Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-19
FOR SAFE TRAVEL
The Showing Made by the Railroads
for the Year 1894.
Low PERCENTAGE IN LIVES LOST
A Plea Tor the Abolition of the
Deadly Grade Crossing.
THE EMPLOYE

The record made during the year 1894 by
the railroads of the United States in the
way Of fatal accidents is an extremely
favorable one. The railroad stockholders,
in spite of the reduction in earnings and
the disastrous Pullman strike, no doubt
join with the public in the congratulations
ever this showing.
The strike at Pullman may be said to
have inaugurated the era of hard times for
the railroads of the country, as previous to
that time they We're about holding their own
in the way of meeting fixed charges. When
the strike was finally settled, every corpo-
ration found itself, directly or indi-
rectly, affected, those entering Chi
cago the most seriously, and those
roads at a distance feeling it's effects
as the pulse of human being marks the
Irregularities of the heart. At once every
road set to work to repair the damage.
Works of Improvement were discontinued;
operating expenses reduced, and, in the
case of several eastern roads, this action
will bring them out about even on the
year.
In the matter of fatal railroad accidents
the year 1894 will stand out as red let
ter year in the minds of the travelling pub
lie. Hardly in decade has such good rec
ord been made. The reports for the year
have not been finally compiled. but advance
reports would indicate that in the matter or
fatalities resulting from railroad accidents
the record will be a phenomenally favor
able one. But one collision occurred that
proved exceptionally disastrous-the HACK
ensack Meadows horror-while the year
1893 furnished dozen such catastrophes.
The lamentable fact connected with the
Hackensack collision is that it could have
been prevented with modern appliances and
the years record kept clear as regards ac-
cidents of such large proportions.
Only One Death.
It is doubtful if any eastern state will be
able to make as good a showing as Mime
sofa. the report of the railroad commission
of that state having just been filed. This
report demonstrates how nearly perfect the
railroad travel of that state has become.
The improvements made in 1888 to ac-
commodate the worlds fair travel have
proved of great value, as the lessened pat
ronage of 1894 has permitted the officers or
the different reads in that state to handle
their customers with almost absolute safe
ty. Minnesota has in the neighborhood OF
5000 miles of railroad, and in the year un-
der review 1t carried nearly 6,O3O,cO pas
sengers. These passengers rode about 24I, =
ODO,OO0 miles. or If one man had ridden the
whole distance, he would have travelled a
distance equal to about 10000 journeys
around the world. Each passenger did
and there was an average of four railroad
Journeys to each person in the state.
Now, with this startling array of figures,
taking in long and short journeys. only
one passenger in the whole state CT Mime
sofa was killed in the period covered by
the report. This is very near the per-
lection of safety In travelling, and shows
what a great change care, skill and or
ganization have made in the manage
ment of the railroad passenger traffic. 1t
is a question if there is any other business
in which the percentage of safety is so
great. A census of deaths from accidents,
even among the farmers in Minnesota,
would doubtless show a much higher per-
centage. 1t is such facts as these that
prove how safe travelling by railroad has
become. The public is shocked by a pain
full disaster now and then in which sew
eral lives are lost and many are injured,
and an impression Is made Of the great
risks taken in travelling, but the millions
of passengers carried in safety are for
gotten. Such statistics as those from
Minnesota prove, however. that passen-
ger car is as safe as home.
TIN. Fatal Car Coupler.
The English magazine writer's have, dur
ing the past summer. taken great pleasure
in comparing the disastrous record of ia
talities Of 1893 with the records of their
own roads during the same year. The
question now is, will the same writer's
take the opportunity to write about the
phenomenal record made by the Ameri-
can roads in 1891 1t is safe to say they
will not.
There is point upon which these
English writers can still harp, and that
is the care taken by the railroads of Amer
lea of their employees. For years back
the record for killing and manning rail-
roads employees has been a black one and
the year 1894 shows but a small percentage
Of improvement. The same report referred
to above as coming from Minnesota shows
in
three trainmen, nine SWitchmen and flag
men, seven other employees, forty-tln'ee
trespassers and nine non-trespassers killed
in that state. This is atotal of ninety-two
non-passengers killed in that state, and, in
addition 473 were wounded. Taking into
consideration the fact that the total of
all the employees of the railroads centering
in Minnesota was about 5000, it will be
seen how large the percentage of fatali-
ties and injuries among this class of work
men is. AS the safety Of passenger traffic
has been brought nearly to perfection 1t
is time. without relaxing in such efforts,
to devise means for preserving the lives of
the employees.
The great railroad employee killer-the
old-fashioned link and pin coupler-we have
still with us, and Notwithstanding the
efforts of organized trainmen to have
legislation passed looking to the adoption
Of improved coupling apparatus, the kill
ing and manning still goes on The ad-
vance sheets of the yearly reports of the
eastern roads show that this class of &C.
CidentS has not fallen OH to any great eX-
tent in 1894, Notwithstanding the appalling
record made during 1883, owing to the ire
mendous travel brought about by the Chi
cago exposition. The trouble in this case
seems to be the numerous collection OF
patented coupling devices and the desire
of three or four of the larger corpora
lions to favor different designs. With the
tariff and currency questions out of the
way Congress may, perhaps, during the
coming year adopt a measure looking to
the protection of railroad trainnen which
can only be attained through an efficient
coupler universally adopted.
Modern Safeguards.
To return to the greatest accident of
1894, which occurred on the Hackensack
Meadows, we find that the road that SUI
fered in reputation, and also financially,
was ten years behind the times in the mat
te, of adopting safeguards. The train came
to stop at a draw bridge. The weather
was extremely foggy, but under similar cir
cumstances many times before the trains
had gone on all right. The rear f1agman
thought everything all right, and when
once employees begin to think that the pas
sengers had better take to the woods until
the thinking spell is over. When the flag
man regained his wits and decided to go
back to protect his train it was too late,
and the train following crashed into the