The record-union., 1896-06-17
RECKLESS STREET CYCLING.
An Interview With Street Railway
Officials.
Danger Risks-Incidents Of Reckless
Riding Some Warnings to
be Needed.

Riding-Some Warnings to
be Needed.
"The Electric Power Company is TAX
| ing and will take all possible precau-
tionS to avoid accidents said Albert
Gallatin, President of the company,
yesterday to "Record-Union" repre-
sentative. 1--WE endeayor to employ
cool-headed men, capable men and we
think we have a superior group OF
motormen. / do not believe there is to
| be found more conscientious and care
| full lot of men. OF course feeling their
| responsibility, they take every precau-
| tion they possibly can. That is not
only our instruction to them, but you
| see it is to their interest to be very
careful. They do not want collisions
and accidents.
Now then,' added Mr.. Galiatin,
there are some people in the city who
are bound to get hurt by our cars if
| they continue to act as they are now
| doing, and 1 wish you would talk with
| Mr.. Ross, our car superintendent who
| is cautious, humane man, and as
| kindly as any one could wish to meet,
and ask him what his experience is.
Don't take my word for it, but talk with
Ross
| While awaiting a meeting with Mr..
Ross the reporter addressed himself to
Manager Hall. who simply said that
Mr.. Ross was reliable and what he
said about danger in The street, could be
| taken as accurate.
1 SnnPfiOfan1Rpt Ross was met ureS-
emily and asked what it is Of which he
complains mostly. WELL said the
| Superintendent, what it referred to
especially is the recklessness Of bicy
clists on the streets, where our tracks
are laid''
Are all reckless?''
"Oh, no, of course not, but there are
many who are both skilled and un-
skilled riders who are, and do all we can
to prevent accidents, they will occur if
| things go on as now.
Can you give incidents?"
Eyes, I will tell you of very few I
have personally Witnessed lately and
they are fair samples of scores of COM
plants filed by our motormen, who
are a cautious body of men and want
| TO do just right.
was going east. bicyciist was coming
west on the other track. A dog got in
front of the wheelman. The rider
| turned toward the other track to avoid
the dog; the animal lodged the same
way, both toward the car, which the
motorman began to hold back The
Wheelman ran over the dog and was
shot forward right against the front
n ne and n a1f /. a
perately grasping the dashboard stan
chion. If he had not been a skilled
rider and a strong man, he would have
been thrown under the wheels. and all
the tenders on earth would not have
saved him from injury by the collision"
What should he have done?"
why, not have attempted to ride
toward the car; have stopped, or have
gone on the outside. At the approach
of S street on Twenty first, a motorman
in the dark of night spied wheelman
scorching, or coasting down S street
grade In an endeavor to shoot ahead OF
the car. By almost superhuman effort
the motorman stopped the car just as
the rider came in a heap In front Of the
car, not ten feet ahead. It was a mar
row shave and a desperately wicked
H.
"At Sixteenth and J streets one car
was going out, one coming in. They
were not fifty feet apart when wheel
man shot between the two cars across
the tracks, got between the passing
cars, you see. He got through, but
suppose his wheel mad slipped on a rail
or wet spot, or a bit Of fruit peel? If
wheelmen are going TO cut between our
a
running cars past each other, no matter
how slowly A fellow will get crushed
between slow cars as well as fast ones
remember that
Near Thirteenth and J the other
evening wheelman ran so close and
s"lieiy beside and past a car going in
an opposite direction that he tore off
banner on the side of the car. It was
an awfully dangerous thing to do.
On second street, between I and ],
rlder tried to pass in front Of a car I
was on, which slowed up very much
at that point. The wheelman slipped
en- the rail and went down, wheel and
all, in front Of the car, and he had
just time to jerk his wheel away, though
the motorman was doing his utmost to
stop. Then the cyclist, when we did
stop, came up and shouted: Better look
out where you are going 1 replied:
MY friend, We are on fixed rails, run
ming very slow, how would it do for
you to look out where you go? Life is
not so short that you need to shoot
ahead of cars and wagons and the rest
Of the world
"A well-known physician tried to turn
on In front Of and near a car on ]
street. Both were going the same way.
put he was too near, his wheel slipped.
and he came up in front of the car.
which struck him gently, as the motor
man 1erked 1t UP in time. No one was
hurt, but it was a risk The doctor
should not have attempted the turn
near car and going with it. He knew
better and makes no complaint of US"
What class of wheelmen do you com
plain of most, Mr.. Ross?"
Skilled and unskilled, as ! judge
them. Scores of them take too many
chances. judge that the most of them
are not steady riders, but go out for
exercise. But it makes not much diff
ference as to that In the evenings.
when the streets are wet down, the dam
ger is greatly increased 1t don't make
much difference, | think, whether a
rider is skilled or not, in the matter of
taking chances the thing for all
wheel riders to do is to take no
chances. We will run our cars
with all the caution possible, now let