TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12353, 17 November 1905, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The fight between motorMotorists ists on the one side, and Roused, the police and the

Magistrates on the other, is assuming a new phaee at Home. Of course, no sensible man, motorist or nonmotorist, objects to heavy punishment in the case of the "road-hog" who endangers life and property, and it is painfully apparent that there are many of this class in England. But it is also apparent that the authorities have been much too zealous at times in prosecuting and fining heavily motorists who were quite harmless. Cases have occurred ia which motorists proceeding down a perfectly ckar stretch of road into a police "trap," at a reasonable pace, have been pounced upon and fined for driving furiously. The evidence of witnesses in the cars has been disregarded, and policemen, armed with stop watches costing three or four shillings each, who probably knew as much about timing anything over a distance as they die. about the integral calculus,. believed instead. ' The batches of motorists so fined are picturesquely described as

"bags." At Andovar, the most notorious of these "traps," the fines have amounted to £1000 in ,a year, and it is broadly hinted that some Magistrates inflict heavy fines partly to benefit the local funds. • Now the Automobile Association, tired* of what it regards as petty persecution and excessive fines, has organised a force of scouts and patrols to fight the county police. The duties of the patrols aro to offer assistance to motorists who have broken dowfr, to warn all drivers who may be travelling too fast, and collect evidence in tho ovent of collisions with the police. The ecoats are professional cyclists. " Immediately the news of a police trap is brought in by a patrol, a pair of scouts are sent out," cays tbe secretary of the Association. ''They approach tho spot, and by carefully searching for footprints, they are enabled to kcate tho probable position of the trap. They then make a detour and get behind the position, and more than likely will then bo rewarded by the sight of two bulky policemen crouching in undignified attitudes at a distance of a furlong from each other. A plain clothes man will probably be seen on the road wearing a pantomime beard, a smock frock, and regulation boots, which he struggles to hide. Then the scouts dart away and warn all cars as they come along tho read." Full reports will be submitted to the Association, so that the officials of that body can survey the "tiaps," and give evidence upon them before the coming Royal Commission on motor-cars. Altogether the country roads of England promise to be the scene of some exciting maucEuvres.

Among other things Fighting , which the recent conConsumption, gross on tuberculosis at Paris viewed with dark suspicion were cats and dogs. It was agreed that a strict watch should 'be kept over dogs and cats in private houses, for these animals were regarded as dangerous agents for the transmission of tuberculosis. "Tho dog," said one of the speakons, "lives with its mouth close to the ground, and so inhales almost all dangerous microbes." Another speaker pointed out that ,cats, which ladies lovo to caress and put to sleep on their sofas were greatly to be feared for the same reason. One of the most interesting discussions of the conference took place on the question whether tuberculosis was- transmissible from parent to offspring. The general opinion was that it was not, but that it was possible to find babies a week or a month old with tho disease. . Somo striking facts were given as to the connection 'between bad ventilation and lighting, and consumption. It was pointed out that in the well-to-do districts of Paris, where the buildings are modern, more cases were found on the sixth floor {han on a n the- other floors combined. The reason given was that the sixth floors were built for servants, and consequently badly ventilated and lighted. But even more striking is the case of St. Jean de Maurienne, the highest town in France. It is situated on the top of a mountain in very pure air; yet the number of its consumptives in proportion to its size is,greater than any other French town, simply because its houses are old, badly' lighted, and Ibadly ventilated. There was a keen discussion on the efficacy or otherwise of sanatoria. Had they succeeded in diminishing the disease, or were they merely centres of infection ? One of the German delegates was alble to state that thanks to sanatoria, tuberculosis was daily decreasing in Germany, but another delegate from the same country thought dispensaries were more useful. It seems that in Berlin when a case of consumption is reported, the patient and -his family are compelled to go to one of the dispensaries, and only these who are perfectly healthy are allowed to return. The patient ss treated at the dispensary, and whew discharged as cured he is cared for and iso__tod from his family for a time. The expenditure of large sums on sanatoria was severely criticised. "Is it wise," asked one delegate, "to put up magnificent stone buildings when the patients would be batter in ordinary open huts?" The congress admitted the principle of the sanatorium, but agreed that everything depended on the customs, liabits, and looal resources of the oountry.