Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-08-30
The Recent RaiIrond sInngh,cr.

The Recent RaiIrOad slaughter.
We can hardly take up newspaper, since the
Revere disaster, without seeing, in some form of
words, the sentiment that the punishment of the
person who may be found responsible for it is
demanded as a valuable security to the public
against the recurrence of such calamities. The
universal demP nd for victim is natural and
perhaps not unreasonable expression of the
common feeling that the cause of so much mis-
cry ought himself to suffer. We have certainly
no objection to this. There can be no doubt
that the slaughter was caused by gross careless
ness, which ought to be, if it is not, criminal,
and no penalty the law can inAict will be too Sc
we're for such reckless sacrifice of human lives.
But we do not believe that the infiction of any
penalty, even death itself, upon the culprit or
culprits in this case would have any appreciable
effect in making other railroad officials more
vigilant or careful Of the lives intrusted to their
keeping. The consequences to the guilty
person of such criminal careless
ness. when deaths are occasioned by it,
are not insignificant, even without legal penal
ties. We do not suppose that any railroad
official is Indifferent TO such slaughter as that of
Saturday. with the ineXpressible torture of Its
victims, and the mourning it carries into so
many families He would not be influenced to
do any act that might have such consequences
BY the belief that he himself should escape
personal injury or retnbutiye justice. Many,
perhaps most conductors, engineers or brake
men, would without hesitation put their own
lives in imminent peril to avert sach catastro-
-. =
that the same men who would thus risk their
lives to save others, might expose others with
themselves to the most fearful risks through
mere wantonness, knowing perfectly well the
danger, but recklessly taking the chances.
Not every act of gross carelessness or mis-
management produces disaster; not even one
in ten. Multitudes of such acts are committed
every week, which have no serious consequences,
and of which the public never hears. Some
times the escape is so narrow that attention is
attracted, and some healthy indignation against
the delinquent finds vent. Usually, however,
the vigilance of Others, or some of the Dumer-
GUS checks and preventive measures provided by
the regulations of all well managed roads, in
tervene to avert mischief. Very rarely, if ever,
is one person solely responsible for serious dis
aster. Several causes must cooperate involving
more or less delinquency on the part of several
persons to produce such a catastrophe. Ii is
probable that the person chiefly to blame for
slaughter like that at Revere often feels the
pangs of remorse as acutely as any of
those who denounce him could wish.
His whole future life may be embit-
tered by it. Perhaps no punishment could be
inflicted upon him by law so severe as the con-
slant reproaches of his own conscience. We
are not arguing for lenity to such persons We
have no disposition to deny the justice or the
wisdom of adding legal punishment to the
penalty which their inexcusable recklessness nat
urally brings with it. What we mean to say is
that the prospect Of that punishment, to follow
only in case their misbehavior leads to fatal
consequences, is too remote and in their view
TOO improbable TO be effective in lettering them
from criminal negligence. They are willing TO
run the chances of that, as well as Of the i'm
mediate danger to themselves and others
which the disregard of the ordinary precautions
involves.
But these instances of negligence-the mis-
placing of switches, the disregard of signals, the
hundreds of other transgressions or omissions
which throw trains from the track or crusl
them against each other-though they do moi
come to the knowledge of the public, are all
known to somebody and can be easily proved
fla reasonable penalty were affixed by law to
every instance of violation of official duty 10y any
of these persons in positions where the lives OF
Others depend upon their vigilance and faithful
ness, this would be an efficient motive to a rigid
performance of duty. If railroad superintend.
ents and managers would make it their duty tc
see that the provisions of such a law
were in all cases enforced against their
subordinates whenever the necessary regulations
Of the road were transgressed or neglected, and
if public officers would enforce the same laws
against higher officials for every failure in
duty, a degree of vigilance would be secured
that would make railroad disasters well nigh
impossible, at least much less frequent. The
certainty of a moderate punishment for every
neglect would be infinitely more effective than
the chance of heavy penalty in the rare case
Of a fatal disaster. Absolute security cannot be
guaranteed; but the frequent recurrence of ter
rible disasters calls for precautions more effec-
tual than any hitherto employed, and no means
that promise additional protection ought to be
left uDtried