Evening star., 1935-12-28
National Safety Council
Urges Strongly Braced
Furniture and Screens
Matches and Stubs of Cigars or Cigarettes
Cause Many Confagrations When Not
Properly Extinguished.

from that, and much pain and injury
may result from trusting too implicitly
in chair that has been chosen for its
age rather than for its practicability.
In this same connection, try not to
clutter the room with odd chairs and
tables so placed that one is apt to
blunder into them when moving about.
If you must buy ancient pieces Of fur
niture, you should take into conSidera.
ton, along with their original cost,
the price of having them made safe
and sound, so that they may be really
useful as well as ornamental
The council further states that
many of the fires that spring up so
unexpectedly in homes have their
origin in or near ashtrays. They say,
More conflagrations are caused by
matches and burning cigarette and
cigar stubs than by anything else.
Are members of the family careful
about extinguishing stubs and about
making sure that match is out be-
fore disposing of it?"
On radios the antenna is the great
est hazard. This however, can be elimi-
mated entirely as an element of danger
if it is properly and carefully grounded
preferably to water pipe Of some
sort. 1.-The wire which leads In
through building walls or partitions
should be encased in a tube of porce-
lain or rubber: and the antenna itself
should never be attached to electric
light poles, nor should the wires ex-
tend over or under power lines"
\ n y
DICTURES in heavy frames have
L been known to fall on people and
kill them. Perhaps that is where the
old superstition about falling pictures
being unlucky originated. 1t is so easy
to make pictures secure that It
really seems matter OF criminal
neglect when this is not done. Proper
strength wire, picture hooks chosen
according to the weight Of the pic
ture and the amount the hooks will
support-this is usually clearly marked
on the package containing the hooks
are the solution. OF course, II is nee
essary to be sure that you are not driv-
ing the nail into soft plaster and that
you have really tapped for and found
the proper lathe into which the hook
may be set securely.
Weak screens form a danger Tor
both children and adults. Where little
children are at the first active climb
ing stage it is advisable to have bars
set across all high windows on the
outside. Be sure that your screens are
good and strong and that they do not
slide up and down too easily under
the tug of a childish hand.
WASTE baskets, says the council,
w must also be added to the list Of
household troublemakers. Lighted
matches thrown into their paper filled
maws-or even the careless disposal
in them of small objects and razor
blades may cause accident to too
investigative child.
The council sums up the living room
situation as follows:
IF the room itself Is safe, careless
ness can make it unsafe. The misuse
of chair or table as a stepladder is
one way. People have intrusted their
weight on bridge tables. No living
room is safe If toys litter the floor.
Children should be taught to pick
their playthings up. In some houses
the old-fashioned and dangerous open
wall electrical sockets are to be found
and children have received painful
burns and shocks by sticking their
fingers or metal objects such as spoons
into them. Put plugs in the sockets
and leave them there"
If you wish advice on your individ-
ual household problems, write to Betsy
Caswell in care of The Star, inclosing
stamped, self-addressed envelope for
reply.