Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-18
FIRST TERROR. THEN DEATH.
The Psrfis Of the Grade Crossing with Fast
Running Trains.

A FoRcrBLE LETTER TO THE ooxxIssroSrRs-
THE ACrHoArrfEs paoxD TO ooSsrASTif ny
FoRcE THE REGULATIONS RrLArfSo TO TIE
SPEED OF TRAINS WITHIN rhr crrr LIMITS
The District Commissioners have received
from Mr.. Jacob Frech OF si4 L street northeast
the following letter:
II have the honor TO ssk that the honor~hle
Commissioners cause positive orderr to be
issued requiring the police regulations made
By the Commissioners in pursuance Of act
OF Congress governing the speed Of trains on
the streets TO be enforced 90 far - lies In the
power OF the police and the law departments Of
the District government, and 10 the extent that
IL these regulations be violated daily 70 the en-
dangerment Of life, which il 9 fsct. that prose-
eutions be had daily until the evil shall be cor
rected. Within less than forty -eight hours as;er
an innocent girl on Der way home, in her direct
route from school was killed BY train that
threw her remains high in the air. and ran more
than quarter Of mile beyond before IL could
De STOPPED, my own daughter, little girl Of
Twelve years, and her companion o. eight were
going over the It'll street crossing Of K street
northeast on Sunday morning between IL and
II ana seeing the gates up proceeded TO cross.
While SO crossing the gates behind and before
them were lowered, closing them in on the
tracks.
| TREY LUCKILY ESCAPED.
Fortunately, notwithstanding their extreme
terror, they did the right thing and escaped,
| one by crawling under the gate and the other
by running around the end OF the gate beam,
which blocked her direct path Tney looked
around and saw an incoming train running AZ
high speed, which was then just where the little
giri was killed on Friday. not three seconds
3 fast traf "a -
( been locked in BY The gates
when asked them why they aid not look TO
see whether train coming they said that
they did not think of il, the gates were up
and they heard no train. They were probably
engaged In childish meditations or converse
non; 1t may be said that this was carelessness,
and had they been struck. that Il would have
been their own fault. have heard such argu-
ments from intelligent people, the members Of
whose families do not have 20 cross steam rail-
road tracks daily, aud l therefore desire here TO
say In answer that neither law nor reason gives
an engineer OF train the right and power to
condemn an innocent person 10 summary exc
cntion FOR not thinking that he NAV be from
oo0 TO 100 feet away, and coming at q
velocity Of thirty. forty, fifty sixty or seventy
rect second. The yilest criminal 10 shown
more mercy after fair trial and conviction of
heinous crimes; while the otfense committed by
these little girls, and practically by nearly all
victims killed at street crossings consists simply
| In not thinking Of esth-dealing engine that
tmercilessiy and unerringly marks Its hapless
! victims from distance Of hundreds Of feet.
= he poor little girl that was so suddenly
hurled into eternity on Friday was struck on K
street near sth northeast. After striking her
the train ran over eth street, over 9Th street
and over 9Th street, the rear car stopping a few
feet from the watch box at that street; the head
OF the train reached probably beyond 18th street.
The engineer must have used every means Mt
about sth street to stop his train In the vain
and hopeless attempt TO avoid killing the chill
dren, for there were Of least three in danger on
that fatal Friday. Notwithstanding these efforts
he ran distance of more than q quarter Of
mile, from which il is evident that had there
oeen at the same time persons on the track on
fth street, on 9Th street, on 5th street, and
perhaps on 4th street. he could not have
avoided wholesale slaughter on every one Of
these streets
The cable cars are considered dangerous
and they are dangerous by reason Of their
speed, but they can be stopped within few
feet. III we call 1t ten feet we have q measure
Of comparison Of the danger limit Of the cable
cars and of the steam engines as they run on
our streets, and, Is experienced in the case of
Teresa Mcdonald, the danger limit Of the steam
engine was over 1900 feet. In the case Of
Peck and SHERMAN it was about the same fig
ure.
NOT COMPLAINT AGAINST THE aArEMAN
II beg that this letter shall not be construed
to be complaint against the letting down Of
the gates before my child got across the track,
| for the gateman must do something as soon "a
he is aware that train is near, and il n should
happen to steal up upon him before he Is aware
OF 1t be is as helpless in his terror at what may
happen and his actions are little likely to be
governed by reason or cool judgment as those Of
the hapless victim, 1t is most likely that he
| VIII do that which he is accustomed TO doing
viz, shut down the gates, while one standing
at safe distance would wonder why in the
name OF common sense he shut down the gates
when no one was approaching the track from
either side, and he was not alone not helping
actually barring their only visible means Of
| escape.
The question to whether the gatekeepers
| are always discreet and alert is one of minor
Importance compared with that Of the murder
Gus speed OF trains on our streets 1t Is that
| cause mainly that has been killing our people
and viii Kill our people until a proper remedy
is applied.
at 10 a proper question for the honorable
| Commissioners to consider as to whether they
will add to the efforts Of our able lieutenant Of
police and law officers the weight Of their opin-
Ion and authority and that of the major Of
police by causing the necessary orders TO be
issued and published.
II feel especially interested in this vital
| question, as this is only one Of a number Of
tunes that one or more OF my family have 90
| narrowly escaped the fate of Teresa Mcdonald
that the escape was attributable to accidental
! causes, and it is not within reason to believe
| that VIC may always be SO fortunate.
TRAP FOR CHILDREN.
I'm this connection may add that nv little
| girl goes to the Blair School Her direct route,
as well as that Of many of her companions, ID
over the railroad at 9Th street. The track is as
uncouth as though it were forty miles from
village. Every inch Of 1t affords an opportu-
nifty to stumble in crossing it. There are no
planks between the tracks, no watchman, no
gates. School children cross il daily. Little
| tots of six seven years climb up the we'll
| worn path and stop for breath when they get
on the track. A train hundreds of feet of will
| some day mark such q child as its next victim
| and toss 1t in the air or carry it hundreds of
| feet more if the police regulations governing
the speed of trains are not continually enforced
The blowing of whistle or the ringing of
bell prevents accidents when trains run at q
reasonable speed. Is the person thus warned
| has reasonable time to apprehend the danger
| and get out Of the way; but these alarms cause
accidents when trains run at a high rate of
| speed, as the train usually overtakes the victim
| in few seconds after the alarm is heard. Dur
| ing these few seconds he either stands dunn
| founded or goes from the right track to the
wrong one, just as q gateman, surprised by o
! train, will shut in person ON the tracks when
he should let him out, and knows 30 Is soon q