The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-06-01
SAFETY Meet
HELD HERE
Assistant Director of Safety of
SERA Here at Community
Center Meeting.

Leaders in Ely and st. Louis County
had it put squarely up TO them to
do something" about the traffic ac-
cident situation in Minnesota at an in
formal meeting at the Community
Center, on May oath, by c. H Zealand,
assistant director of safety of the CWA
and now On the recently formed State
Emergency Relief Administration Mr..
Zealand is also safety supervisor of the
state highway department. and execu-
tive secretary of the Minnesota Safety
Council.
The outstanding safety record made
in eva work in Minnesota has shown
the possibilities for reduction of traffic
and other accidents in Minnesota
Under the direction of A. v. Rohweder,
state director of safety in CwA work,
the ratio of accidents was reduced from
1881 per million man hours to an aver
age of less than 20 in a few weeks time
MIR. Zealand outlined plan which
he said he was confident could and
would make material reductions in
traffic accidents and traffic deaths if
followed out. A first requisite he said,
was proper attitude toward accident
prevention upon the part of tl.e head
Of the concern" be it governmental or
industrial. Governor Olson, as head
Of the state governmental organization.
was already taking very satisfactory at
titude toward the grave problem, and it
now devolves upon the heads of all
communities and of all public interest
organizations to do likewise, Mr.. Zeal
and stressed
Under the plan which Mr.. Zealand
outlined it viii rest with each county
and with each Of the cities 10 devise
and carry out plans for meeting the
situation locally. The Safety Division
Of the State Emergency Relief Admins
tration has been empowered by the
State Board of Control, Mr. Zealand ex-
planned, to work with and assist local
communities in an aggressive movement
for public accident reduction and every
possible effort win be exerted to achieve
for the state as good record in the
matter Of public safety as has been
accomplished in CwA and SERA work.
In connection with the broad pro-
gram outlined by Mr.. Zealand, safety
contests are to be conducted between
various city and county classifcations.
Plaques emblematic of the best accident
reduction records VIII be awarded in
six groups. The first, or group A, to
be counties having 10000 or more popu-
lation; group "A, counties having TO-
900 to 10000 population; group AAA,
counties having less than 10000 popu-
lation. Group 3, to be for the cities of
Duluth, Minneapolis, and st. Paul.
Group C, adj other cities of 10000 or
more population, which are Rochester,
Austin, Brainerd. Faribault, Albert Lea,
Hibbing, Mankato, st. Cloud, winona,
Virginia, and South ST. Paul; and group
D, all cities between 5000 and 10000
population-Red Wing, Fergus Falls,
Chisholm, Owatonna, Eveleth, Still
water. Willmar, Ely, Columbia Heights
Fairmont, Hastings, International Falls,
Little Falls, Bemidji, Crookston, Clo-
quet, Moorhead and New Ulm.
Each group viii be ranked on auto
mobile fatality records monthly and on
accident prevention activities reported.
Traffic accident deaths in Minnesota
are already more than Soc higher
than during the same period of 1893.
This, according to National Safety
Council figures, is not an experience
exceptional to Minnesota alone but is
common to all states Minnesota's
total Of people killed n motor vehicle
accidents last year was $50. This num-
Der bids fair to be far surpassed, Mr..
Zealand pointed out, unless energetic
and systematized action is undertaken
by all communities Toward this, the
formation of permanent Public Safety
Committee for Ely was requested and
steps were taken at the meeting to this
end