Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, January 06, 1957, Image 4

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    FOUR MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
MEDFORIViflTRIBUNE
Iveryone la Southern' Oregon
Reads Thm Mail Tnbunt"
Publiined Daily ExceDt Saturday by
MEDKORD PRINTING CO
27-2 North Fir St Pfaon 2-g.41
ROBERT W RUHL. Editor
KERB GREY Advertising Manager
GERALD LATHAM Business Manager
ERIC ALLEN JR. Managing Ed J tor
EARL H ADAMS City Editor
HARRY CHIPMAN Telegraph Editor
RICHARD JEWETT Sports Editor
OLIVE ST ARCHER Society Editor
DALE ERICKSON. Circulation Mgr.
An Independent Newspaper
Entered as second class matter at
Medford Oregon under Acl of
March 3, 1897
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Flight o' Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mail Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and 50 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
Jan. 6, 1947 (Monday)
Letter resignation by Council
man Thomas G. Bradley will be
considered by the council to
night. Frum Arthur Perry's Ye
Smudge Pot column: Rumors
will be plentiful the coming
year. The best rumor last year
was the rumor there would be
no more runtors.
20 YEARS AGO
Jan. 6, 1937 (Wednesday)
Fred Heath Jr., who declined
to be a candidate for reelection
as councilman last November,
attended his last meeting on the
council last night.
State Senator George Dunn of
Ashland expects to leave for the
state legislature this week end.
30 YEARS AGO
Jan. 6. 1927 (Thursday)
Robert Boyle, former secre
tary of the Jackson County
Chamber of Commerce, accepts
appointment as field representa
tive of U.S. Chamber of Com
merce. New mill and plant of the
Owen-Oregon company, now un
der construction, will not be in
operation until April, according
to James Owen, general mana
ger. 40 YEARS AGO
Jan. 6. 1917 (Saturday)
The Medynski plan spells
bankruptcy for Medford, states
W. S. Croweil. founder of the
Medford branch of the First Na
tional bank.
H. O. Nordwick files as elev
enth hour candidate for mayor
of Medford. '
What's Your I.Q.?
Nine or ten correct is superior; sev
en or eight is excellent; tlve or
sin Is food.
1. Was the first printing press
in Tennessee (1793) set up at
Kno.wille or Memphis?
2. Did the ancient Egyptians
us- wine?
3. Was Jezebel, wife of King
Ahab of Israel, a Jewess?
4. Was Jamestown (Va.) the
first settlement made by the
English in America?
5. In the nursery rhyme did
a boy or girl sit down beside
Little Miss Muffet?
6. Which capital of a state in
the U.S. begins with an F 7
7. Are "prophecy" and
prophesy both nouns?
8. Is a ladybird a bird, fish,
or beetle?
9. Was helium discovered first
on the earth or in the moon?
10. -Bury the Great Duke...
To the . . . mourning of a great
nation." Tennyson. The "Great
Duke" was W n?
Answers: 1. Memphis. 2. Yes.
3. No. 4. No. S. No. A spider.
6. Frankfort (Ky.). 7. No. Proph
esy Is a verb. 8. Beetle. 9. No.
The Sun. 10. Wellington.
Red China, Yugoslavia
Sign Trade Agreement
Tokvo U.PJ Communist
China and Yugoslavia have
signed a trade protocol for 1957
which calls for a boost in their
trade of 40 per cent. Radio Pei
ping reported Saturday.
The protocol signed Friday ex
tends the trade and payments
agreement concluded in Febru
ary. 1-956 in Belgrade. The new
pact calls for trade amounting
to more than S20 million in each
direction, Radio Peiping said.
A Rough Road Ahead
We can see no point in kidding ourselves. As the
New Year starts it looks like a rocky-road for Uncle
Sam at home and abroad.
At home it is chiefly the negro question.
Whether the filibuster is outlawed or endorsed,
it's a ten-to-one shot it will be endorsed, the country
will remain along much-the same lines as it was be
fore the Civil War which, incidently the South is
still spiritually fighting.
Geographically the United States is the UNITED
States, one and inseparable but politically it isn't.
It is divided hetween those who believe in and sup
port the Constitution of the United States and those
who don't. And those who don't generally speaking,
live below the old Mason and Dixon line.
HTHE unreconstructed rebels don't admit, of course,
' they are outlaws. But they are. The law of the land
is determined by the Constitution of the United States,
and not as it may be interpreted by any individual or
group of individuals north or south, but by the Su
preme Court of the United States.
