Evening journal., 1900-07-18
DEATHS Oh A YEAR
ON THE RAILROADS
Over 7,lOO We're Killed and
A,62O We're Injured
One Out Of Every 42O Employees
We're Killed on Various Roads
in the Country

Dead ........... ................ 1928
injured ........... ............. "A $40
Such is the record OF railroad casual
ties in this country for the year end
ing June 30 The story is told in fig
ures by official statisticians of the In
terstate Commerce Commission. They
show that the Iron Horse is still on the
warpath.
In round numbers there were 81 743'
casualties to persons in the year just
rounded out, resulting from accidents
on the railroads within the ken of the
Interstate Commission. This includes
the dead, 1923, and the injured 44,62).
It would be a great and bloody bat
tie, and one long to be remembered,
which would pile up such figures as
these. The total casualties to the Brit
ish army in the war in South Africa to
date do not make up so bloody a list,
there being but $4,000 of them.
"TRESPAsSERS" IN THE LEAD.
Glancing down the list of the Iron
Horses victims, one finds that the
leading item reads as follows: Tres
passers-killed, 4,040; injured. 4,730.
Who are these 1000 trespassers who
have been hurried to their long ac-
count? A large proportion of them
doubtless are tramps stealing rides on
the tops Of freight cars, or on the
trucks of passengers and freights.
Some of them have fallen of-hurled
by some Summer squall, or rendered so
helpless by the cold of Winter that
they cling no longer to their danger.
GUS perches. Others-how many, who
can tell?-have been hurled off by
trains crews in fierce battles, or. per-
haps, without the trainmen excuse Of
battle, their deaths are classed as ac-
cidental in the records Of the coroners
along the lines where they perished.
Doubtless some among the great TO-
tai of alleged trespassers killed and
manned were not trespassers at all.
Sometimes the evidence that a man
killed on a railroad had ticket and
right u be on the train is destroyed
OF admitted passengers killed there
was comparatively small number
The statistics say 259 and place the
number of injured at 3,442 This is
more than the corresponding figures
for the year previous, when the killed
were 22l and the injured 2.945.
PLEASANTER WAY OF LOOKING
AT 1T.
Railroad men like to print figures
showing how much safer it is to travel
than to stay at home. For instance.
only one passenger was killed for every
2,lS9,O23 carried And, if you put it on
the basis Of miles, one had TO average
bl,O5l $50 miles in order to get killed.
With employees a much bloodier tale
has to be told. One out of every 42O
employees was killed last year, and one
out of every twenty-seven was injured.
OF trainmen-and the men working on
locomotives had to bear the brunt of
these casualues-One was killed for
every 1855 employed and one in eleven
injured.
In New York and some other states
new laws compelling the use of safety
brakes and cOuplers on freight trains
were put in force, yet the number kill
ed and injured coupling cars remains
startlingly large OF the former. there
were ESQ killed, as against 279 the pre-
ceding year, and 6,725 injured. as
against 6,9SS the year before.
Ihe use Of automatic couplers and
brakes operated from the locomotive is
now very extensive. Practically all
passenger cars and locomotives are 50
equipped, and of the 1,295.51O cars in
the freight service on June 30. 1899
7SO,6lO were fitted with train brakes
ana l,uoG 1888 with automatic cOuplers
COUPLING CASUALTIES.
The casualties from coupling and un-
coupling cars are assigned as follows:
Trainmen, killed, 1SO: injured s5.O55.
switchmen, fiagmen and watchmen
killed, "A; injured 1888; other en-
ployes, killed, G: injured. l77. The cas-
ualtes resulting from trains and en-.
gines are assigned as follows: Train
men, killed, 337; injured, 3.O53: switch
men flagmen and watchmen. killed
60; injured, 311; other employees, killed
62i injured, $40. The casualties to tn,
same three groups of employee
caused by collisions and derailment
were as follows Trainmen. killed. $50
injured, LIB; switchmen, fiagmen an,
watchmen, killed, IA; injured, l15
other employees, killed, 30; injured
3&.