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.
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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
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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
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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
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Ti'znm
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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.
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