The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-01-07
ussArE ELEVATORS.

uNsAFE ELEvAToRs.
 Is is singular fact that all the in- Gsnuity of mechanics has not succeed cd in making elevators safe. Until comparatively recent period this was not . matter of such importance ss 1t now is. Stores and offacs buildings were not above two or three stories. as . general thing. and elevators were not as esssntiai as they are now. nor was there such need of safety appli- ancss.
 It is very different now. and the item of safety is an important one. With buildings of twenty. thirty and even forty stories in height. the eleva- tor is e necessity. It not only offers an easier. but a speedier method of going up and down. and we are per suaded that 1t would be difiicult to se- cure occupants for very tall build ing If there were no other methods of ascent and descent except by the stairways. For thN reason it is necss- sary to have elevators. and for the same reason 1t is desirable that they shall be safe.
 It would appear to the ordinary ob- server that the problem is not hard one. On railroads the elements of danger and disaster are so numerous and varied that it seems impossible 10 eliminate all of them. When 1t comes to watching and guarding hundreds of miles of track to see that everything is in good condition it is almost an i'm. possible task. and even if that is done there are so many ways by which train may come to harm that 1t real ly seems impossible for human ingenui- ty to make railway travel safe.
 Plainly this ought te be the case with an elevator. Its operation is con- fined to . limited space and that can all the time be kept under the eyes of those operating it. Every portion and detail of the elevator itself and the area in which it operates can be kept in view with proper attention. so that one would think they might be made az safe as anything human can be. Yet accidsnts, as all know, are com tinually occurring. Sometimes the ei- evator apparently comes to . deter imitation not to do any further bus mess and stops midway between the doors. Then the occupants, caught like rats in a trap. may swear de- nounce or suffer in patience. just as they are inclined. till a way Is found to relieve them Sometimes a rope or fastening gives way and the machine drops with one of those dull thuds we hear about and hits the bottom with a suddenness somewhat surprising. If the occupants are not killed or injur- ed they are at least surprised and dis gusted with the lack of opportunity given them to prepare for the "decen- sus Ayernus' to which they are sub- jocted.
 "The responsibility for making an el- avator trustworthy" remarks The Kan sas City Journal. should not end with the mere inspection of the mechanism. This Is of the highest importance. but the best elevator. in perfect condi- ton, may be the means of killing hu. man beings if 1t is not run proper ly. There are in Kansas City many passenger elevators that are operated by thoroughly incompetent persons. Most of these operators are boys, who have no Idea of the construction of the elevators and are indifferent and care less in running them. An ordinance safeguarding the lives of those using passenger elevators would be pro gressive step. and such an ordinance would be incomplete without sec ton providing for an examination in- to the character and ability of every person intrusted with the operation of an elevator in 8 building of three or more stories"
 IH does seem that there should be enough skill and ingenuity in this age of invention to. devise and perfect some plan that would make Q passsr- ger elevator absolutely safe against anything but some Providential occur renee. It Is not a large contract, one would think, but 1t remains to be ac- complained.
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