The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1909-12-09
Former Employee in City
Electricians Department
Tells Story of His Work
There.

IL the city Of Seattle supplying
material and men for the manufac-
ture and installation Of street fire
alarm signals for other cities7
And II this is true. IL the city
being paid for tAis outlay7
Three OF tbeec boxes have been
installed In Tacoma by Howard
Joslyn. city electrician. two more
are IN the fire department shops,
ready for delivery TO the same city,
and -four more are In the sheet
metal works OF r. r. Clark & Co,
on the Flyer dock. waiting 10 be
covered with a coating OF tin.
These boxes. according 10 the
records, cost the city Of Tacoma
si3s each.
Ray Peterson. 1898 18th av. ~ r.,
a carpenter. who was formerly in
the fire department. says he was
called 10 headquarters from the fire
station on the A.-Y.-P Il. grounds
about September is By Assistant
Chief w. VI. Clark TO make a num-
Der OF lockers for the men OF tho
department
Told 10 Keep Still.
When that was finished" said
Peterson last night. "Joslyn came
to me and said that he had some
work for me 10 do In HIS depart
meni He took me TO the cellar,
where there was a model box. and
asked me II ! could make one like
IL. told him ! could That same
afternoon a load OF lumber was de-
livered TO the fire department
shops. and because II was different
from anything ever used by the
department suspected It was for
the boxes
Later Joslyn took me TO one side
and confided 10 me that Tacoma
wanted a number Of the signal
boxes. and THAI the boxes I was TO
make were for that city He also
cautioned me repeatedly about say
Ing anything about the matter.
Under Joslyn's directions, and
with the lumber billed 20 the city,
made II OF the boxes continued
Peterson II took me three days.
&tN*f haA tibANHfA AAFtA A1s9 NtFt
taken 20 the T r. Clark Co. on the
Flyer dock 10 be timed Then they
were shipped TO Tacoma"
JosIyn Installed Them.
Tacoma officials state that the
boxes were ostensibly bought
through Kilbourne & Clark Co. OF
Seattle. but that all negotiations
were carried on through Howard
Joslyn. city electrician OF Seattle.
The boxes were also installed by
Joslyn
T. +. Clark Of T. r. Clark g. Co.
who timed the boxes, said this
morning:
Five frame boxes were brought
to me by Howard Joslyn. the city
electrician. on August %. Three
days later four were turned over
to him completely tinned. We
charged him sll each for the tin
ming of the boxes and the signal
arms. Yes. | knew they were for
Tacoma. but thought proper ar
rangements had been made for
their purchase.
Joslyn Did the Work.
Frederick G. Simpson. secretary
Of the Kilbourne & Clark Co. adj
mitted that while the records
showed that the signals had been
furnished by them. still Joslyn had
carried on all OF the arrangements.
"Ioslyn furnished the boxes and
most OF the material" he said We
furnished part Of the intricate
mechanism. Three boxes were
shipped by us TO Tacoma ON Octo-
Der IA and one more on November
5. No. will have to refuse to tell
the price paid. because il might
complicate matters.
THE street alarm boxes repre-
sent an original idea of Joslyn's.
and when the fire chiefs were here
at their convention last summer
they were very much Impressed
with the scheme
Ready for Delivery.
Up in the fire department shops,
on the third floor Of the headquar-
ters building. two newly painted
and bright looking boxes are ready
for delivery. They have Just been
completed j. w. Johnson. an en-
ploye OF the department. said he
did not know whom they were for.
but he heard Joslyn say that they
were made especially for Tacoma.
Chester Lynch and Ridge Lillico,
the former a foreman and the lat
ter an employe, went TO North YAK
ina two weeks ago, for the purpose,
according 10 Peterson. OF investi-
eating the matter of installing sew
eral boxes in that city. This they
denied to Peterson when asked
-
Continued on Page Nine.)