The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-11-17
With The
AIibi Artists
A Cross Section 0f the
Daily Grind in, Judge
SchuIdt's Court.
Read EN- and Weep.
BY DONALD NsrOUGAL.
Collateral insecurity.

traffic cases; we have made (gen.
eraliy) word for word notes 81
the testimony, Of the attorneys
arguments, Of the courts anaiy-
sis, the verdict. the penalty. and
the specific reason for imposing /.
IT. when such reason was given
we have mulled over these notes
each day. 70 select the cases that
we thought you'd be most in
terested in; we claim to be not
more than twice as dumb as the
average know-itsaIl; and we be-
lieve. therefore. that we are
entitled to a say-so on the traffic
question
What follows Is our opinion
we may be wrong. but we think
we are right, and we hope you
agree with us. but you can turn
us down il you like. and no hard
feelings it's a cinch that we
can't all think alike; but it's
another cinch that we've all got
to act alike, or the majority have,
If we want to make the streets
safe for dumb-ocracy.
The first step is to- quit ped
ding Justice on me streets: that
is to say, quit selling indulgences
to more-money-than -braifls motor
lists; in other words. abolish the
collateral forfefting system.
Observe how that system works
how 1t makes a monkey out
of the traffic regulations. (And
who has any respect for
monkey And what is q law
worth IL people don't respect IT'D
According to the traffic regulal
tions the worst OF all traffic
crimes Ii speeding. Because for
a third offense of speeding with
in one year the traffic reguIa-
tons make jail sentence com
pulsoryand it's the only crime
in the category so punished In
all other cases third offense or
thirty.third, a fine is permissible.
But for this violation of the speed
law the judge must sentence you
to jail whether he wants to or
not.
The traffic regulations must
consider q third offense Of speed
ing a pretty serious crime, judg-
ing from the penalty they pre-
scribe. Then they turn around
and tell you But don't worry. II
you've got money enough you
don't need to 90 to Jail. All
you've got to do Is forfeit your
collateral each time, and there
won't be any third offense."
There won't even be a first Of
fense-because the court is not
permitted to consider forfeiture
of collateral as conviction.
So. man who can't afford to
put up collateral goes TO jail while
4 man who can pay 500 or so
when he's caught can keep at 1T
until he kills someone.
Who, outside Of lunatic
asylum, is going to have any re-
spect for that. kind of a law?
There was a case tried a few
months ago, and the officer
brought the prisoners record
along, but couldn't introduce it
as evidence. The man had for
feited collateral eleven times with
in two years-for offenses vary
ing from disorderly conduct to
driving while drunk. And he
came into court with clean hands.
Legally. he was being tried for
his first offense-which was,
when you come down to it. his
inability to raise $50. II he
could have scraped that sum to-
gether. he wouldn't have been
tried at all.
But the moral effect of such a.
system is still worse. After a
man buys the right to violate.
the law a few times-for that's
what collateral forfeiture amounts
tot doesn't go on his criminal
record he gets the habit, and
it's a hard one to break.
A man runs past q street car
at a stop point, for instance
much more dangerous crime
than toting a gun-goes around
to the station, If he's caught,
puts up $40 or less, and that's
the end OF it.
On he way home he cagelessly
causes his machine to collide
with another one, knocking II
over. and landing two people in
the hospital.
Forty dollars grants him COM
plete dissolution and remission of
his sins. and he has yet to be
tried for his first offense.
How'd you like to be po-
liceman. and try to keep order,
with such Alice in Wonderland
stuff as that to back you up?
Or suppose he cuts Q corner
and Injuries a. pedestrian, or kills
him, or comes so near to 1t that
he scares him to death. Forty
dollars collateral will procure inn
Ynunity for the malefactor and
he will have better record than
some moor devil whose only crime
is parking twenty minutes over
the hour because he couldn't
bring his out-of-town customer
and the dotted line together quite
as soon as he figured. on, and
stands his trial like q man
SO the first thing to. do is 10
abolish the sale OF tndulgences.
Many other things must be done.
too. But unIli THIS Slcp 10 thhVH,
the others are useless More
police?
Well. the district has Is motor.
cycle men for duty at any one
tin1e-15 men to patrol 5000
squares. or one man to every 400
blocks. Suppose we had enc hun.
dred times as many men, or one
to every four blocks-0ne, that is,
to eight streets four blocks long,
or a man to a mile of street sup.
pose we had. one hundred times
a. many motorcycle mem as we
have now--what good would they
be when. they can't convict their
,prisoners--when all the criminal
, has to do is pay $40 or 80, tell
the officer to go to Hell, and
walk out?
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