228 



Popular Science Monthly 



ed by the reports for the year 1914, 

 which show that fifty lowans were 

 killed on railroad crossings of this 

 sort. The death toll from this source 

 for 1915 has been almost as large. 



Immediately following a fatal acci- 

 dent, when public opinion demands ac- 

 tion on the part of the local authori- 

 ties, plan and estimates of cost are 

 worked out, and a tentative adjust- 

 ment of the cost between the county 

 and railroad is made. In the majority 

 of cases the railroads have been willing 



This old fort has been converted into a 



water tower, and is saving much expense 



to the town 



to co-operate with the state in remov- 

 ing these sources of danger from the 

 country highways. One railroad in 

 particular relocated eleven dangerous 

 crossings in one county. 



Dangerous turns in overhead cross- 

 ings, bridges undermined during flood 

 seasons, sharp turns in roads, "chuck" 

 holes, ditches alongside roads, weeds 

 and other obstructions on roads, un- 

 guarded bridges, speeding on slippery 

 roads, reckless driving at night, 



"short" culverts, steep embankments, 

 neglect in placing warning signs or 

 barricading dangerous places are some 

 of the sources of danger the traveler 

 in the country must encounter almost 

 every day. 



The loss of more than 125 lowans 

 in the last two years has not been 

 without some beneficial results, as a 

 demand for the building of permanent 

 roads has been crystalized as the re- 

 sult of these sacrifices. It has been 

 rather a costly manner in which to 

 awaken the public to the need of these 

 changes, however. 



Sprinkling Streets with the Aid 

 of an old Fort 



ONE of the many Martello towers or 

 forts found around the coast in the 

 Channel Islands has been put to a novel 

 use. These buildings lie idle for the 

 most part, having been built over a hun- 

 dred years ago, and are now useless 

 from a military point of view. 



In Jersey Island, however, a use has 

 been found for one of these towers. It 

 now forms the base of a water tank used 

 for street-sprinkling. 



A windmill pumps water into the tank, 

 thus saving considerable expense for- 

 merly incurred when water was taken 

 from the water company's mains. 



Signal Lights for Traveling Cranes 



W( )RKMEN employed in shops 

 where a traveling crane is used 

 are constantly on guard to see whether 

 the crane is approaching them. This 

 consumes a considerable amount of 

 time, which, when multiplied by all the 

 workmen so occupied in looking up at 

 the crane, totals up to a formidable 

 loss. An Ohio firm has placed on 

 the market a device which is designed 

 to warn the workmen, by means of red 

 and green lights on the crane, whether 

 the latter is coming toward, or moving 

 away, from them. When the crane ap- 

 proaches the observer, the red light au- 

 tomatically lights, and when it departs 

 from the observer, a green light gives 

 the safety signal. The device has the 

 advantage over warning gongs, which 

 merely attract without telling the direc- 

 tion in which the crane is moving. 



