The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-04-04
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Quoting from an article by Russell Holt Peters in the Forum on accidents by motor cars:
 ''The traffic toll (death) for 1884 runs around 36,0O0; the number injured in 1894 stands at q million. In ten years 10000 coo have been hurt approximately and 100000 killed"
 One gets the impression from , accident reports that most of the fatalities arc children. A warning to. all parents then, at this time, is to me a matter of conscience. l know that people get tired hear ing about 1t and their natural re- action is to say. "Oh, we know all thati Why not tell us something we don't know!"
 But have an angle on it that younger mothers could not be ex- pected to possess, the angle of alarm that middle-age invariably counts as it's dearest possession. We who have lived and seen and experienced tradegy know how quickly things can happen and how useless it is to think and blame oneself after something has happened.
 Caution Is Essential
 Youth, and I call anyone under thirty or so, youthful-has the gift of feeling invulnerable, and 1t also feels that in some way their families will always escape by a miracle, too. It is grand thing for the world that it is so, but real wisdom lies in common sense after all, and I never heard of or dinary care. interfering in the least with hope.
 It is not necessary to repeat all the old warnings about balls and skates and bicycles in the street, or mention that lethal weapon, the small wagon. Every parent knows the danger as well as l do.
 Nor is it necessary to carp about the responsibility of drivers or dissert on the speed lunotics the cruel, drunken or cowardly. Many of the accidents, as we know, happen to good careful drivers. But this truth stands out. Most accidents from cars are somebody's fault.
 WHY WO04U AAOS S AhOIhOAt 0SS ing her boy playing ball across traffic say. "You cannot do that?" Why not say to the small fellow riding his wagon in the middle of the roadway, "Stay off"
 It. is little use feeling outrag- ed by the fact that the monsters on wheels have all the rights and pedestrians or children at play none. It is perfectly true, but one might as we'll say to Jugger- naut, 'T'll stand where I am. and dare you to run over me-" De- fiance is worse than carelessness. It gets us nowhere.
 I for one, blame cities for not having cleared out available lots for play, years ago when finances would bear it. Now I cannot see for the life of me why some of the alphabet teams cannot make small neighborhood parks part of public works programs. Children are as precious as trees and roads.
 Laws Block Enterprise
 Cne neighbcrhood tried to get up their own community park to keep children off the street, and they were told they could not open it without a supervisor which they could not afford. of all the indictable nonsense I ever heard. this takes the cake. Where is the supervisor when they play on the street?
 Extra care, constant warnings, explanations to children of dan- ger will help great deal. In- sistent effort of communities to get vacant lots made into small parks. We need more concrete by the way in playgrounds for skates and wheels. Our greatest national crime against children is playing in the streets. Children have to play somewhere. Where?
 Copyright, 1885, NEA Service,
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