Cañon City record., 1897-08-19
RAILWAY ROBBERY.
Not So Many Trains Held Up a
There Used 70 Be.
Extra Precautions Are rakeA by Ex-
Dress Companies and Laws Are
Being Made which Have
Their Eject.

In the year 1898 there were 33 rail-
road trains held up in this country by
imitators of the James sand Younger
gangs. The next year the number was
"a. 1t was 40 in 1895. and last year
dropped TO %. In the last seven years
there have been 1873 trains held up or
wrecked for the purpose of robbery.
The number of persons killed in the
preparation of this train-wrecking or
holding-up crime was 73. the number
wounded SIS. The smallness of the rec
ord for 1896 may be partially accounted
for by the fact that passengers and
crews have recently fallen into the way
of fighting train wreckers and train
robbers There were several instances
in 1896 of deliberate plans having been
made by railroad officials 10 trap train
robbers and kill them, and the plans
were successfully carried out, fact
which proved decidedly discouraging
to the train-robbing profession. The
mortality in 1896 was four among pas
sengers and s2 among trainmen.
Sofrequ ~<eDd so desperate have been
many of these efforts at train-robbing
that the idea has become more or less
popular in Europe that railway travel
N the United States is about as danger
Gus as is travelled by private conveyance
in the brigand districts of Italy and
Sicily. and il cannot be denied that
there is considerable just ificaticn for
the prevalence of this idea 1t is not
many months since three or four beard
ess boys were sent to the penitentiars
from Rome, y. Y. for the crime of
train wrecking. But terms in the pen
itentiary are not regarded as an ade-
quate punishment for this monstrous
crime. and 50 the penal code of the Em-
pire state has recently been revised.
placing train wreeldng among the cap
itai crimes Hereafter any man in New
York state found guilty OF train wreck
ing will suffer the same punishment as
does any man found guilty of murder
in the first degree
An idea of the magnitude of the dan
ger to railroad travel in the United
States is prevalent on this side of the
Atlantic. and it finds voice in the elnb-
orate arrangements for defense made
by the several express companies of the
country IN their cars devoted to the
transportation of Salua le<----
- Ine fnsrsfvrs OF sont v~lr-a>-
cars have the appearance of veritable
arsenais. In fact. some of the cars are
called arsenal cars. They have bull
let-proof room located in their center
They are built of steel 1h inch in
thickness The doors leading into
either end of these compartments are
punctured with peepholes- through
which a gun can be ranged and fired.
On either side is a steel projection =
foot wide extending from the level of
the window sill TO the roof. At each
end at the side of this arrangement
port-hoic is provided so that a rifle may
be used to sweep the side of the train,
front or rear. or to shoot from a side
hole in any direction from this bomb
proof. These are only some of the
many features of the ideal arsenal car
that has come into use on account OF
the frequency of train-wrecking and
train-robbing. These precautions have
been thought necessary by the astute
managers of the express companies.
Meantime the United States govern
ment that is engaged in transporting
yaluables in mail cars has taken nc
such precautions to protect the prop
the recently constructed mail cars have
no door Mt each end accessible to the
train-robber, but they have doors on
the sides. to which an expert robber
can find access and where the railway
mail clerk could answer and does an
swer frequently n summons to open.
Millions and millions of dollars are
every week sent through the United
States mail in these unprotected mail
cars. II the train is held up. IL the rob
Der succeeds in finding his entrance 10
the railway car and the valuables from
the United States mail bags are rificd.
the owners have no recourse. The gov
ernment refuses to be responsible. II
is probable that to this lack of respon.
sibility the governments laNity in
taking necessary precautions agains'
train-robbing may be attributed. TIL,
express companies recognize their re
sponsibility and prepare themselves ac-
corsiingiy The government seems sat
isfied to trust TO luck and. unfortunate
ly, in many instances the patrons also
of the United States mail service trust
to luck. The fact that the warm and
fatal reception given robbers last year
reduced tne hummer OF trtit-ropWfTitS
and n-wrecking. it would seem,
ought to be accepted as a reason why
the government should take as radical
precautions as have the express COM
panies. A knowledge that mali cars,
like express cars. were little else than
moving arsenals. together with such
drastic measures as have been just
adopted in New York state. would go
long way toward making train-rob-
bing in America an almost unhearti-of
criine.--C Cincinnati Timee-Stnr.