News and Notes. 561 



representatives of the Provincial or Dominion Forestry or Parks 

 J^ranches concerned, and the representatives of the various rail- 

 way companies affected, designated for this purpose. The bases 

 for the discussion at the various conferences were the plans sub- 

 mitted to the Board of Railway Commissioners by the Dominion 

 Forestry Branch and by the Department of Lands of the Province 

 of British Columbia, in connection with the application for the 

 issuance of an order by the Board covering the railway fire situa- 

 tion. In general, the plans adopted provide for a specially-organ- 

 ized force of patrolmen, who devote their whole time to this 

 work. However, under certain circumstances the patrol work 

 is performed by the regular employees of the companies, such as 

 section men, track-walkers, bridge and tunnel-watchmen, etc., 

 as a part of their regular work. For the most part, the patrolmen 

 travel over their districts by means of velocipedes, otherwise 

 called speeders or jiggers. Under some circumstances, power 

 speeders (gasoline) are used, while on the steepest grades the 

 patrolmen must travel on foot. The patrols cover those portions 

 of the lines under construction as well as the parts under opera- 

 tion. In this way, what is in many cases the most dangerous 

 period of a railway's history from the point of view of fire, is 

 safeguarded as adequately as possible. The entire railway or- 

 ganization is brought into play in connection with fire-fighting 

 work, and all employees are made available in case of need. 



The field administration of the regulations is provided for 

 through a plan of co-operation between the Board on the one 

 hand and the Forest Branch, Department of Lands of the Province 

 of British Columbia, and the Forestry and Parks Branches of the 

 Department of the Interior of Canada, on the other. In pursu- 

 ance of this plan, certain officials of the co-operating organiza- 

 tions have been appointed officers of the Board of Railway Com- 

 missioners, for the purpose of supervising the work of the rail- 

 way companies under the Order and under the instructions of the 

 Chief Fire Inspector. In a number of cases, men devote their 

 whole time to this class of inspection work, while in others the 

 work is done as a part of their regular duties. The field officers 

 are given wide authority to deal directly with the railway com- 

 panies, and in this way prompt and efficient action is made pos- 

 sible. 



