The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-04-04
SAFETY OF RAILWAY TRAVEL.
Hartford Courant.

Accidents by horse and carriage,
though far more numerous in the aggre
gate than those by both steamers and
railways, are usually matters of merely
local interest and limited notoriety. 4
large number of serious accidents with
horses have occurred in our state during
the last winter, while there has been no
serious railway accident duril. g the same
time. In London from 100 to 200 per-
sons on an average are killed annually
by horses and vehicles. In 1874, 1874 were
thus killed; in 1870, 1914 persons were
run over and killed and ,919 were MAIN
ed or injured. Probably not one of these
accidents was known far beyond the lin
its of London. Accidents thus occurring
in country towns are still less known.
But the circumstanlial horrors usually
connected with railway disaster give il
the widest publicity and attract general
attention, while the public interest is in
tensified by pictorial representations in
the illustrated papers. Thus an errone-
GUS and exaggerated Impression of the
danger of railway travel has become
common. The English railways were
formerly unequalled for safety. Now the
French and German lines excel in this
direction. The best exhibit have seen
for any one year in England was in 1864,
when only one passenger was killed to
over 100000 carried-the number of
killed being fifteen, and the number of
passengers 229, $4,000. The rigid gov
eminent supervision of the railways in
France and Germany is the secret of the
remarkable safety there attained. The
safe and prompt transportation of the
immense armies, both French and Ger
man, during the Franco-German war,
was demonstration of the excellent
management of their railways. The
conveyance of so many millions of peo-
pie without accident during the Cen
tennial exhibition, by the railways CEN
tering in Philadelphia, was a striking
illustration of the safety of railway
travel. But the most remarkable sta
tistics l have anywhere seen are those
OF the New York and New Haven rail-
road during the last twenty-three years.
From the time of the NOrwalk accident
to September, 1871, 81 ,655, 176 passengers
were carried on that road without loss of
life to single passenger in the cars,
though some fatal accidents were caused
by attempts to jump on the cars when in
motion. Since the above data the annu-
al reports covering the Consolidated road
show the number of passengers up to
September last to be 26,7S1 ,496. fit be
assumed that One-half of this number
pass over The New York and New Haven
division, it would make over IL 600, 900
persons carried on that division without
loss OF life to any passenger in the cars.
This is certainly remarkable result, and
one which has not come by accident or
simply good fortune. The safety of rail
road travel requires competent and rigid
inspection, the closest scrutiny at every
point in all details. Aside from ineffi-
Gent supervision, accidents occur from
broken axels and rails, decayed sleepers,
loose fastenings, unduly parted joints,
defective bridges, weak masonry and poor
bed and ballast. Great improvements
have recently been made alike IN rolling
stock and permanent way. But the most
important step is in the steel rail now
used on the whole line of the Consolidat-
ed road, and which in the end will be
found cheaper, as well as safer. The
above facts show that where there is a
thorough superstructure, and, above all,
efficient supervision, one is safer in a
railroad car than he would be walking
in the streets of city, or in active en-
ployment under ordinary conditions.