Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-27
5000 IN SCHOOLS
Aid SAFETY FIRST
p. Il. T. Plan to Prevent
Accidents Hit With
Juveniles
PATROL IS EFFECTIVE
Statistics Show Remarkable
Accomplishments During
: Last Four Years
Photographs illustrating this article
appear on the back page.

~ hereby pledge myself to aid nv
country and my city by preventing aor
cidnnts."
Eight thousand youngsters IN CITY
schools have taken this oath of allie
glance to the principle of Saf fety First.
1t Is the Philadelphia Rapid Transit
company's answer to the challenge of
accident prevention. IT is not the entire
answer: the J.. r. T. naturally is using
other means to cut down the number of
accidents which annually take toll Of
lie and limb from among the city's
juvenile population.
1T Is an answer of unusual human in
terest and appeal however. because Il
is directed principally to the children
themselves. Through proper direction
and education in the principles of safety.
and through system of self-discipline
which the children themselves work out
and apply appreciahle results have
been obtained. as the =. r. r. points out
in the circulars which have been dis
tributed recently in trolley cars
In the circular after telling Of pre-
liminary accident prevention work, the
circular says:
50 helpful were the results of this
work during the 1911-1914 period that in
1914 safety bureau was created with
Miss Safety First a young woman
possessed of deep affection for children
and ability to inspire their confidence, at
its head.
Results Enumerated
Records show the following results of
its work: More than 100000 children
have been addressed annually on safety I:
during the last year $4,000 pieces OF
safety literature have been distributed Z;
5000 children have taken safety pledges
and 100 safety officers have volunte eered
patrol duty. cautoning other pupils
against dangers in streets and safe
guarding small scholars 20 whom dan
ger has no meaning. Since 1914 the
records show decrease of thrty-two
deaths from accidents among children
over the four years previously"
Behind the =. r. T.'s story OF the
safety campaign, as outlined in the cir
cuar, Is an interesting system of self
government in the big public schools, in
troduced by Miss Safety First" with
the cooperation of school principals.
The safety patrols" are the essen
| tial part of the system. These patrols
consisting of from eight 10 a dozen OF
the older pupils of the schools, are
chosen from among the older pupils The
| "patrolmen" are picked out for their
intelligence, alertness and sense of re-
sponsibility. They are headed by a cap
| tain. one OF their own number.
In the schools where there is safety
patrol" the school children are taugh,
to look up to these guardians of Their
safety. and to obey them absolutely. In
fact, they regularly promise to do what
they are told by the patrol, in every
thing that pertains TO safety. TO dis
obey a member of safety patrol is re.
| q ri
GUS an offense as boy or girl could com
nit -
Patrol Is Dignifed
The members of the patrol rise to the
| dignity and responsibility of their office
They wear arm-bands. in the schoo
! colors with Safety Patrol lettered or
It. They carry whistles, used to sigma
| their orders to the children. They are
trained and alert to shepherd theii
charges across dangerous streets at the
dinner hour, and when school let's out ir
| the afternoon. They are imbued will
the idea of service, and ready to take
personal risks, If need be, to secure the
safety of the children under them.
1t has taken some months Of hare
work-lectures in the schools, moving
pictures, organization of the pupils ant
election of safety patrols--to create this
spirit The =. r. T-represented by
miss Safety First'-beheves the worl
has been worth what 1t has cost in ef
| fort.
Thus far there are about score o.
schools in which safety patrols are or
panized and working 1t is Miss Safety
First's" ambition to put patrol IT
every one of the citys 800 schools.
Out of this organization has grown
what is known as the Junior Safet,
Council," an organization embracing thu
membership of all the safety patrols. l
meets monthly in the Chamber of Com
merce, when some speaker who will nj
the ina ginations of the young patrol
:. ,nen''-some returned army hero, some
roted athlete-talks tc the member
about accident prevention.