The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-04-12
BLAME SHOULD BE FIXED.

to the necessity or justice of holding
an inquest over a deceased person,
and seldom, if ever, before has the
coroner of Flathead county, deter
mined case of accidental death I'M
worthy of investigation.
The law governing an inquisition
is that when a coroner is informed
that a person has been killed or has
committed suicide, or has died under
such circumstances as to afford a
reasonable ground to suspect that his
death has been occasioned by the act
of another by criminal means, he
must inquire into the cause of his
>4eath.
Upon no other occasion that we
can remember has this coroner
passed up a case of accidental kill
ing, though, by the way, the railroad
company has usually been eXoner-
ated; however, we think the prece
dent a bad one and certainly an in
justice to any surviving relatives of
deceased. Nearly all victims of rail
road accidents get fair hearing for
damages in the courts, and this poor,
scalded fireman has probably some
one who, benefiting from his labor in
life, should be entitled to a modicum
of Jim Hills wealth to recoup the
loss of this mans life in the perform
ance of his duty on the railroad.
When suit is brought in the courts,
a finding of criminal negligence by
a coroner's jury is a strong card for
the plaintiff, and if this case, one of
the many sad disasters had been
properly inquired into, the stereo-
typed verdict of this coroner in all
previous railroad deaths by accident
might have been surprising change.
Within the past year inquests have
been held on bodies of persons there
lying dead" when there was not the
least shadow of suspicion as to the
direct cause; but our coroner drops
this last instance before it was even
commenced
1t has been street talk that the
spreading of the rails on that particu.
lar section near Bolton, on the Great
Northern railway, which resulted in
the ditching of the locomotive, by
which FiremanCherrier was scaldeC
to death, was caused by what may
be harshly termed criminal negli
gence at least the proper care O
that portion of the track was doubted
and under the conditions, the corone
certinly neglected his duty to thu
dead man and to the living in declin
ing to hold an inquest and fix the
blame.
We do not assert that the tract
foreman on this particular section i
any less careful or competent thai
those section foremen elsewher
along the line and only present thes
facts as they came to us. Railroad
men have constantly stated that tn
foremen leave the inspection work t
the Japs more often than is conduciv
to the public safety, either that tn
foremen are too busy or too tired
anyway the Japs are often intruste
with this task and perform this in
portant duty which vitality affects tn
safety of the immense trains speed
ing across the continent carryin
their precious freight of human live
Upon the trustworthiness of the d.
spised Jap, then, depends the safet
of the passengers who have intruste
their lives to the tender mercies
jim Hill and his minions, not W
hope however, without having c
fered up a prayer for safety befol
starting out upon their perilous jou
ney.
However, the case in point is n
the questionable economy of Jf
slave labor nor the reliability of Il
Irish section bosses on the Gre
Northern, but is the apparent ina
ton of the county coroner in this la
instance, particularly.
The county attorney says such cas-
are optional with the coroner, whit
is admitted, but the interest and W,
fare of the people should not be owe
looked, nor the interest of Firem;
Cherrier, his heirs or assigns.