And the U.S. Supreme Court has spoken !
A STUDENT from Mars might conclude that ended
it, for he had as a result of his researches, undoubt
edly assumed the people of America were enlightened
and law-abiding.
But he would be mistaken as far as the Deep
South, the negro and "White Supremacy" are con
cerned. For down there they just don't cotten to that
sort of doctrine. They did not believe Abraham Lin
coln, when he said that this was a countiy "of the
people, by the people and for the people," and they
don't believe it now. They believe it is a country of
the WHITE people, by the WHITE people and FOR
the white people.
CO THEY call on state rights to support their con
tention just as their ancestor Southerners did a
hundred years ago, and judging by some of their
"White Supremacy" leaders they would rather fight
and die than obey the law as defined by the Supreme
Court, which declares there should be no discrimina
tion against any citizen of the United States because
of his race, religion or color.
But, of course, there will be no fighting or dying,
this' time. Judging the future by the past there won't
even be any serious effort on the part of the present
administration to enforce this fundamental law south
of the Mason and Dixon
The law will be obeyed in some spots, but it will
be disobeyed in more.
TN OTHER words, things in the South promise to
go on after the Supreme Court decision much as
they did before, with probably a gradual improve
ment in the direction of racial relations, but slow
very slow.
OOWEVER, as the saying goes, "better late than
never."
That is tine, but the situation isn't a pleasant one
to contemplate here at home, with a large section of
the countiy refusing to obey the fundamental law and
getting away with it. Equally deplorable is the effect
this will have abroad, as far as Uncle Sam's claims
of a free democracy are concerned.
For as often stated before, the white people on
this turbulent earth are in a minority, and to thus ad
vertise to the world that only whites can get a square
deal in the U.S.A. in spite of the Constitution and
oratorical claims to the contrary, is not going to im
prove our relations with other countries, particularly
those of Asia, the Far and the Mid-East, where they
are about as bad as they could be already, and in some
localities whites barely exist
In fact there is a certain, if not extremely close
relationship between this division within the USA re
garding racial discrimination, and the recent and
really alarming deterioration of American prestige
abroad.
t e
"THE basic cause of this is FEAR.
And even more disturbing a "fear" that is un
doubtedly shared and supported by the people of this
country as a whole regarding foreign relations, and of
the South regarding the negro.
For who wants to risk violence and bloodshed in
the South over the negro segregation question?
And who wants to risk World War HI, over Hun
gary, Israel, or the slow but sure progress of Russian
penetration and infiltration in the Mid-East and
along the Mediterranean?
AS THIS is written, action has not been taken by
the Senate on "cloture," nor, of course, has
President Eisenhower delivered his address, asking
presumably permission to use U.S. troops if Soviet
Russia should try to do in the Mid-East, what it has
already done in Hungary.
That request, we hope, will be granted. For it
might do some good.
But the trouble is we fear, not much.
For it is highly doubtful that Russia will be fool
ish enough to repeat its Hungary blunder, it is even
more doubtful that it will discontinue its efforts in
any material way at peaceful but poisonous and ef
fective political penetration.
And what can be done to stop the latter?
If the present administration has any answer or
antidote for that process, it has not from this distance
been discernible.
Sunday. January B, 1957
line.
Communications
Letters to the Editor must bear
the name and address ot the writer
although under certain circum
stances the use ol a pen name or
Initial for publication is permis
sible The Mail Tribune reserves
the right to edit all letters with an
eye to clarification and condensa
tion Letters submitted tor publica
tion must not exceed 400 words.
Humane Society's Role
To the Editor: In your edito
rial "Wishing in 1957" you fail
ed to mention a real honest-to-goodness
humane society as a
desirable asset to our commun
ity. Some folks have the idea
that the duty of a humane so
ciety is to destroy unwanted
animals or as a place to leave
dogs while the owners are on
vacation. The functions of a
properly organized humane .so
ciety are many and varied;
humane education, a free clinic
for children and the needy to
have pets treated, inspection, in
vestigation and sometimes pros
ecution, are just a few.
Has the human race any right
to expect to live in a happy
world so long as it aUows so
much brutal and avoidable
cruelty to be inflicted on the
animal creation? A large pro
portion of suffering is unneces
sary and could be greatly re
duced if each individual took
his part in furthering this de
sirable end. A clean civilization
cannot be built on a foundation
of blood, slaughter and torture.
Many of the atrocities perpe
trated on animals are so fright
ful that sensitive persons refuse
event to hear about them; such
behavior is often due to coward
ice or bad conscience.
