Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1892-07-07
RAILROAD MEN AND DRINK.
Many Great Disasters Have Come from
the Whisky Bottle.

Many Great Disasters Have Come from
the Whisky Bottle.
Managers of roads are aware of the
risk and danger OF the service rendered
by men who uSe spirits, hence stringent
rules are laid down, and efforts made TO
employ only healthy, temperate men.
especially on trains and where great re-
sponsibility and exact duties are re-
Iauired. While the vast majority OF
trainmen on all railroads are practically
sotal abstalners. there is always small
lumber who are concealed drinkers,
growing worse steadily. The result of
their drinking is always some accident
ana exposure with discharge. Often
the accidents are of little interest 10 the
public. because they are not attended
with loss of life. In some instances the
person who made the mistake is killed
and his use of spirits las the real cause
Of the accident) is concealed from the
public. Where gross carelessness and
stupidity result in an accident among
experienced trainmen. the use Of alcohol
is not unfrequently the real cause.
These men are not public drinkers,
and are known as temperate men. but
after accidents it will appear that they
have used spirits and probably carried it
with them. There is another class of
active, responsible trainmen, whose
long tried services have given them rep
utation with the company, who all nm
expectedly make very serious mistakes
in their ordinary work, which result in
great disasters. Alcohol and its COM
pounds are often at the bottom of these
sudden failures. Want of ordinary
caution ard sudden boldness in assuin-
iny "A great risk, failure TO remember
orders and faulty reasoning are the
usual symptoms. Such men use alcohol
as medicine aud tonic to enable them
TO do their work better They fully
recognize the danger Of large doses, but
are deluded with the idea that in GER
tain circumstances small doses are
necessary for their work.
The fact is well known that the con-
tiauous strain and irregularity Of rail
road work soon wears out the brain and
nervous system, producing states Of ex-
haustion for which alcohol in any form
is a most seductive tonic. To an over
worked, tired out trainman. who has
found spirits perfect relief, no rules or
restrictions can prevent him from TAX
ing spirits from the travelling saloon on
the train, or the saloon at the station.
OF course no one viii see him. but his
changed spirits and manner will tell the
story. Those are the men who MAKE
the mistakes from which accidents
come.
A tired brakeman took glass Of
spirits and went back TO flag an APP
preaching train-fell asleep and a fright
full disaster followed. An overworkea
engineer, after glass of spirits at the
the station. failed to see the danger sig
nal a few miles farther on and was
killed in frightful wreck. These and
similar instances are repeated every
year on nearly all the roads. only many
of them simply involve the loss of prop
erty and are unnoticed. A railroad dis
patcher at saloon station after glass
of spirits gave the wrong order. Ten
lives and over a million Of dollars We're
lost. The dispatcher suicided in grief
at his mistake.-Union Signal,