Evening star., 1895-08-29

Washington Is deeply interested in tho
controversy just now being waged between
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and
TIE Metropolitan Street Railway Company
The Metropolitan Company demands that
the Pennsylvania trains shall stop before
crossing the Metropolitan tracks on Four
and Half street. claiming that. with condi-
tiors as they now are, there Is momentary
probability of a collision which .nay have
serious results and even cause some great
calamity. The Star has always insisted
whenever there was promise that the in
sistence was likely to attract the attention
of those VINO have within them the power
of working reforn-that until these death
traps are entirely abolished, steam rail-
roads ought to be compelled to provide
every necessary safeguard at grade cross
ings, including gates and watchmen; trains
should at least decrease their spee1 and
had really better be stopped than endanger
even a single human life The use of sur
face tracks means. in any event, an In
crease of the railroads schedule time. and
the greater the Inconvenience to the road
frcm the compulsory slow running of it's
trains over such tracks, the quicker will
the decision of the road to elevate or de-
press the tracks be carried into effect. In
reference with railroad transit at grade
crossings is no more Objectionable than the
ir reference with street traffic resulting
from the operation of a steam railroad at
grade. Several times during the past few
years The Star has presented figures show
ing accurately the quantity of apparent
damage done by the temporary and some
times long-continued obstruction of public
streets by railroad trains, and 1t is fair to
presume that like obstruction continues and
ryin tipua tha
panies do what they have long been urged
to do. viz: either elevate or depress their
tracks so that their trains may be operat I'd
at full speed without danger to persons
who are neither their employees nor patrons,
and without interference with street travel
and traffic. The real remedy of the evil Is
to hold the roads to their pledges TO abolish
the grade-crossings. During the last session
Of the Fifty-third Congress there was intro
duced in the Senate a bill which provided
for the depression of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Companys tracks, the measure
having been framed by the railroad COM
psny itself. Some of the bills features
were not just what conservative Washing
tonians would have liked them to be. but
It was indicated that at the proper time 1t
would be moulded into an entirely salts
factory shape. No apparent effort was
made however, 10 advance tne Dill toward
that point where Congressional action was
possible. Promises have, however, been
made by legislators who are desirous of
eliminating the grade-crossings from the
daily life of Washington, and it may be that
these promises will materialize before the
Fifty-fourth Congress adjourns. On the
pert of the Baltimore and Ohio Company
wfose grade-crossings are every whit as OBJ
jectionable as those of the Pennsylvania
assurances have been given that at the car
lest possible date the B. and o. tracks
within the so-called city limits will be prop
erly elevated. When the next Congress Or
ganizes there will surely be sincere and
pertnacious effort by representative Wash
ingtonians in behalf of congressional regu-
lat;ons which will render unnecessary any
disagreement between the steam and street
railroads in the District of Columbia, and
settle also the struggle over grade-cross
ings between the people and the steam rail-
road corporations.