The morning call., 1893-02-23
ALMOST CRUSHED.
The Narrow Escape of a
Baby Boy.
The Brakes on the Electric Cars Were
Inefficient and the Child Went
Under the Wheels.

"Stop that carl For Gods sake stopp'
yelled dozen men on Steuart street yes
terday to the grpman of one Of the electric
cars that was flying down the street toward
Market at the rate of ten or fifteen miles an
hour.
The Gripman did not need the warning.
He was pressing the ineffec tive brake on
his car as hard as he could, for just ahead
of him. sitting on the track, was the three
year-old baby boy of G. A. Laainen. who
keeps saloon at 253 Steuart street The
little fellow had strayed away from his
home and with pile Of blocks was busy
building a magnificent baby house with one
of the rails of the street-car track tor a
foundation The baby paid no attention to
the cries Of the bystanders or the approach
ing car. He was too busy and went ahead
with his work. "as if be was being paid by
the job" as Sergeant Fitzgerald said.
NOone thought the car would ever touch
the little one until they saw that the brake
was 100 weak to stop the car going at the
speed it was travelling. Then dozen men,
headed by Sergeant Fitzgerald of the South
Harbor station, ran for the car. and throw
Ing their shoulders against the platforms
and braces, endeav0red TO check its momen-
tum. 1t was useless for them to run for the
baby as the car would have passed them
little one.
The car dragged the men along. and when
the gripman realized that his brake would
not stop the car in time, he gave it one last
twist and covered his eyes with his hands
The poor fellow had little ones OF his own
at home, and the thought of the wheels
crun aching the tiny bones and tearing the
tender flesh Of the baby on the track was
more than he could stand. just before the
car reached the child the little fellow made
an effort to crawl off the track. and that
saved his life.
The car caught him and down he went
without even a chance to cry aloud Under
the front guard that is supposed 10 protec t
the wheels he rolled and the men who were
trying to stop the car, straining every nerve
and sinew in the effort, finally succeeded in
bringing it to halt. For an instant no one
wanted TO look beneath the car to see what
had become Of the boy. They were sure he
had been crushed to death and they hest
tated, strong men as they were, TO look for
the little body.
Then cams a faint cry from somewhere
underneath the car and with face whittier
than it will be when it is dead the gripman
sprang over the front dashboard and get
ting down on his hands and knees crawled
between the wheels and dragged the little
boy out
The baby couldn't cry. It could only
moan with pain as the gripman lifted it in
HIS arms anu ditDuSl Idu 10 Tue Hbuoe OF It's
parents as pointed out to him. The wheels
had barely touched the child, but its little
body had been crushed between the guard
and the cobblestones and rolled over and
over until1t was torn, bruised and bleeding.
As speedily as possible medical aid was
summoned and the baby victim cared for.
just how serious its injuries are cannot
now be stated. but they are bad enough.
No blame can attach to the grIpman, who
did his whole duty, and, if possible, more,
for he risked wreckng the machinery of
his car in the vain endeavor to stop it in
time. The fault lay in the appliances pro-
vided with which to stop the car and the
rate of speed which the time schedule calls
for the cars to make.
There is no question but what the rate of
speed at which the electric cars run over
Steuart street is much too fast and it has
been demonstrated over and over again that
a better brake thnn the one now in use upon
the cars, and an emergency brake besides,
is necessary. The employees of the electric
road all agree on this and, as one gripman
said yesterday, they ran their cars through
crowded districts in fear and trembling be-
cause they know that to make q sudden stop
is impossible with the appliances at their
command
Laainen's neighbors, many of whom are
business men with large capital invested
along Steuart street. are urging him to COM
mence q suit for damages against the rail-
road company, but the father, who is a Fin
lander, is 10th to do this. He says he is de-
termined, however, to do something to COM
pei the company to run their ears at a less
rate of speed through the business portion
of the city than they are at present, and
also to have them adopt brake that will
prove effective,