Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-08-31

guarding the interests com mitted to his
Keeping. The hereto engineer is. watching
first the steam gauge and then the track
before him, with his strong hand firmly,
fixed upon his iron lever. All of them.
passengers and train men, are unconscious
of their impending. fate. They strike the
down grade just this side the evil brid se.
The engineer desiring to make up lost
time and wishing to acquire sufficient
momentum to drive him with rapid speed
over the up grade just beyond, gives his
lever wrench, and turns on full head of
steam. Onward they. speed like tornado
in its fury, at the rate of thirty or f rty
miles an hour. The engine strikes the
unsupported railing, sewers her connection
with the train, and. bounding with accel-
Grated force. across the narrow channel,
she dashes with such violence down the
embankment as not to leave scarcely
JOINT of her huge structure in place. The
coaches. with one exception, rush pell
nell into the muddy stream, piling up
stoves and seats and rubbish and passen-
gers into one mass Of utter
Confusion. The darkness of the night, the
cries of the wounded, and the suffering of
| the crippled engine all com bine to add a
| feature of hideousness and horror to the
scene, heartrending and revolving beyond
conception. The wonder is that
an da individual TIE escaped sud D.
I
extricated. the wounded cared for but
thanks to q experimenting Providence,
| when the gray streaks of morning appear
the sun looks down through his fiery win
| dows into the face of but one whom the
| dark angel of death has snatched away by
the shock. e-r 01 E~
But the sad occasion has passed by, and
as we now look back over the scene of
| this disaster we are deeply impressed that
/ Il ha iaf- hOn uhap
none expected it. Many lives were i'm.
paired and thousands of dollars of prop
erty destroyed But the question comes up,
who is responsible for this disaster? Ger
tainly not one OF the number aboard the
fatal train is respo sible. They were in the
discharge of bounden duty. In every
particular they acted the part of brave
men and true. 1 am not prepared to say
that the auth, rites of the road are
legally responsible. They exercised
al the prudence and forethought
that the management of any road does
under ordinary circumstances. True they
/ could have had watchman there, but
such is the comparative safety of the
works at that point that the slightest dan
ger seemed improbable. They are not re-
quired by s-nse of their own interests, or
by public opinion, to go to such precau :
ton. The cause, therefore, lies in cons
| bination of circumstances over which
ordinary vigilance and forethought rarely
have control. Therefore. unjust sensure
and harsh criticism is be deplored.
This is the first misfortune of the kind
that mas occurred along this lire Of road
for years. II proves clearly thst the man
aaement has been most excellent But
with this warning sounding in the ears of
the railroad authorities, should similar
disaster occur at any point of slightest dan
ger, thereby jeopardizing the lives
of passengers the legal and moral
responsibility will rest upon them.
They have had sufficient admonition. Furth-
er than this, it is not the province of the
pulpit to discuss the causes which led to this
lamentable catastrophe; or to indulge in
criticism upon the management of rail-
roads. This we leave to the secular press,
the civil courts and juries Of the country.
Yet, my brethren, it is the unlimited pre-
negative of the pull pit to draw from these
disasters such moral lessons as they are de-
signed to teach. God as certainly speaks
to US through these methods as He does
through the language Of Holy Writ. Let
as, therefore, heed the voice of misfortune
and death.
five trace the analogy that exists be-
tween physical and moral disaster, which
. is perfectly legitimate, we are taught by
this occurrence;
L TIE deceitfHlness and treaehery 0,
temptation.
We are all journeying along the railway
of this existence to some unknown destiny
beyond Life is the train anC
time is the track upon which We
are travelling. We enter this rail-
way at the cradle and reach the terminus
at the grave. Between these two eventful
points there are many places of danger
over which we pass. These places of danger
are as treaeherous as the thief which comes
, at an hour when we think not. But we
confront them at every curve and down
grade in life. There is the deceitful
! stream of intemperance,- passing and re.
+ passing across the highway of our unstable
/, Journey. The bridge that spans it is bull
g out of good intentions and confidence in
+ self. The foundation upon which it rests
y is laid in the stability and frmness of hui
man purpose and determination. The
: Waterman guarding the point Of peri
' is conscience and self restraint. How
D fragile and slender is this structure, anC
n yet how strong and secure it appears
r is rare that you find passenger that APP
prehends danger at this fatal crossing
: There may be, other places of peri
+. which call forth his fear, but no
i intemperance. He has wonderful conf
. dence in his ability to resist trouble and
? disaster at this point in his Journey, IL
;: his mind SOCIAL glass now and then with
: a boon companion only breaks the monoto
: nv of travel and involves no serious conse
4 quences whatever. If you tell him there i:
# imminent danger of moral wreck Just be
t fore him, he spurns it as an idle tale. Dag
q after day and night after night he contrib
: utes to the carelessness and Indifferent G
+ with which he hampers and triaes with it
q The Waterman finally deserts his post. Hi:
j good intentions and his confidence in sell
Q increase. The stability Of his purpose an(
determination is gradually undermined
and now behold the place of treachery and
danger over which the car Of his destiny
+ passes, freighted with irresponsible inten-
tons, disappointed confidence, and broken
promises. How many thousands Of times
has this fragile structure given away at an
hour when We least expected it. How fear
: fal are the wrecks of life and moral charac-
ter that are piled around its fallen pillars
and broken tmbers. Let us examine some
| Of 4bax- hal