The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1914-12-31
TO THE FARMERS
Of tennessee
liY earr r PECK,
t'an - ,r. ~ eihu-e
SAFETY FIRST sRGuLD
III OUR SLOGAN.
I;Y - + PI.t.k,

ri OUR SLOGAN.
1t may be worth while, at this time,
10 remind al lof the people who have
% do with the training OF the next
generation that the slogan Safety
First" stands for something that has
, ACE in our work. 1t particularly
co Germs the welfare Of that next gem
GRAFTON.
A lev years ago a special caution
vas re ce9sary for people to take care
ii themselves. Ii was only necessary
% comcin when 1t rained, to look out
Tor Indians OF wild beasts behind the
bushes, and other things like that,
Now there are thousand perils, in
every direction. We have machines,
so many swift moving vehicles, such
high speeds, such new and unknown
devices everywhere, s,.t@@ 1ed by
such multitudes of people that some
special instruction is necessary to the
safety of the people.
Oar whole state is largely crowded
,i.h electric wires. telegraph, tele-
phone, power, light lines run every
where, even in the NEST remote rural
sections and all are dangerous to the
ignorant and the incau;ious. A brok-
en- wire may carry death to him who
touches; il may fall IL a pool of wat
ar and bring destruction to those who
step in the water; it may fall on
oarbed wire and kill the one who
climbs fence mile away. Accidents
happen when children throw wires
over the telegraph line or climb the
poles for fun.
The regular railway lines. with
heavy trains thunering along at high
speed every hour of the day and
night, are also very dangerous to the
life and limb of the incautious. Boys
often jump on the slowly moving
trains to go part of the way home,
or hang to the cars for a joy ride.
Particularly is this true in the vii
lage and small towns. All this, the
country over, results in fearful cost
in suffering, Gripping and death.
The railroads have prepared statis-
tics showing the number of prevent
able accidents in this way, and figures
are appalling. During the past twenty
years 1879 trespasseIs were killed
or injured on the railroads OF this
country. None Of these were train
men or persons who were there by
necessity $4,000 of them were young
people, under Is years of age living
near the scene of the accident and
many of them were under 10 years of
age.
IA trespassers have been killed or
injured by the railroads every day on
an average for several years past.
Think what an army of children it
would take to make $4,000. And all
would have been saved had they kept
off the railroad tracks. Our careless
ness and headlessness in this regard
are uncomfortable. The railroads Of
the country spend millions of dollars
yearly to prevent accidents to safe life
and limb. Is it ont a public duty to
do our small par: TOGO?
When we add to these sources OF
accidents hundred thousand automo-
mobiles swiftly careering along every
road in our state. far and near, to-
gether with motorcycles, traction en-
glnes and other swiftly advancing
forms of locomotives, the wonder Is
that any of our children escape long
enough to grow up. They can hope
TO escape only by profiting by the
wisdom and caution that come down
from the past. Somehow, they must
grasp in few days the caution that
has required q thousand years or
more for the race to lear-if they
would survive.
I hope every teacher will take up
hese subjects for attention and dis
,ussion in the school room, in an eff
ort to instill the safety spirit into
he minds of the children. II we can
overcome some of the dangerous
PRACTICES it will result in saving hui
nan life.