The Washington herald., 1920-12-16
Views Of.
Visitors in
Capital
Interviews with Guests
From ALI Parts of
The United States.

Employment of flashing signals as
used by lighthouses on our coasts
for making our highways safe 10
the novel suggestion of w. A. Felt
ner, seen at the Washington Hotel
yesterday.
Mr.. Feitner Is here for the con-
vention of the American Association
of State Highway Commissioners in
session at the Washington. The
American Gas Accum1lator Com
pany, of Elizabeth, N. j., which Mr..
Feitner represents, installed the
flashing lighting system along tho
Panama Canal and Its apparatus
dots the coast of the United States
and many foreign countries.
.,"Our plan" said Mr.. Feitner. sis
nothing more than to establish
what might be called Lighthouses
of the Road" along all the highways
of the country.
'It is a matter of common knowl-
edge that within the last ten years
the roads of the world have become
dangerous to the traveller. Up to
that time they were safe. Men
walked or drove laden, animals over
them. The overland commerce of
the world crawled slowly and
safely along them. Highwaymen or
marauders might waylay a trav-
eler or an occasional landslide might
carry away part of caravan; but
so far as the road itself was con-
cerned its users had nothing to fear.
1t was a slow. sure and safe avenue
of travel.
AUTO BRINGS NEW 80.
TRAFFIC DANGERS.
THE automobile and the motor
truck have changed that. They
have made roads dangerous. Weight
and speed magnify curves. grades
and crossings into menaces to the
lives of those using the roads. As
the automobile has developed 1t has
become faster and heavier and
thereby has made the menace
greater. Motor vehicles carry more
passengers a year than all the rail-
roads combined. They also carry
millions of tons of freight"
Mr.. Feitner points. out that al
though our railroads maintain 4
most elaborate and efficient system
of danger signals, our roads are
comparatively unprotected, having
little more than makeshift protec-
tion furnished by impromptu signs,
placed here and there by various
organizations. They lack Uniform
ity. they are not standardized, they
do not work at night. many of them
are too flimsy, he says.
The installation of systematized
signals would correct these condi-
tions. Red, green and yellow lights
indicate degrees Of danger at
crossings.
To bring the system to the atten-
ton of the State highway officials
now in session. Mr.. Feitner has just
installed nine of these highway
lighthouses along the State high
way from Alexandria to Camp Hum
phreys. Virginia and Georgia have
already adopted the system. =
COAL MEN HERE
ON RATE QUESTION.
c. P. Hoy. of st. Louis. who wills
appear before the Interstate Com
merce Commission this morning in
the interests of the Fifth and Ninth
district Coal Bureau of that city
is registered at the New willard:
The bureau comprises fifty-four
operators representing mines in
what is known as the Belleville or
inner group in Illinois. This bu-
reau has asked for an oral hearing
on the question Of rates on coal TO
Western and Northwestern points.
The rates affect the interests of the
bureau operators as opposed to the
interests of other operators in H.
linois and Indiana, particularly
Southern Illinois.
The operators of the Fifth and
Ninth districts are dissatisfied with
their rate adjustment" Mr.. Hoy said
last night. The purpose of their
complaint and the oral argument
which will be held this morning is
to have the Interstate Commerce
Commission prescribe just and rea-
sonable rates from mines in the
Fifth and Ninth district bureau
properly related with mines in other
gbups to destinations in Western
and Northwestern territory.
r w G.