The Washington times., 1925-08-12
By DONALD McDOUGAL

A great deal of credit is due
the Public Utilities Commission
for the way it handled the boule-
.vard-stop-street-car controversy.
The attempt of the traffic direc.
tors office to force several hun
dred street cars to stop at each
of a large number of points,
whether there was any imme-
date need for it or not, put fhe
Commission in an especially EN-.
Darrassing position.
TO turn down the directors re-
quest for authority to hold up
street cars would be the same
thing as admitting that the
scheme was a mistake, and. this
in turn would very likely mean a
certain loss of confidence in the
present traffic administration,
when universal confidence in that
office is essential.
On the other hand, to support
the somewhat ambitious attempt
of the director would mean a long
drawn-out and thoroughly adver-
tlSed court fight, that few could
doubt must be settled in favor OF
the traction companies and their
passengers.
The charter rights of the COM
panies make it almst a certainty
that the courts would decide
against such an unreasonable re-
striction, and the needs of the
thousands of workers who de-
pend upon the street cars for
transportation would serve as a
clincher.
Old Rights of Way
The pioneer investors who made
possible the construction of the
railway had pretty good under
standing about certain features of
the investment before they let go
of their money-and that's ma
tural enough.
1t was understood and agreed
that the company's cars should
have right of way over all
vehicles except fire-apraratus,
United States mail wagons, am-
balances and such.like apparatus
of public necessity.
The directors order that street
cars must stop at boulevard
intersections is taken by the
companies as a violation OF this
agreement. which violation no
court will condone.
But aside from all this, any
attempt to regulate the traffic or
intersecting major thoroughfares
bv the boulevard stop system Is
bound to fail. It's about as
practicable as substituting youA
bootstraps for an elevator
System is Makeshift.
The boulevard stop system is
at it's very best. makeshl1t.
It's only a poor substitute Tor
crossing officer. But where one
of the intersecting streets carries
y small volume of traffic-smah
enough to ooze through the
vacant spaces of the boulevard
stream without slowing 1t up
very much, it's practicable;
But when the cross traf1lc ap-
proaches boulevard proportions
a very serious and unnecessary
loss of time results from InahIhs
either one yield permanent FlshI
Of way to the other. - =,
We are convinced .that lhe ui
rector has established stop points
on MANY NStreets where traffic
IL 100 nCdNy lui sun
and great deal of time Is un'
necessarily lost as result. Anu
in addition. there is greater IN
centiye to ignore the regulation.
Not All Wickedness
The daily, widespread sreeard
of the stop signs cannot be at
tributed entirely to human WICK
edness. Some of it may be due to
a few remnants of the spirit OF
rs, which still survive in wild
and hunted state here and there
in the land.
The Alibi Column of August /,
told it's readers:
Holding up a string OF street
cars each carrying hundred
passengers or SO, to let pass =
handful of Ford rOadsters and a
/ bOOtIegger's delivery wagon is a
traffic sight that you won't find
outside Of Washington. And, un-
less we're long way off our
guess, you won't sec it In Wash
ingtOn much longer either.
We weren't so far off our guess
at that And we're equally well
convinced that IL the Director
were "A little more moderate in
his demands about stop points,
there'd be fewer violations to COM
plain about