Smyrna times., 1924-11-05
MAY SOLVE TRAFFIC PROBLEM
Awards Offered Elementary School
Pupils of Nation for Best Essay
on Highway Safety

on Highway Safety
Washington, D. c., October 28-
Can children solve the traffic prob
lem? In connection with the fourth
national safety educational campaign
announced today by the Highway Ed
ucatiOn Board, American school chill
dren are to be given an opportunity
to answer the vexing question that
now engages the attention of the best
engineering minds of the country.
The announcement offers more than
$6.5OO in cash prizes and medals to
elementary school pupils and elemen-
tary school teachers who submit the
best essays and the best lessons in the
1924 national essay and national les
son contests. Officials of the Board
are not optimistic enough to believe,
it is said, that any final solution will
come from the essays by children, but
it is believed that a nationwide con-
sideration of the traffic problem will
have a beneficial effect in reducing
the number Of accidents and fatalities
on streets and highways.
The basic principle of the contest
is to train children in careful conduct
on streets and highways and to i'm
press upon them a sense of personal
responsibility. This contest is the
fourth consecutive competition con
Quoted under the auspices of the
Board, approximately one million, two
hundred thousand pupils, an average
of at least 100000 annually, having
participated in the three preceding
contests.
All pupils of the fifth, sixth, seven
tn and eighth grades are eligible to
compete, whether attending public,
private or parochial schools. Four
hundred and lightweight checks and
as many medals will be given for the
best state essays, while three nation
al prizes will be awarded for the three
essays chosen as the best of all those
to be written throughout the nation.
The first national prize is gold
watch and trip to Washington, with
all expenses paid. The second and
third state prizes are gold watches of
relative values.
All state and national prizes in the
pupils contest are given by the Ma
tiOnal Automobile Chamber of Com
merce, which has incorporated in its
safety program a plank calling for
safety education in the schools. In
addition to the prizes and medals for
pupils, this organization offers to the
teacher writing the best practical
safety lesson a check for $500 and a
trip to Washington. As second and
third prizes checks for $500 and 5000
will be given to the successful teach
erS.
Pupils are requested to write es-
says on the subject "My Conduct on
Streets and Highways" while teach
ers are invited to prepare practical
lessons for use in the class room. Es-
says are not to exceed 500 words in
length, while lessons by teachers may
vary between 1000 and 5000 words,
according to the inclination of the
teacher.
Each state is entitled to one first
prize, a gold medal and a check for
fifteen dollars, and to one second
prize, a silver medal and a check for
ten dollars. The number of third
prizes, bronze medals and checks for
five dollars, varies in proportion to
the elementary school enrolment.
The Board announces that the CO.
operation of educators, the women's
clubs, chambers of commerce, civic or
ganizations, automobile clubs and
others, that has marked these con-
tests in the past, is pledged for this
year. Many communities, it is re-
ported, add strictly local prizes to the
state and national awards offered.
Posters and folders containing de-
tailed information concerning the con-
tests are being sent to all schools
throughout the country, as we'll as to
Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Phil
ippines, and the Canal Zone. Individ-
uals requests will be promptly an
swered if addressed to the Highway
Education Board, Willard Building,
Washington, D. C.