Back in the days of less traffic and fewer crimes, hitch – hiking was a relatively safe means of travel for a person without a vehicle. Here in Utah, college students, among others were known to travel “on their thumbs.” when the situation required and usually without incident. But those days are past – or should be, because hitch – hiking is against state law now. We understand most states have similar laws. And for good reason. All you have to do is read the news to note how dangerous hitch – hiking can be. For example, there was the 15year-old Las Vegas girl who recently ran away from home, and hitched a ride with a man who raped and beat her then chopped off both of her arms with a hatchet. “People told me hitch – hiking was dangerous,” she said in a press conference in Los Angeles. “But I didn’t pai; any attention”. I want to give of er kids some advice – stay home where you belong, where people love you.” The hazards work two ways. Many a hitch – hiker has killed his benefactor. We recall one such incident right here in Utah. The other day a coed at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. was kidnapped with her date. The couple had given two men a ride in exchange for directions to an Atlanta restaurant. The two men abducted the couple, shot the girl to death, and locked her date in the trunk of the car. A spokesman of a Utah County law enforcement agency said )1itch – hiking these days is a natural springboard for such crimes as rape and abduction. He recalled a case in the not-toodistant past wherein two girls were picked up in Salt Lake City and raped in Utah County by three males who were supposed to be their benefactors. The males were convicted. Two are serving time. Utah statutes (41-6-82) provide that “no person shall stand in a roadway or shoulder area for the purpose of soliciting from the occupant of any vehicle a ride…” This is a wise law. The Herald urges compliance. ‘