The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-03-13
NAMED BY CARS.
HOW CRIPPLED RAILROAD EMPLOYEES
ARE CARED FOR.
Victims Who Are Brought In from An
Parts of the Country PIucly
Men Who Undergo Painful
Surgical Operations.
rPhiladelphia Times.l


The daily average number Of accidents,
slight and serious, on the railroads of this
country is seven or eight Most of them
are caused by the carelessness which is
bred Of familiarity, but few, one out of
every eight, are almost unavoidable. The
class of men which suffers most from
these accidents is the brakemen on the
freight lines and the ubiquitous tramp
who is stealing a ride During the past
year there were some eighty cases of acct
dent to railroad employees of various lines
admitted to the University hospital and
fifty more admitted to the Presbyterian
hospital, besides many to the Episcopal,
German and Pennsylvania hospitals.
These cases range in triVialty and seri-
business from crushed finger or foot to
compound fractures of the limbs and skull
or injury in some more or less terrible
form. The cases are brought from all
parts of the country to Philadelphia.
From wherever the Pennsylvania, Phila-
delphia s. Reading, and the Philadelphia,
Wilmington & Baltimore lines extend and
ramify, thence all accidents are quickly
conveyed to the beds the corporations have
in one or other of the great hospitals of
this city.
The assistance of the nearest medical
man to the scene of the accident is called
in; the patient is temporarily treated; he
is tenderly laid on bed or mattress in the
first train coming here; the hospital au-
thorities are advised that case will arrive
at a certain time; the ambulance meets
the train, and in few minutes the suf-
ferer is in comfortable bed, with all that
modern skill and invention and kind
hearts can devise for the alienation of his
anguish.
What happens to those men who are
irremediably maimed2 In every case
where the employe bears good record
he no m
ployment is given him that he can fulfill
without the necessity of the limb or the
limbs he has lost. Thus signalmen, gate
men, station clerks and messengers are
recruited from the ranks of the halt and
MANNED The courage most of these men
display under the most distressing circum-
stances is enhanced by the knowledge that
they viii be cared for when they leave the
hospital No matter how terrible the
operation to be undergone, the men dis
play a stoical resignation and give them
selves up to the treatment of the surgeons
with a simple faith worthy of emu alton.
"The railroad men are our best patients,
said q doctor at the Presbyterian hospital
Yesterday "They never complain.
There is one whose arm had to be ampu
tated. l suppose the company will do
something for you when you go Out?"
he continued, addressing the man
"Oh yes, sir, suppose they will make
me signalman or switchman. can do
that with one arm.
How were you hurtT
"Coming from Frankfort to Phila-
delphia on freight train, sir. was sit
ting on the top of car by the brake.
There were forty-six cars; we had been
sIgnaled to stop and had put on my
brake and was slipping down between the
cars The engine pulled up pretty sud
denly and before could get out of the
way the twenty or more cars behind mine
came up with jerk, knocked me off my
feet and crushed my arm between the
buffers
@Here is man who got his foot run
over. said the doctor.
at was at a switch, sir, " said the man.
II thought had my foot out of the way,
but hadn't
$50 now he will have to do without his
big toe and the first joints of some of the
others" said the physician. "But that
won't disable him. He will be able to
walk nearly as well as ever. Here are a
couple of cases, one of a crushed arm, the
other a crushed leg. In both cases the
men were thrown down and the wheel of
car went lepgthWise over the limbs.
tearing and decorating the fieshy part of
the limbs, but, by a mere miracle, not
breaking the bones, although they were
laid open to view. These men will re-
cover the use of their limbs.
~Oh, yes, we have much more serious
cases sometimes, but the majority of them
do not amount to much more than these
that you have seen. and we always do our
best to obviate an amputation. You see,
a limb means something very important
10 laboring man. 1 have known cases,
though, where man has received con-
siderable advancement by such an ac-
cident We had a case last spring of a
man whose arm and leg had to be ampu-
tsted. When he went out of the hospital
be was made station master at a small
town on the Pennsylvania road. He was
yard man before the accident and had
very little chance of rising. But the com
panies are, as a rule, kind to their men
who are hurt while on duty.