ALONG THE HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS

ALONG THE HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS NORTH RIM:

Our jovial host at Jacob Lake Lodge, Mr. Harold Bowman, visited with us the other day, reminding us that the road to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is now open for motorists. Traffic over U. S. Highway 89 has been heavy and the coming season will probably be the best ever for travel over the northern part of Arizona's link of the Canada-Mexico highway.

We have been of the opinion for a long time that the North Rim of the Grand Canyon has been overlooked by travelers. The journey from Jacob Lake lodge to the Rim is through 40 miles of the most gorgeous country in the state, wild and beautiful Kaibab plateau, and the Canyon as seen from the North Rim has a beauty unequalled.

Mr. Bowman's place is a sort of stopover in that part of the country and his place is as famed for its hospitality as the Kaibab and the North Rim are for their beauty.

MR. EMPIE VISITS:

Mr. Hal Empie of Duncan, that droll fellow with the clever pen, whose whimsies appear within these pages from time to time, also came into the office the other day. He discoursed on the Empie "Way Out West" post cards, a product of his inkwell. Nearly 150,000 were consumed by ye-olde-post-card writers last year, which is a lot of post cards in anybody's postoffice. Hal is just about as charming and attractive as his postcards and his sketches in Arizona Highways. Yes! You guessed it! He has red hair. How could a blonde or brunette put such crazy ideas on paper!

SOMETHING NEW ALONG A HIGHWAY:

One of the charming things about the Arizona highway department, and also along the highways of the state, is the new unexpected things that pop up occasionally.

A new feature has been introduced on the Morristown-Wickenburg and the Wickenburg-Blythe road to enhance safety driving at night.

Without much ado about it, the traffic enginering crew of the department under the direction of E. V. Miller, installed a system of reflector buttons on the Morristown overpass, in such a way that the roadway is clearly outlined before the motorist Similarly, each post of the guard rails over dips between Morristown and Wickenburg are equipped with the reflectors, and so when you drive along you have a clear outline of the roadway before you.

When the motorist becomes confused by the glare of the lights of an approaching automobile, he has no fear of leaving the roadway because a row of bright reflector buttons or reflectors give him friendly warning of the danger zone.

The Signal Service Corporation of Elizabeth, New Jersey, manufactures the reflectors which the traffic engineering division of the Arizona highway department have installed. They are called "Lucite" reflectors and they do the work in grand style. The reflectors, placed Eight feet from the roadway and four feet from the ground, catch the headlight beams, and the reflection is so sharp and perfect you think someone has turned on a row of miniature dancing electric lights as you travel along. "Lucite" reflectors are so constructed as to reflect light from either side.

We have had the opportunity to discuss these reflectors with traveling men and residents of Wickenburg who often travel the Morristown-Wickenburg road after dark. We have been asked to express thanks and satisfaction to every one concerned.

SAFETY CONFERENCE:

The annual safety conference, sponsored by the Arizona State Safety Council, proved a very worthwhile event April 21 and 22. The conference was held at the Westward Ho in Phoenix, and safetyminded citizens came in from all over the state. There were so many interesting speakers and so much valuable safety information brought to the attention of the delegates that we couldn't even attempt to list the highlights of the conference.

We cannot say that safety is like Mark Twain's weather, which everyone talks about but no one does anything about.

These public minded citizens who comprise the Arizona State Safety Council talk a lot about safety but they do a lot about it, too.

The annual conference is certainly a worthwhile endeavor There gather at this conference each year several hundred people, many of whom are responsible to the citizens for safety on the highways, many are responsible for the safety in their industrial firm, and still others are responsible for safety in the school and home. At these conferences the state safety leaders receive instructions, you might say, in safety methods. These safety messages will be carried to every corner of the state, and so valuable work is done.

We are fortunate in Arizona in having such active leaders in the safety movement. Inspired leadership with cooperation between engineering, educational, and enforcementagencies will mean a scientific approach to safty problems and if we all pull hard enought in the right direction ol' debbil accident will go down to ignominous defeat.