Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-11-24
Eot,foster 1ntelli9entes
+ r.AnoAsrsR. NOVEMBER "a, isss.
ARR Reaching Decision.

! a Far Reaching Decision.
y " court Of appeals in New York has
"a that Buddensiek, the New York
~ builder, the fall of one of whose
lonros caused the death ofa workman,
' &eoperiy convicted of manslaughter.
~ 1tHument Of the decision is that the
M who puts up house in manner
13on BY the law, must be considered
{ bocn guilty of maliciously causing the
n1h that ensues from his act. 1t is not
Io1anded that Buddensiek intended to
I'M snybody, but that he built without
rving the law and in way that he
- lonson to believe would be dangerous
11fs.
ii 10 ono is likely to find fault with this
i11W ce the law, which needs to be taken
- H. public protection. But it will be
Z &EVpd that this is very far-reaching
6io0 In that it follows all those who
|eoot public and private works. If
0l5dor may be convicted Of manslaughter
Z ~ 10 death of workman upon his
<znuurely erected structure, every railroad
4 af11if1o0t, director or manager must be
0cunlly responsible to the law for the
nscurity with which his railroad is built and.
1 oper1ted and any undertaking to build it
!: a = dangerously cheap fashion and to
run It In hazardous way, may send him
: - jail. No one will deny that great deal
{ q this sort of building and operating char
{ ASSEMBLIES our railroad administration and it
~ come to be thought that the only eff.
cieut remedy for it is to hold the road
Y r11nages criminally responsible. There
& sUCver yet has been railroad president or
manager convicted of manslaughter; the
& Number Of them that might have been so
I oonvicted under this Buddensiek decision
\ r. yery many.
Railroad accidents are probably the most
+ numerous of all causes of violent death or
Injury, and in very many, if not the ma
= j0rity OF cases, are traceable to negligence.
The blame is generally thrown on the con-
ductor or engine driver, and the railroad
Z manager proceeds to discipline them as
!, though he was the court of law in the case.
4 H the more disinterested tribunals estab-
3i1hed for the administration of the crimi-
nal law were to take cognizance of the
4 matter, they would often find that the
\ nal fault laid higher up in the scale of Off
oerB, and that the engineer or conductor
WAs the scape-goat of his SUPERIOR officer
{ oins.
Look, for one instance, at the practice of
4 eyen the best managed companies in the
Z matter of taxing their train officers beyond
& tho fair endurance of human mind and
I muscle. just now the railroads are having
busy season. Extra trains are being
daily made up in large numbers. The
n regular force OF engineers and firemen has
20 DO extra duty in running these trains,
nere being no spare supply of skilled labor
u g man them. We have been told of an
& 0gine driver on the Pennsylvania railroad
# Who made, during last week, thirteen
ays; and who must therefore have
neon on continuous duty nearly all
the time, night and day, supposing that
x - hours make a days work. Evidently
tQae was Q dangerous call upon the man Is
u endurance, and one that he could not
4 eefely meet. 1t is safe conclusion that if
b ~ accident should occur to train through
n ~ negligence of an engineer so over
worried, the really guilty party would bt
z IT. superior officer who had ordered him t,
+ HI post, or those still above him who's,
tnilroad management made the order neces
& ny.
There are great many other employers
NAN railroad managers and builders whC
10y get into jail under the Buddensiek law
All employers come under its shadow. We
epeak particularly of the criminal care
ksaness OF railroad managers, because they
ere the most conspicuous class of offenders
and We pick out Of their misdeeds this ont
y q oyertaxing their employees, because i
B = clear and simple violation of ordinary
4 prudence, which is now in extraordinar,
< pEnctice, and which needs to be stopped t
ev0h the great disasters which will in
evitably attend its continuance during tn
]. te0rms of the coming winter.