1534 
The RURAL NEW<YORKER 
December 13, 1924 
Hope Farm Notes 
LION OR LAMB 
“Let dogs delight to bark and bite 
For God hath made them so; 
Let bears and lions growl and fight 
For ’tis their nature to.” 
“Where the lion’s skin will not reach, 
it must be pieced by the fox’s.” 
I suppose it is the ambition of every 
man to pose as a lion. Some men must 
satisfy themselves by parading their lion¬ 
like qualities before their families. When 
these gentlemen are possessed by a fear¬ 
less and capable wife they somehow re¬ 
mind me of Milton’s lion: 
“Now half appeared 
The tawny lion, pawing to get free.” 
The good lady may not say a word, 
but the would-be lion knows she is men¬ 
tally quoting Shakespeare: 
“Thou wear a lion’s hide! doff it for 
shame 
And hang a calf’s skin on those rec¬ 
reant limbs.” 
Some have lion-like adventures thrust 
upon them when and where they least ex¬ 
pected. I never thought to be called on 
to play the lion for the benefit of my 
fellowmen—yet here is the call from a 
troubled citizen of New Jersey—a call 
framed in gasoline: 
A DEAL' MAN’S LICENSE 
Enclosed find clipping from the New¬ 
ark Sunday Call. The same article ap¬ 
peared in all the Newark Saturday eve¬ 
ning papers, and is probably widely pub- * 
lished throughout the State. 
Why this crusade against the deaf 
auto drivers? I am deaf, and have driven 
pleasure cars in the metropolitan dis¬ 
trict since 1915. Four different cars for 
a total of approximately 45,000 miles in 
the most densely congested traffic on the 
western hemisphere without an accident, 
and I do not hear a traffic officer’s whis¬ 
tle nor an auto horn, unless the latter 
is very loud and close by. Nor during 
all that time do I ever recall an incident 
wherein my deafness proved a handicap 
to my driving. The only time it is a 
handicap is when it is necessary to re¬ 
quest directions as to routes, etc., from 
strangers, but this in no way affects my 
driving ability, and should not interest 
the commissioner. 
Now I have not yet been deprived of 
my license, probably because I have not 
as yet come to the attention of any of 
the'officers of the traffic department, and 
for obvious reasons I don’t want to come 
to their attention. So it occurred to me 
that you, being a fellow Jerseyite and 
also deaf, might be able to do all of us 
who live in a quiet world, yet like to 
drive for pleasure or business, a consid¬ 
erable favor by presenting the deaf man’s 
side of the case to the commissioner, and 
try to develop: (a) Whether his attitude 
is largely personal with him, or is based 
on a record of accidents in which deaf 
people have figured. 
(b) If it is a personal matter of feel¬ 
ing with the commissioner, it would ap¬ 
pear he is using the power of his office 
to discriminate against a certain class 
(the deaf) and it might be argued this 
would show him unfit to hold office, etc. 
(c) If his attitude is based on a rec¬ 
ord of accidents, it would be desirable to 
determine whether such accidents were 
trivial or serious, and whether the deaf¬ 
ness of the driver actually caused the ac¬ 
cident. 
(d) What legal redress has the deaf 
man if he is refused a driver’s license? 
Can he appeal to the courts? It does 
seem -strange that if deafness is such a 
menace that accident insurance com¬ 
panies do not refuse to issue policies to 
deaf ear owners. 
(e) It might be possible to convince 
the commissioner (though I doubt it) 
that not being able to hear a traffic of¬ 
ficer’s whistle, or an auto horn, are not 
sufficient reasons for depriving a man of 
all right to drive. As I have already 
stated I have driven 10 years and never 
felt the need of either. One can always 
see the traffic cop and his hands are a 
surer and better indication of change 
in traffic than his whistle. How many 
traffic cons use whistles anyway? Not 
one in ten. As for auto horns, few 
drivers use them except to warn pedes¬ 
trians. The rear mirror always shows 
the car view coming up from the rear or 
the left. No one nowadays blows a horn 
when crossing an intersecting street or 
rounding a curve. They slow down and 
look and watch as they should. 
Now Mr. Hope Farm Man, if you 
would be the lion and dare Mighty 
Caesar’s anger, see what you can de¬ 
velop. But beware! He may take up 
your license! As for me he hasn’t 
caught me yet, and for the present my 
role will be that of Bre’r Fox. So with 
many apologies, I prefer to sign 
A DEAF SUBSCRIBER. 
I break our rule about printing un¬ 
signed communications in this case, for 
1 think it of general importance and I 
appreciate this man’s reasons. The clip¬ 
ping he sends tells of a resolution passed 
by the New Jersey Automobile and Mo¬ 
tor Club endorsing Commissioner W. H. 
Dill for his action in refusing to grant 
licenses to persons who through physical 
infirmities are likely to be unsafe drivers. 
Now nothing would suit me better 
than to put on the lion’s skin and let out 
the best roar I could manufacture in de¬ 
fense of any legitimate rights of the deaf. 
I know far better than most people what 
a fearful penalty it is to be kept from 
driving a car. Aside from ' the joy of 
getting about quickly and easily there 
must be a feeling of mastery which is 
good for the soul to realize that the 
powerful engine throbbing and eager as 
a race horse is held under control by a 
touch of the hand. The sense of this 
power must have a stimulating effect 
upon any character that is capable of 
responding to noble suggestions. I doubt 
if many drivers who accept the response 
to their touch or turn as a matter of 
course, can ever realize what it must 
mean to one who is denied control of this 
power. From every selfish or individual 
point of view I think the ability to drive 
and handle a car means more to the deaf 
than to any other class of people. From 
that point of view alone I would willing¬ 
ly roar like three lions if I could feel 
that Commissioner Dill’s order is a real 
injustice to people like myself. 
