The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-11-13

MEN KILLED By RAnwAYs.-We continue to
chronicle one or two inquests every day on the
bodies of individuals run over or otherwise
killed by our railways. On Saturday we re-
corded verdict of accidental death" on the
body of Abraham Clery, who was run over by
The Harlem Railroad cars near Sixty-sixth street
and instantly killed. Yesterday we had to no.
tice similar verdict on the body Of William
H. Holding, who was run over by an Eighth
avenue car. In both these cases, and in fact in all
similar ones, the juries acquit the railroad
companies of all blame. Without pretending
to q knowledge of the evidence, we question
whether this merciful inference can be gene
rally borne out. It is Of course clear that en-
gineers and conductors do not directly and in
tentionally run the cars over people; and in
general we will even 60 so far as to suppose
that there is no gross negligence on their part.
But we cannot admit that this is enough to ex-
culpate the railroad company from RESPONSE
bility when violent deaths occur through the
fundamentally Of their cars and if, as we
imagine, the verdicts of the coroners' juries are
based upon the supposition that the railroad
is blameless when gross negligence cannot be
brought home to it's agents, we submit that
they labor under misconception Of the COM
mon law which it is the duty of the coroner to
correct.
The principle that man is bound to pro-
tect his fellow citizens from injuries likely to be
occasioned by his business, is clear and undoubt
| cd. If man sets up scaffolding in street.
it is not enough that he build It substantially;
he must absolutely guarantee passers-by
against all risk Of its falling and in case OF &C
cidents through his omission to do this, he is
responsible. The loose slipshod way in which
| many of our laws are administered in this
State has led to an entire forgetfulness Of this
| great principle on the part Of juries and law
officers. Ferry companies are not held respon-
sible-as they should be-for deaths occasioned
by imprudent acts of passengers. though such
deaths might have been prevented by proper
precautions on the part of the ferry masters.
So railroads are acquitted of blame when their
ears run over men, if they can show that the
| conductor and engineer were not on that occa-
| sion more imprudent than usual.
All this is utter fallacy. A ferry company
lie bound to provide against injuries arising
| from imprudence on the part of passengers
1 A railroad company is bound to guard against
| the destruction of life on its track, though
those who are killed were themselves guilty Of
imprudence and the company apparently inno-
cent Of negligence. The degree Of vigilance
and precaution which the common law expects
Of individuals and corporate bodies is in exact
proportion to their power to injure in every
| case Of accident, NO excuse should be allowed
| to be valid but one which should establish that
| the degree Of precaution taken was sufficient to
protect the imprudent. The wary need no pro-
lection, they can look out for themselves. 1t is
the foolish, the inexperienced, the rash, whom
the law expects those whom IL invests with the
power to injure to watch over and guard.
In such cases too the whole weight of adduc-
ingproofshould be thrown on the party through
whose act the accident occurred Whenever q
death occurs on railway line, the company
should be bound to show how it occurred, aud
to prove that they were innocent. We see
with great regret that Judge Campbell held
last week in the case Of the widow johnson
against the Hudson River Railroad Company
that the plaintiff was bound to prove afirma
lively that the deceased Cher husband who was
killed by the Hudson River Railroad cars on
2Sth August, 1889 was free from negligence
on his own part, and also that the defendants
were guilty of negligence" If this be the law,
the sooner it Is altered the better. Here Is .
widow claiming damages for the death of her
husband, run over by the cars; and the Judge
calls upon her to prove that the deceased was
careful, and the railway careless, Would it
not be far more sensible, far more rational and
far more humane to impose upon the railway
company the duty Of proving their vigilance
and the negligence Of the man their cars put to
DEATH They order these things better in
France. There the courts hold that directors
Of railway are bound to guarantee positively
the safety Of passengers on their line: and
where an accident occurred, causing deaths,
two Of the directors Of the company, men Of
wealth and station, were sent to the galleys
with pickpockets and other murderers for q
long term Of years.
The Know NoTHNa PLArFoRx.-This formi-
dable body, which would undoubtedly have
swept the State, had it not been for the liquor
question, has at length found an accredited or
gan in one Of the commercial sheets of Wall
street. From its columns we learn that the
aim Of the party is to abolish the naturalization
laws, or ct ell events to extend the term Of ~
sidence now required Of foreigners from Eve
years to twenty one. The ground on which
this reform is thought desirable Is the increased