Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 203, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 September 1917 — Safer In Cities. [ARTICLE]

Safer In Cities.

A practical question is as to the relative danger of various exposed points during a thunderstorm. There appears to be some doubt whether, as has usually been supposed, it is safer to be in an open field than under, a tree, the later statistics showing a slightly larger percentage of fatal strokes in the open than under trees. In a forest the danger Is less then under a single tree. It is far less in cities than in the country. The neighborhood of water should be avoided. When rain is falling the electricity from the clouds is drawn down harmlessly. Lightning rods, when properly constructed, also draw off the electric charges. It is another great feather in Franklin’s cap that he first suggested the use of lightning rods and explained how they would act.