The sun., 1897-11-28
SHARING BLOOD MONEY.
Cory Dollars Used to Pay Big
Dividends to..Stockholders.
ALMOST LOCALIZED MURDER
Thousands for Investors, But Not One
Cent for ISafety---The Pennsyl-
vania Railroads Criminal
Economy.

The funeral OF Alfred favne, tne young
brakeman, who had his lower limbs cut
off in the West Yard, on November 25th,
gives a grim significance to the cry that
has gone up from many hearts over the
terrible death rate of the Pennsylvania
railroad in this city, a record of mortal
ity due, in almost every instance, to the
deadly grade crossing and that colossal
piece of criminal economy and bad en-
gineering-the West Yard.
An instance of the destruction of which
this corporation is capable is given in
the police report of accidents from No
vember u to November 25-two short
weeks.
In that time, to say nothing of the
numberless accidents to men who risk
their lives in the service of this great
jaggernaut there has been three souls
which have gone before their God while
the cry of agony still rose from beneath
the grinding wheels Of that great grasp
ing corporation, the Pennsylvania Rail
road.
One man lay in agony in the Delaware
Hospital for two long weary weeks as
result of being run down by train at
Market street crossing and it is due en-
tirely to the exceptional skill of the sur
geons connected with that institution
that he is able to give thanks for the
privilege of dragging his shattered body
through few more years.
On November 12, James Patton, an
employe of the Wilmington City Pas
senger Railway, while crossing the
tracks at Market street was run down by
freight engine; thrown beneath the
wheels and cut and crushed in a horrible
manner.
Market street crossing is one of the
most important crossings in the city
limits and in any city in the Union,
save this, Il grade crossing would
no more be permitted than a
target range for Il park OF artillery
On the day following, November 18Th,
Joshua NJ. Mercer, aged 56, colored
man, who has never been known to
touch a drop of Intoxicating liquor, and
who has always supported his family by
his own labor, gave up his life at the
Eighth street crossing, as clearly y vic
tim to the greed for dollars, as though
he had been murdered by thug for the
pennies in his pockets. On November
22nd the soul Of an unknown white man
was hurled before its maker before the
echoes of his death cry had died away
among the network OF tracks in the
West Yard
His body was unrecognizable and
some family will never know what be-
came of the missing one, and the cry
and the wall OF the orphaned will never
reach the ears or the purse Of the Penn
sylvania Railroad management.
There is no redress. The law does not
recognize corporation as amenable to
capital punishment.
On November "a, when all over the
country preparations were being made
for the day OF Thanksgiving, that insati-
able monster, the West Yard, claimed
another victim and the song of thanks
giving in one family was hushed to be
succeeded by the means OF broken
hearted mot herwhosefavorite son gave up
his life to the end that some foreign stock
holder might have the dollar that should
have been spent long ago for the recon-
struction of this death trap.
Alfred Payne, a man Of 25 years, act
ing in the capacity Of a brakeman in the
employe of the company, was knocked
from the top of freight car by an I'M
expected jolt and fell beneath the wheels
of the engine. Bleeding stulnps were all
that was left OF his lower limbs and in
less than two hours this man was IL
corpse. His memory cries out for
justice.
AT every crossing within the city
limits on tie line OF this company's
tracks stand the lame and the halt
victims in every case of accident. Mis-
sing legs, arms from which the hand has
been crushed, mere wrecks of men whose
, manhood has been crushed out in the
service of the company, serve as sicken-
ing examples of the possibilities at each
crossing.
The liyes of mothers, wives and chill
dren are put in the keeping OF men
whose mental capacity is impaired by
suffering and whose crippled bodies could
not respond to the need Of a victim. Yet
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company has
spent and will spend money to buy leg
islation simply because it is few dollars
less expensive than the building and
maintainance of crossings below or