Because animal suffering can
never be entirely wiped out
there is no reason for sitting
back and doing nothing. There
is no reason except indifference,
greed or sadism why the burden
placed upon the animal creation
should not be lightened ap
preciably and at once.
Each one should write our
Senators to get the i humane
slaughter bills now pending en
acted into law.
At present funds are neetied
by the S.P.C.A. in Los Angeles
county to feed the homeless,
starving pets and wildlife de
prived of their homes by the
Malibu fire.
"Compassion in which ethics
have their roots" says Albert
Schweitzer, "can only achieve
full scope and depth if it is not
limited to man but extended to
all living things."
Mrs. Lola M. Teel,
Jacksonville-Central
Point Highway,
Central Point, Ore.
Stolen Dog
To the Editor: This letter Is
for the meanest person in Med
ford: You have picked up my little
black Pom-dog from the street.
He had a collar and license on.
I have advertised in both the
paper and over the radio, offer
ing a reward. ,
I have raised him from a pup
py, and he is all I -have. Won't
you please return him to his
grieving mistress? I am sure he
is grieving for his home, too.
He is nearly seven years old,
black, and his left eye is blind.
Please bring him home to me,
and I will get you a puppy. Why
did you take mine?
Georgia Fischer
903V4 West 11th st.
Medford, Ore.
Congressional
Quiz
'Copyright. 195
Congressional Quarterly)
Q A Member of Congress, a
Secretary of the Army and' a
chicken figured prominently in
the news in February, 1954. Do
you recall the circumstances?
A At the height of theAr-my-McCarlhy
dispute. Army
Secretary Robert T. Stevens,
Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy (R
Wis.) and . other members of
a subcommittee investigating
Communist infilatraiion of the
Army met over a chicken
luncheon, to settle their dif
ferences. Q Of all the appropriations
voted by Congress, how big a
chunk goes to the Defense De
partment: (a) 75 per cent; (b) 45
per cent; (c) 60 per cent; (d) 30
per cent?
A (c). Congress in 195S ap
propriated $59,727,212,680 for
the fiscal year which began
July 1. Of this amount, the De
fense Department's share was
$36,161,677,000, about 60 per
cent.
Q In what year did Congress
unify the military services in a
single Department of Defense:
(a) 1940; (b) 1916; (c) 1953; (d)
1947?
A (d): In the National Se
curity Act of 1947, Congress
established the Department of
Defense with a cabinet-level
secretary. Under bim are three
services Army, Navy and
Air Force each with a secre
tary of sub-Cabinet rank.
CO WHAT?
Well in brief we can, as stated, see only a
rocky road ahead for Uncle Sam very rocky.
No. I: Time much. time seems to be the only
hope for true democracy in the South. No. LI: Trouble
within Russia and its satellites, rather than any force
from without exerted by this country, appears the
only hope of a freer world and a better one, at least
before the New Year becomes old and the way of all
flesh, is counted out R.W.R.
Editorial
Comment
ASHLAND STEPS OUT
Nowadays nearly every com
munity has an annual event for
which it becomes noted over a
period of time. Albany has its
Timber Carnival, Eugene has its
Emerald Empire Roundup as
does Pendleton, with its most
famous of all roundups in. Ore
gon. But one of the most unique
community affairs in Oregon is
the Shakespearean Festival put
on each summer in Ashland. It
has grown in stature year by
year, and tcday is internationally
famous for its open air produc
tions by the Bard of Avon. But
as all things that grow, a time
comes when it must stand still or
expand.
There is a move now by the
sponsoring association to acquire
what amounts to a complete new
physical plant surrounding the
outdoor amphitheater. Already
plans and sketches have been
made for offices, dressing rooms,
and meeting rooms for sidelight
activities such as' the Institute
for Renaissance Studies which
draws interested students from
all parts of the country during
the festival. The structures
would be in Elizabethan archi
tecture and would add a signifi-
cant cultural center to southern
Oregon. The cost would be about
a half-million dollars and to raise
the money will take a tremen
dous effort.
If it is accomplished, and it
certainly can't be called impossi
ble, it will mean that "outside"
interests will have to plunk
down a good share of the funds.
It will remove the uniqueness
that this particular Shakespear
ean event has enjoyed of being
entirely self - supporting. How
ever, if the people of southern
Oregon devote themselves to the
project, as they have in the past,
it no doubt will succeed.
It is one of the outstanding
summer events in Oregon and
it is not inconceivable that other
people in the state will help in
this worthwhile project. Eu
gene Register-Guard.
