Charles St. Autoist Obeys Statue’s Traffic Signal

Maryland’s fifth governor and a chief justice of the United States were directing traffic last night until a perservering motorist gave up the historic approach as confusing to himself and detrimental to the welfare of his car.

The unidentified motorist was evidentally southbound on Charles street sometime between 4 P.M. and midnight. At Madison street, where the Mount Vernon Place grass plot separates the lanes of traffic, the motorist failed to take the right-hand lane and went over the curb, headed towards the statue of John Eager Howard in the center of the grass plot.

Former Governor Points Way

At the base of the statue, the motorist watched Maryland’s former governor for further instructions. From his equestrian mount, Mr. Howard maintained the stern expression of one who has gone through a Revolutionary War and mingled with politicos.

He said nothing as his left hand clutched the reins; but the motorists took the cue from Mr. Howard’s right arm which pointed outward and eastward.

The motorist turned eastward then continued south along the concrete sidewalk which surrounds the grass plot. In due time he found his path blocked by a concrete wall at the south end of the plot.

Then to the West

Undaunted, he turned westward, where he confronted Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, who headed the Supreme Court in 1836. Justice Taney continued to sit on his stone cushion in his backless chair, but he gazed down as the motorist patiently, a trifle sadly as befits one who knows of laws and of the motorists who break them.

Perhaps sensing that he had met a sympathetic justice, the motorist tried to drive up the three concrete steps in front of Justice Taney. He failed to make it, however. The chassis of the car evidently hooked on the steps and chipped the stone.

It was at this point that the motorist began to have his doubts about the historic approach to the traffic problem.

He backed off the steps, retraced his tracks northward on the east side of the plot and went off the curbing at Madison street where he had come in, leaving nothing but a set of deep ruts in the recently resodded grass to show he had been there.

Two of the signs recently posted on the grass prohibiting dogs to be walked or exercised there, and urging people to stay off the grass, were flattened by the automobile. There are no signs to prevent the presence of automobiles.

Investigation Started

Central District Patrolman Francis C. Murphy, who was on detail at Mount Vernon place from midnight to 8 A.M., discovered the tracks just after he came on duty. Capt. Henry Leineman, of Central district, is conducting an investigation to determine why the ram• paging automobile and its driver were not noticed by the patrolman on the 4 P.M. to midnight shift.

A 24-hour detail is maintained in the Mount Vernon Place area to prevent rowdyism, vandalism and to keep dogs out of the squares and children off the grass. The detail was assigned following complaints from long-time residents in the vicinity who declared that young trees and shrubs were being torn down during the night.

Their complaints led to the resodding of all the plots surrounding the Washington Monument and to the posting of restrictive signs.