New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-03-31
DEATH DISARMED.


How the Lives of Passengers on Our
Leading Railroads are Being Pro-
tccted-No More Railway Horrors
The Greatest <InventiOn of the Age.
From the st. Louis journal OF Commercial
The most careless reader of the daily
pauers of the present age must nave been
torcibly reminded at times OF the apparent
carelessness. or rather. low estimate placed
mon the value of human lite by the public
al LARGE. Take the thousand and one
Lideous accidents, recorded by the hlstor-
zeal record of the press, for one short year,
and it would make a bulky volume, hiied
with tales of suffering, misery ana horrlnie
deaths. The every day reader OF the daliy
paper long ago has become calloUsed by the
oft repeated tale of accidents, which
are so much alike in their CHASTITY mon
otonOusness. that new horror must De
GIGANTIC il, its lesoation and heart-:endinS
in detail to insure more than passing atten-
ton.
There are so many ways for sending poor
humanity across the border IN this wonder
full America that it would take volumes TO
eluc:date them all hut OF all accluents the
one most prolific in horrors is the railroad
accident. Year after year rolls on. thou
sands are crushed out of existence. burned
alive or else crippled to living death by
its cruel and crimnally careless causes. but
the public does not complain, except n a
| feeble, spasmodic way. and accepts the re-
suits of bad railway management as the
necessary results OF the present raliFodu
system.
| The wealthy corporations, which osten-
| sibly were or organized for the benefit Of the
| pubic have too long regarded its safety
| as a matter of trivial Importance, N com
| rarison with the draining OF its pockets TO
accrue to their vast and Aladdin growing
| wealth. The times are changing. The sub
| iect of safety is beginning finally to be dis
cussed, and great and ingenious minds have
been set TO work to try and alleviate some
of the greatest evils at least Already
| marked Improvements have been noted.
| and leading railroads have made use OF
! them. When the important evils are rene
| died. then the minor ones may be attended
| to- and in time American railroads may Go
| a more exclusive business of passenger
| transit. That is, coniine their carry ing
| trade to stations in this world, and run not
| quite so many through trains to the beyond.
| Over three fourths of the railroad acct
| dents arise either from "telescOplng or
oscillation" These causes for accident
! are a peculiar outgrowth Of the American
railway system. They are unknown in
other countries. Naturally one might de
| sire to inquire into the nature and cause OF
| the "telescopins and its twin aid to death
| and destruction, oscillation
| First as to telescoplng. This term is ia
| miiar to every reader OF accounts OF rail-
| way accidents. 1t is caused by the inilrm,
imperfect means used in coupling cars.
| Under the old method OF coupling, when
two cars are brought forcbly together, as
| in IA collision. the platform Of one of the
| cars coming together is inevitably broken
and the car raised up and sent through the
advancing car after the manner OF a closing
| telescope gliding within It's slides.
| The terrible results to life and limb by
such telescoping is too well known to neeti
any comment a new pattern of coupling
recently invented by an old railway man.
will. when universally used, make the word
i" teeScOpeu obsolete IN reference to rail-
way accidents. Constructed upon strictly
mechanical principles to guard against
| this form OF accident. this new coupling is
eminentiy successful. For eight wears the
cou} ling has been introducing itself Dur
| ing that time it has been adopted by over
| one hundred railroads, and cars upon those
roads are never teiescoped. Thus one OF
! the greatest causes OF railroad slaughter IS
| obvated.
Now as to the other. oscillation" Colonel
Ezra Miller Is the benetactor who has done
so much Tor the safety Vt the public, and he.
| in speaking OF the direct causes Of railroad
accidents. opens the eyes OF the public to
| the dangers arisin. from oscillation. that
| they perhaps never dreamed OF. The old >vs
TEN OF coupling is OF SO loose nature that
oscillation could never have been prevented
without a new method being used. Oscil-
| latiou is technically described as the lateral
| vibration OF the cars OF train in motion,
! That Is. the swinging motion Of the train.
| Each car has an independent motion which.
| beginning at the first car, increases to the
| last. When at high speed the position is
| always dangerous under the old system OF
! hn IL
felt the greatest on levels, in long trains
| and at high speed. anu on down grades.
where the shock i'll the couplings is great
est. This is particularly dangerous for the
| rear cars. and the jumping OF cars from the
track Willie running at a high rate Of speed,
| too often smoothed over by the story OF a
broken rail, or the like is another one Of
the list of causes of railroad horrors.
! Now, the Miller coupling obviates all this.
| 1t connects cars in sucn manner that there
is no jerk in starting. The whole train
| gently moves. In motion the car is quiet
| as parOr, and stops as quietly as it starts.
| Then its connection is automatic, and no
danger is possible to the brakeman. Its
many good qualities can be summed up
briefly as follows. Its practical test for
| eight years, as to its saving millions Of prop
cry and thousands of lives. are the only
| demonstrations necessary to their proof:
| l. The platforms are held in plane with
| the sills of the cars. =. The platforms can
| not be broken by any ordinary accident. 3.
TeIescoping is impossible. 4. ANY required
compression may be obtained to prevent
| accidents by oscillation. ). No links and
| pins are required, and no one is required to
| 90 between cars to couple them. s. The
| platforms may be held as close together as
desired. !. By close coupling the train is
shortened. 8. They may be uncoupled
without shutting off. to make flying
switch. 9. Telescopng and oscillation are
impossible. 10. The great steadiness pro
dIced by them make sleeping cars desir
| able. IL. No person can fall between the
cars when coupled.
The above are few of the good qualities
of "Miller's Trussed Platforms, Compression
Buffers, and Automatic Couplers.' The best
roads are all using them. The Missouri
Pacific road here at home has wisely adopted
them of late, and earnest commentators
letters from the leading officers of the Chi
cago. Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Company Kansas City, St. Joe and Council
BlDtfs railroad: Chicago Burlington and
Quincy: Michigan Central. and all the lead
ing Eastern roads, speak volumes in its
favor. The time is not far distant when the
public Will refuse to ride on roads that re-
fuse to care for its safety by the Use Of this
great Improvement.
A petition to Congress to prohibit the call
ing of any more children by the name OF
, George Washington is in circulation out
/