Springfield Weekly Republican

Bright Young People

The floating liquor palace off Fire Island has been laid to rest as a hoax, and one hopes that a similar fate will soon overtake the Society of Bright Young People. But this seems to have foundation in fact. Fortunately the Society of Bright Young People is a London institution, and therefore, whatever the degree of truth in newspaper reports of its exploits, Americans have no immediate need to worry over this latest manifestation of "society's" thirst for thrills. To be sure, imitation of English fads and fashions is not unknown. They even seem to flow across the Atlantic without conscious imitation on our part, and now that the prince of Wales is here some persons will no doubt strive to be more English than ever. But one has faith that the efforts of the police will be sufficient to check the formation of Societies of Bright Young People in the average American city. We already have the Ku Klux Klan to worry us—or, at least, the worrying that some people do about it is a quite general cause for worry, as the present political campaign indicates. And our bright young people, while not immune to the temptation of reckless driving, seem able to amuse themselves in less desperately original ways. The exploits of the Society of Bright Young People consist largely of what are called "treasure hunts." The hunts begin about 2:30 a.m. and are supposed to explore and find a solution for some mystery, to which a series of clues is given as the members proceed from place to place around the city. In themselves the hunts would be a quite innocuous device for the amusement of juvenile-minded adults but for the fact that the various stages of the quest are prosecuted in automobiles, which are driven at top speed through the streets. One could feel a certain sympathy with blase young men and women whose quest for diversion requires them to crawl, on their hands and knees in dismal arches along the river, but their reckless performances in motor cars have made them a public nuisance. The sister of a peer was recently arrested on two charges—dangerous speed and refusing to stop—and of course paid her fines quite cheerfully, though fortunately her license was suspended for three months. The magistrate delivered sage remarks about the "outrageous game" in which she had participated. Americans who are acutely conscious of their own traffic problems, among which that of excessive speed is the most serious next to drunken driving, will perhaps take some credit to themselves that at least there has been little motor recklessness with such deliberately silly motives as are represented by this fashionable London group. But there have been needless speed stunts on our highways. Recently a car was run from Toledo to Montreal in an effort to beat a mail train. The average speed, including stops, was 38½ miles an hour—a rate certain to have created an unsafe condition for general traffic over a considerable part of the route. No doubt this run was only a demonstration, with a commercial object. But it was not the first of the kind. Nor is the desire to afford a test of the mechanical efficiency of a particular car sufficient justification for the unauthorized conversion of 775 miles of ordinary American and Canadian highways into a speedway. Neither American nor Canadian officers seem to have interfered with this exploit.