Evening star., 1900-04-12
THE STREET CAR TENDERS
BROUGHT INTO SERIOUS QUESTION
BY THE GEoRGETOWN TRAGEDY.
Are the Trip Levers Discarded p
Twisted, Useless Tenders In
Daily Service.
To the Editor of The Evening Star:


I happened to be present at the investiga-
ton into the cause of the accident which
happened in Georgetown on the 9th instant,
whereby child was run over by a Metro
politan car. The evidence showed that the
child was struck by Parmenter fender at
tached to the same car and partly caught.
1t then rolled out and went under the fen
der. past the trip frame of the wheel guard,
was drawn in under the wheel guard and its
life was crushed out by the wheel guard.
one witness swore that the car ran at fif-
teen miles per hour; others swore that the
speed was seven, eight, nine or ten miles per
hour. Which was it? 1t was stated that
the car had just started from a crossing;
that the brake was not quite off Was it
possible to speed the car to ten or fifteen
miles per hour within the distance of less
than half block? The representative of
the car company Swore that the fender and
Wheel guard were in proper condition. The
fact is that the fender was not in proper
CONDITION, as understood when adopted by
our Commissioners. The fender could not
be dropped the lever for doing it was not
in place. having been discarded by the
company as no good. The wheel guard
killed the child. The jury did not investi-
gate the real cause Of the death, but
brought in verdict that the child was
Killed by the excessive speed Of the car!
The question is. Is this fender the proper
~ oS
life? r. F. PREUSSER.
To the Editor of The Evening Star:
The District Commissioners compel the
street car companies to equip their cars
with certain style of fender, which has
been improved upon until they have sue
ceeded in securing fender which is almost
perfect Ghe one now in use on all roads
save the Columbia). By means of lever,
which is operated by the motormans knee,
this fender can be dropped fiat upon the
surface of the street. thereby making it i'm
possible for anything to get under the car.
In proof of this statement 1 myself saw a
motorman, for his own amusement, drop
the fender in front of his car and push
broomsick from the track.
Please allow me, through your columns,
to protest against the criminal carelessness
of certain of the motormen on the City and
Suburban road &C street line), who fail
whereby they would drop their fender to
save the life of a fellow being. This is no
idle statement, but something which l have
noticed for months. On some of the cars
the levers are missing entirely and the
sockets filled with dirt.
Also allow me to protest against the sun-
lawful speed with which some of these
cars come down the slight incline on c
street northeast, beginning at 9th and cross
ing 1th street, at the rate of twenty or
twenty-five miles per hour.
We on Capitol Hill put up with many
things from this company We make no
protest when they take off four of our cars
and make us wait six minutes for a car
instead of five. the law provides; but we
do ask protection for our children. The
District Commissioners ought to make it a
misdemeanor for motorman to so tamper
with one of these tenders as to make it
useless in emergency cases.
The statements l have made relative 10
the unlawful speed of the cars on street
between 9th and 7th streets can easily be
verified by bicycle police If they will spend
a few minutes each day in that neighbor-
hood. E. B. R.
To the Editor of The Evening Star:
The Georgetown accident which cost a
child's life the other day calls attention
once more to the efficacy of the tenders in
use on the local lines. Without going
fender it must be plain to the average OBJ
server that the very finest device in the
world would be useless in an emergency
If not kept in better condition than are
dozens of the Tenders of the Washington
cars. Many of them are twisted SO that it
would be impossible for motorman in a
crisis to square the lower edge with the
pavement. Yesterday a Brookand car on
the City and Suburban line went UP 9th
street from Pennsylvania avenue with its
fender wrenched at least two feet out of
place, protrudng far over the track to the
side. Fortunately, it bent toward the out
side Of the track, else 1t may be doubted
whether this car could have passed an
other. Judging from previous observation
this broken fender may have been allowed
to remain in place for many hours-perhaps
1t is in use today. l have frequently seen
the same twisted apology for a fender doing
a sign of repairs. 1t would have been far
better for the mot0rnan on tbe car op E.b