New Britain herald., 1923-07-10
A TERRIBLE SITUATION.

|
 regard to the manner in which auto
 mobllists are held up on the road.
 at night and are sometimes shot at,
 is indeed terrible situation. Per-
 haps it is the most perplesing en-
 forcemcnt problem in the whole mat
 ter, for it is one that may trouble any person any night.
 You are driving along highway late at night A man steps out into the road and warns you to stop, What are you going to do? The man may be a member of the police force in plain clothes, eNerting one i of his duties that the enforcement authorities have required of him. In such case you. being a law-abiding person and guilty Of no o.fense, may be perfectly willing to stop and allow him to search your automobile, even though you disapprove of this method of law enforcement. The man, how ever, may be criminal attempting to hold you up, rob and perhaps kill you if you make resistance. Are willing to submit? No matter how eager you may be to obey the law the situation created by the present methods of enforcement place you in constant danger.
 
 The affair near Malone, N. r. state, where enforcement agents shot a girl while she was traveling with her father in an automobile is an example. The man did not dare to stop, fearing probably for his daughter. He drove on. The girl was shot, Other instances nearer | home have occurred where a shot | was fired at policeman, The man who fired that shot may have been disobeying the law, or he may have been excited and incapable of seeing that the officer was in fact, a police man. Moreover how will we be able to tell whether or not every man wearing 8 policeman's uniform is policeman If this sort of thing continues how long will it be before highway robbers, hold-up men, will get uniforms resembling those of po- licemen, in order that they may be sure that a passing automobile will stop at their command and give them a chance to rob the passen- gers?
 Anyone is honestly unable to give advice as to what course should be taken when he is ordered to halt his car. But there is on thing certain, and it is declared with the fullest intent to advise obedience to the law. 4 person driving along the deserted at night should not be blamed if he refuses to halt at the he road and ordering such halt. Carrying the matter a little farther what may be said in the case of forced to drive alone at night on the country highway? What man would tell his wife, under such that she must stop md place herself in the hands of any ! man who orders her to do SO? The situation cannot be allowed to xist as 1t is. This free country of r 'urs should be one where a person t nay drive on the highways at night yithout fearing that he may be com 1, elled either to break the law or run a he risk of playing into the hands of riminals.
 And let it be added, of course, that = Q driver of an automobile who re- uses to stop at a command of per on not in uniform because he fears c uch person to be hold-up man, :" xcuse for that, while there is plenty V excuse for the driver of a car who .d sfuses to stop at the order of any who steps into the road and \ rders a man to stop. And, con- ersely, no enforcement agent should [ SC firearms where there is any dan er that the person threatened is not Isobeying the law If The manner of enforcement of the "' quor law has never been seen in ich an awful light as that now m lrown upon it by the use of guns tn connection with it.
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