Evening star., 1886-11-13

Railroad Accidents.
THEIR COMMERCIAL AsPECTS-DEAD MEN COST
LESS THAN INJURED ONES.
From the Chicago Mail.
Railroad accidents have in the eyes of stock
spectators, merely commercial aspect.
When the terrible calamity on the ST. Paul was
learned OF Wall street wanted to know how
many cars had been wrecked, how many lives
had been lost. but especially how many people
had been injured. The especial stress laid on
this last would not be understood by the ordi-
nary lay brother who Is outside OF q railroad
ofhce, unconnected with a law office, and who
Is not a STOCK brokerage expert. The passenger
who is Killed in Il railroad smash-up costs
the railroad company just $4,000. This is
settled law. Decision after decision has Teen
made, and legal fight has followed legal fight
until 1t Is now accepted by itigants OF all sOrls
that $4,000 can TIC collected as uamages for the
death OF a relative, and no more. EuL while
the courts have argued that tor the protection
OF railroads damages Tor dealt: shall be limited
by one OF those unaccOuntabie inequities OF
which the law is Iui, no limit mas ever Deenset
on the sum tnat a passenger Can sue for who
has received simply an Injury. And so u
broken leg may cost raiiiOau corporate
S5O,OoO; broken arm, S1OU,OOO; but the
children can only collect 5000 for the loss of
their Iather; the widow eau gel no more for the
loss OF her husband. Dead lawyers count no
more than tralnpS; dead mlIiiunaires bring
af,er a railroad wreck $1,000; dead laborers
Cost the railroad just mucn. if millionaire
however, escapes alive from srnasn-u1 he can
probably get iOI his broken arm 10000, wnlIe
the laUorer who escapes alive gets only 5000 ior
Ills. Ihls Is law. Wall street Is on 10 il, and
really expressed itself gratified the other day
10 learn that i'll the terrible wreck at Rio all
mad been killed; uOne Injured.
The most frignl:ul railroad accident that
ever occurred III Inc west was within ten miles
OF Chicago, and right out ON the prairie where
years ago. wnen the Michigan Central and
Michigan Southern were fighting each Ot uer
botn at this end III the east IneJ crossed at
right angles al Grand Crossing. There had ueeu
big fSut When Que liId its rails across
the others. Whenever two engineers passed
down there they glared at each o.ner
IrainS USED to race iur the riguL OF way
and there Was The must utter reckie e,sness. "A
Michigan southern train, loaded down with
eingranfs, was approaching CnIca.o along one
line ana Michigan Central was racing along
the other. The former got there first aud was
halt away across wnen the Michigan Central
engine plunged right into the center of the
train load Oh human freight. There never had
been such a sacrifice Oi liie by RAILROAD acci-
dent before. Men aud women ana babes were
ripped and torn and burned. II was This mas
S.,cre That created the law mpeiiing all eu.i-
neeIs to come to Il dead halt at all cross ings.
Ine ASnLaDuia accident is said SO nave COS.
the Lake Shore 81 ,OOO,UOU paid out to the
families OF the dedu anu To the sufferers from
wounds. II made millionaire Aiuasa Stone
crazy and led him TO cut his throat III his bath
tuD. IL was his briuSe at A shtabula that the
Lake Shore train went through, and engineers
declared That the pattern was bad.
In 1880 Capt PrindlvitIe ieIL Detroit in a
Canada southern train for Chicago. Just the
other side of the Weiand canal "a broken rail-
S"OSCO euO CuSAuc W PiuuSe Ou Tue track
To upset. Every in that train went
over on It's side, some OF them on their
backs. Not passenger was injured. The
captain says that il the most com.
piete wreck ne ever saw. and that it was mar
Veious that no one had been kled. An agent
OF the company Came rushing along in q few
hours In a special with AN attorney, In
stantly. the captain says, the whole tram load
OF people VINO nad been returning thanks to
God We're taken with spinal difficulties and all
kinds Oi hOrrid injuri vi one SORT or another
He detected a young fellow VINO had Sat next
hlin and who hao laushingly been congraLu-
lating himself Oh tbs escape, backing his eyes
with mud. The railroad agent wrote a check
Tor S1OO for that SLY young man on the spot.
The others got checks In proportion.