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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 1916)
Omaha Sunday .Bee ?AT TIUIEE EDITORIAL PAGES ONE TO SEX TART THREE MAGAZINE PAGES ONE TO SIX VOL. XLV NO. 31. OMAHA, SUNDAY MOKN1NG. JANUARY 1(5, I'.MO. SINOI.K COPY FIVE CENTS. -L JnUtv d Y k Me e Tis the Traffic Oop Who is it stands upon the street And guards the autos, lest they meet, And is a guide to busy feet? The traffic cop. Who waves his hand with, lordly mien And stops the biggest buzz-machine I And watches all with eyesight keen? The traffic cop. Who braves the chilly winter breeze Until his "12's" begin to freeze? Who stands summer's Intensities? The traffic cop. AH, the traffic cop, folks! Did you ever envy him his lot? Probably not. There are nine of "him" in Omaha, commanded by a traffic sergeant. ' , There. they stand all day long, fn winter's hyperborean frigidity and summer's equatorial torridlty, in the midst of the maelstrom of intersecting vehicular and pedestrian traffic. t; And around them the grind of the busy life of a big city rumbles and roars and fizzes and spurts and clangs and bangs and dings and dongs and buries and hisses and bellows and wails and pants and rants and yowls and howls and grates and ' grinds and puffs and bumps and clicks and clangs and chugs and moans and hoots and toots and crashes and grunts and gasps and groans and whistles and wheezes and squawks and blows and Jars and Jerks and raspa and jingles and twangs and clacks and jangles and rings and clatters and yelps and croaks and howls and hums and booms and clashes and jolts and jostles and slams and .scrapes and throbs and crinksand- jingles and Quivers and roars and shrieks. ' '; But Sergeant Slgwart and his. merry men fear it not. A fire-breathing Juggernaut, 1916 model, comes roaring down Farnam street. Three tons of purring machinery and polished body, driven by the power of sixty horses. Women and little children are crossing the street. Traffic , Officer Bohwager" raises hla band and the luxurious thing of speed and comfort comes to a dead stop. Nor does It start its. throbbing engines again until it gets the Im perial command from the blue uniformed man la the middle of the Intersection. Why the Traffic Officer traffic qff'cers are necessary at busy crossings because of the old physical law that "two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time." If they try to do it.there is sure to be a collision with probably property and physical damage. Hence, traffic officers. But the duties of Omaha's traffic men are muck more extensive than the mere management of pass ' ing vehicles. They must see that pedestrians don't cut cat-a-corner, but keep within the white marks In crossing the streets at corners. - If a runaway comes tearing down the street the traffic officer doesn't hesitate Jo do his utmost even at risk of life and limb to ttop it. And they must direct people and answer ;i, 603, 284 questions, at least. , No matter what the weather, the men must be at their stations every week-day from 8:30 a. m. to 6:30 p. m. with an hour and a halt for lunch. ln zero weather they stand in the chilly blast with about two Inches thickness of clothes and overshoes and ear muffs and gloves; and in summer's heat they shed as much as possible of their garb and even provide themselves with a little square plat form to keep their pedal extremities front sticking fast when the well known sun brings the black sap oozing from the paving blocks. ' It is generally admitted that there are easier occupations known t6 men than that of traffic po liceman. Hardly the Easy Snap Imagined But the traffic cops of Omaha are not men look log for easy snaps. They are virile, sturdy, mus cular men of action. And they are devoted to their work. This statement is not a mere euphemism. It's' the solid truth. Take William Hudson, as a typical example of devotion to his duty. You've seen him, a distinguished-looking, whlte-moustached man. He looks like General Miles, only better looking. His sta tion Is at the intersection of Fifteenth and Farnam streets. William took a ten days' vacation last year. When he got op the first morning of his vacation he hardly knew what to do. So he took a walk. His steps led him to Fifteenth, and Farnam streets where his substitute was on duty. There he re mained. He watched fas substitute's work with a critical eye and gave him a few hints on how to do the Job with the greatest neatness and dispatch, finally he wended his way homeward and in an aged ornehow to pass the first day