Courtesy of the Telegram

IMMORALITY
ON WHEELS”

By REV. ROBERT F. ROYSTER

Reetor, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, La Porte, Indiana

Many who are concerned with the carnage on our highways are beginning to see
that behind the fundamental causes of traffic accidents lie real moral issues. For too
Jong people have only been concerned with traffic laws, and have been unconcerned

with the moral problems which gave rise to those laws.

We do not like to be told we
are immoral, and our favorite
way of avoiding it is to attempt
to take “right-and-wrong-ness”
out of the picture. By such spe-
cious reasoning we have arrived,
as a nation of drivers, at the con-

clusion that behavior behind the
wheel is a legal matter, not a
moral one. When’ careless, reck-
less, thoughtless, selfish driving
begins to he known as sin, we
will all be safer.

Law Violator

You see, sin is still & nasty
little word. Even though our
modern era tried laughing at it,
it wouldn’t go away; the era just
before had tried to'reason it out
of existence, with like success.
Many a person is willing to be a
law violator who would resent
being publicly recognized as a
gross and unrepentant sinner.

In spite of our veneer of am-
orality, most of us thoroughly
detest real wickedness, It is time
we faced the fact that most traf-
fie accidents are simply the nor-
mal Consequence of wilful, wicked
acts. Acts that are habits of sin,
grown used to and committed
without a twinge of conscience.

This Decision

For example, a driver (your
normally moral and friendly
neighbor) leaves for an appoint-
ment in a nearby city too late to
be assured of an easy trip and
an on-time arrival. After a few
minutes of {mpatience behind an-
other vehicle while oncoming
traffic'prevented passing, he sud-
denly decides to pass, well aware
that it will be close. THIS DE-
CISION is what should concern
us, for it is the sin that may pro-
duce death, disabling injury, or

and unknown innocents
least two other vehicles.

in at

It is in essence the same sin
that drives dictators to their mer-
ciless slaughtering: a wilful pur-
suit of our own ends, without
regard for others. The real ques-
tion is not whether the decision
of the driver was legal or not;
rather, it is whether the decision
was immoral—wickedly, destruc-
tively sinful.

Deadly Selfishness

The driver who dawdles along
at a pace well below the flow of
traffic on a main highway is a
sinner as well as a menace to life
and limb. His sin is selfishness,
reckless and often deadly selfish-
ness. The after-cocktails driver
is a gambler, with the stakes his
neighbor's life.

The sleepy driver is an egoist,
assuming that he can safely op-
erate a vehicle with practically
none of his senses functioning.
Whenever human failure is a sig-
nificant factor in producing an
accident (and that means in
nearly every one) the failure can
be seen as a violation of God’s
law, not just man’s law.

Driving Sins

The effects of these driving
sins are those always produced
by sin. They are outreaching
circles of evil consequences,
wavelets receding from the initial
act. We are so enmeshed in the
effects of these sins that the
honestly safe driver is often a
helpless victim of this mass im-
morality, We are caught up in a
web of sin on the highways, and
heroic measures are called for.

It is not eough to advertise

may impoverish both the sinner

and propagandize against dan-

gérous and illegal driving prac-
tices: sin has seldom been notice-
ably affected this way. The best
answer to the problem is to re-
cover our moral sense on the
highway. For when we begin to
see much modern vehicle opera-
tion as moral degradation, we
can restore safety to our high-
ways as a by-product of restor-
ing morality in our drivers.

Father Royster was 2 practicing
traffic and
he enter
‘Theological Seminary, Evanston,
to study for the ministry,
article is reprinted courtesy
of The Methodist Layman,

Kitimat
Hears
irector

IWA District Safety Direc-
tor, John T. Atkinson, has re-
cently concluded a 10-day tour
of IWA’ operations in Terrace
and the Union’s new certifica-
tions at Kitimat, where he
lectured on Industrial Safety
and Workmen’s Compensation
Laws.

In the company of Jimmy Ray,
Organizer of Local 1-71, IWA,
he held a mass meeting with the
crews of the Mile 17 and LILK.
logging operations of the Colum-
bia Cellulose Co. in Terrace.

Returning to Kitimat, John,
after visiting the IWA operations
there, gave a series of lectures
to Kitimat workers employed by
ALCAN, on Workmen’s Com-
pensation Laws.

Whether or not you enjoy your

summer work about your home,
lawn or garden, keep your safety-
mindedness on the job to keep
these home tasks from becoming
accidentally unenjoyable.

spiration.

“« .
Relax! Don’t try
two weeks. Take the ;
propriate clothing.

If you are going t ;

thoroughly first. Don’t d
a little earlier in the d
and more restful. Watch

al

ing. Cheek the weather ayé

When boating,
overload and don’t pei

local water and wind co

hi
a
line take every precautioy
. ‘

Don’t swim right ‘ati

deep enough for diving

Take a First Aid Kit w
it. Be sure you understa:

Have fun in your free

an accident going some

Workmen's Go

EDWIN J,
F, P. ARCHI
CHRIS, W. PRI
E. V. ABLETT, |