Evening star., 1935-05-15
5000 SCHOOLB0YS
WILL MARCH HERE
Participate Saturday in
Fourth National Safety
Parade.
BY G. ADAMS HOWARD.

More than 5000 schoolboys will par
ticipate in the fourth national safety
parade, sponsored by the American
Association. along Consti-
tuition avenue Saturday morning.
In the reviewing stand, between Fiji
teenth and Sixteenth streets, Secretary
Of Commerce Roper will be present as
guest Of honor. Mr.. Roper is chair
man of the National Conference on
Street and Highway Safety. 1t is un-
der his direction that the President
is making an appeal for highway
safety work throughout the various
States and has resulted In the Com
missioners' street life-guard campaign
here to live and let live"
Other officials to review the parade
include Col. Dan I. Sultan, Engineer
Commissioner, marshal; members Of
the Senate and House District Com
Maj. Ernest w. Brown, super
intendent Of police; police chiefs Of
and Montgomery County,
Ernest N. Smith. executive vice presi-
dent of the American Automobile
Association, and members OF the Dis
trict advisory board of the A. A. A.
IA Divisions Represented.
OF the 5000 marchers. 5000 will be
from Vermont. New York. New Jersey,
Pennsylvania. Maryland. Virginia,
inio North Cornlino
The parade will start at 1915 O'Clock
from Sixth street and Constitution
avenue Fourteen divisions will be
represented. Out-of-town contingents
will comprise the first division. Thirteen
local divisions based on precincts and
headed by police officer co-ordinators,
will follow.
The United States Navy Band will
head the procession and will provide
continuous music at the reviewing
stand, with 20 additional bands in the
line of march. Colorful and in
genious juvenile floats entered by
many of the local schools will be an
outstanding feature Of the safety
pageant.
Six highly trained teams will stage
competitive drills in front of the re-
viewing stand Immediately following
the parade. The A. A. A. will award
three team trophies-first, second and
third-and individual ribons to men,
bers Of winning teams. Well-known
Army officers will act as judges. The
awards will be made by George w.
Offutt, chairman of the A. A. A. Ad-
viSory Board.
Fifteen years ago the school chill
dren of the Nation went daily to
school with little or no protection
from the numerous hazards that
threatened them when crossing traf-
fic lanes and the number of juvenile
deaths and injuries reached dismay-
ing proportions.
100000 Guarded Daily.
Today more than 100000 pupils
are carefully guarded on their way to
and from their classes by schoolboy
patrols in all sections of the country
and the decreased number Of child
accidents is by far the brightest spot
in the traffic fatality record.
The parade to be held here, ac-
cording to Mr. Smith. local head, Is
a tribute to the IA years of humani-
tartan service rendered by these
patrols.
Since the inception of the patrol
plan, in Chicago in 1921, the growth
and spread of this movement has
been remarkable In less than
decade and a half the movement has
spread to such an extent that now
some 250,000 children serve regularly
on these patrols in $500 towns and
cities throughout the Nation. The
activities of these safety units have
had a very definite effect upon the
fatality and accident records of
school-age children, as may be seen
by a quick glance at the reports
on the traffic toll of the past several
groups were showing increases in
auto death rates-ranging from 38
rer cent for those under S years of
age to 1876 per cent for the ages from
20 to 24-the school-age group showed
combined increase of less than l
per cent, while the death rate for
children in the lower grades actually
declined about 10 per cent.
169 Patrols on Duty Here.
Within a few years after the school
patrols had proved their worth In
Chicago the plan was adopted for
Washington schools and the Nations
Capital Is. recognized as one of the
g. to- -, ~
Seldom M. Ely, chairman of the Street
Safety Committee, aided in the organ
ization of the first patrols and since
then has supervised the development
of the safety units into the impor-
tsnt organizations they are today.
There are at the present time 1853
patrols with over 3,106 patrolmen ac-
lively on duty in the District Of Co.
lumbia. A number of policemen are
assigned to aid the patrols, and
through this joint cooperation child
accidents in the Nations Capital have
been reduced by 13 per cent at a
time when traffic fatalities as a whole
were rising rapidly.
Schoolboy patrols have been highly
praised by President Roosevelt, who
in a letter to Thomas P. Henry of De-
troit, Mich, president of the national
motoring body, declared:
In addition to the day-to-day pro-
lection against accidents to school
children afforded by the patrols, the
movement is unauestionably q fine
builder of morale. 1t also develops
q sense of responsibility which can
not but make for good citizenship. 1t
is my sincere hope that it will con-
tinue to expand and remain as a per-
manent feature of our national effort