Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-08-11
ONE CAUSE OF ACCIDENTS.

From the Albion

rFrom the Albion o. D
orr .oRfrsres Of the American press are
.fI;n0 and uttering denunciations over an
'.ssr psilwsy accident. They have reason.
Tsir:een persons are reported as killed and
i.-anty wounded by the breaking down of
.Ns..sI %sI work bridge near Schaghticoke, on the
TsTmont and Canada Railway, as a train was
,s.siug over it. Report may exaggerate the
fnmhers of the injured; but few victims more
= less are Of little moment in the considers
nom Of the morals Of the question. The coro-
ror's iury found the cause Of the accident in
,be rotten and unsafe condition" of the
b-idre. and severely censured in1set terms the
rnsnSrers of the road. This is step in the
-;vbt direction, as also was the verdict carry
;n, heavy damages against road in yMassa-
E1setts on which, by want of due care a man
r,s torn to pieces sometime since, leaving q
ajfe and family behind him. But in spite of
,eriicts of censure, and verdicts carrying
damages, we fear that the United States will,
sor sometime to come, maintain the position
.5ich they hold at the head Of the accident
,oIumn in railway statistics. And this will
,ssalt not from the want of skill, or from a
riyrardly expenditure Of money, but from the
Tsmporary and make shift character of so
many of the buildings, bridges, and other
.iructures in this country. 1T will do for the
nresept" saws America, as she pushes hur-
riedIy forward in her rapid march of improve
ment. And for the present it does do; but the
present soon becomes the past, and the future,
1uprovided for, the present; and progress
never turns back upon its steps to reassure
Itself of its position. Ii is satisfied for the mo-
meat that il has reached the point at which it
p aimed, and there it stops only to take breath
..r another push forward. Meanwhile, what
ssrved well enough temporary purpose, wears
sWay under constant wear and tear, and pres
only there is a crash, and a tale of suffering
and death. Such were the circumstances of
this very case The lightness Of this tressel
bridge had excited the fears of the people
living near it, but the builders Of the road
quieted their fears by telling them that the
tressel work was only temporary, and would
soon be replaced by a substantial structure.
Bat we have not yet touched upon the one
rsuse Cf accidents of this kind which this
calamity brought to mind. 1t is lack of
FHei No one would for moment suppose
anv sooner than the Americans themselves
would admit. that they lacked courage, moral
or physical. What We refer to, is that deter
minstion in the everyday affairs Of life, which
makes the Englishman seem gruff; such a de-
termination as Wadsworth showed who, when
IN MS straitened days, friends and acquain-
IsIceS would visit MS house and remain for a
few days, told them plainly that they were
welcome to share his frugal fare, land it was of
the humblest kind,) but that if they wanted
anything costly they must pay him board
e,
the pluckiest thing he ever heard of. 1t is
to an unwillingness to have the unpleasant
emotions caused by saying a disagreeable
thing TO a man face to face that we attribute
much Of the inferior, which, il is admitted on
all hands, eharacteriEes this country. Men are
- much upon an equality here, and so tender
q each other, that where their own personal
interests are not Immediately and largely at
sake, they shrink from exacting a rigorous
ffhiment a u 10 O.
contract The consequence is q slack, good
natuTed, accommodating way of getting
along, which allows men to shirk duty, with
the certainty, almost, that unless some very
grlevOus consequences ensue, there will be no
penalty suffered, hardly reprimand received.
We are the more convinced that this mista-
Ken kindness Is At the bottom Of the evil in
question because wherever an opposite mode
u administration has been adopted and strict
discipline asserted accidents have occurred as
rarely a they do in Europe. This is notably
uue with regard to the Hudson River Railroad
sld the Central Park Of New York On the
fprmer road the strictest performance of con-
tracts and Of duties, from the highest officer of
the road 10 the lowest is exaeted and neglect.
whether followed by disaster or not, ensures
penalty II not discharge. At the Central
fark. similar adherence to routine is insist
tI upon, and an almost military discipline
Kept up. and the consequence is, that although
there are more than three thousand men con-
SANITY at work there, and visiters are con-
stantly passing through the park while blast
ing Is going at the rate of thirty barrels of
powder daily, accidents even of a trifing ma
tare are hardly ever heard of. The discipline
oi the place, however, is still a surprise to the
public, and many people, well meaning enough,
Dat lawless in small matters, daily subject
themselves to rebuff and sometimes to arrest,
oeSause, believing that the park regulations
WI not be enforced, they will go where they
are ordered not to GO and do what they are or
dered not to do The Superintendent, or Ar
ehiiect-ln-chief, says also that his chief diff
,H!ty III prosecuting the work is in making
,'htractors believe that they are expected to
,1,hl their contracts in their spirit and to the
ig'tei; and iaborers and other persons en-
I'Gyed on the park, that their duties will be
i'5oTously eXacted Of them Let this unfiinch-
Ing discipline become difused, and railway
AM steamboat accidents will diminish.