The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1882-09-30
SAFETY OF RAILROAD TRAVEL.

An especially interesting statistical
article in the current number Of the
North American Review deals with
the subject of railway travel in the
United States. The writer opens with
the surprising statement that about
100000 persons are annually
transported over the 100000 miles of
railway in this country. Probably
very few have heretofore supposed
that each one of our fifty millions of
inhabitants (of course exclusive of
train employees averages seven rides
year on railroad trains. Of disasters
of all kinds to trains in motion, there
are about one thousand each year.
Not less than ten thousand persons are
annually injured, more or less, and
directly or indirectly by the operation
ofthe railroad system. Of this great
number, however, only about oue.half
are connected with the railroads as
passengers or employees; all the rest
may be classed as "trespassers," whose
injuries are received at crossings, by
walking on the track, etc. Of the
former one-half, one.third are passen.
gers, two-thirds employees. Of the
passengers suffering from accidents,
less than one-half can justly blame
the railroad companies. Of the acci>
dents to employees, at least two thirds
are due to their own carelessness.
Forty per cent. of accidents to EN-.
ployes are fatal, as are twenty five
per cent. Of the injuries to passengers.
Ofall the passengers annually injured
the railroad companies are response,
BILE for only ten per cent. of the inju-
ries and five per cent of the deaths.
This portion of the statistics sho us
how careless individuals are when they
approach railroads for travel, labor,
or any other purposes.
But all these injuries, when COM
paratively considered, are found sur
prisingly few. Of all the millions of
passengers annually carried only about
1880 are injured severely, and only
$50 killed; and of these 800 injuries
and 200 deaths are all the railroads
are justly accountable for. More than
800, 900 passengers. therefore, are
annually carried safely where one is
killed by any cause, and nearly two
million persons are transported safely
where one is killed by railroad negli>
gence. For every passenger at all
injured 200, 900 are safely carried; for
every passenger whose injury the
railroad company is at fault, 100000
are safely transported. Statistics from
Massachusetts, show that in that State
passenger with average good luck
could travel 1900 times the distance
around the earth before getting killed.
The writer then compares railroad
travel with the old.time stage coach
journeying. 1t has been asserted ON
good authority that there were actu-
ally more persons killed and injured
in Massachusetts, fifty years ago,
through accidents to stage coaches,
than there are now through accidents
to railroad trains, despite the enor.
nous increase in the number of per-
sons travelling, Stage coach travel in
France years ago injured sixty passen-
gers where the railroad there now in.
jures one. The official returns in
France show that man is safer in a
railroad train than in his own house;
and in England figures prove that a
man is thirty times more in danger
of being hanged than of meeting
death on Il railroad. Such facts GO
far to confirm for to-day the statement
made thirty years ago by distin-
gushed writer. that of oil means OF
locomotion which human invention
has vet devised, railroad travelling is
the safest in an almnstinfnite degree.