The Washington times., 1925-06-11
With The
.Alibi Artists
War on Dazzling Lights
Meets Approval OF
G. w. u. Business
Office
Reform Sure to Come
By DONALD McDOUGAL.

ter in full, because it tells the
story so clearly, and has such a
spontaneous ring to it that we're
a-scared to change it.
It's dated from the business
office of George Washington Uni
versity:
"YOur article several days ago
in The Times-"Autoists Split on
Dazzling Lights met with
the hearty approval Of practically
every nOrmal-minded driver | !
know, and we sincerely trust you
will continue to drive the wedge
home until you have started q
movement to. have the new rule
reversed entirely.
81 have driven i'm practically
every large city i'm the country,
and this is the only town Of any
size in the range of my Obserya-
tons which tolerates driving on
its streets with bright lights.
"The class of drivers who have
taken advantage of this mistaken
change I'm traffic rules are the
class who use the lOudeSt horns,
drive the fastest, and in every
way possible make a general
nuisance OF themselves.
However. / believe that the
sane and Iaw-abiding drivers are
still in the ma Ority, to whom the
bright lights are not only an an
nOyance but a real menace, and
we trust that you will carry on to
the end OF securing q repeal OF
this law"
Coming In Time.
There isn't much doubt now
that the headlight law win be
changed. The only question Is
when.
The situation is something like
the bathing beach case, for in
stance. When provision for that
was stricken from the District
appropriation bill, some feeble
protest was made, without any
appreciate results.
At the beginning of the cur
rent hot spell, The Washington
Times jazzed things up a little
by raising 81 900 in twenty-four
hours, from public spirited con-
tributors, to open a couple Of
playground pools where the kids
could get relief from the hot
weather.
Two small pools in a city of
enough, and some of the boys
took chance on the Potomac,
which is not provided with life
guards
When the first boy was drown
ed. The Times increased Its agita-
ton for a bathing beach, and
before the eighth body had been
dragged out of the river, about
half the city was clamoring for
the establishment of proper bath
ing facilities.
The last report we've seen is
that the Tidal Basin beach will
probably be opened by next Sat
urday or Sunday.
It could have been opened Sat
urday or Sunday before last just
as well, except that the CHASTITY
need Of it hadn't been proved
then.
1t may be a long while before
anything seious results from our
headlight system. Or it may be
tomorrow night.
Waiting on Circumstances.
The Knickerbocker Theater
stood two years before it col
lapsed and killed a hundred
persons. And 1t took an unusually
heavy fall of snow to do that.
The bathing season had been with
us for six weeks before the eight
persons were drowned. And it
took an unprecedented heat wave
to do that.
The point is that both the un-
usual fall Of snow and the I'M
precedented heat wave occurred.
Just what unusual circum-
stance will prove the need for
changing the headlight regulation,
we can't tell. yet.
1t nEay be rainy night,
with wet. mirror-like pavements
doubling the glare of each twenty
one candle power lamp: the new
and confused driver Of a high
powered car, and a weak-eyed
pedestrian.
Or, in the meantime. some pub
lic-spirited citizen may take para
graphs (g) and (h) to the Court of
Appeals, where they would most
likely be declared void.
Those paragraphs call for I'M
possibilities, repugnant' to our
American system Of law.