FREIGHT RATE INCREASE
. . . The point to be made here
(in discussing proposed rate in
creases for freight between east
and west coasts) is that every
freight rate increase hurts Pa
cific Coast states worse than
Eastern states, competively
speaking. The long hauls make
the ton-mile charges look like
the national debt.
It behooves Western and Pa
cific Northwestern chambers of
commerce and freight traffic as
sociations therefore not only to
seek hold-down arrangements,
but to oppose vigorously any
Today and
By Walter
SOME MIDDLE
EASTERN REALITIES
It would be a mistake, I think,
to shape our policy in a way
which forces, or appears to force,
the Middle
Eastern coun
tries to make
. ' F3 , definite choice
as to who will
be their pro
t e c t o r, be
tween the So
viet Union and
ourselves. 1 1
will be tact
less and it will be unwise to do
this. The natural line of their
policy is to avoid being aligned
irrevocably with either side, and
then to play one side against the
other, to profit by the competi
tion of the great powers for their
favor. Any declaration of policy
that we make ought to take fuU
account of all this.
As a matter of fact, the very
best we can now hope for in the
Middle East is that the Arab
countries will remain unaligned
and in a middle position. It is,
therefore, not only misleading
but almost certainly mischievous
to keep saying that with the col
lapse of the British authority in
the Middle East, there is a "vac
uum of power," which the Unitr
ed States must fill.
Whatever else the United
States can do, it certainly cannot
play the role that Britain used
to play. Britain was once not
only the paramount military
power. It was also the control
ling power in Egypt, and in most
of the Arab states. Not only has
Britain ceased to play that role.
The role itself no longer exists
for anyone to play.
IN THINKING about the Mid
dle East, there are two gener
al conceptions, one of which we
must choose. The first is to think
of the Middle East as the stake
in the great conflict between the
Soviet' Union and the United
a1 "" "i
1 1
fiifstlf
Walter Lujomaiui
Matter of Fact Y
THEY SHOULD HAVE WEPT
Washington On Thursday,
when the new Senate met and
the roll was called, there was
a moment of
breathless sus
pense before
Ohio's new
Senator, un
p r e d i c table
Frank Laus
che, voted
with the Dem
ocrats to org-
Stewart Also a I e. Lauscne
had told no-one how he would
vote, and the relieved Democrats
clapperd and cheered. Logically,
they should have wept.
For the fact is that the Dem
ocrats, in control of Congress,
find themselves in a genuinely
desperate situation. They are in
a desperate situation simply be
cause President Eisenhower, ui
pursuit of his stated purpose of
making the Republican party
the nations majority party, is
getting ready to steal all their
issues, and leave them naked
as so many Jaybirds.
The President is now working
hard on two major public doc
uments his state of the union
speech and his second inaugural
address. The tone of the state
of the union speech, according
to reliable reports, wm be mod
ern Republicans" all the way.
with heavy emphasis on such
new dealish issues as social se
curity, health legislation, schools,
farm aid, and notably, civil
rights legislation.
THE theme of the inaugural
address will hp "the nrice of
peace," with equally heavy em
phasis on the sacrifices which
peace demands. Both speeches
are intended to set the tone
of the Administration for the
years to come. Obviously, it is
not a tone calculated to warm
the hearty 01 ne still powerful
conservative-isolationist Repub
lican hard core on Capitol Hill.
For the moment, the conserva
tive Republicans have been
maintaing a mouse-like silence,
since they are still bemused by
the Eisenhower triumph at the
polls. But if they had organized
the Senate, as they so nearly
did, they would no doubt in time
have given the President plenty
of trouble. After all, when the
Republicans were in control in
the first two Eisenhower years,
the President was driven to talk
ing seriously of forming a third
party.
But bar accidents of nature.
the rightwing Republicans will
further increases until such in
creases can be proved beyond
question of doubt to be impera
tive to maintenance of proper
service. Oregon Journal, Port
land.
Tomorrow
Lippmann
States. If that is the way we ap
proach the' problem, , whatever
we offer the Arab states as mili
tary protection or economic as
sistance will carry with it the
implication that they must make
their choice between Moscow
and Washington.
The other way to think about
the Arab countries is in terms of
a balance of power within which
they remain independent and un
aligned. This is the approach
which test reflects the realities
of the military situation in the
Middle East, and the true na
tional interests of the Arab
states.
