Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-08-17
FATALIITES At GRADE CROSSINGS.

The loss of life, as a result of &C
cidents at grade crossings of rail
roads is becoming enormous in this
country, and a day seldom passes in
which the newspapers somewhere dc
not contain accounts of one or more
fatalities of this kind. The investiga
ton of the fearful accident at Atlant
ic City in which half hundred peo-
pie lost their lives has demonstrated
that even the most careful mechanical
devices for the prevention of coils
sions cannot be depended upon, and
that nothing remains except for the
railroad companies to enforce greater
care on the part of employees until
grade crossings can be abolished.
1t now transpires that the crossing
Of the Reading and West Jersey
roads near Atlantic City was protect
ed by system of interlocking signals
which rendered it impossible to re-
port both tracks clear at the same
time. The engineer on each of the
trains acted under the impression that
his track was clear, and the only ex-
PLANTATION Of this is found in the fact
br ought out by the testimony of en-
ployes that the signals were often
suddenly changed after having been
set for approaching trains.
If all trains had been required to
stop at the point in question before
passing the crossing, this accident
could not very we'll have happened,
but the dependence upon signals
caused both trains to approach this
crossing at high rate of speed, which
accounts for the enormous loss of life.
The stopping of trains at crossings
results in an immense loss of time,
particularly in places where numer-
Gus railroads form a complete net
work; but unless the ,interlocking
system of signals can be improved SO
that accidents like that near Atlantic
City can be prevented it will be better
for the railroad companies to resort
to the more expensive but safer
method.
But the crossing of two railroads at
grade is far from being the only form
of dangerous crossing. The coroner's
inquest into the facts connected with
the recent killing of three persons at
Plattsburgh while they were driving
across the railroad there showed that
the victims could not have seen the
crossing even until almost upon it
owing to obstructing fences and build
ings. In such places as this public
safety demands that a fagman be
stationed, and the public have right
to insist on protection. rec9 j.
1t would of course be utterly i'm
possible for railroads to station flag
man at every crossing at grade upon
their lines, but where crossings are
peculiarly dangerous it would be
measure of economy to exercise the
utmost precautions to guard against
destruction of human life, and in
thickly settled communities every
dangerous crossing should be proper
ly guarded by f1agman.
In 1892 the wage earner's were de-
luded by the cry of cheap prices
through cheap raw material, and
voted the Free trade ticket in sutfi-
cient numbers to elect Grover Cleve-
land. They have suffered bitterly for
this. They have seen the demand
for labor less than it has been in two
gener ations before. They have seen
the amount of wage earnings in this
country diminished by $500, 900, 900.
Those who have been able to keep at
work have had less pay, either in
fewer hours, if the pay was by the
hour, or in direct reduction of
wages, if the pay was by the day,
we elk or month. Those who have had
no work at all have been a burden on
their relatives and friends who have
been less unfortunate. For most of
wolf from the door; for none of them
was it possible to lay by the savings
that have made our wage earners
the most fourishing on earth. The
last few years have been a terrible
experience for our wage earners, but
they have survived them, partly be-
cause their previous years of pros
perity under prote elton gave them a
reserve on which they could draw,
partly because they had hope that
the coming election would restore the
old condition of affairs.