New-York tribune., 1891-03-08
RAILROAD DIRECTORS And THE REST
OE THE UORLD

Some of the responses made by some OF the
railroad officials to the verdict of the Coroners
Jury in the tunnel accident case are candid and
sensible. Others are not. This is entirely
natural and was to be expected, inasmuch as
some railroads are managed by broad-mlhdea
sagacous men, and others by men OF dinereht
and inferior type. We observe that the news
papers are coming in for considerable amount
of criticism, because their editors, not having
been educated in the mysteries OF rallroadlhs
and being therefore incompetent to estimate the
practical blessings of dense black smoke IN
close tunnel or the superior safety OF red'hot
Goals as COMPARED with steam at low pressure.
have yentured to express opinions generally III
accordance with the verdict OF twelve emlnehtly
intelligent, experienced and successful men OF
affairs who, by common consent are periectiy
capable of weighing evidence on all subjects eX-
cept the one which the law lately compelled
them to investigate. For our part, we should
feel much humiliated at being caught in the acc
of exposing our ignorance, and especially in such
company if we had not observed that railroad
experts always come around, sooner or later. to
the side of poor, despscd common sense, and
thereafter are its StouteSt champions.
we iOI tAdIpiSi lHS A"N' '''"N 49,
long time after the elevated railroads began
their exalted career every passenger was com
pelled to carry his ticket to the end OF his jour
ney, the officials having convinced themselves
beyond the possibility of doubt that 1t was not
only erroneous but grotesquely silly 10 imagine
that the business could ever be done on any
other system. But finally when the public had
become sufficiently obstIeperous the company
discovered with a surprise which soon rose TO
eXultation that the easy way. the comfort
able way, the economical way, ana
the only rational or toerabe way was
TO collect the tickets before the passengers en-
tered the cars. We happen to remember also
that the English railway companies, with few
bewldering exceptions, refused with scorn and
obiurgaton to put airbrakes on their trains until
public opinion, expressed through an ignorant
and ridiculous press and acting on fanailcal
Board Of Trade, evtortcd from naughty and
malevOlent Parliament an act which put npon
them the responsibility for totally unnecessary
slaughter. We seem to rcCOllect moreover that
after Mr. Westinghouse had seen and convelscd
with good many American Boards OF Directors
to such effect that they adopted his invention
there were Others that still omitted TO see any
virtue in it, and that an engineers last despair
ing cry OF :" jim, pull them patents" as he
plunged into the abyss. Immediately preceded
the introduction OF airbrakes on one OF our most
important lines of railroad.
The purpose of these illustrations and OF these
brief remarks in general is not to impeach the
skill and prudence and conscientious care with
which some of our transportation companies
manage their affairs and keep faith with the
public which gave them life and keeps them in
existence. We merely design 10 suggest that
there are boards of railroad directors with whom
wisdom will not die: : and that when manager
has officially announced that everything is all
right not even a poor newspaper man IS com
PEELED to close his eyes to conclusive proofs that
some things are all wrong