Evening star., 1928-03-24

place to play" says the tender-h hearted
person, who loves little children.
Play Spaces Numerous.
That. for the most part. isn't gener-
ally true. There are a few neighbor-
hoods In Washington. even the poorest.
that do not have some play space of
the streets.
Many children could stay in back
yards. vacant lots or well equipped play
grounds If they wanted to.
The point is that they don't want to
and will not 1t isn't entirely reason
able-but they are not entirely reason
able creatures They have stubborn
whims. The fact that they play in the
streets isn't necessarily the fault OF
their parents. II is due to something
ineradicable in the nature o fthe child
Boys and girls played on the streets
OF Thebes and Babylon. in constant
danger OF getting under the heels of
fast donkeys. They play on the streets
OF preSent-day New York and Chicago
which an adult hardly dares try to
cross. even in lulls of traffic
1t would be rather more convenient
for the motorist If they didn't. II
there were no cold Winter days to
freeze his radiator and put his self
starter out OF commission. But there
Is very little ne can do about either OF
these inconvenience.
Winter was made before automobiles
and so were children. The motorist
can rage at both these evils. but he
can't prevent them. Despite his lordly
position at the wheel of a fast and
powerful car, he must take nature as
God made 1t for him,
Higher Law Exists.
Science has endowed the motoriSt
with the wings OF the wind. but not
with the impersonality OF the wind.
The motoriSt is in honor bound to
take into consideration that the psy-
chology OF children is a higher law than
any In the traffic code and TO watch out
for them as II they were his own, They
might be-some day and for some other
driver
II. driving with only ordinary caution
the moiorist hits a boy roller skating
in the street he doesn't necessarily vio-
late law.
But ne violates the Golden Rule.
SuppoSing let us say. that the mo-
torist has fallen in during the evening
with some old pals and has imbibed
just little for old times sake.
pitude. He is, in fact, a substantial~and
law abiding citizen He isn't drunk
He knows exactly what he Is doing. His
speech Is a little thick and his gait
trifie unsteady. but, aside from this. he
is In perfect control of all his faculties
He sees no reason why he shouldn't
drive his car home.
Hundredth Chance Happens.
Why not? There are 90 chances out
of 100 that he can do so without get
ting into trouble II he was drunk II
would be ditferent~but he would punch
anybody in the face who dared inSin-
uatc that he was drunk. And the law
applies 10 drivers who are -drunk--in
such a condition from immoderate use
OF alcohol that they don't know what
they are doing or cant do what they
know they want to do.
SO he starts out, The hundrcdth
chance happens. He hits somebody.
The policeman smells liquor on his
breath. The person he struck dies. He
goes TO Jail.
And all the time he hadn't consciously
violated single Law except the Vol
stead act But one life has been snuffed
out and another life has been ruined,
and there is a long trail OF misery
stretching from that slippery street cor
ner through the world and through
time,
No, the driver wasn't drunk, But.
To say II learnedly, the rate of his
metabolism was increased The whole
tempo OF his behavior was speeded up.
lie knew that his Judgment of speed
and distance was slightly different than
at ordinary times. lie knew that his
! likelihood OF hitting somebody was
slightly greater. But the question that
he debated In his mind was;
win It be possible for me 10 get
home without getting into trouble?"
He answered II In the Affirmative, to
his own satisfaction. II was not the
question he should have answered
lie didn't exactly violate q law. lie
violated the Golden Rule.