blame can be attached to
anyone. The most careful driver will have his mo-
tnents of inattention and it is possible for him to be-
come involved in an accident at almost any moment.
An accident due, to mere inadvertance is an entire
Ily different thing, however, from one due to habit
|ual rccklcssness.
In the present case the driver OF the. autorno.]
|bile'has a bad record. He has been in court before
on charges Of reckless driving. In each>case the
charge has been sustained. Now that spring is here
the SAME driver starts out afresh on a career of reck-
lessness and destructive driving.
The question is, what shall be done about this,
and cases Of like character? Advice, renaonstrance
and exhortation have been worked to the full limit
There arc people apparently SO constituted that they
will not respond to any appeal except the appeal Of
force, and when that is true and when. the public.
safety is involved, and force is necessary, it should
be applied without hesitation.
The responsibility for the enforcement Of the
traffic regulations rests squarcly on the chief Of po-
lice. 1t is a mistake to hold the city commission
responsible, as the. city commission proceeds on the
theory that it has employed a competent man and
the administration of his department is entrusted
entirely to him. 1t is a mistake to hold individual
policemen responsible. Occasionally they may be
negligent or easy-going, but they operate under the
direction of their superior and arc responsible to
him for the performance Of their work, and if they
prove unsuitable for the position which they hold
he has the remedy in their removal and the selection
OF others who will perform their duty. Hence from
any angle it is impossible to avoid realizing the full
responsibility of the chief. He has the situation in
his own hands and it is for him to see that the rcgu-
'lations are enforced in such a way as to protect the
public interests.
In all such cases as this the initiative lies with
the police department. The department. cannot
evade responsibility on the pretext that no COM
plant has been made by any private citizen. 1t is
not the particular business of the private citizen to
look after the enforcement of the traffic rules. There
may be and often is responsibility on the individual
regarding traffic rules where police have no means
OF being informed. But where the offense is fla
grant and where there is abundant opportunity to
obtain evidence, even if it is necessary to force indi-
vlduals into court, the responsibility of the police is
complete and undivided.
We believe it to be important at the opening OF
this season to have the attention Of the public fixed
upon the fact that the good or bad enforcement of
the traffic regulations Of the city is something for
which one man is responsible.
Heretofore there has been too great a sense OF
divided responsibility where the regulations have
been 1net1ectvely enforced some people have blam-
ed the mayor, some others members Of the city COM
mission, some the chief and some the patrol1nan.
and others have seemed to figure that it was quite
proper to wait until a complaint was made BY an in
dlvlduaL. The result has been that there was no
general recognition OF one center of responsibility.
here ought to be a clear understanding of the fact
that the center of responsibility is the chief of police.
and It the community will bear that fact in mind and
not permit itself to be swayed from it VIC arc likely |
to have some results.