Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1890-11-22
-ANorHER FRIGHrFUn HoLocAUsr
WHERE WILL THE NEXT ONE BEs

LIE AA.kfHdy n9T1eW.
Prophecies Of evil are never welcome,
but 1t requires no prophet to predict
that sometime during the ceming win
ter the country will be again startled
by the news that another train-load OF
railway passengers has been burned up.
There are few of the principal lines OF
railway on which such an event is now
practically improbable because they
have almost entirely banished fire for
heating purposes from their cars. Some
statistics on the subject Of steam heat
ing OF passenger cars, published last
spring, were very encouraging, but
somehow, interest in the subject among
those railway officials who have power
to act seems now to have died down.
While there is something doing in this
way in various sections of the country,
there is, on the whole, curious apathy.
Neither the economic nor the humani.
tartan argument seems to have been
thoroughly effective and even the zeal
which was aroused in past winter seems
to have been very thoroughly extin-
guished, probably by cold water from
the board or directors.
A manager of prominent and gen.
orally wide-awake western road recently
said: "We don't propose to do any
thing about steam heat until we have
to-" We regret to say that this sums
up the situation in the West very fairly.
! Eastern roads have not always kept
ahead of the Western lines in the mat
ter of equipment. The trains which
every morning and evening roll out OF
Chicago to the westward are unsur-
passed anywhere in beauty, comfort and
luxury and in many elements of safety.
But with the exception of those on one
line they almost all carry fire in every
car, and In case of disaster are liable to
burn up with their human contents,
like so much finder The Eastern roads,
on the other hand, have made great
progress in safe car heating. 1t may
be that the reason is not in their supe-
rior enterprise, but because they had
to-"
Public sentiment, which was so
thoroughly aroused on the subject by
the long series of appalling disasters,
crystalized in the East into legislation.
This legislation We believed to be
proper in its general scope at the time,
and the result up to the present has
justified that belief. The pressure Of
the law has not built up any car heating
monopoly, nor forced any heavy finan-
cial burden upon the roads. On the
contrary, it has been fully demonstrated
that it is much cheaper to heat cars by
steam than by stoves, and the roads
most concerned have saved money by
the reform. Wherein, then, is the un-
wisdom and injustice of such police
legislation? Can it be shown that it
has in any case proved oppressive or
abortive? So far as we are informed,
none of the roads which have been
compelled by law in this matter would
willingly go back to the old system.
The common expression among west
ern railway men now is, I'VE are wait
ing to see which is the best among the
many systems offered, and as most of
them are undergoing trial on one road
or another, there is no use in our
spending money to find out for our
selves what others are demonstrating
Tor US. There is sort OF worldly
wisdom in this which commends itself
to the directors who hold the purse
strings. But how weak such argument
will sound when some morning the OIL
Ger who has used it, wakes up to find
that the disaster was on his road this
time, and the horrid details come right |
home to his own door! When is this
season of waiting for others to dem
onstrate success" to end? 1t is pol
icy that can be drawn out and adhered |
to an indefinite number of years. A
man may close his eyes and ears and
refuse to be convinced as long as he
chooses.
We apprehend that legal compulsion
would enable men to find out in very |
short time what the experience Of other
roads has been; and that they would
quickly ascertain that the idea of heat
ing cars without the use of fire IN the
cars is no longer the theory of dream
ers, but an established fact-needing
only perfectly practical notifications
to suit all climates and conditions.
We have all along urged legislation
on this subject because we believe it to
belong to that class of subjects which
it is proper, from every standpoint, to
legislate upon. Human life is too sacred
a thing to trife with or to be weighed
in the balance against pocket book.
When danger to the travelling public
is SO pronounced, so constantly immi-
nent and so frequently emphasized as
this has been, it is time to cease wait
ing for "enlightened self interest" to
control it. Here, if ever, the police
power of the government may properly
be called upon to act We have hereto
ore expressed the opinion that most
-ailway managers would really approve
such legislation, as relieving them of a
serious feeling of double response
oility to their stockholders and the
public.
We would greatly have preferred
hat this mechanical reform should
go without the necessity of legisla-
ion. But the fact is that it goes"
where legislatian makes it 'go," and it
DOESN'T ego" to any great or adequate
extent in the absence of such legisla-
ion. If it is the settled decision OF