Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-04-06
OUR NEW YORK LETTER
HOW ONE RAILROAD CARES FOR
THOSE HURT IN ACCIDENT.

Employees Skilled In Firat Ala to
the Injured Arts.-A Hospital on
whccls-How II Game to lie Com
structcd.
NEW YORK, March 81 - Special. 1T
was stated recently in the dispatches from
the west that one of the trunk lines run
ming out of Chicago had begun to instruct
its men in 81 first aid to the injured" arts
and it was assumed by some of the news
papers in commenting upon the news that
the read in question was the first in the
country to take this step.
This, however, is "A mistake. Employees
of the Long Island Railroad company,
running out of this city, have long been
instructed in the use of plastcrs, bandages
and liniments. and "medcinc chests, " or
boxes, containing these things and few
simple surgical instruments, arc scattered
at various stations along the lines of the
company.
RaiIrOnd Accidents.
As n matter of cold fact, the SURGICAL dc.
partmcnt Of every railroad i'm the nd to-
day is as carefully organized rs any other
department, and with reason, for. despite
the utmost precautions in running the
,allIoa'lS' unc NUMBER y, persons reported
.H 'no nv" sr"PorS DIS hii'cu outIl0nC ny
81 O''., ~ w ~. ia go ""9 "'''V, VI
lillod l., bo+t1o l., hntt 49,, ,,,,,,, ,,,,1 49,
nav. and ,,oro tb,n ( 600 IL, ov.oss 80 tLn
combined numbcr of lillod md ,ro,r,ln,
fr,n, tho ha,i,,,iu,, ., tho o,,d 80 ,l,, ,,.,,,,
with 9:noin Tbn ,,,bori+,. fc,,,, .,,.n;,,,
those fgurrs arc oht,in,d sots down tbo
nuu,Lo,, of eorio,,.l, iriur,d L,. r,il,,,ad
accidents in 1SgSus . G1G INIT those f,,urn.
ram Tx, no rno,ns bn cop,rIo+o ,ircn ,c.
cordinc, 70 tho roror,s ,,,ido b, +ho .ou
roads +bemecIvn. :, tho i,torst,to c,,,,
mercc commission for 1907 llost yoor,sooi
cial figures arc NOT vnt comniladi tho LII
cd in that vear aggrcya+nd g Az I Go9
hoing omnlovoc. 90 nneeongors and 4 900
thor nnrsons ,no.tIr rrn o,,or ,,L;1o ,ho
number Of wounded reached the ana,in,,
total of 20 79t o. 6G7 hoi,o or,rIoyooe
. 7q5 nassengere and 4 300 otber narsnrs
In time no doubt there will he mora ar
less uniformity in tho org,nizatior ~
surgical denartnents omong the rai1roade
hut down +n tba nraso,t dn+o oln,ost a.,
many MANS arc In oner,tion nc tbern ,,o
roads Curiouslv enough only two Amor
,can railroad svstems-ond none abroad
81 far as the writer ran 1onrr--b,vo odont
81 Id, a9 'i!o writer can A'"rh-haNe uuopt-
eu Wh"V iii'sho ne reBarucu 'he 'nosU pal
papis obvious pam
railroad Hospital Cars.
These two-the Plant system, in the
south, and the Long Island system, run
ming out of this city-have each an cmer-
gency hospital on wheels, which can he
hauled about like any other car, thuS max
ing it possible to take all the facilities for
treating and caring for the wounded to
them and rendering it unnecessary to sub
ject them to torturing and dangerous re
,loval until after their wounds have been
dressed and the first shock Of injury has
worn away. DR.. j. F. Valentine, chief
surgeon of the Long Island system, related
the circumstances which led to the adop-
ton of the hospital car plan by his road to
the writer the other day.
"Two or three years ago" said the doc
tor, there was casualty on our limo
which became known far and wide as the
'tallyho accident. A gay party of young
folks had been out for drive with four
in hand, or tallyho, coach. On their re-
turn they had to cross our tracks at a GER
tain point. Through the fault of some
body possibly themselves, the coach was
run over by train, and several were kill