Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-12
Apprehensive Motorists.

With an innocent mOCOTlSG ana d
fisherman joining the tragically grow
ing army of those who have been shot
and killed in laundering efforts 10 en-
force the prohibition law the people of
this country are regarding with appre-
hension the Summer touring and sport
season which has just begun. Motor
lists particularly are apprehensive. From
their numbers have come most OF the
victims of the perennial war between
the Government and rum runners.
They believe, and, from past events,
with justification. that they. too. may
be mistaken in the dead of night for
bootleggers and shot down in cold
blood as they pursue their peaceful way
to the seashore or the mountains with
their families.
Motorists have long since abandoned
the practice of giving lifts to strangers
or stopping on the road at night at the
command of ununiformed men.
They found from dire experience
that it did not pay. The stran-
ger to whom a lift was given would
invariably depart without so much as
a THANK you"-that is, if he did de-
part without the owners car. watch
and money, and at such times the mo-
torist could not hear his words of ap-
probation. He was stretched out in
a ditch, dead or dying. Similarly, mo-
florists found that highwaymen deyel-
oped a surprisingly profitable business
by tagging down drivers at night on
the roads to rob and assault them. So
motorists, for their own protection, keep
on moving when driving at night. 1t
is a habit gained from long and bitter
experience. In many cases it is life
defensive habit.
Since prohibition motorists have
found to their dismay that while this
lesson that they had learned over a
long period of years and at sacrifice
Of many lives stood them in good stead
for bandits it proved their undoing
with enforcement officers. who. without
uniforms and without discretion. shot
them down when they refused to stop.
Driver after driver who obeyed the I'M
written law of motoring. do not stop
on lonely roads at night save at the
command Of a uniformed man." and
pushed harder on the accelerator when
hailed by apparent bandits. slumped in
their seats, shot by the very men who
had sworn to uphold the law and to
protect the lives of law-abiding citizens.
1t is obvious that some method must
be found. and found soon. that will
guard innocent motorists against ag-
gression and, at the same time. not
cripple the Government enforcement
program. The first step, it would seem,
would be to put every enforcement off,
Ger in uniform, uniform that is easily
distinguishable on the highways at
night. The Government is spending
millions of dollars in enforcing prohibi-
ton. 1t should spend enough more
Immediately to clothe its men with the
dignity of the law. The next step would
appear to be to station these uniformed
men on the roads where adequate light
could be thrown upon them in order
that the approaching motorist could
observe that they were officers. This
could be accomplished either by means
Of automobile headlights from the Off
GERS car or even flashlights in the
hands of the agents.
Then no innocent motorist would fail
TO stop on command. The guilty mo-
torist would convict himself. He would
speed up and attempt to get away. In
this manner the guilty would be au-
tomatically segregated from the inno-
cent. The officers could pursue the
driver who did not stop and If he
loosed a smoke screen on them or re-
sisted arrest with gunflre no one would
challenge the officers for shooting him
in defense of their lives. Few bootleg
gers, however vicious. would simply on
sight of policeman shoot to kill. Rum
running is a much less serious charge
than murder. They might. however, at
tempt to avoid capture in a pursuit by
gunfire. Then the officers would be
thoroughly justified in retaliating in
kind. Crime must be combated by
every means at the Governments dis
posal, but there can be no argument
against the protection Of law-abiding
citizens.