Evening star., 1936-05-17
By John Jay DAILY.

y - OSsss u y
ToDAY, with 25,ooo,ooo auto
mobiles scurrying through the
streets, it takes 2500OO school
boy patrolmen to guard the
lives of 100000 schoolmates in
2.50e cities and towns of America.
Next Saturday, May %. at-lO:l5
am, 1000 of these SAM Brown
belted boys will parade down Con-
stitution avenue from Sixth street
to the Ellipse-there to be greeted
by the President OF the United
states, the president of the Ameri-
can Red Gross, the president OF the
American Automobile Association
and any other presidents who hap
pen to be in town.
These 1000 sturdy little citizens,
who take the traffic laws In their
own hands each morning before the
school bell rings, then at recess and
again in the afternoon when class
work is over are coming here from
several States in the Union: North
Carolina. Illinois. Maine, Pennsyl-
vania, Florida. Indiana, Massachu-
sets, Maryland, Missouri. New Jer-
sey, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Vir-
Rinia, New York, Michigan, ONO
and Wisconsin.
When these youngsters come to
town-for three-day session-they
hope to focus the attention OF Amerl-
cans on one of the great problems
of the hour, the setting up of safety
control for the millions of boys and
girls who must perforce encounter
the modern hazards to life, health,
and happiness-reckless driving with
its passenger, death.
As a rule, youth has little regard
for life. 1t does not comprehend the
meaning of life. That is why boys
and girls of tender age come by so
many accidents.
But these young fellows, who wear
the Sam Brown belts and badges of
traffic officers, who carry themselves
like sentinels of safety, seem to know
Just what life means. At least they
have a fine regard for the rights of
their fellow citizens, and they strive
each day to protect those rights,
especially as they are applicable to the
young boys and girls on their way
to school.
BECAUSE of what these young lads
have done all through the scho-
lastic year, month in and month out,
In all kinds of weather, they are to
be rewarded with the trip to Wash
ington. They will arrive here, most
Of them, on Friday, May 22-and
that night School Boy Patrol will
hold conference.
Not unlike their forefathers who
gathered in the first Continental
Congress, these lads-through their
delegates-are going to gather in
Constitution Hall and discuss traffic
problems. Think of that. Young
boys from various States, delegates
all, gathered in convention as
sembled-to discuss ways and means
of making America safe for school
children.
That these chaps have already
contributed their share of safety to
America-and to the children who
are to be Americas evidenced by
the facts and figures surrounding
their glamorous organization. While
adults-men and women-were be-
ing bumped into eternity by the
ruthless bumpers of automobiles last
year, the young lives of America
were being so well protected that the
average death rate among school
children dwindled. That is, the
average death-rate by automobile ac-
cidents. The death rate among
children was reduced 80 per cent last
year In America.
In order to bring about such
boon as this, the School Boy Patrol
had to be on its toes. That is just
what happened On many occasions
these boys proved heroes. They
snatched children from the path of
on-coming automobiles.
They did better than that. BY
their good example, seeing them
standing there so straight and cir
cumspect on the street intersections,
automobilists came to have respect