Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-10-20

shiny floor of a sort OF interior cork
| screw Enclosed in a stee. cylinder. Ate
an incredibly short space of time, &C
companied by shrill squeais of dellgh
| shot out of chute at the bottom o
the big tube, and rather beruffied. hur
ried up the steps to ny the down
and-out" all over again.
] 1t is probable that these chutes vii
! be installed upon recommendation o
| Commissioner Macfarland, who ma.
| immediate charge of the fire depart
ment, in several OF the public school:
in Washington. Congress gave tins
district commissioners $1,000 at the iasl
session that better provision might be
made for fire escapes and fire eStin-
guishers in the schools of the city
After investigating ali the available
fire escapes, Commissioner Macfar-
land has, upon the recommendation OF
the building inspector and the CHIEF
engineer of the fire department, Sc
lected this chute. which has been used
with success elsewhere on school
buildings and others IN which large
numbers of children are housed
1t is an arrangement for sliding, In
stead Of walking. down spiral s,ee,
slide. inclosed in a boiler-plate cylin-
der. The pitch of the slide secures
quick operation without permitting IN
reference by any one. Louisville, KY,
is equipped with this fire escape, and
the children are allowed to slide down
as a reward of punctuality. and there,
as elsewhere, enjoy the motion.
1t is proposed to Put the first of these
fire escapes on the Jefferson school
building, where two will be required
inspector Lawson's Report.
Before finally deciding upon the new
type of fire escapes. Commissioner
Macfarlan asked for report by Mr.
A. NJ. Lawson. inspector of elevators
and fire escapes, upon one OF this kind
attached to the General German Or
phan Asylum in Baltimore, the nearest
In use to Washington. In his report Mr.
Lawson describes what he saw.
This escape is made of boiler plate
and is cylindrical in form, about four
feet in diameter. running from the
ground to the roof, having approaches
of iron platforms guarded with wira
meshed guard rail- at each door fitted
with automatic doors, opening by a
spring of very Slight tension, so that
they may be opened by very small
child.
THE interior of the escape IS steer
plate slide, spiral in form. and slightly
conceived so as to keep a person to the
center of the slide, and is strongly rfv-
eted to the outer shell or cylinder, ana
by a standpipe at the cen
ter around which it winds to point
about twenty inches from the ground.
where a door is fitted IN such man.
ner that 1t can not be easily opened
from the outside. but has a plate Oh
the inside, against which the feet OF
the person sliding down comes in con-
tact, thus operating a spring bolt which
allows the doors to open automatically
by the courtesy of Mr.. Carl
Schmidt, the superintendent OF the In
stituton. was afforded the pleasure
of witnessing an exhibition of the use
of the escape by a large crowd of the
small children. who seemed very mucn
pleased at having an opportunity to-
slide down the same, which they did
one after another in a very rapid sue
cession. ! was greatly amazed at the
.arge number passing out of the escape
at the exit in SO short time--one and
a half minutes), without a hitch OF
any kind. l, too, participated, and
found 1t most pleasant sensation. and.
also. that it was practically impossible