The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-30
SOME NEWS AND GOSSIP
 FROM THE NATIONS CAPITAL
BY WALTER HARPER

Washington, September 29-(Special.)- Fire Chief Wagner of Washington city wants $50,000 worth of automobile fire en- igines and other auto propelled fire fight ing apparatus at once. He has suddenly discovered that his department is way behind the procession of modern progress.
 Washington has struggled along thus far without this innovation or economic necessity as it has been proven. The chief attended the annual convention of fire engineers at Milwaukee last week and saw some of the modern fire fighting machines in operation. He was almost tickled to death. He was as eager to own some of them as a small boy is for a red wagon.
 And Chief Wagner is going to have some of them if it breaks the govern ment. He says he cannot afford to let Washington trail along behind Birming- ham, Ensley, Wylam and other metro politan cities.
 Not less than 5000 children in Wash ington travel on roller skates. They lit orally take the streets and sidewalks in those sections of the city where children grow and they grow everywhere except in the ultra fashionable circle.
 The city commissioners recently passed an order prohibiting roller skating on the streets and sidewalks after dark. This rule was considered necessary for the reason that collisions sometimes happen in dark places.
 Anyone has the liberty to skate all over the streets and sidewalks during the day time and most of the thoroughfares are a carnival of sport and impending blood shed every afternoon when the weather is fine.
 This liberty is allowed the children of Washington for the reason that yards here are very small and as a rule give children practically no space for play. The city commissioners appreciate the fact that the life and happiness of the child and the future citizen depends upon all the outdoor exercise that is possible. Parks are not convenient to all the chill dren and they are allowed free and unob- structed use of the smooth pavements.
 And they use it.
 The adult pedestrian who has either lost his nerve or whose dignity does not jibe with pair of roller skates gets his out door exercise lodging the skaters. One of the most interesting spectacles that one can meet on the streets of Washing ton is a sober Sunday school teacher who is slightly cross eyed trying to walk home from his office in the afternoon with a bundle of groceries three yards of dress goods, window shade and frankfurter sausage in his arms
 Mrs. C., H. Wilder of Galveston, Tex, who has been spending some time visit ing relatives in Washington. has gone to Birmingham, where she will spend few weeks with her brother-in-law, Dr. w. IT. Wilder and Mrs. Wilder.
 One of the most interesting features of the big convention of the American As sociation for Highway Improvement and the congress of its allied organizations, including the Touring Club of America, at Richmond. Va, beginning November 20, will be the moving pictures that will illustrate the advantages of good roads over bad.
 The United States government has just entered into a contract with a Chicago firm for the preparation of hundreds of films showing the various activities of the government. The films will show the attractions of life in the navy, the blue jackets having good time on shore and at work on shipboard. Others will show the maneuvers of the army, the work of the department of agriculture, the fight ing of forest fires and the rescue of en- tonlbed miners.
 Most interesting of all will be the films showing how the isolation of country dis