TF WE look quite realistically
A at the military situation of
the United States and of the
U.S.S.R. in the Middle East, must
we not conclude that there ex
ists a stalemate in which both of
us are deterred from intervening
with our own military forces?
The warning against Soviet in
tervention, which Congress is to
be asked to give, puts into words
one side of this mutual deter
rence. The other side of it is that
we, too, are deterred from inter
vening with our own forces. For
we have to assume that the So
viet Union would react to such
an intervention.
Because the stalemate prevents
overt intervention, the field is
wide open to propaganda, sub
version, bribery and intrigue.
When the British and French
tried to intervene, they found
the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R.
aligned against them. Under
neath all the moral and political
reasons avowed for this align
ment, there was at bottom the
Soviet-American deadlock which
neither dares to see broken.
THERE are, then, these two fac
tors to be kept in mind. One
is that the natural line of the
Arab states is towards neutral
ity, and that this should be re
spected and encouraged. A sec
ond factor is that the Soviet
Union and the United States are
mutually deterred from overt in
tervention. A third is that in this
condition of affairs, the Middle
East is highly unstable. For there
is no authority outside the re
gion, and none within the re
gion, which can establish and
maintain order.
We cannot, therefore, rule out
the ' possibility that some time
the disorder wiU be such that it
is recognized as a menace to the
peace of the world. If so, the
time may come when we shaU
iy . -
ft f .
Stewart Alsop
lack the key committee chair-!
manships, and thus the means
of making real trouble for the
President. Meanwhile, the Dem
ocrats are in no shape to make
real trouble for him either.
THE Democrats, especially the
Northern liberals, are just
as vividly aware as the President
that the Democratic status as
the national majority party is at
stake. They know that the coal
ition put togeter by Franklin D.
Roosevelt, which made the Dem
ocratic party the normal ma
jority for more than two dec
ades, is showing every sign of
cracking up. But what are they
to do?
Plenty of Democrats are deep
ly disturbed by the Adminis
tnirions's conduct of defense and
foreign policy, and the Middle
East crisis will certainly be
loudly debated. But there is not
a man on Capitol Hill who be
lieves that there is real political
hay to be made by attacking the
President's defense and foreign
policy so soon after his triumph
in November.
On virtually every domestic
issue, the Democrats can only
say "Me too, only more so,"
to the President's version of
"modern Republicanism." This
is true especiaUy of civil rights,
the only issue which really
raises the voters' temperatures.
on which the Northern Dem
ocrats had counted heavily to
woo back the slipping Negro
and minority vote.
TN THE election, the Negro
A voters used the carrot-and-
stick technique on both parties.
The Northern Democrats by no
means enjoyed the feeling of
the stick, which is why they are
so eager to take credit for civil
rights legislation. But the Re
publicans thoroughly enjoyed
the taste of the carrot, which
is why so many of them joined
the liberal Demorcatic attack on
Senate Rule 22.
Moreover, an essential part of
the Eisenhower strategy for
making the Republicans the ma
jority party is to accelerate the
shift of the minority vote to the
Republicans. The Administra
tion is therefore getting ready
to push reaUy hard to line up
Renublican votes behind the
President's "moderate" civil
rights program. If the push is
hard enough, there is a good
chance that the needed 64 votes
can be mustered to break the
expected Southern filibuster.
But if that happens the Re
publican administration will
reap the lion's share of the credit
with the minority voters. And
where else are the Northern
Democrats to turn for the kind
of issue which really stirs up
the voters? The fact, that- this
question is so hard to answe;
suggests why the forthcoming
session may prove crucial to
both parties and why it involves
a great danger to the Democrats
and a great opportunity for the
Republicans.
Copyright New York
Herald Tribune Inc.
In the Day's News
By FRANK
Tragic note in the news:
The year 1956 set a grim rec
ord. The National Safety Council
estimates that last year 40,200
persons died in traffic accidents.
The previous record. was 39,
969 traffic deaths in 1941.
DR. PAUL DUDLEY WHITE
of Boston, whose daughter
was injured in a near fatal acci
dent in New Mexico last month,
appeals this morning to his fa
mous former patient, President
Eisenhower, to help cut down
highway deaths. He offers three
suggestions:
1. A federal speed limit with
restrictive penalties.
2. A campaign to have manu
facturers limit maximum speed
of cars.
3. An educational program for
the public.
rF THE three, the last seems to
" offer the greatest long-range
promise.
Prohibitive Parking
Signs to be Installed
City -crews will install signs
Monday prohibiting parking be
tween 4:30 and 6 p.m. in front
of the Medford post office on
Sixth st., according to Vern
Thorpe, public works director.
