The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-05-10
A French View OF Railway Accidents.

IL really begins to look as though the
time were fast approaching when rail.
way and steamboat officials will be
everywhere held TO strict accounta-
bility for the lives committed 10 their
care. Many months since, we recorded
the exemplary punishment melted out
10 South American railway manager,
who will doubtless learn, in the course
OF "a long term of Imprisonment, the in
expediency of permitting accidents on
his road in the future. Lately, this add
mirable precedent has been followed
up and confirmed in France. The
Lyons railway, during last September,
was the scene of an accident which
caused the deaths of nine persons, and
Was found to have been caused by the
breaking of an axle.tree, while the train
was going at a high rate of speed. 1t
is theory of the French law, as it
should be of all laws, that there are no
such things as unavoidable railway ac-
cidents, or, at least, that the burden of
proof should rest in all cases on the
person presumably to blame, to show
that the mishap was not to be prevented
by human foresight or care. In obedi-
ence to this admirable provision, NJ.
Audibert, the traffic manager of the
road, was cited before the Tribunal OF
Correctional Police, at Sens, to explain
why he should not be held worthy OF
punishment Tor suffering one OF his
axle-trees to break. 1t was shown that
such accidents were by no means un-
common on the road. 220 having oc-
A. rod IN tlH
warnings and promises Of amendment
on the part OF NJ. Audibert, twenty.
four such fractures had taken place in
four months of last year. NJ. Audibert
was indicted for homicide by impru.
dence, and although through tech
meal defect in the law the gravest part
of the charge failed, he was still con-
demned to pay fine of three thousand
francs and 10 suffer months imprison-
ment.
These are steps in the right direction.
Individual responsibility strictly en-
forced can alone secure a moderate de-
gree OF safety against the manifold risks
OF modern travel. Mulcting companies
in damages may indeed make them
more careful in selecting proper agents
and In holding them to thorough per-
Torrance Of their duties But people
on whose vigilance and attention hu-
man live is constantly depending, must
be made to feel that negligence will in
volve graver consequences than the
mere loss of situation that they must
render an account not only to their
employers, but to society and to the
law. They must be made TO feel that
for every accident some one is to blame,
TO be found out, and to be punished.
This principle once thoroughly under.
stood and acted on-and nowhere is it
more necessary than with us-we may
not, indeed, have put beyond us all
danger OF such pitiable disasters as that
of the OceanuS the other day, Of the
Sonstantly recurring slaughters on rail
or river that almost daily shock us, but
we shall have certainly very appre-
Gladly diminished the risks. What is
better, we shall, as community, have
relieved ourselves from that share Of
responsibility for these massacres which
must attach TO every society where
recklessness and inefficiency are stimu-
lated to disaster by supine neglect or
languid enforcement of obvious law. 1t
is not alone the careless Waterman or
the drunken engineer who is 10 blame
for the accident that may cost score
of lives, but the public which has failed
to prove TO these faithless servants that
their neglected duty will be punished
as a crime.-N Y Times