***** 
In truth, however, I do not think it is 
an injustice, and I shall be obliged to dis¬ 
appoint these good friends who expect 
me to play the part of lion. I never 
drove a car in my life, and never ap¬ 
plied for a license. My women folks 
have frequently said that if I should 
make application they would go to the 
commissioner and ask him not to grant it. 
At first thought this annoyed me greatly, 
but after thinking it over carefully I am 
convinced that these women are right, 
and that they show far greater friend¬ 
ship and affection than if they foolishly 
encouraged me to take up a course which 
the plainest common sense shows would 
be dangerous not only to me but to 
others. I am aware that many deaf peo¬ 
ple will accuse me of dodging the part 
of lion and refusing to help them by ac¬ 
cepting the part of lamb. That I cannot 
help. Some of them, like my friend who 
writes the letter printed above, must 
know that they are violating the law or 
rules of law, and that they are encour¬ 
aging other violations by people who are 
not as careful as they are and who may 
easily become a nuisance on the road. 
I hold that all law is a great contribu¬ 
tion box into which we must all throw 
some bit of self-denial if there is to be 
any real enforcement. I think a rea¬ 
sonable amount of hearing is a prime nec¬ 
essity for a car driver on our crowded 
highways, and while it may mean a pri¬ 
vation such as few can understand I 
think deaf people should respect the law 
and live up to it. It is hard for the deaf 
to realize they are not as other men at 
the steering wheel, but the plain truth is 
that we are not. I would rather be a lamb 
and obey a reasonable law than to use 
the power of a lion to chew that law up. 
***** 
I wrote Commissioner Wm. H. Dill 
about his regulation and from his reply 
I take the following sentences: 
“I have always taken the position that 
a deaf driver is not only a menace to 
himself but to every highway user. Es¬ 
pecially is this true in the State of New 
Jersey, which is honeycombed with near¬ 
ly thirty-three hundred grade ' crossing. 
“You ask for the policy of this depart¬ 
ment and I gladly give it to you. Any¬ 
one who is not totally deaf may apply 
for and secure an examination for a 
license. If they are able to hear ordinary 
sounds, horns, whistles, and to meet the 
tests that are applied, we gladly author¬ 
ize the issuance of a license to them. It 
is only when their hearing is so much 
impaired as to preclude the possibility of 
hearing anything that their applications 
are denied.” 
Personally I think that is entirely fair. 
I would not criticize it although I know 
it is fiercely assailed by some of our 
Jerseymen. As time goes on our high¬ 
ways will be even more crowded than 
they are today, with a consequent in¬ 
crease in danger from careless or defec¬ 
tive drivers, and I honestly think there 
are many of us who. for the good of the 
community, may well keep off the road 
when controlling a powerful engine. 
Lycurgus, the great Spartan, was 
once advised to set up a democracy in 
Sparta. “Pray,” he answered, “do you 
first set up a democracy in your own 
house!” A democracy must be governed 
by laws which are made up from popular 
contributions of self-denial. We must 
all give something in order to receive 
legal protection. I cannot act as a lion 
in defense of deaf car drivers because I 
think the regulations are reasonable and 
that we should accept them as our con¬ 
tribution to society. Thanks for the 
offer, to pose as a lion, but in this case 
I think the lamb is nearer my size. 
H. W. C. 
the Dairy Herd 
The Department of Agricultural Relations of the New 
York Central Lines is continuously at work with cattle 
breeding associations, agricultural colleges, farm bureaus 
and progressive farmers in the important work of improv¬ 
ing dairy cattle. 
Better cattle means better milk. Better milk means better 
prices for the farmer. 
Transporting milk from the farms to the city has come 
to be a considerable part of our day’s work, and we want 
to help increase this traffic. 
Recently a “Better Cattle Train” operated in cooperation 
with New York State Department of Farms and Markets, 
Breeders’ Associations, Farm Bureau, Grange, Dairy¬ 
men’s League and Syracuse University, visited the im¬ 
portant dairy counties of the State, giving demonstrations 
and lectures on the care and feeding of herds, and on 
modern dairy methods. Similar trips are being planned 
for other States served by our lines. 
We recognize that working with the farmer helps to 
make him prosperous, and we prosper only as the 
communities we serve prosper. 
NEW YORK CENTRAL LINES 
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AND THE NEW YORK CENTRAL AND SUBSIDIARY LINES 
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TODAY’S PRICES 
lAh. p. 
Battery Equipt 
$48.50 
3 h. p. 
Battery Equipt 
$83.50 
\A h. p. 
Magneto Equipt 
Uses Kerosene 
3 h. p. 
Magneto Equipt 
Uses Kerosene 
$98.50 
6 h. p. 
Magneto Equipt 
Uses Kerosene 
$58.50 $153.50 
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Reddy Rubber Repair Kit 
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CASH S?d r BAGS 
Turn your old bags into money. We buy them in 
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IROQUOIS BAG CO.. Inc. 
651 Clinton St. Buffalo, N. V. 
THIS LOG AND TREE SAW $9 f 95 
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a quick reply and a “square deal.” See 
guarantee editorial page, : 
