Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1859-08-19
Numbering by Wholesale

No. single week passes over our heads
without bringing before ~ in the columns
oil kilograms. the frigb,ful intelligence that
there has been another wholesale slaughter
Of human beings upon somc one or other ol
the railroad or steamboat lines in our own
country. 81 common hav, these dreadful
tragedies become. that we scarcely stop &c
wonder at their occurrence or inquire into
their causes. by tens, twsn,ies and hun
dred.. are men. women and children hurlc
into eternity, without q mo nen,'s warning
or the least opportunity to bid farewell to
friends. or of,r prayer 10 their Heavenly
Father for his kindly aid in passing through
the dark valley Of death to che spir', world
And TO many Of the unfortunate beings who
are o,ertaken by these commonly termed
"aooi1sni,," death itself would seem 70 I've a
relief from the cIcruti,ting agony they ARE
of,en,imes called to endure, Upon ,hesC
terrible occasion, while upon the vI-aees o'
some rests the a.hy pallor Of death. and they
are silently sleeping that long sleep which
Il" knows no waking" others, with broken
and crushed limb.. dishgurrd faces, and mu'
ulated bodies, are seen suffering thousand
deaths. aud longing to he relieved Of an eS
i.,enec more appalling than even death H.
self.
/ When rejecting upon these terrible scenes,
we naturally turn irom the dead to the li'-
ing. and inquire, are these tragedies TO DC
rr.rnaeted: j. there no way in which tray.
eller. upon our railroads and steamboats,
can he protected agains, the tremendous dis
as,ers which seem to hang over every one
that journeys by steam power l. human
life Of - little consequence that no ordinary
safeguards are o. h. thrown around for 10
protection Can nothing he done TO bring
about reform - much needed
What are the causes Of - many awful
disasters upon our railways and On board
our steamboats,. \ single word IN nine ca
ses out Of ten will answer the question
CAREIESSNESS. gross, unpardouable care
Ic.snr... Sometime. thi. carrlc-.ness iswlll'
fol. as in the case. Of steamboat racing
where human life i' spor,rd with as you
would sport football. Upon some Of ou'
railroads. bridges are frequently suffered to
70, and decay, and no attention paid Il
them until they break down and plunge
whole community Of human beings into th'
abyss OF death. In other cases, defective
boilers are kept in use, until they explode
and like magazine OF death hurl into c,cr
nifty all who are near them. Some railroad
and STEAMBOAT companies keep in their en-
ploy unworthy men. merely because thcl
can get their services chear--unprinciplc'
wre,chc. who rush upon destruction like III,
war horse into hattie. Many Of our rail
road companies do not exercise suihcien
care in keeping their track. free from ob
struetion., or 10 ascertain defects IN seasor
10 have them repaired Many Of the live
los, in the manner above described are strict
" speaking. IN the eyes OF the law, inurde
in the fr,, degree while a very large shar
would come under the head Of man.laugh
ter. These things have got TO be endurc'
until we have more stringent and eaectiS
laws enacted and enforced aeains, corpora
tions holding themselves as common CARR
ers. Those who have the management: o
these matters. should hc held personally r,
,pOnnbi, for the act. Of their employee. an,
then. II there j. wanton earelessness, le
them swing. or he sent to the peni,entlary
Thp ciau II msn hdr, got 10 4, made 70 nd
UPON he ootr caichcr h,n,slr,S. And tibet
the press, like n faithful sentinel, shou p,
sound the alarm and deal honestly and iaith
fully with the williams who re ins,rumen
tai in producing the wholesale murders
which have in times past broke upon III
public ear like crashing thunder in y sum,
sky In these remarks We are glad 10 ~
ccpt moe, Il not all the roads in our owl
State. 4, general thing We believe the.
are managed by faithful, careful, and com
peteni men. And a. evidence OF this, W
refer 80 the fact that but few lives have cv
cr been los, upon any OF our roads; fac
that speaks volumes IN their praise; an
we tru., the time never will come in Main
when on stepping into railroad car vii
in,oluntarily have .huddrr come over him
and he troubled with the unwecome ido.
tha, he should have made HI. will before b
started, and tina, he has looked upon his oil
homestead Tor the las, time, and given hi
last kiss to his wife and children, this sid
the eternal world.
n