The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-25
A DANGEROUS REMEDY.
Proposed Means to Check the
Train. Robbing Epidemic.
The Aiming Of Inexperienced Railway
Employees Likely to Result In Whole
sale Destruction of
Life.

It is frequently the case that physi-
clans prescribe remedies that are more
severe than the disease, and there is
some danger that the doctors who are
essaying the treatment of the train
robbing epidemic may make this mis-
take. says the Washington Post. Tn
doubtedly it is desirable to put a stop
to this indiscriminate holding up of
trains, but if it is to be done by expos
ing the lives of all patrons of the roads
the travelling public will not take kind
~ to the proposition.
Several of the large railway corpora
tions have caused it to be announced
that all of their trainmen and station
agents are to be provided with revolv-
ers and Winchesters. The express
companies will follow suit, and all of
their messengers will be heavily armed,
and they will also be expected to shoot
every time an effort is made to hold up
their trains. Not only will these men
be pressed into service, bIt the Pull
man conductors and porters are to be
transformed into walking arsenals,
and are to be added to the force that is
expected to convince some of our grasp
ing and reckless western friends that
train robbing is dropping industry.
The great danger attending this pro-
posed reform lies in the fact that there
is no telling just where an amateur
marksmen is going to land. As rule,
the gentlemen who make profession
of fnanciering on smooth-bore basis
are very good shots and don't waste
much powder and lead during their
business hours There is no assurance
that train crew that is suddenly at
tackled will be able to maintain Gisci-
pline, and in an indiscriminate shoot
ing match the probabilities are that
the innocent passenger would get much
the worst of it.
But train robberies are not the only
incidents that would precipitate
trouble should the general armament
of railway employees 60 into effect.
There would be constant gauntlet for
the traveller to run. There would be
the Observation-Disclosures station
agent, the acknowledgements
fun conductor, the point-at-your-head
joke on the part of the brakeman, and
other like pleasantries too numerous
to mention. In the early hours of the
morning. after the Pullman car porter
had cleaned the shoes and had engaged
himself IN cleaning the Colts, Win
chesters, and other paraphernalia of
the car, there is no telling just when
the passengers would receive an early
call and dose of lead all around, as
frearm in the hands of sleepy and
overworlsed colored gentleman is
very uncertain piece Of mechanism.
For our part we prefer to bear the
train-robbing ills we have rather than
fly to others that are more or less prob
lematical. 1t might do to equip the
engineers and express messengers with
guns, but give us the oldfashioned
station agent who doesn't know how to
shoot, who doesn't know the time the
trains arrive and depart, or anything
else he is expected to know. Give US
the sleeping-car porter of our fore
colored gentleman who
carries nothing but the old-time, sim
razor, and an air of supe-
riority that even the most hardened
train robbers cannot batter down with
Allow Us to retain these
old landmarks and we will make so
bold as to take our chances with the
train robbers.