assistants did an excellent piece of work. Health officers appointed sanitary inspectors who soon made soap and water popular. Nurses with first-aid kits healed bruises and scratches. Problems of discipline handled themselves; for, as in real life, a "roughneck" may often be turned into a good policeman. City Flag and Seal Contest The Clarksburg Town Crier, mailed from the city building to each home, tries to keep the young folks in mind. Through its columns was conducted a contest for a city OFFICIAL FLAG AND SEAL OF CLARKSBURG Unsuspected originality developed, and budding leadership was given its chance. One playground produced an orchestra. Another staged a city-wide doll's festival with an exhibit of handcraft as an added feature. Interplayground relations were handled by the "legislature." The recreation director served as governor, the leaders as senate, and the house of delegates was elective. A "better grounds" contest, with a large piece of apparatus as the prize, was very effective. Tournaments and leagues featuring volleyball, speed-ball, horseshoe and other games, winding up with a playground field day, tied the several units together and developed competition with its vital lessons of loyalty, fair play, and how to take a trimming with a smile. flag and a new city seal. School children participated, and a large majority of the designs submitted came from our "coming crop." A committee appointed by the Chamber of Commerce judged the contest, and its recommendations were adopted by the City Council. Both the seal and the flag were used extensively during the big home-coming festival held last summer, a prominent feature of which was the historical pageant in which hundreds of children participated. Several thousands of the seals, in medallion form, were sold as official souvenirs. The design of the seal symbolizes the history, resources, activities and possibilities of the city. The flag, as described in the official resolution, also has a meaning: "A bright red, five-pointed star, symbolizing the city of Clarksburg, composed of five former towns, served by two intersecting state highways, represented by white bars extending diagonally, corner to corner, across a bright blue field, the bars radiating to the four corners of the flag being likewise symbolic of Clarksburg products distributed to the four corners of the earth,-a further symbolism denoting the star of hope with the sky as the limit, the colors, red, white and blue, being suggestive of the national flag, as allegiance to the city of Clarksburg implies a greater allegiance to the nation." School Children As Fire Inspectors The home fire hazard inspection made by school children with the aid of questionnaires proved very successful and is no doubt reflected in the low fire loss, which dropped to 46 cents per capita as compared to 78 cents the preceding year, and to the national rate of $4.41. MODERN MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT REACHES FIRES OVER ALMOST IMPASSABLE STREETS; BUT ADEQUATE SNOW REMOVAL EQUIPMENT OR FIRE-PROOF CONSTRUCTION IS ESSENTIAL FOR SAFETY UNDER CONDITIONS LIKE THIS re protections What Good Is a Fire Department Here? W By W. E. Hart Manager, Structural Bureau, Portland Cement Association HAT good is a fire department here? This was the caption written in February, 1923, on the photograph from which our illustration was made. It shows Main Street, Tilton, N. H., covered with snow to a depth of several feet, making the street practically impassable for heavy vehicles. The caption evidently was prophetic; for the newspapers reported, towards the end of March, a disastrous fire in the very town where this photograph was taken, complete destruction of the buildings having been due to the fact that the fire engines were stalled in the snow on the way to the fire. The buildings destroyed included Ladd Brothers' horse stables, together with fourteen horses, two cows, two valuable dogs and a large quantity of machinery, tools and produce. The following is from a newspaper clipping: "In the meantime the firemen were arriving, but the motor fire truck was stuck in the highway several hundred yards below the fire, at the foot of the hill. The snow in the highway at this point is from 5 to 7 feet deep, and it was impossible to do anything except carry hose and chemicals on foot." A similar story comes from Penacook, N. H. From the account published in the Manchester [N. H.] Union of January 31, 1923, the following is quoted: "Assistance was immediately sought of the Concord Fire Department, Chief Green ordering the run to Penacook, a distance of six miles. Two miles south of the burning buildings the entire fleet of motor apparatus became stalled in snow-drifts which have made traffic most difficult during the past week. A pumper was finally forced through the drifts, but arrived too late to be of assistance." Such conditions merit most serious thought. Snow-drifts of the kind shown make the city fire department almost useless for the time being and offer one of the best possible arguments in favor of fireproof construction for buildings. Perhaps we have been too much inclined to over-emphasize the security furnished by a good fire department. No one denies that a good fire department does furnish reasonable security to a city for the greater WHAT CHANCES HAVE THE FIREMEN TO GIVE PROMPT SERVICE UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS? To minimize the slowing down of fire or police apparatus by street traffic, has your city an ordinance which requires other vehicles to make way for such apparatus by driving as close as possible to the curb and stopping, and prohibiting them also from following closely after fire or police apparatus or parking within, say, 600 feet of a fire? The subject of the right of way of fire apparatus through congested streets evoked lively discussion at the recent annual convention of the International Association of Fire Engineers. Among the cities whose Chiefs reported ordinances to reduce traffic interference with fire departments were Buffalo, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Texarkana, Hoboken, Greenville, Miss., and Kingston, Ont. Several of the Chiefs emphasized the need for effective cooperation by the police departments and for educational campaigns through the newspapers and civic organizations to make such ordinances effective. 634 A Freel id traffed Mechanical Devices for Highway T the recent annual convention of From the Standpoint of Safety From the standpoint of safety the following principles should be considered in the design of mechanical devices for highway traffic regulation: VISIBILITY: In detail this means that the upright portion of all stanchions, semaphores, etc., should be painted with alternate bands of These are (in alphabetical order): L. W. McOmber, Traffic Engineer, Essco Manufacturing Company, Peoria, Ill. L. C. Porter, Commercial Engineering Department, Edison Lamp Works, General Electric Company, Harrison, N. J. T. R. Willwerscheid, President and Treasurer, Western Display & Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn. black and white from 8 to 12 inches wide. It means that the base of such stanchions should be painted white. It means that the spot on the pavement on which they are set should be painted white. It means that spot lights arranged to illuminate the base at night and (in the case of semaphores) the traffic officer, are advantageous. It means that unlighted obstructions of every character should be denied a place upon the highway at night, be they stanchion, semaphore or mushroom. TRAFFIC SIGNS: Traffic signs should conform to this principle of maximum visibility. They should denote their meaning as far as possible by their shape and color. Probably the best combination consists of vivid yellow letters on a black background. Signs intended for moving vehicles should differ from those intended for stationary vehicles. The latter might have the colors reversed, i. e., black letters on a yellow background. Signs of a tertiary character, such as those for the control of pedestrians, street car stops, etc., might consist of black letters on a white background. The writer recognizes that yellow does not represent the color of maximum visibility, that red is the most penetrating color. He would not use red on traffic signs, however, for reasons stated in the discussion of color. (1) (2) (1) We do not agree with the committee in their statement that a traffic sign should be a vivid letter on a dark background. The conspicuousness of such a sign at night is not nearly as great as that of a sign having a light background with a dark letter; for, the background being much larger in area than the let ters, more light is reflected to the eye, which is the important thing at night. We do not agree that red is more penetrating than yellow, since all light at night from such signs is reflected light, and the reflective power of red is far beneath the reflective power of yellow.-L. W. MCOMBER, (2) The report recommends that traffic signs should denote their meaning as far as possible by their "shape and color." From experience, I am convinced that the recommendation should have been "shape and dimensions." More clearly to bring out this point, I am enclosing blue-prints showing dimensions and layout of a few Mississippi Valley warning signs. These are all 24 inches by 24 inches in size. The square sign indicates "Caution," and is to be used to designate a condition not of the road which may constitute a hazard. The diamond-shaped sign indicates "Slow," and is to be used to designate a condition of the road, constituting a hazard unless speed is slackened. The |