of his vacation.' . The next morning of bis holiday he went for another walk and if he didn't land at Fifteenth and i ' - to A a Farnam streets again! He spent quite some time there. Then he went home. ' This same thing happened for eight days straight. Then he could stand it no longer and he went on the ninth day and reported for duty and was assigned to his old stand and was content. He Is an expert at stopping runaways and claims to have a method that always works. He waves his arms and "hollers" and somehow or other induces horses to stop. Samples of Those on the Job Up at Sixteenth and Farnam streets is John H. Schwager, monarch of traffic. John Is a walking, living, breathing encyclopedia of things In Omaha. If a stranger comes up to him and Inquires when the train leaves for Podunk. Mo., the chancea are that John can tell the hour, how long it takes to get to Podunk and the fare. Yes, "Deena," that's his nickname, surely Is a compendium of infor mation. Down at Sixteenth and Harney la Vaclav James Voborll In charge of the two streams of vehicles and a block to the south Is "Komical Keystone" Carney, whose real name is William D. "Komical Keystone," when off duty, la always playing pranks and telling Jokes. The boya say he Is the perfect picture of Roscoe Arbuckle, the fat man In the movies, and they Insist that if "Komical Keystone" ever takes a notion to become a screen artist, Arbuckle will have to take a back seat. Is it a Hoodoo Corner? Fourteenth and Farnam is the hoodoo corner. Dennis Steaderman is stationed there. His two predecessors both died. They were Horace Corneau, who died January 21, 1914, and Bert Rogers, whose' death occurred August 14, 1915. Both had been army sergeant in the Philippine. "The Viking" Is stationed at Fourteenth and Douglas streets. He Is Maurice E. Anderaon and takes his sobriquet from his tall stature, his blond complexion and his Scandinavian ancestry. "Sam" Reigelnian at Fifteenth and Douglas streets is one of the old guard and is said to bate ft r Vo2oril sr am Lame . , such innovations as automobiles snd to rule tbelr passing with a stern hand. Philip Wentz, at Sixteenth and Douglaa streets, keeps a weather eye' "peeled" up the Douglas street Mil, since an electric got away from its moorings and crashed down the hill and "sldeswiped" him on the port bow. Julius Mansfield completes the list of our traffle officers and can be found, in office hours, directing the traffic at Sixteenth and Dodge atreets. The traffic service In Omaha was Inaugurated in. December, 1909, when William Good was sta tioned at Sixteenth and Harney streets and W. R. Wilson at Sixteenth and Farnam streets. Since then the service hss grown to its present proportions and importance. ' . ' ; ..'.. Busy Street Corner Directors at Down town Intersections Have Plenty to Do ;y 7. 9 Ti'znm ' -l Omaha Traffic Donts Don't fall to follow the Instructions of (he traffic policemen. Dou't get excited and lose your nerve Jf driving a car and get caught In a crowd. Don't exceed the speed limit when driving In tho city. Don't try to run past every auto you , pee In front of du. Don't get out of anaoline and expect your car to keep running. Don't fall to sound an alarm when ueurlng a cropping street. Don't neglect your lights when evening approaches. Don't forcet to signal at intersections, or when making a turn, even though traf fic officer may not be on duty. Don't pass street cars while passengers are boarding or leaving them. .Don't stop on the crosswalk so as to Interfere with the passage of pedestrians. Don't forget, to keep as close as possi ble to the curb on the right, allowing more swiftly moving vehicles free passage m their left. . Don't forget to pass to the right when . meeting another .vehicle. Don't forget when you overtake an other vehicle to pass on the left side tf the overtaken vehicle, and not pull overt the right until entirely clear of it. Don't forget when turning Into another street to the right to turn the corner as near to tho right hand curb as possible. Don't stand or travel with two or more vehicles abreast in any street. Don't use cut-outs on automobiles and motorcycles except within one-halt block of the place said automobile or motorcycle Is housed. Don't forget that pedestrians must not cross diagonally, but must use the cross ings at intersections only. Don't forget that the rtght-of-waf be ' longs to the vehicle farthest to the right when two vehicles are approaching at-right angles toward each other. Don't forget to report any infraction of tho traffic rules. ii J