The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-18
MANY SAFEGUARDS
 FOR PASSENGERS
Interurban Roads Are Getting
 Ahead of Steam Roads
SAFETY STOP DEVICES
Block Signals Are Being Perfected and Every Means Is Being Used to Avert Disasters That Have
 Been So Frequent

Chicago. December 7.--(Special.) .)--Inter- urban railways of central states which nave had some bad wrecks of late, are said to be outstripping the steam rall- roads in efforts to safeguard their pas sengers and at the same time to prevent wrecks. A bulletin of the League for Pub lie Safety says: Tests reported by inter urban lines near Chicago of late of safety devices and block signal apparatus indi- cate more initiative by traction than steam roads in respect to the greatest need of modern travel, viz, automatic safety stop devices. Such a device, which was not dependent upon uncertain ties of electricity or upon human agency was tested on one of the traction lines near Chicago. It was officially reported to do the needful things successfully and so entirely without human aid that It's operation was almost uncanny. The sim- plicity and consequent low cost of the device promises much for the future re- duction of the enormous death and injury roll of the railways" Details of the lCoiS IdN6 HOl Dcci QlNul66Q. IH0 llli- nois Traction system has been investigat- ing signal devices used in the east, none of which, however, are automatic, non- electrical stops sought by the expert board of the interstate commerce com mission. This system has been asking for bids on block systems to equip 100 miles of track. One of those consid- cred provides that the dlspatchers' signal indications be given by semaphore blades in the daytime and lamps at night. The system provides an answer-b back and rec ord in the dispatchers office for the movement of each signal. The huge sums paid out as transportation expenses, for damage of property and injury of persons, is shown by the totals reported by the tn- terstate commerce commission, the New York Central leading the personal injury list with S1,530.sO1 B for the year ending June 30, 1908, and expenses for clearing wrecks of ss75. .479; damage to property of S3,09s, 796. The expenses of the Pennsyl- vania system were ss97, ,oo4 for personal in- juries, s1,s54,ssS for damages to freight and $7s.5s5 for clearing wrecks. The Frisco system lost s2,11o,s45 by damage to freight and s1.264,5M by injury to persons.
 Partnership With Land
 The partnership with land. which now adays, and particularly at the Chicago land show. gets so much boosting that it has made the fool luck of an Indiana farmer peculiarly apropos. He joined the migrating horde that is leaving Indiana and all the central states for the north, east, south and west, and his very first crop was threatened by drought His land hadn't cost him but s2O an acre, any way, so he went back to his Indiana home and left 80 acres of milo maize down near Amarillo in the Texas pam handle ito go to thunder" The crop had received but one working, and when the farmer left 1t he told his neighbor 1t "seemed to him the stuff was actually growing back in the ground.'
 What was the sequel? Along in early September fine rain came, the weather was still warm, and one day the farmer was astonished to receive a letter from one of his neighbors inform ing him that If he wanted to get anything off his crop he had better come
 
 are all too busy to look after 1t for you" The man scarcely dared believe the mes sage, considering 1t to be hoax, but finally decided to return. He was amazed astounded to find a fairly good crop on the ground, and he pitched in with char scteristic Indiana energy and began har- yesting. The s0-acre crop sold for 6l cents per bushel net. bringing him just s1z2o. an average of s15.25 an acre in and hIyqhalu of grain to the acre. He got all the benefit of the fa1thfulness and diligence of his partner, the land.
 Hot Air Furnace
 The hot air furnace, which nowadays in Chicago has its back against the wall. is fighting the steady onslaughts of steam and hot water heating with new weapon, expert advice. Twenty years ago the hot air furnace was so far in the lead that the efforts of steam heating concerns were looked upon with compla- cency. One manufacturing company fin Chicago which finally has accumulated a surplus of millions of dollars from steam and hot water heating equipment at that time had rough road to sell any stock at any price, Conditions have so changed in recent years that even for domestic heating plants hot air furnace men found themselves losing ground, They have not even yet begun to fight shoulder to shoui- der, but have started what promises to be battle royal over the subject of fuel economy, purity of air. cleanliness and the other factors that enter into the heat ing problem. Most of the ills which are attributed to bad air the hot air fur mace makers lay at the door of the steam coil. To back up this claim they assert that whereas an increase in "bad air dis enses'' is reported there is no other req son for it than less pure air circulating. The tendency toward tighter building con- struction has gone hand in hand with an Improvement in sanitary plumbing. while at the same time the old-time Kerosene lamp has largely been discarded for the incandescent electric light, which does not contaminate the air at all. ''There- fore on the whole there seems to be a lessening of the amoutn of contamipating material thrown into the air of home in a given time.'' declares one of their au- thorities. This being the case, there must have been a lesesnfng of the amount of fresh air brought into the building to dilute the contaminating materfals-that Is, an actual decrease in ventilation. Otherwise there would be distinct im- rrovement in the conditions of Indoor air and decrease. instead of ar. increase. Tn the number of cases of bad-air dfseases.''
 
 Phonograph at a Funeral
 Lexington, Ky, December 17.-Phono- graphic music supplanted the usual sing ora at +ha f,,pava1 hara today Of.MrS.