The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1853-05-20
DESTRUCTION OF LIFE ON OUN
RAILROADS--WE MUST HAVE BET.
TER SAFEGUARDS.

l
The Rev. E. II. Chapinyo! New York, made
reference, in discourse, to the fearful loss
Of life by recent accidents on railroads; and,
in doing SO, urged, eloquently, considerations
Of public duty.
81 do not wish," said he, "to forestal any
legal judgment, and to excite bad passions, is
as contrary to my intention as it would be to
my Office. But believe that the teaching q
sacred regard for human life is function of
that office; and if the Divine Master walked
over earth with solicitude for every bodily i'll,
may not the servant who processes to preach
His Word be justified in endeavoring to
strengthen the securities of life and limb! /
do not wish to excite vindictiveness, but there
is an honest indignation that has a right to
express itself under the conviction of reckless
r ness and ruin. And to those who sdy, DO
nothing under excitement reply, excite
ment may not be the time to complete meas
o ures, but it is the time to start them. Wait
t until the excitement passes away, and away
!. ebbs all practical effort until some new mode
, Of desolation reawakens the desire for it.
,, "Pass the measures deliberately, calmly;
but start them now. Pronounce no final judg.
70 ment under excitement. For this specific
case, do not presume to determine who is tc
,e blame, or whether anybody is; but surely now
ID is the time, as far as may be, to provide a
10 gainst such results in the future. And th
or possibility of such provision is founded in GU
.f. conviction of mans recklessness--man'
m recklessness, not Gods decree. When tn
n stroke of calamity descends upon us from tina
ed mysterious depth, which the ancients calle
n. Fate but which we call Providence, we bo,
in submission to its inevitabilty. But IL can
il not be denied that the list of genuine 'acci
N dents is much more limited than the use O
o. the term. Cuasalities in travel, which hav
or their origin in causes beyond mans contro
tb are comparatively few. Nature seldom de
9. ceves US in her conditions, if man is vigilan
n. on his part. A whee. breaks; but who ques
[r. toned its soundness! An axle snaps asundel
ld but how was the iron tested? A colliso
,is takes place, but how was time puntually oh
ve served! A train plunges into the river, bu
er was every responsible agent watchful at hi
ds post! II not, then life was not destroyed b
ID. accident, but by murder; not malignant al
he sassination-not that kind of murder whic
no comes from active passion, but from the neA
TO thing to it-indDerence.
m, "And against this recklessness, l repea
no provision should be made by every measur
nd which will enforce respect for human life
Is. sentiment which, am grieved to suy, neet
ILL., to be more widely and deeply felt in our az
mo and our country. Life 10 precious. 1t is
fr priceless freight which you bear in those rusl
Of ing cars, oh! driving engineer-a freight
aid warm blood, and beating hearts. and dear r,
'ati., Nba Lzf
ii with throbbng breast, and arteries of fire,
N. but poor symbol Of the precious vitality an
nv curious workmanship Of the meanest life tn,
-,v it drags along. An unsteady brain, dece
n. of the eye, slight risk, and the wealth
ids existence committed to your charge is sha
s,. tered to ruin. And is it not right that con
Mt. munity, that fathers and wives, and brother
m. aud sons, should hold you stringenty boun
10. to all the responsibilities Of your office, on
A refuse to cast upon Providence the burden {
your fault! Something besides profit and th
ss price of stock must enter into your account
mo- q! iron-hearted corporation. Against dollar
he you must balance life; and il a little gain
nd of more consequence than bolt more firml
,rv driven, or an additional officer at dangerou
,ct point, say not that that community acts mere
il. ly under excitement if it cuts the nerves b
to which corporations do feel.
40. "Yes, the very time to Tebuke that care
lessness which holds us so often at its mere,
,e. and for which human hearts and human live
ce are 50 often sacrificed, is time like this, whe
nv the public mind is intensely excited, stirre
ks up by the horror and the agony to make som
provision for future safety. In the name {
,m the dead and of the living, let there be !,
to dicious, just, yet prompt action upon this maj
IN, ter"
an ------
al. THE CATASTROPHE AT NORWALK