The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-02-04

! ,;,sb. ,s a committing magistrate
\ II, al .nnsg of eases. lie acted h"'
only us a Judge and u C'M'"'
tipS magistrate. but often rs q
detective. argrSting oiiitvt al"
One \, stopped an automobile
on a highway. detected il"oi o"
thr drivers breath, examined MN
pronounced him d.unA-&ad the''
gavc him 80 days.
invariably. h. lcctUrcd tnc Ge-
PENDANT. thrr wrote q release icI
the newspapers. Ike bought ms
own radio time and appealed 10
~ nation 20 drive sObvriE. III,
,rawl,i.cl ~ drunken orlE!hS
case on the stage OF e i"ca! 'h'-
ofp~ "A, went with -wo women
defendants 20 thc mOr%uc, MADE
,hrm take the pledge while news
manor photographers - Wnon' nc
summoned -- took pictures.
PRAISED EY VICTIMS
Eiusmanno'S cam 2 q z n was
,.i..Iy supported. even by motor
isrs ne sent to jail. He visited the
n,isop. talked with persons he had
sentenced and came out to tell re
p,rtrrs that the drivers were IN
whole accord" with his crusade.
Hundreds Of letters came 70 ms
desk. One was from wealthy
mofhcr Who thanked him for
sending her son TO Jail and teach
ing him lesson.
When il was announced that ne
would leave his criminal court
bench. there vas a public protest.
The Western PENNSYLVANIA MIN
istcrs' association asked President
Judge Ambrose b. Reid 70 retain
him for another term because OF
MS Intensive efforts to reduce
the terrible toll Of life and limb
on the highways y
NuSmannO. too, appeared down
hearted that ne had to end ms
but his successor prom
ised 70 continue 1t vigorously.
What prompted him to persist
on severe punishment for every
violator? Some said it was be
cause his stepmother was killed
in an automobile accident in 1880,
a wear after his father had been
struck by 1 car and sent TO Il hos
pltal. Bat nc denied that ne was
motisatcd - any persona! mo-
tive.
AROUSED BY TREND
For & long time" ne said, Il
had wondered why something
WASN'T zone about curbing these
wild. drGnken motorist apaches ON
the highways. From year 10 year
i had seen the death rate increas-
inc appallingly, and | had seen
nothing done about it. To me
there was absolutely no excuse
FOR INVESTIGATION at the wheel and
I had never heard anyone attempt
TO offer a defense to this indefen-
siblc act-and yet IN court these
potential killers were released on
parole or given insignificant fines,
and thus practically given license
to 20 out and commit mans!augh-
ter"
NIusmanno said that his princi-
PAL method of dealing with the
offense was to make the punish
ment absolutely certain, with
everyone treated alike"
The record showed how we'll ne
succeeded. Most of the 400 eases
that came before him were han
died through guilty pleas. There
were fewer than 20 trials and on
" two or three acquittals.
SENTENCED WOMAN ARTIST
One of the motorists ne sem
fenced to jail was Margaret Ruse,
35-year-old artist, whose murals
are hung in the Allegheny Cen
eral hospital. Miss Ruse and Ma
rte Davis, rs, were the first wo-
men in Allegheny county history
to 60 to Jail for q drunken driv-
ing offcnse. Each got 80 days
the minimum-but each was par
doned after 20 days when Mus
manno ruled formally that q wo-
man suffers as much in 20 days
as 4 man suffers in 80 days"