Evening star., 1925-02-14
BALL TO RENEW TRAFFIC
FIGHT IN SENATE; NIGHT
SESSION PROVES FUTILE
Continued from First Page.)

Senator Ball replied the bill had
been drafted by joint committee of
the Senate and House.
Assails Committee.
Then that committee ought to go
down into the Immortality of in
fanny" declared Senator Reed.
Senator Reed pictured a woman
driving down town. the mother Of six
children. She is arrested by a police
man and forsooth must go to Jail be-
ed, Senator Ball suggested that the
bill be laid aside. since Senators ap
parently were unwilling to act upon
1t. so that the public school building
program bill might be taken up and
disposed Of. Senators friendly to the
traffic measure, however, urged him
not to follow this course.
Unanimous consent agreements to
hold a night session Monday for the
consideration of the traffic bill were
proposed by Senator Stanley and
Senator Swanson of Virginia. But
Senator Bayard of Delaware objected.
More debate followed. Senators Ball
and Caraway asked the bill be taken
up paragraph by paragraph, but with
out success.
Would Limit Speeches.
Again the suggestion was put for
ward by Senator Stanley that the
Senate consider the bill Monday night,
and Senator Swanson urged that
speeches be limited to 10 minutes each
at such a session. Before this sug-
gestion could be acted upon, Senator
Bruce broke in with his point of no
cause she cannot prove that she is
operating her car at less than 20
miles an hour, and the policeman tes
tifies that she was operating her car
recklessly. The attitude of the po-
liceman, he said, depends upon the
state of the policeman's stomach, and
the state Of his stomach upon the
kind of booze he drank the night be-
fore"
There were Kisses in one Of the gal
leries at this statement.
The punishment for reckless driy-
ing for the first offense is s25 to 500
fine and Imprisonment for from 10 to
80 days under the terms of the bill,
and Senator Reed suggested that the
wife of one Of the Senators might be
sent to Jail because she could not
prove that she was driving at less
rate than 20 miles an hour.
why not add that the prisoner be
drawn and quartered-why not go
back to the fourteenth century for some
real penalties?" he asked.
This bill is a monstrosity; it is
sample of. modern reform legislation
run wild" he added.
Quote. Mark Twain.
Senator Stanley recalled that Mark
Twain once said, after he had been
three times halted by policemen
in Boston because he had infringed
pie of Boston were able to remem-
ber and obey all the city regulations
they need not be born again" Pos
sibly, he said, the same might be true
Of the people who were able to obey
all the regulations in the pending
| bill.
IF you do not want to put stop
to the autom obile slaughters going in
| Washington. then that is the Senate's
adding that the committee had
brought in the bill and the Senate
could do with 1t as 1t liked. He said
he was willing to answer serious
| questions. but not others.
Declaring that he was IN sympathy
with many provisions of the bill SEN
ator Caraway said he thought some
| should be strengthened and in other
cases the penalties should be not so
| strong.
amy man who wants to drive an
! automobile while he is intoxicated"
he said. "ought to go to Jail and stay
there until he loses his taste for
! liquor"
Senator Caraway declared that peo-
| pie are being killed here every day
by reckless and intoxicated drivers of
automobiles.
Il would rather take my chances in
/ Central Africa than on the streets Of
/ Washington he said.
| At this point Senator Ball moved
| that the bill be laid aside so as to
proceed with other business, If the
Senate did not want to do anything
| with II. But other Senators opposed
| this proposal, Senator Caraway pre-
dieting that if it was laid aside it
| would never be ressurected.
Caraway Hits BiIPs Foes.
Attacking opponents Of traffic legis-
! lation, Senator Caraway said:
If men are more considerate for
| drunken drivers than they are for the
safety of children who play in the
streets, let the bill fail But / know
and everybody knows that II the bill
| is laid aside it will be killed. Suppose
some harshness does creep into the
| bill: it is certainly in the interest of
| human safety and we had better let
| man who Is reckless bear a little
harsh treatment than le: innocent
victims be killed in the streets"
| Senator McKellar wanted to know
why the bill recommended an in
crease Of 800 policemen In Washing
ton, which, he said. had more police
| to the size of its population than any
other city.
| Senator Copeland OF New York
pointed out that. as the policemen
work in eight-hour shifts, should the
increaes be made, only 100 more would
| be on streets at any one time.
An appeal to the Senate to realize
| it's responsibilities" to the people Of
the District and to get down to work
was made by Senator Walsh Of Mas
sachusetts, who declared that in no
other city in the country are traffic
conditions so deplorable.
| Raps Bill's Severity.
| Senator Stanley did not like the
| section of the bill which seeks to pre-
lvent fleeing from the scene of acci-
! dent. He said 1t was unfair to ask
every driver of machine to give his
name, address, license number, etc.
whose machine might "just be grazed
by another" when he was moving
away from his parking place, and to
| $500 and imprisonment of from SO
, If he failed to give his name.
Senator Caraway tried to make the
Kentucky Senator see that the punish l..
ment was not intended to cover a
| slight accident, such as described by
| Senator Stanley. but was intended to
cover any one who failed to give his
name, address. ETC., after an accident
and particularly was aimed at the