The Washington times., 1924-12-20
With The
.Alibi Artists.
IA Cross Section of the
Daily Grind in Judge
Mattingly's Court.
Read EN- and Weep.
BY DONALD McDOUGAI-.


Increasing Cost Of Murder.
We were crossing H street
yesterday In a hurry to reach
the car stop at the corner Of
Fourteenth street, just as a
Lincoln Park car pulled up and
the doors opened. We rounded
the front corner Of the car, in
our headlong way, to reach the
rear door before it closed. We
hoped back in a headlonger way
as the left front fender OF q
Studebaker touring car threat
ened to rip our buttons off, like
Danny Deever in the morning.
The Stude was turning south
into Fourteenth street as we
jumped out into the roadway to
set a clearer look at the license
number, and a tin lizzie scared
us out of a years growth as she
ran over the place where our
feet had been, and we landed,
safe and shaky on the curb.
Blue flame and smoke rolled
out from under the front vesti-
bule of the street car and a
lady standing near us remarked
tc another lady, Gracious, what
a profane person that motorman
is" Which simply strengthens
our determination never to con-
vict anyone on circumstantial
evidence
1t was ten minutes before the
next car came along, and a col
ored chauffeur driving a big
limousine tried to duff US off
the street. 1t looked as though
we had to either stand there and
be run down or step back to the
curb and miss another car. We
determined to stand our ground,
so We stepped out in front Of the
stop sign and watched with con-
siderable interest to see which
one would get there first-the
auto or the streeC car. We gave
the chauffeur the fright of his
life as he put ON the brakes and
skidded to a stop about a foot
and a half from us. He pretty
nearly turned white. he was so
scared, and he wasn't half as
scared as we were at that. If
he'd run us down and had to pay
a $40 fine as result 'twould
have served him right for trying
to hOgs-the street at a car stop.
We understand that Congress
is going to jack up the maximum
punishment for carelessly killing
pedestrian, from $40 to SIS,
and that doesn't seem exorbitant.
Something ought to be done to
break up this business OF run
ming about five feet ahead Of
street cars at stop points and
forcing passengers either to miss
their cars or risk a trip to the
morgue. Even with the SIS fine,
killing people at stop points by
running over them with auto
mobiles is the cheapest form of
murder we know Of Under our
present code it has the same
status as parking overtime, only
it's harder to prove.
Economy on the Rampage.
Saw a taxi pull up in front Of
an apartment on X street near
Eighteenth, the other day and the
CAAduAACuK jump Jul LAAO run INV
the building, leaving his engine
running and unattended, except for
a lady about sevety;fiVe years old
in the rear seat. The man was
gone five minutes by our seven.
teen-jewel Hamilton. If the cluth
had Jared loose, and the car had
run wild down the street we've
reported three such cases in the
last year, and the old lady had
been killed and a few assorted
pedestrians mangled. that chauf.
feur could have been fined $40
unless he preferred to forfeit his
collateral and get dissolution for
his crime.
Postmaster General New is try
ing to slip one over on US in the
form OF an order permitting his
mail carriers to leave their trucks
with engines running, parked
abreast while the drivers go into
various buildings and places to
collect mail!
Mr.. New says the Post Office
Department can't afford to boy
self-starters for mail trucks, SO
there's really nothing left to
do but to subject us to thu slight
risk Of being slammed by an un.