The Washington times., 1914-11-07
By J. R. HILDEBRAND.

punishment abolished, but do you
know that between $4,000 and s00,-
600 persons in the United States are
under sentence Of sudden death from
accident with the next ten years?
You gasped with horror when
1.5o0 souls went down with the tt
tanic. but $4,000 persons met acci-
dental death in the United States in
1909. the last year for which census
figures are available.
You join anti-tuberculosis societies,
and the white plague is being held in
check, but 1t is calculated that the
chance that a person will meet with
some sabling injury is eleven times
greater than the chances of his death
from any and all causes.
These are a fw points advanced By
Frederick II. Elliott. general secre-
| tary of the Safety First Association
CT New York city, in Washington on
nationwide tour of investigation
OF safety regulations Of large cities
He Will speak tonight. following an
introduction by Commissioner Oliver
=. Newman, before the Chamber of
commerce under the auspices of the
Washington Safety Association.
Visits Large Cities.
Mr.. Elliott comes to Washington after
visiting sixty-five large cities Of sixteen
States. and collecting information on
each Of these cities regarding its pres
ent safety regulations. and recommen-
darions for further safeguards made by
mayors. police commissioners, and other
officials. He says:
The safety first movement has
grown beyond a mere street safety
campaign: Many accidents are met
with in streets. and these are places
of great danger. But in office build
ings and even in homes lack of prop
er safeguards is dangerous. Accidents
In homes, where people are thought
to be comparatively safe, contributed
nearly one-quarter the total number
reported last year by insurance COM
panies.
While Mr.. Elliott is making his ex-
tended tour primarily to collect infor-
nation for the New York organization,
of which Ogden Mills is president, he
is giving talks in other cities and MAX
ing public his data in the hope of arous-
ing national interest in the safety move
ment
Many curious and interesting hints
were found in cities he has visited.
Pay-as. you-leave" cars to facilitate
home going traffic after working hours,
children off streets. the rig to the
right has the right of way" a traffic
census at dangerous points, safety
zones at street car crossings, and yari-
Gus other original ideas to protect life
and limb. were found already in opera
ton. On this. he says:
Zones of Safety.
The zones Of safety al street car
stops is one Of the most feasible
plans for safeguarding street acci-
dents. In Detroit the experiment
Of having these rectangular areas
marked Off by white stones set in
the paving has been tried and 1t.
may be taken up in New York
Your city was pioneer in the
near side" stop for street cars, and
! this protective measure was in oper-
| alton in most of the cities ! visited.
Campaigns for education must be
conducted AGAINST jay walking
The idea Of crossing streets only at
corners long has been utilized in
New York. and It is now being taken
up by large cities. a preliminary to
such regulation should be n traffic
cersus, which will enable city Off
cfals to see exactly what the traffic
is at certain points within a given
period. In Detroit. for example. a
count showed $500 pedestrians pass
ing a certain intersection in onet
hour.
In New York we hope to eliminate
the back steps from ice wagons and
other delivery wagons. One-thrCH
the children killed on our streets
last year met their deaths by hang
ing on these tail-end steps.
A national campaign for the stan
dardization Of the red and the green
light is another idea advanced by
Mr.. Elliott Instead Of the redlights
now exhibited at exits in theaters
and hotels. green lights should he
shown to indicate the safety of
these exits. He would have red
lights used in places of danger.
Another course of danger in panic.
he asserts, is the rigid revolving
door He would have ali buildings
equipped with folding doors use the
collapsible kind. so that hasty exit
could be effected in case of panic
He continued: