The age-herald., 1901-09-05

CAh WI n ANU %<~<>%%-H-<~-&-~-~-~ air brakes was brought up, and MT Jemison said the company was now ex- perimenting with four different patterns. As soon as a satisfactory one was found they would be placed on all the cars.
 City counc.l Will Act.
 Aldermen. He said that the board would do it's duty and needed no one to force them to do so. If lenders were really protection which would be settled by an investigation the City Council would act.
 Hon. Rufus N. Rhodes said that the company was as much interested as the people. The officers were all citizens of Birmingham and desired to protect their own families as we'll as their monetary interests. They seemed disposed to do the right thing and had the funds to purchase any sort of protection found practicable and he favored giving them time.
 After another statement by Mir Jemi- son along similar lines that meeting ad- journed.
 After the meeting MT. Jemison said;
 MT. Jemson's Statement.
 "rhe street Railway Company is will ing, and has always been willing, to go to any expense in equipping their cars with lenders or other appliances to pre- vent accidents. If the City Council thinks, in its wisdom, that lenders are necessary as a matter of safety to the public, We will put them on. Some of our cars now have them and we have a lot of lenders stored away. We are just as anxious to avoid accidents as anyone. From financial standpoint, aside from humanitarian view, 1t is to our interest to avoid accidents. I be- ieve. however, that when the City Coun- ell comes to make a thorough investi- gation of the matter they will find that lenders are menace to life rather than a protection.
 Three-fourths Taboo Tenders.
 "Three-fourths of the street railway companies in the United States do not use lenders, and I dare say that many of those that do use them do so on ac- count of some city ordinance. Statistics show that there are more accidents to street cars with lenders than those without them. A man. for instance, In crossing a busy street, sees a street car approaching. His eye naturally sees first the top of the car then the dashboard. He seldom looks for the fender, and judng the distance between him and the dashboard of the car he thinks he can cross the track in time. Should there be fender on the car projecting run into 1t, be knocked down and in- jured. Again, cars In crossing a street usually go slowly. If pedestrian not seeing the car Is struck and knocked down he may go under the platform and the motorman still be able to stop the car before the wheel strikes him. If the car has a fender this would strike him first and probably inJure him.
 "The reason lenders are not generally used Is because a satisfactory one has not yet been invented We look into this question at least every two years to see if any Improvements have been made Our company is a member of the Street Railway Association. This meets annually and will meet next month in New York. We always have representative presen. and if anything new in regard to safety ourselves posted.
 'As I said, 1t Is to our interest In every way to avoid accidents. and we are al- ways ready to do anything that will pre- vent them"
 They Cost Little.
 General Manager J., B. McClary said
 "If there was any virtue In lenders they would be on every street car in the coun> try. Tenders cost very little. and an acct dent might cost the company $100000. It Is to the interest of the stockholders to have lenders on the cars if they did any good.
 There are a hundred different kind of lenders. but none of them are satisfac- tory The principal types are the station ary lenders and lenders that have an automatic attachment, or require fhe motorman to touch a spring to make them fold up. The latter kind, which require some act of the motorman to make them work. are useless. for often the motor, man loses his head in the excitement of an accident. and forgets or does not have time to apply them. The automatic fem ders are equally unsatisfactory. and the stationary lenders are failures also. Some of these project foot or two beyond the car, and are the worst kind. They fre- ouently trap or knock down a person who otherwise would not be hurt"