Evening star., 1927-03-25
S75,0OO,O()O FINES
PAID BY AUTO|STS
A.A.A. Delegates Told Motor
lists Are Assessed Big Sum
Annually in u. S.

The declaration that automobile
owners of the United States pay pe'
tween SIS 900 900 and $100.oO0.oo an
nually in fines and costs for alieseu
violations of traffic laws was mace at
q group meeting ;oday of the third an
nuaI conference of secretaries and
managers Of the American Automoplie
Association clubs. which meeting also
adopted a resolution condemnng the
'iniouitous fee system in practice
among inferior judicial officers" be-
fore whom motorists are bIouSHI loi
traffic offenSeS.
The conference regarded by Of
fcials of the American Automobile AS
sociation as one of the most success.
ful ever held. will come to close at
the Willard Hotel late this afternoon.
Problems that confront the motor cluo
secretary in his daily service to the
motoring public occupied the general
attention of the delegates this morn
ing.
Ruling Held Important.
The group meeting which developed
the amount of fines said TO be paid
annually by motorists. adopted a
resolution taking coSniZance OF the
recent RECESSION of the Supreme Court
of the United States to the effect that
judicial officials may not sit in cases
in which they have a personal finan-
cial interest. The ruling Of the high
est court was characterized as "of
vital Importance to motorists
At this session attorneys of some
Of the largest clubs participated in
the discussion.
Arthur F'ifoot of Hartford. Conn.
presided at the morning session today.
Speakers who led the discussion of
the various subjects were A. r.
Thackeray. of New Bedford. Mass.
who spoke on Handling Service in
the Small Club: Tod6 Stoops.
Indianapolis. Ind. Selling Service to
the Non Member: Eugene Stuart,
Louisville, Ky. Handling Telephone
Calls; w. b. Rood, Des Moines,
Iowa, Method of Securing Re
newals.' and G. II. peay, Nashville,
Tenn. How Far to Go With Legal
Service
feature of the afternoon session
over which Douglas Shelor of Seattle,
Wash, presided, was the discussion
of the establishment of schoolboy
patrols and other phases of safety
work conducted by various motor
director of the safety and traffic Sec
ton of the Detroit Automobile Club.
spoke on the successful safety work
which the club conducts in the Michi-
gan metropolis and led the discussion.
That safety work is becoming an
even more important phase of the
motor club program was revealed by
the general discussion in which secre-
taries from many clubs described in
detail the efforts that are being made
in this field. Many of the larger clubs
have been particularly successful in
the establishment of schoolboy patrols
and figures were cited to show how
accidents involving children have
been reduced. In Akron. Ohio, for
instance. there has been no fatal
street mishap involving a school child
since the patrol began its work.
Question Session Held.
More than an hour of the after
noon session was devoted TO answer
ing questions relating to club serv-
Ice, giving secretaries an oportunity
to bring up subjects which We're not
on the regular program. Ernest n.
smith, general manager of the A. A.
a. presided during this phase of the
program.
Yesterdays session was climaxed
by an informal dinner, cabaret and
dance held in the large ballroom of
the Willard Hotel. More than 500
club officials, members of the head
quarters staff and guests attended
the dinner
The session yesterday afternoon
was given over to q discussion of
new forms of service for motor club
members. 1t developed the fact
that among the new features to be
offered is a most comprehensive daily
detour mapping service which viii
keep continuous record of road con-
ditions on all of the most important
highways in the country, particularly
during the touring season. In addi-
ton to this, there will be a strip
map service made available before
the touring season gets under way,
which will be the most far-reachfng
of its kind ever offered.
open house" will be maintained
al rational headquarters tomorrow
and delegates 10 the conference will
be given an opportunity to take up
special problems with department
heads