Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1893-11-09
DANGERS OF RAPID TRANSIT.
People Should Understand Them anu
Tench Children to BE Careful

People Should Understand Then aHu
Teach Children to BE Careful
With the introduction Of rapid tran
sit, the liability to accident is neces-
sarly increased, and they are llKely
| to occur Oftener and to be more SERIOUS
than under the old system, no matter
how careful the street railway COLI
panies are. This is not an excuse Tor
carclcssncss. On the contrary, 1t 1ur-
nishes the strongest reason for vigilance
and the adoption of every precauuoh
that tends to prevent accidents; but IN
order to secure the utmost immunity
from accidents the public must recog-
nize that there are always two parties
to an accident-the car winch mnlctS
the injury and the victim VINO ~ ~
jured, and that no matter how carelui
those may be who have charge OF 1ne
car, they are very nearly powerless IL
the person hurt is reckless and neglects
the cOmmOncst precautions against an
accident In other words, the response
bility is a double one. The railway
company is bound to do all in its power
to prevent injury to q citizen, and the
latter is morally bound to second the
efforts Of the company by not rushing
heedlessly into positions which make
accidents almost a certainty.
1t is a situation which has come upon
the people suddenly, and for which
they are not adequately prepared. Rap
id transit is necessity, and Is here
to stay, and it is, therefore, incum-
bent on the people to prepare properly
for the new order Of things, and to do
this there must be a certain amount
Of education. The victims of rapid
transit are principally children, or
grown-up persons who are as thought
less and reckless as children. There
is not much hope for the latter until
| a bitter experience has made them more
careful, but the children can be read
| lily taught to exercise common prudence,
and thus avoid the kind Of accidents
| which are caused mainly by contribu-
| tory negligence 1t would be q simple
| and useful lesson which the teachers
| in the primary and grammar schools
| Poi the city could instill at the end Of
| each days session, by warning their
| pupils, in trayersing the streets, to keep
| to the sidewalks, and in crossing a
street over which railway is Laid, to
look UP and down the street for the ap-
proach OF cab before crossing it This
brief lesson, given every day, would
soon create habit Of carefulneSs
which would make accidents almost
| impossible, 50 far az the children are
| concerned.
The same lesson should be constant
~ inculcated at home by the parents
| Of the children, and when they see
| their children rushing across the streets
! IN front OF cars, as they sometimes do
from a spirit Of pure bravado. or, at
other times. because Of ignorance or
recklessness, they should discipline
them as the most certain means Of
averting serious misfOrtuDes from their
offspring, and terrible heartaches from
! themselves, which no subsequent care
! can assuage. These daily lessons at
school and at home would educate the
/ children and accommodate them to the
new order Of things, and groHn-up
| children would gradually learn by ex-
ample not to expose themselves heed
lessly to the dangers Of rapid transit.
! The intention here has been to set
forth coDspicuously the responsibility
Of the public-somethin2 that has been
in great measure neglected. hereto
fore The companies will naturally
take precautions TO avoid accidents be-
cause OF the heavy liabilities they in
cur through carelessness, which the
courts are always prepared to enforce,
and the public should second them In
their efforts. With proper care On the
part OF both, accidents ought to be well
! nigh Observation-Disclosures American.