Wichita eagle., 1888-02-11
LIABILITY OF RAILROADS,

near future. All over the country il
state courts these cases are occupvin.
the attention of courts and juries. Tht
problem. just to what extent railroad
companies should be responsible to in
dividuals for personal injuries, is not SC
easy OF solution as appears on frs
! thought. The theory most generally
conceded to be about the right thing tc
do is to make railroad companies respon
| sible for personal injuries received when
such injuries can be shown to be the re.
suit of negligence on the part Of the COM
panies themselves or their employees.
What constitutes negligence is
sometimes very difficult
thing for juries to decide.
In cases of collisions, for,instance, at the
crossings of railroads, it is not an easy
task to decide which company is re-
sponsible for the accident, if either, and
whether it was the result of carelessness.
1t can not be denied that a ra ilroad COM
pany. no more than an individual. should
be held responsible for an unavoidable
accident.
Any accident may be declared the re-
suit of carelessness by merely saying if
the persons had done different from what
they did do no such occurrence would
have taken place. If Jones points a gun
at Smith and pulls the trigger and Smith
is killed, the fact that Jones did not
knot the gun was loaded does not make
it an accident He knew if the gun was
loaded what the result would be. 1t
was Jones place to know whether the
gun was loaded. Only ordinary precau-
ton was necessary on the part Of Jones,
for him to discover that the gun was
loaded. If man deliberately walks
into water ten feet deep and is drowned
on account OF his inability to swim his
death is not accidental. If there are two
roads leading from mans house to the
village and he goes toward the village
and is killed by lightning his death is
the result of an accident. The fact that
the man could have taken the other road
and not have been injured proves moth
ing, because he could not have known
where the lightning would strike. If
two railroad trains collide halfway be-
tween Derby and Wichita and kill a
number of people it would not be suffi-
Gent for the conductors to say they did
not know the other train was coming.
because the railroad has no business
to run trains SO as to meet
halfway between stations. They
have their telegraphs and ordinary
precaution would have prevented the col
lision. This would be case where the
railroad company would be held respon-
sible, and no technicalities of law should
be permitted to allow them to escape.
Now suppose a train load of people are
from an embankment and
many of them NAMED or killed. 1t was
discovered that the wreck was caused by
a broken rail which was rendered defec-
tive by cold weather. Now this would
be case in which the railroad should
not be held responsible. because the COM
pany nor its operatives could have
known that this particular rail would
break. No amount of precaution could
prevent an accident in a case
ike this. The railroad company
perhaps could no more tell this
particular rail would break than the man |
:ould tell where lightning would strike
This reasoning will bring us to the con-
;iusion that there is a certain danger I'M
,voidably connected with railroad travel
or which no effort should ever be made
% hold railroad companies responsible.
Every owner of railroad or their en-
Dloyes. are constantly exposed to this |
danger whenever they are |
IN a moving train. To undertake to hold |
responsible for these unavoida- /
Die accidents when everybody is con-
cious of the inability of such companies /
o prevent or avoid them is no more or |
ess than injustice. The railroad COM
,any when they sell, and the passenger (,
when he buys ticket, knows these I.
hangers. exist, and that it is beyond !
luman ingenuity always to avoid them
1t Is not only unjust to keep railroad
constantly on the
defensive in such litigationS |
'ut is detriment TO railway
interest and to the country at large.
in this matter should be
ERECTED toward justice. 1t should be
UGH that an individual who receives
INJURIES on account of the culpable neg
lgence of railroad employees could re-
Give prompt redress: and, on the other
and. the law ought to be such as to
rotect the railroads against these con-
,ant prosecutions for damages. in cases :
UGH as those cited. We are led to make {
lese remarks by the great numbers of
lese damage suits in the courts through ,
ut the country in these latter DAYS.
The town of Holton has been pro- :
ained 4 city of the third class. bv Gov
NOR Martin bona tide population of ,
yer 1000 having been shown TO exist
iere
Farmers in our Office today tell us that !
lry pay,.r ssw- ,y-hpot /.