Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1865-03-17
From Harnar,. wn.t1r
The Perrin of the RAN.

There have been more than 6fty serious
railway accidents in the country since the
year opened. In the last week of Februa
~ there were ten, and since the first of
January more than sixty people have beeu
killed, and nearly five hnndred wounded
The Ohio Senate has appointed a commit.
tee to report upon some plan by which
human life can be better protected upon
railroads. Scarcely q day passes that some
disaster is not recorded, aud if the people
of the country, in their legislatures, do not
help themselves, they are likely to go M !.
aided. 80
That government should not meddle with
private affairs is very true. Bat wholesale
slaughter npon railroads which derive all
their privileges from. the people Is not a
pfiVAte aHair. There lee contact betWeSu
the companies and the ipeOpfs Hersonkl
safety is one of this tnevfta6le although
unexpressed conditions Ot.the contract. If
it is broken by the privileged party, the
party that grants the privilege may proper
~ take the steps necessary to secure the
fulflment of the conditions Legislative
control of a railroad company may be un
desirable, but universal accident and
slaughter upon railroads are much less de.
| sirable; and whenever company estsb-
lished for the public convenience becomes
a public danger, the public will very pro-
perly insist upon taking care of itself, by
imposing new conditions upon the COM
pany-
Souufortuuate a season for railroad travel
WIS never known in this country. The
reasons are many. All the roads are well
worn. The price of iron has been so high
that, at time when the roads were moRt
worked, repairs have been delayed. The
long continued frosts have weakened the
rails and the iron work of the locomotives.
The throng of passengers aud the press OF
freight have been unprecedented, aud the
government has constantly wanted loco
motives and engineers. Consequently rails
have snapped in every direction /; locomo'
tives have been disabled; trains have been
Whirled from the track; the cars have been
crowded and uncomfortable; timetables
have been utterly useless; connections have
been seldom made, and trains have been
quite uniformly delayed.
If any man thinks that the Legislature
has no right to meddle with private affairs
/ we should ike to seat him in car from
/ New York to New Haven. and when the
train is laundering along at thirty miles ar
hour, Jerking and jumping from the track
i and every passenger waiting for the crash
ask his opinion of the right of any com
pany 10 play with human life as it is play.
/ ed with upon that road. Or it he is conf
dent that every company should be left K
mind its own sff4irs, we should like Z
stand him up in car upon the New Yorl
Central from Albany TO Utica, with nj
4 lchance of seat, and, reminding him tha
there was no chance of helping himself b.
Ia - L.,
whether he paid his fare for the priYileg
of discomfort, and whether the charter wa
lgranted for the public accommodation o
not.
OF course the companies are not respou
sible for not overcoming the elements; bu
they are responsible for not accommoda
ting themselves to circumstances. Fo
instance, g traveller lately left Albany 70
the West upon the Central road. Th,
train was very heavy; there were tWelvl
cars. II was crowded, aud in every ca
some passengers we're standing all tbl
way. The weather was cold, aud wheI
the traveller who sat near the stove asket
the boy who tended the fires TO put Il
some dry wood be replied, good humoredly
"Dried wood Golly, there are twenty
four stoves on this train, aud only two OF
'em has any FIRE, and yourn's one. Efyot
| Walt Tor dry Wo0d yef'Il IreeAe pFetty suo
den. This wood was all cut doWn thi
moruin'" From eight O'Clock 10 the NOR
ming until nine at night there was no step
page for eating. The train was laborinl
along behind time, ard whether as ON
lcritic said, the President of the road wa
interested in coal, and so had had the 10
comotfyes changed from wood burners I,
coal burners; or whether an Untimely par
simouy had compelled the company to us
green wood to make steam, the result va
the same, the most battling and disastrou
delay.
81 advise everybody to keep cool an,
takeiL philosophical, % said a traveller, VIII
wss calmly smoking a cigar at ten o'olocI
: in the evening. 81 have been on the g
since the 2slh, of December, and hahn
( made but two connections In allzthSt tint