Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-29
TOWN MAY OPPOSE
TRAFFIC LAW RULE
Mayor BealI of Mount Rainier
"Not Sure" He Will Accept
State Opinion.
BY GEORGE PORTER,
stan Correspondent Of The Star.

BY GEORGE PORTER,
Stan Correspondent Of The Star.
MOUNT RAINIER, Md, July 90
Although he had received no official
report of the opinion of Assistant At
torney General Herbert Levy on the
legality of this towns traffic ordinances,
Mayor John H. Beall this morning de-
clared he was not sure" that the ruling
of the attorney general would be &C
copied as final, and asserted there was
no intention on the part of the town
officials to violate the law, even though
MIR. Levy had characterized the Mount
Rainier ordinance as 1.-The most fragrant
and obvious violation of the letter and
spirit of portions of the State motor
vehicle law that has come to the atten-
ton of his office.
Resents Publication.
Mayor Beall seemed to resent the
publication of the attorney generals
opinion in Baltimore and Washington
newspapers before he had been officially
notified of it.
The mayor said that, in his opinion,
If the Mount Rainier ordinances were
In violation of the State trafdc laws,
then those laws would be changed at
the next session of the State Legislature.
Mr.. Beall pointed out that the State
was not furnishing adequate traftic pro-
lection in the town, thus forcing the
community to inaugurate trafnc
patrol of Its own. Furthermore, tne
AFFORD to make the arrests IL their only
compensation is the fee given by the
State in such cases.
Town Clerk B. E. Sager. who was
consulted by First Sergt. Atkinson OF
the Maryland State Police Force, one
OF the investigators, expressed sur
prise at features of the report charging
numerous instances of police taking
collateral on the street. inaSmuch as
the sergeant confined his inquiries to
the costs charged by the town in
trafic cases and did not ask about
roadside collateral.
State Opinion.
The assistant attorney general made
his statement in letter TO E. Austin
Eaughman, motor vehicle commissioner
who had requested ruling on the
town ordinances. Mr.. Levy's letter
said:
From time to time you have sub
n1itted to this department municipal!
ordinances which have been declared
invalid as in conflict with the general
motor vehicle law. but the ordinance
above quoted is the most fragrant and
obvious violation of the letter and
spirit of sections III and TIA of
article 56 that has ever been called to
our attention.
"You will recall that prior to 1927
there was some question as to the scope
of section I'll. and can readily under
stand how. at the time of the enact
ment of the ordinance (September,
1920 here under consideration, the
municipal authorities might have
thought that most of the provisions OF
the said ordinance were valid.
However. in 1927. I prepared and
submitted to the Legislature, section
make it clear that the provisions of
! the general motor vehicle law were
exclusive of all public local laws and
municipal ordinances and regulations
covering the same subject matter"
Opinion Continues.
After quoting section lila, Mr..
Levy continued:
YOU will note that all public local
laws ordinances and regulations in
consistent or identical with any pro-
vision of the general motor vehicle law,
or similar or equivalent to any such
provision, were repealed, and the char
tiers of all municipal corporations OF
this State we're modified so as to pro-
hibit such corporations from making or
enforcing any ordinance or regulations
in violation of the said section"
Penalties prescribed cannot be i'm
posed for violation of any provision OF
the ordinance which is invalid, the let
ter said.
1T am sure that the municipal au-
thorities of Mount Rainier will not con-
tinue to enforce the provisions of the
ordinance, the ilegality of which is so
plainly apparent, If the matter is
brought to their attention" Mr.. Levy
continued "They cannot help but see
that the continued enforcement Of such
provisions would seriously conflict with
the clearly avowed policy Of this State
of having one motor vehicle code ap-
plicable to the whole State"
State Law Repeats Town Acts.
Section TIA, referred to, deals with
the applicability of town ordinances, re-
pealing all those not in accord with
the State law.
Having ordered the police to make no
traffic arrests until the matter Is clari-
fed Mayor Beall announced this morn
ing that no particular steps were
planned by the town in the immediate
future, but that the council was await
ing developments"