Hutchinson gazette., 1898-04-28
Countries. No men average wages

BY inspecting the above figures it
will be seen that the railway employees
of this country get less pay for run
ming trains, per mile, than any other
men of their class on earth. Great
Britain pays more than twice as much
10 the employees per train mile as 10
paid in this country. The British COM
panies employ nearly four times as
many men per mile as are employed in
this country: and, it may be added,
ALSO that their slaughter is less than
one-fourlh as many people, in proper
tion to the number carried.
The English employee has time 10
rest and recreate with his family, TO
work in his garden and to attend
church; all of which keeps him fresh
alert and vigorous. This is not true to
the same extent in this country, be-
cause of the long and irregular hours
and cruel overwork of our men,
President Ripley says that, next to
truth and honor, human life is the
dearest thing on earth. And yet our
American railway corporations con-
stantly persue policy which doubles
and qnadruples the railway carnage Of
Ibis country as compared with Others,
merely that they may pocket the mon
ey that should he expended to prevent
the continually occurring accidents,
And, in his hcartlessness the Presi-
dent of the Santa Fe tries to- smooth
down and excuse the disasters, while
the slaughters and the holocausts con-
tinue, by saying that so many millions
are carried that are not hurt.
AS we'll try to excuse that other IN.
nous blood-letter known as the French
guilotine, because its daily average did
not exceed say fifty or II hundred per-
sons, while thirty millions daily and
hourly escaped with their heads on.
The entire carnage by the gnilOtine in
the French revolution did not reach
twenty thousand temptations, on.
Thiers, Wow. 3, p. 1867 Our railway
carnage reaches that number of deaths
every three years, besides five times as
many more that are injured; not count
ing the thousands of employees who are
disabled and murdered by the slow
tortures of overwork and lack of rest
Thus we have the perpetual carnage
Of the historic French revolution, com
mencing every three years, with our
corporation Robespierres at the helm,
guiding and whetting the fury of the
pitiless storm!
President Ripley offers no remedy
for these tragic disasters, except that
he says it would cost one hundred mil
lion dollars in Kansas alone to provide
the precautions necessary to prevent
accidents. The people have already
paid twice that amount which is now
floating as public burden in the form
Of watered stocks, or spurious capitali-
Eation; but, he and his class have not
expended the money for the benefit of
the people.
All justly deplore the carnage Of an
extensive railroad strike like that OF
July 1894, known as the Debs strike.
Summing of tho casualties Of that
strike, the Washington, d. c., Post of
July 16, estimated the killed at Chica-
90 and all other places at twenty per
IONS, the injured at eighty; total ag-
Eregate casualties, in two weeks, (July
to 10y of active hostilities, one hun
lred
Now let us compare notes. When all
the roads of this country are running
under the usual corporation manage
ment, the casualties arc over $4,000
persons killed and wounded per an
mum. That would be 5000 per month,
or 500 in half q month. On the very
safe supposition that one-ffth of the
roads Of the country were stopped by
the strike, we would have basis for