The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-07
JAIL FOR
SPEEQERS
N D. {.
Congressman Says Pedes-
TRANS Are Forced to Jump
For Their Lives.
BY CONGRESSMAN
CHARLES e. FULLER,
OF Illinois.

III 1AlllOASs
I noticed in one of the news.
papers of the city last evening an
article stating that there were
298 more arrests for speeding
made in this city in the last
month than in the month before.
On a report from the superin-
tendent Of police it is stated that
arrests for traffic law violations
in this city in the month of JAM
uary totaled 1926 and that of
these 924 were for speeding, an
increase Of 298 over the previous
month.
Sees UnbearabIe Conditions.
In my Judgment it is time that
Congress and the public should take
some notice of traffic conditions in
the city of Washington. They have
become almost unbearable. The
number of arrests stated by the
superintendent OF police might in
dictate that something was being
done to prevent the constant daily
and hourly violations Of the speed
regulations, but these arrests
amount to nothing.
There Is HOLHlA6 SI0SCAs AL NhAss
article as to how many were fined
or sent to jail, but it is my under
standing that few were fined and
fewer punished by imprisonment;
mere arrest and deposit of collateral,
which is generally forfeited, amounts
to nothing.
The usual practice is to take a
small deposit, and the person who
violates the law never appears in
the Police Court at all. His deposit
is forfeited, and that is all there is
of it, and he goes on his way and
commits the Same kind of violations
again. This practice is wholly inef-
fective so far as correcting cond1-
tons, which are constantly getting
worse and which are a disgrace to
the city.
Urges Jail Sentences.
Punishment should be Of such de-
gree as to deter not only the one
punished but all others as well
Let it be known once for Hi that
violation of the speed regulations
will meet with certain punishment
of a degree commensurate with the
offense, and that is not by forfeit
ure of collateral, not by fine only,
but by fine and Imprisonment in
every case, and operators OF motor
cars will soon learn that it is wise
to obey the law.
Where the death OF an innocent
pedestrian is caused by reason OF
the unlawful speed of motor car
the person so causing the death
should be held to the grand jury
and punished for the felony, for
such it is. It is high time that
the people of this city should awake
to the fact that the city is get
ting the reputation of being an
unsafe place for anyone to be upon
it's streets, that life is unsafe on
the streets of-the Capital City of
the Nation, and unless conditions
are remedied people will hesitate
to visit the city.
His Wife's Sister Killed.
One reason that has induced me
to write this is that a few days
ago the matter was brought home
to me in such way as not to be
ignored. A member of my own
family, the sister of my wife, visit
ing in Washington for a few days.
had an errand on the street only
a block away. Fifteen minutes
after she left the home where she
was staying her crushed and
mangled body was in the hospital,
murdered by a reckless and ire
sponsible automobile driver, who
never ought to have been granted
a permit to operate an automobile.
And I say now that it is just as
dangerous to give a permit to op-
crate an automobile to a reckless,
incompetent, and irresponsible per-
son as it would be to give him a
permit to carry n loaded revolver,
because one is a dangerous weapon
as much as the other; and more
lives are endangered, more deaths
result from violations of traffic reg
ulatiOns, from improper use Of au-
tomobileS, and particularly from
speeding, than from all other dead
ly weapons in existence, for the
automobile is deadly weapon when
in improper hands, and permits
should be granted only to proper
persons, after the most rigid ex-
animation as to character and fit
ness to be intrusted with such a
weapon; and in case of improper
use, OF negligence, or of demon
strated unfitness such permit should
in every case be promptly revoked
Jumps for His Life.
I have been told frequently that
traffic conditions in this city are
worse than in any other city in
the United States. I do not know
whether that is so or not, but Il
do know that in the past year l
have had to jump for my life at
least 1000 times to get away from
speeding automobiles. What I
would like now is to have these
facts made public SO that some
remedy may be found to correct
these conditions. I know some.
thing about the speed at which
automobiles go. 1 have watched
the speedometers on machines and
1 know when they are going be-
yond the proper limit. No auto
mobile upon. the streets of a city
should be permitted to run more
than fifteen miles an hour. A
greater speed than that on city
streets is always dangerous. Auto
mobiles in this city are operated
everyday upon the public streets
at rate of speed as great as that
of the average railroad train upon
track, and anyone knows that