Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-20
ELEVATOR OPERATORS
PROPOSITION TO HAVE THEM
EXAMINED BY BOARD.
To Show Qualifications Before Service
Inspectors Recommendation to
District Commissioners.

1 The establishment Of boards to examine
and license persons engaged in various oc-
equations in the District seems to be in
order. The proposition has lately been adj
vanced that legislation be secured authoriz-
ing the appointment Of a board to examine
and license persons operating elevators. The
discussion of this subject has been occa-
stoned by number of serious and fatal ele-
vator accidents. and particularly the acct
dent Of the other day in an apartment
house, when a colored boy had both lower
limbs crushed.
For the past two years the District eleva-
tor inspectors have urged the Commission
ers to secure the enactment of law re-
curing the examination and licensing of
elevator operators, but the officials have
failed to act upon the recommendations It
is understood that recently the former rec
concentrations have been renewed. The ele-
Vator inspectors are declared to be very
strongly in favor of some such legislation,
as they believe present conditions respecting
the operation of elevators in the city are
not desirable.
When questioned with reference to pros
pective legislation along the lines indicated
Col. John Biddle, Engineer Commissioners,
referred the reporter to the section in the
building regulations relating to elevators
and their operation Under act of Congress
approved March 3, 1887, the Commissioners
were given authority to make and enforce
regulations respecting elevators in the Dis
trict.
Provisions of the Regulations.
One provision in these regulations is that
all persons in charge of the running of ele-
vators shall carefully examine the same and
Its appliances once in every twenty-four
hours" Another section prescribes the fol-
lowing qualifications for an elevator oper-
ator:
Il. He shall have a knowledge of the diff
ferent parts of the machinery attached to or
necessary in running such elevators and I'M
derstand the application thereof.
He shall have at least one months
experience in running an elevator under the
instruction of competent person.
'3. He shall be reliable and of industrious
and sober habits.
II He shall not be less than eighteen
years of age"
The regulations provide further that
whenever the inspector of buildings is salts
fled that an operator is incompetent or dis
qualified from any cause to continue to run
the elevator the inspector shall notify the
owner or person controlling the building,
and thereafter the owner shall be respon-
sible for the acts of the employee. For
violations of the regulations a penalty of
not less than $40 nor more than 500 is
provided.
1t is declared that many instances could
be found in Washington where the regu-
lations, particularly relating to the qualifi-
cations of operators, are not complied with,
but 1t is stated, there are only two in
spectors allowed for the inspection of all
the elevators In the city, and 1t is a phys
ical impossibility for them to discover all
the violations. Many boys engaged in
operating elevators, it Is declared, are only
slightly acquainted with the machinery
they handle, and have scarcely any specific
knowledge of the workings Of the ap
paratus. 1t is also stated that persons ore
engaged to run elevators who have had no
training or instruction whatever under
competent operator, and the age limit Is
also violated in some instances, so it is
declared.
Changes Among Operators.
The inspectors declare that in many es-
Establishments the elevator operators are
constantly changing, and on their regular
trips they find a new man or boy in charge
of the elevators. In their former recon-
mendations the inspector urged the passage
of a law providing a board of examiners,
composed Of three competent persons, one
Of whom should be an expert in the con-
struction or erection of elevators and the
other two employees of the District With
the present limited force of inspectors it is
stated that the inspectors are unable to
examine each operator individually and
perform all their other work. The subject
is regarded as one demanding some atten-
ton, since the public SO generally uses the
elevators all over the city almost constant
ly, and the accidents due to carelessneSs
or incompetency are said to be entirely too
frequent.