The Wilmingtonian. (Wilmington, Del.) 1882-188?, 1884-06-07

tnaJ are fasn eiougn TO 1nbefpJSe prOteS
against this needless and reckless slaughte
of men and women will only be looked upoi
as standing in the way of the progress o
the city," In olden times empires wer,
built up on the bones Of the butchered sol
ders. In these times, although war hsi
become unpopular, nations are built up il
pretty much the same way, only the dead art
taken from the ranks of the unsuspecting
and innocent private citizens instead of from
those of armed and defiant soldiers"
Hitherto the only sufferers by the casual.
ties s''on the Pennsylvania Railroad have been
the widows and orphans, the crippled and
MANNED, Whose tears bear annual tribute to
the iron heel under which they have been
| trodden, but at last we are iikely to have a
wholesome vindication of the rights sofcitizons
and if the Pennsylvania Railroad must be
run at the cost of blood, it will have to pay
the price of it. That price cannot be too
high. Not until 1t has been established that
it costs something to run over apoor beggar
within the city limits of Wilmington will the
| Railroad Company learn the ciowning vir-
tues of forbearance and unselfishness; not
till then will it learn that city ordinances are
| made to be respected. The Company is rich
and can afford TO pay thousands of dollars
without material squirm; but if the recur-
renee of accidents emboldens coroner's
jures to return verdict of manslaughter
against the delinquent ofiicials-as would be
done in any ci flized country in Europe
then the honor of the city and the rights of
its citizens would be Tor the first time fully
and freely vindicated.
We have no doubt that the Railroad Com
pany will recognise its liability in this mat
ter and indemnify the family Of Mr. Hill for
the loss they have sustained. But it would
be far better, in the interests Of the commu-
Company should be refused, and that the
family should sue the City for exemplary
damages damages as would make an
alternate action by the City against the
Pennsylvania Railroad a matter of absolute
necessity. Council would be thus compelled
to vipdicate its own ordinance, and in this
way the citizens would succeed in proving to
the Railroad Companies ,lat they have
rights which even the Pennsylvania Railroad
is bound to respect.
How far the security Of thi lives of our
citizens has been decided away to the Rail-
road Companies in the past IS shown in the
most convincing fashion by the accompany
ing plan of the level crossingd on the p. W.
s. B. rails between the city limits and Rail
road Bridge. There are in this section alone
sixteen streets crossed by the railroad at
grade, or which abut directly on the rail-
road tracks.
A few of these crossings are guarded by
safety gates, but this does not prevent acci-
dents from occurring with distressing fire.
queney. The sixteen street-crossngs shown
ON the plan represent corresponding num-
ber of chances Of loss of life, multiplied by
the number of trains passing 10 and fro dur
ing the day land of course indefinitely extern
ded by the number of persons driving or
walking over the tracks. Now if but one
person crossed each track to and fro during
the day at each spot, the chances of accident
are 16 (the number of crossings) multiplied
by 300 (the average number Of trains) or
a, 800 rsks'of -ife daily. Against this must
be set the instructive vigilance of the public
using the crossings, and small measure of
safety, so far as vehicles are concerned, in the
use of the safety gates. There is very little
if any, provision for the safety of foorpassen-
gers at the very places where 1t is needed,
namely at Market street and the very dam
gerous crossing at Fourth and Church. As
for the West Yard (Which might in one
sense be called the 'Church Yard, from the
number of casualties reported there)-it is
| outside the city limits and the Railroad
Companies can do pretty much as they
please. Railroad Bridge is another danger
GUS spot, but here the Company can charge
the city with neglect in not providing foot
bridge over the Brandywine Creek. Still the
chances are all against the unfortunate man
whose avocation compels him to cross the
fatal tracks of the P. w. & B. Railroad
tracks which have been over and over again
smeared with blood, and which will continue
to be SO smeared till the spirit Of the citizens
compels the City Council to demand that the
commercial interests of the directors shall
be subordinated to the requirements of the
public safety.