The Washington times., 1926-09-14
With The
|AlibiArtists
A Cross Section of the
Daily Grind In Judge
Hits Court
Read EN- and Weep
By DONALD McDOUGAL
Some wild Animals

was WaIklHB AcFOSS Seventh
Street In front OF the temporary
buildings in the Mall. your honor.
When I was Tar enough from the
curb to clear the line Of parked
cars. /, looked to my left, and
there was no traffic in sight 80
II kept on until was almost on
the car track. and then I looked
the other way.
Three or four. vehicles were
coming down the street-on my
right--aud I stopped for them &c
pass. / work in those buildings,
and know what Seventh Street
traffic is like along that stretch
The nearest thing to it is a her.i
OF stampeded cattle. Al pedestrian
doesn't stand much chance with
either breed, except that the
: horned ones can only go 10 or
IL miles an hour. while the
Seventh Street species average
around 25 or 80.
I may be little unjust In my
comparison, your honor--the west
ern variety only stampede three
or four times a year, while the
ones that pass the Mall offices
are at it all the time.
It's a sort of a traffic hog-pen
along there-one OF the largesr
in the world. 1t extends from b
Street north to B Street SOUTH
distance equal to four long blocks,
with not a cross street in it., but
there's hundreds Of Government:
workers crossing all through
there, morning, noon and night.
And they have hard time cross
ing. because the regulations. give
drivers the right Of way through
the whole stretch, and It's about
the only paragraph in the code
they pay any attention to.
A Government clerk doesn't
stand any more show with those
people than he does with the Re.
classification Board.
That's why / waited for the
machines to pass instead OF hur-
rying in front of them. One o.
the drivers. when he was Is or
20. feet from me, swung out of
line, stepped on the gas and came
at me like a wildcat"
Counsel: "He was trying to
pass another car. wasn't he?"
I don't know what he was
trying to do-he didn't say any
thing about it to me-he didn't
even sound his horn"
did you make any attempt 10
get out of his way?"
81 didn't even know l was in
his way until he'd knocked me
down. broken my nose, and run
his right wheel over my shout.
4 NP xR.A1 ~.
and he was west of them.
didn't know he was going to
shoot across the tracks after me
there was plenty OF people
further down that he could have
got. on his own side Of the road"
Counsel: 81 ask your honor to
note that this lady was the only
one injured in the whole group Of
five or six persons. That is high
Iy significant"
The court: Significant Of
what?"
why. that she was slow get.
ting out OF the way"
Tier bruised shoulder and
broken nose prove that even more
significantly. The defendants car
is only five or six feet wide
you couldn't expect him to get
the whole covey with one shot.
This idea that pedestrians have
got to go around like hunted
jack.rabbits, ready to jump out
OF their skins every time a ma.
chine comes within 20 feet of
them-that idea is out, as far as
this court Is concerned. 1 don't
understand how it ever got in.
I'm not very good at jumping,
myself. Twenty days straight"
wish your honor could con-
scientiossly make that a fine
instead OF jail sentence"
81 wish | could conscientiously
make it six months instead of
30 days. You'd better let well
enough aIone.'