Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1896-08-12
A Letter FROM THE
CITY BY THE SEA.
"Bob" In9erso11's lecture at
the Heademy,
VERDICT OF The JURY ON The R. R. ACCIDENT
BAD BREAK. THE COMPANIES WILL
INVESTIGATE. POLITICAL, FINANCIAL.
THE PRESS POLITICS. THE SILVER
QUESTION, ETC.
Editor Pleasantville Press !:

| gone and taken with him goodly pile
OF standard money including 412 1-2
| grain dollar formerly owned by ARGUS u
Col. Ingersoll is one OF the most brilliant
men of the world. He has a crisp, lore
ible way OF stating his propositions.
| He is a Past Master in all the arts and
| graces OF oratory. He has an unequalled
command of ilowery language. His
| commanding presence, his smiling face,
his faultless eiocution, and his cheerful
| optimism make it a pleasure to listen
to him. All this may truthfully be said
OF him without endorsing his faith or
accepting his conclusions. l cannot do
either, and after listening to his surpas S.
| ing eloQuence am still firm in the belief
that there is God that overrules the
| destinies OF men. All that we see around
| and about us could not have happened
| by mere chance. There must be behind
it some great creative governing force.
l am not particular as to names Call
| it God as do, and it seems reasonable,
to me, at least. Call it nature, as Col.
| Ingersoll does, and the difficulties OF
| explanation are only increased. 1 am
| perfectly willing that Col. Bob. shall
unmask the hypocrites, and break down
the narrow creeds and meanness OF some
| OF the churches; but the great funda ment-
al, underlying truths OF Christianity
cannot be successfully assailed, and will
never be overthrown by Ingersoll or
| anybody else while this world is worth
living in. OF all those who went to the
Academy OF Music to hear him, / doubt
| if there was one who could create uni
verse and run it any better than the
present one under the old management.
| Ingersollisa aword- painter rwhoconstructs
beautiful sentences and thrusts them
| at you by the charm of his eloQuence.
But after all they are only rhetorical
soap-bubbles that vanish with the first
| touch OF common sense. No one knows
| this better than the Col. himself, and
| he judiciously steers clear of attacking
| the teachings of Christ. On the contrary
| the ideals that ne sets up, and the condi-
tions OF society that he sighs for would
all come in due time if everybody lived
| up to the full measure OF re>l Christian
ity. Ingerso1 is an ieonoclast. He tears
down our idols, but offers us nothing
better in their place. He recognizes the
wea akness OF his case by faililg to follow
out his easoning to its legitimate conclu-
sion. He gives it all away when he says
| as he did in a signed interview in the
New York Sunday Journal recently pub
Iished. 81 sincerely hope there is an Eter-
nal Life" Could the most deyout Chris
tian ask more.
Let us take Ingersoll as he is; bril-
liant orator, a man OF the tenderest
sympathies, man OF irreproacha Bile
private character, a man generous to
a fault, man who hates all sham and
hypocricy, and a man who really wants
the world made better. But he cannot
see the way as others see it, and he chafes
traint. He forgets that all men do not
have his bright intellect, and that they
are incapable OF great and heroic reform,
The most OF them are content to plod
along, accept the faith Of their fathers,
and not try to hold the world up by
the tail and attempt to reform it in a
single generation.
The verdict OF the Coroner s jury con-
cerning the recent terrible accident is
not a satisfactory one to most people,
and l hear it severely criticised on all
sides. But after all I don't know as
the Jury could have done much different
ly under the circumstances. 1t was hard
| to fix the blame, beyond doubt, and
perhaps it is Just as well to have it fixed
| in Court as far as it can be fiSed-for
there is where it is bound to go in numer-
GUS suits for damages. One point has
been made clear. The rules OF the road
were violated. Ii they had been strictly
adhered to there would have been no
accident. There was an error OF Judge
ment, and perhaps a reckless taking
| OF chances" and between them both
| human slaughter. 1t was a combina-
| ton OF circumstances that might not
happen again in fifty years-and then
| it might be repeated tomorrow. Why
should the railroad companies take the
chance of its happening again? Why
need they wait for law to compel
them to stop their trains at such dan
gerous grade crossing? Why not do
it by mutual agreement? What is a
few seconds time in any person s Jour
ney compared to the possibility of anoth-
er accident What would second acci-
dent like the one at the tower near
to Atlantic City ? Why, the travel would
be turned somewhere else the moment
the capricious public felt that their
| lives were needlessly imperilled in COM
ing here. 1t seems to me that every man
who has property interests here should
demand OF the railroad companies that
they heed the lesson OF the late disaster.
Aside from the owners OF valuable prop
erty in Atlantic City, no one has SO
much at stake as the railroads. AS a
whole they are admirably managed,
and have run very clear o. bad accidents.
| With them it is a matter OF money and
great deal OF ito have reputation
for safety. Therefore we all may rest
assured that the Coroner s inquest will
not end the investigation into the cause
OF the accident. The roads will leave
no means unemployed to get at the facts
more fully, and if possible more clearly
establis the responsibility. 1t will be
done quietly and in their own time and
way, but it will be done all the same.
The best men OF both companies will
make the most complete investigation
possible in order to prevent another
accident. But there never need be anothe