The space will be made avail
able for use of the drive-up mail
box, Thorpe said.
There will be 15-muiute park
ing spaces provided on North
Holly st. along the post office
building side.
Discontinuance of the parking
facilities in front of the buil
ding was authorized recently by
the city council, foUowing com
plaints from motorists that park
ed cars caused a bad traffic sit
uation. have to have some talks with the
Russians about the possibility of
arranging a stabilization by neu
tralization in the Middle East.
(Copyright 1957. New York
Herald Tribune)
POTLUCK
(By M-T Staff and
Contributors)
It is entirely possible, as we
can testify, for some one to sub-,
mit a news item to the paper,
then search diligently through
several issues of the paper, not
seeing it even though it is there.
This happened to a woman last
week, so she sent her husband
down to the newsroom to in
quire why the item hadn't been
printed.. Well, it so happened
that the person who had edited
the item remembered it, went to
the files, found it, and showed
it in print to the husband. Some
what embarrassed, ne accepted
a clipping as proof that it has
been published, then walked
away saying:
I'll sneak out the back door.
Pretend I wasn't here."
1 One woman whose husband. '
one ion and a daughter are .
all attorneys (guess who) com
plains that with all that talent
rrayed against her. "I can
NEVER win an argument at
homel"
A columnist in the Corvallis
Gazette-Times records how, now
that the Christmas mailing rush
is rast. a counle of letters have
been delivered in that city sev
eral hours before the mailing
time as recorded on the post
mark. Shucks, we can beat that.
On the morning of Thursday,
Jan. 3, we received in the mail
a card from the Camp White post
office with a postmark which
showed it had been mailed in the
p.m. of Jan. 4. That's REAL
service.
When we went to school,
when one youngster stuck his
tongue out at another, it was
imply a rude gesture of disre
spect. Times change. We now
have it on excellent authority
that in the sub-teen set, the "
gesture carries with it the sig
nificant meaning of "Kiss me,
but don't slobber." Revolting,
isn't it?
A father was helping his 11-
year-old daughter with her home
work in geography the other day.
She was to memorize the defi
nitions of a series of words, one
of which was derrick.
She identified it correctly as
a tower used in the production
of petroleum.
Father, who is sometimes too
nosy for his own good, asked,
daughter if she knew what per
troleum is.
"Oh, yes," she replied, "it's
that stuff we rub on our chest
when we have a cold."
1
W tiaA T.roivnrl m rnmmu-
nication from an attractive '
young woman who figured in
a recent Potluck item. She
said, "After reading the item
in Potluck Sunday, I decided
you people must really have
a tough time finding enough
news to print." How right she '
is, at least sometimes.
JENKINS
Excessive speed, of course, is
a tragic factor in highway
crashes because the greater the
speed the worse the crash. But
with modern roads and modern
cars it is exceedingly difficult to
hold maximum speeds below 50
or 60 miles per hour without lit-,
erally cluttering the highways
with traffic police. If much lower
limits are attempted, drivers will
tend to disregard them when no
policeman is in sight.
At even, 40 or 50 mph, crashes
due to poor driving can be dis
astrous. THE lesson drivers need to
learn is that piloting an auto
mobile in modern traffic is a
SKILLED job. Other than taking
off and landing, the handling of
an automobile in ordinary traffic
in these days requires more skill
than the mere handling of an
airplane while it is in the air.
It can be stated with reasonable
accuracy that handling an auto
mobile in present-day traffic re
quires more skill than the mere
piloting of a locomotive along
the rails.
- Airplane pilots and locomo
tive engineers are required to go
through a long period of appren
ticeship and to pass rigid com
petency tests before being per
mitted to assume sole responsi
bility for the handling of a
plane or a railroad engine.
But a license to drive an auto
mobile can be obtained with rel
atively little difficulty. The
passing of tests required calls for
only the most rudimentary skills. ,
It is hard to escape the con
clusion that we need to demand
much greater evidence of tech
nical competence before issuing
a license to drive an automobile.
"VNE lesson drivers need to
i : ,u.;
ivztxL u is nidi ail auiuiuuuuu
can be as deadly as a gun. An
other lesson that needs learning .
is that with careful driving at
moderate speeds the elapsed time
hptwppn thp nninr nf rlenartnrA-
and the destination wiU be little
if any greater, on the average,
than with reckless speeds. That
is a surprising fact that can be
learned by any driver who will
take the time to experiment with
careful driving.