Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1882-01-12

1are. Ii was the custom TO allow mere
children travelling with adults to ride
free. When the train reached Iowa
Point it stopped long enough for pas
sengers to leave. The little girls. how
ever, seem not to have known. until too
late, that the stopping place was Iowa
Point; at any rate they did not reach
the car platform to quit the car until the
train was just starting. However. they
tried to alight A passenger tried to
help them. The elder one succeeded;
but the younger one, when her feet
touched the platform of the station. fell
forward and she rolled to the ground
between that platform and the car If,
now. she had lain perfectly still she
would not have been hurt: but she had
not presence of mind for this, and her
struggles brought her feet upon the
track and they were badly crushed
Meantime the conductor had no inform
alton that the children were to leave
the train at Iowa Point. or that thew
were travelling by themselves. And
when the accident happened it was
aggravated by the passengers giving
contradictory signals to the engineer
The Court held that the company was
not chargeable with any negligence
which could render it liable. Ii was
bound 10 carry the child safely to Iowa
Point; but this was done. The com
pany was not bound TO know that the
child wished to alight at Iowa Point I'M
less that wish was manifested by giving
notice to the conductor beforehand or
going forward to alight when the train
stopped. 1t was the hardness Of the
children. and not any fault Of the tr.iin-
men, which delayed their getting off I'M
til the train was dangerously in motion.
Nor were the employees bound to know
that the children were travelling without
guardian; they had a right to suppose
that the passengerswhom they saw as
sisting the little girls to alight was
person in whose charge they were. The
company was not in fault because 4
good-natured passenger tried to help
the children off, nor because hasty and
excited passengers confused the engi-
neer by injudicious signals. The affair
was an accident which could not have
been anticipated. A railroad company
cannot be made responsible for an I'M
foreseen accident occurring in the right
full operation of the road; its liability
must always be founded on a wrong, a
neglect.
A grown woman in Pennsylvania sus-
tanned singular injury in alighting.
The train was stationary. The woman
was assisted by her husband. On step
tIn 81 q
the car she advanced her left Not fore
most to the ground. keeping her right
foot on the step. While she held that
position, and without any apparent
cause, her right knee-cap snapped and
was fractured. There was no slipping
or stumbling. no blow or force of any
kind. She brought suit. ascribing the
casualty to strain attributable to the
step being extravagantly high from the
ground. The company denied that the
step was unusually high. and said that
the injury could only be attributed to
some constitutional weakness of the
lady's knee; and they brought a witness
or two to show that the left knee-cap
had previously been broken almost as
unaccountably. The Court said the jury
must decide as well as they could wheth-
er the injury was attributable TO any
negligence on the part of the company;
if it was fortuitOus-if it could not
have been anticipated and provided
against-there was no liability. But in
case like this negligence must be af-
Tentatively proved. There was no
ground for presuming it. The cars
were at standstill; there was no jar or
breaking of machinery; the lady was
alighting without any interference from
the company; and, il the step appeared
too high, she might havedemanded bet
ter facilities.