The age-herald., 1901-01-21
The Crossing Question.

To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 The railroad crossings are receiving con- siderable attention lately, and no doubt the agitation will bring good results. How ever, if the Mayor and Board of Aldermen want an opinion from practical persons, they should not interview professional men in a position to know what they are talk ing about, such transfer men, liverymen, draymen and contractors; then they will get an interview that is worth something. Twentieth street crossing seems to be the center of agitation. This is attributable to the numbers of people and street cars cross ing there. Either Fourteenth, Eighteenth or Twenty-fourth street crossings are a great deal more dangerous so far as pedes- trians and vehicles are concerned As Four teenth, Eighteenth and Twenty-fourth streets have no street cars, they do no harm to any one but pedestrians and vehicles. The reason Twentieth street is the safest is not on account of the watchman because all of these streets have a watchman. Iris because policemen are always near at hand on Twentieth street, and this, in our opin- ion, makes it the safest crossing in the city, numbers considered. The watchman is failure. He has no authority, and there-s fore becomes unwatchful. He carries a red and a white flag. Ostensibly one is to call the railroad engineer and check the cross travel and the other vice versa. But in fact, he sometimes uses both at once and sometimes none at all. Sometimes he calls the street cars and general travel with the red flag, and sometimes he uses the white fla for he fact the yardmaster of one of the roads once told the writer that the watchman did not neces- sarily have to use either flag. Then again at times the watchman does not know you are ther at all until you are half way across; in which event he tries to hurry you on over-hurry-scurry, like so many sheep-breaking up heavily loaded vehicles and tanning people up like sardines in a box. All of this is because the watchman has no authority. The railroad crew rushes him and does as it pleases and he in turn treats the travel in the same manner. If one obeys the law, namely, "Stop, look and listen," he then has a right to cross at his leisure and should not be hurried beyond reason by any one. Why should street car conductors be required to run ahead and look at the crossing and then call his mo- torman on? Cannot the railroad engineer and the motorman see as well as the con- ductor? Nine accidents out of every ten the fault is with the railroad crew. They act on the old rule that might makes right" and seem to think because they have the right of way they also have right to run over human lives and property. The very fact that the railroad officials prefer the watchmen to the iron gates shows that they want to run the crossings to suit them selves.
 The Louisville and Nashville holds the crossing her full legal limit, and then in comes the Alabama Great Southern and consumes her full time, and here comes the Southern and uses her full time, thus hold ing the crossing just three times the legal time allowed. In conclusion, I will say if you wish to put stop to this, by all mans put in heavy iron gates guarded by one clothed with authority over all travel to use all alike without fear or favor and to have full control of the crossing the expense to be divided between the city and the rail- roads. Bridgs and tunnels are not neces- sary at all CHARLES N. TAYLOR.
 Birmingham, January 20, 1901.